Minutes
Ohio HBPA Board Meeting
11:00 am, Friday, May 17th, 2024
Ohio HBPA Main Office, Grove City, OH
Members Present: President Joe Poole Directors: Nancy Adams, Susan Anderson, Linda Carrera, Bobby Cline, Mark Doering, Jeff Jarvis, Bruce Miller, Brian Poe, Mike Rone, George Sikora, Kristi Tumblin
Others Present:
Executive Director Dave Basler
Call to Order/ Approval of Minutes:
President Poole called the meeting to order. After review President Poole moved and Director Cline seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the March 8, 2024 Ohio HBPA board of directors meeting. Motion passed.
President’s Report:
President Poole moved and Director Poe seconded a motion to enter executive session. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Rone seconded a motion to come out of executive session. Motion passed.
Discussion was held regarding the executive director’s contract. No motions were made.
Executive Director’s Report:
Discussion was held regarding the barns which had been and were currently quarantined at Mahoning Valley.
Extensive discussion was held regarding the Ohio HBPA providing financial support to owners of horses in the quarantine barns. The Ohio HBPA has already agreed to pay for the rounds of Strangles testing in those barns which to date has totaled over $60,000. Director Tumblin moved and Director Anderson seconded a motion that the Ohio HBPA will aid in paying expenses for race horses which were in a track or HISA mandated quarantine at Mahoning Valley Race Course for more than 30 days. Any owner of such a horse is eligible to fill out a Strangles Quarantine Benevolence Request Form and after verification the program listed owner will be compensated $5 per day per horse for the quarantined period. Motion passed with Director Doering abstaining.
Discussion was held regarding a request from the group of breeders seeking to put on an Ohio sale this fall to produce and distribute a post card announcing the sale to our membership. The OHBPA does not distribute its mailing list or send advertising to its members but the executive director will write about the sale to inform our members in the affiliate news section of the Fall edition of the horsemen’s journal.
Discussion was held regarding a desire of the members of the Thoroughbred Advisory Board to allocate funds from the OTF to try to incentivize vet students to work at Ohio racetracks with the board requesting the financial and other details of any such plan before taking a position.
Director Doering moved and President Poole seconded a motion to enter executive session to discuss legal matters. Motion passed.
Director Doering moved and President Poole seconded a motion to leave executive session. Motion passed.
Director Jarvis moved and Director Miller seconded a motion that the executive director request a meeting of the OHBPA Belterra Park Chapter Committee with the Belterra Management team to discuss Article XXII of the contract between the parties the Track Kitchen. Should that meeting not resolve the issue the board authorizes the executive director to take all legal means necessary to enforce this provision of the contract. Motion passed.
Director Doering moved and Director Rone seconded a motion that the executive director is authorized to have legal counsel file suit (in accordance with the document provided to the board during executive session) should HISA try to collect an assessment fee from either track purse accounts or through a per start fee assessed to owners starting a horse in a race. Motion passed.
New Business
Purses and Wagering
The executive director updated the board regarding purse account balances detailing that Mahoning Valley had $946,615 available for purses as of May 1, 2024 virtually flat from the previous years total of $962,996 Basler also noted that thew 2024 figure doesn’t include $914,530 in funds escrowed for HISA assessments at Mahoning Valley under the stand-still agreement.
Thistledown had $9,611,828 available for purses as of March 1, 2024 down slightly from the $9,829,463 available on March 1, 2023 but this amount was wholly attributable to over $744,000 in purse funds escrowed for HISA assessments at Thistledown under the stand-still agreement.
Belterra Park had $4,343,182 available for purses as of April 1, 2024 slightly more than $1 million above the April, 2023 figure of $3,318,362.
Handouts were provided to the board showing VLT results for all three thoroughbred tracks in Ohio as well as previous VLT results for comparison purposes. Belterra Park showed a net win of $7,087,171 in April 2024 down over $430,000 from the $7,526,6756 net win in April 2023 at the track. Thistledown had a net VLT win of $16,105,628 in April which was down over $575,000 from the prior April net win figure of $16,683,329. Mahoning Valley had a net VLT win of $14,649,914 in April 2024 up over $760,000 from $13,881,538 net win at Mahoning Valley in April 2023.
Benevolence, Policies and Organization
Following discussion Director Doering moved and Director Carrera seconded a motion that if requested the Ohio HBPA would pay the $2,000 HISA split sample cost if the result of that split sample comes back negative for the substance it was being tested for. Motion passed.
Adjournment:
President Poole moved and Director Sikora seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion passed.