Assessment - Solutions 1

This is my best guess on what needs to be changed in horse racing; it doesn't mean that it is the right list, or a complete list, but it is what I came up
with. Please no tirades on who I am picking on or "that will never work", let's identify the issues in enacting this level of change AND offer
alternatives or modifications to my proposal. Let's behave like Zenyatta and not Outer Space…

NATIONAL HORSE RACING LEAGUE

Of all the possible solutions, this is at the absolute top of my list. There is a "league" for every major sport out there BUT horse racing. Now who has
done better over the last 20 years - baseball, basketball, football, tennis, golf, hockey, or Horse Racing? Exactly. We are a thousand separate
fiefdoms, each with its own axe to grind, its own needs, its own rules - and every one of them will step on another fiefdom in a heartbeat, it is truly
everyone for themselves. We need an overarching organization that can make the decisions that are right for the sport, not just a segment.
Somewhere out there is a Kennesaw Mountain Landis who can unite and improve the sport. Not only do we need a Commissioner, we need an
Executive Board that fully represents all facets of the industry. The often invoked "for the good of the sport" is critical to keeping it sound and popular.
The NBA mandated that the minimum age for entrance to the league be 19 to slow down the drain of talent from the college game and to discourage
the high school to pro jumps. The original charter of the NTA (what is now the NTRA) provided for exactly this structure, but it was killed before it
started by the members of The Jockey Club and their minions. Instead we got this spineless wannabe called the NTRA who is basically the
mouthpiece for the few. This will be a dog fight against the established insiders who have controlled the sport for the last century - in fact it could
take Federal antitrust action to force their hand.

DISCONTINUE STATEBRED FUNDS/RACES/BUREAUCRATS

That's right, end the ridiculous statebred crap. The fact is that the government imposes a tax on handle, then gets the money from the track, reduces
the amount by having a bunch of overpaid bureaucrats "administer" it and then gives it back to the track to add to the purses. Call me a nut job, but
why not leave it at the track and include it in the purses? Besides statebred programs promote second rate runners, many of whom are bred to eat at
the "statebred" trough. Everybody knows when you say statebred (regardless of whether it is California, New York, Florida, wherever), you mean
inferior…

REDUCE RACE DATES BY HALF

The handle on a 12 horse field is generally twice what it is on a 6 horse field, regardless of the class level. In fact you could reduce the number of
race days by half, double the purses, significantly reduce operating expenses at the track and improve the final product by 2X. Owners, trainers and
jockeys of good horses will be paid handsomely - the others? You'll need to find a new line of work. What is the downside? There is no more room at
the inn for the low level claimers. Sorry. So we now race on Saturday and Sunday and an occasional Friday. No more Wednesday's and
Thursday's?? OMG!

ECONOMIC LAW IS SUPREME

If a track is going broke because of the way they ran the business, tough. No bailouts, concessions, whatever - you either make money or you go
away. The loss of tracks will actually help the overall situation by increasing the field size at the remaining tracks and increasing the amount bet at the
remaining tracks. It makes no difference whether it is Santa Anita, Belmont, Gulfstream or Churchill - if you are not profitable, you are going bye-bye.

UNIFORM CODE OF HORSE RACING

The Uniform Commercial Code was instituted because every state had unique rules on doing business. This made interstate commerce a nightmare.
Just like we couldn't maneuver through the myriad of state laws surrounding business, we also can't get anything done nationally with horse racing.
A Uniform Horse Racing Code could provide 90% of the structure for the administration of the sport. Specifically:

Drug laws - we could fix the drug issue simply by signing and implementing the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering in whole.
Guess what it does not permit? That's right, any race day drugs (including Lasix, Butazolodin, Clenbuterol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cobra venom,
morphine, amphetamines, EPO, steroids, Vaseline, you name it). Isn't that what we have all been carping about? Here it is, all wrapped up for us to
implement. Then we have the same rules as the rest of the world. (http://www.horseracingintfed.com/resources/2008_choose_eng.pdf). We also
need to shift from testing exclusively by urine and blood samples to testing hair samples every quarter. Hair samples can give up to five years of data
- effectively removing the administration of drugs off track and at the farm. Of course when the horse comes to the track looking like PVal, shaved
bald with no tail or mane… We need to test every horse after every race. The other advantage of hair samples? The trainer squeals "I have never
given that horse anything but hay or water, that urine sample got mishandled" No problem, let's check this out, now where are the scissors?

Distribution of handle - we need a singular set of takeouts for every horse racing entity in the United States. It should be simple, fair and be distributed
equitably. How about this, the takeout from all races is a flat 20% distributed as follows:

25% - Track Operator
25% - Purses
25% - Wager Point (track, OTB, YouBet, etc)
10% - Track Worker Benefits (worker compensation, health insurance, etc.)
10% - Thoroughbred Retirement Fund
4% - Major League Horse Racing (we'll get to that)
1% - Horse Racing State Tax

If you are the track operator AND the wager point, you get 50% instead of 25%. If you are YouBet, you get 25% of the take. Regardless of the
source, the purses remain at 25% of the total take. In the case of Hollywood Park yesterday, that would increase purses by 15%.

Licensing and Enforcement - Pat Valenzuela is the poster child for an industry worker that is busted eight ways from Sunday but STILL has a place
to ply his trade. A Uniform Code means if you are busted in New Jersey, you are busted in California, Maryland, Idaho, wherever! The enforcement of
regulations, including drugs needs to be hard core, it needs to be uniform and it needs to be implemented across the country. First offense, you are
suspended for 90 days and none of your horses can run. Second offense, you are suspended for one year and none of your horses can run PLUS
the owner cannot run any of their horses for 90 days. This makes choosing a trainer something other than "who has the highest win percentage?".
We didn't bust the owner first time out, but if he chooses to leave his horses with that trainer he is on notice that any additional infraction is going to
cost them too.

Full Representation on all Boards, Committees, Associations, Agencies and Clubs - no more having horses run in a state where you are on the
regulatory board. If you have active runners in the state, sorry you cannot be on the board. All of these entities should represent EVERYBODY
involved in the sport - breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys, horse players, the whole band. The rule should be simple - "any organization that has any
influence on the sport must be governed by a board of directors that represents all stakeholders, without exception". TOBA? Yep. The Jockey Club?
Oh yeah (Dinny meet Manny from El Centro…). NTRA? Uh-huh. California Horse Racing Board? Absolutely! Every single organization. This also
effectively neuters the omnipotent few who make the industry media shrink back from asking tough questions for fear of being blackballed.