NTRA downsizing expands participation
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA)’s current streamlining of its operations—together, the NTRA and Breeders’ Cup Ltd. are in the midst of a 40 percent cutback that involves large reductions in staff—is already having a positive ripple effect within the industry, and in particular within the Mid-Atlantic region.
I’m not qualified to say whether the two organizations were overstaffed (although I attach a lot of credibility to the people who say they were). And I realize that eliminating jobs, especially within the horse industry, isn’t by itself a healthy prospect. But the concept of a leaner, tighter NTRA appeals to me for several reasons, not the least of which is that membership has become more affordable. Which, in turn, promises to make the NTRA more inclusive.
Maryland horsemen have not belonged to the NTRA for the past several years. (As part of the NTRA’s basic structure, horsemen’s groups and race tracks support the organization with membership dues.) After lengthy consideration, and with great reluctance among some of its directors, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA)’s board determined that NTRA dues, then amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, were simply beyond what it could—and should—reasonably extract from the Purse Account during a time when purses were being cut and the stakes schedule all but obliterated.
Advised of the lower dues structure—the Maryland horsemen’s share for 2007 and 2008 will be $82,000 a year—the MTHA board required no debate before voting, at its September meeting, to return to the NTRA fold.
The NTRA, while far from perfect, has accomplished a great deal since it was started in 1998. Its successful initiatives include strong and effective industry representation in Washington, D.C.; increased television presence; handling the varied public relations issues of superstars Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex and Barbaro; group purchasing; crisis management (think Breeders’ Cup Pick 6 scandal); and medication issues.
Maryland racing has benefited from the NTRA’s efforts, and it’s only right that the state’s owners and trainers should give the NTRA their financial support.
Want to name a Thoroughbred foal—and help disadvantaged children living in Washington, D.C.’s inner city?
Two Virginia-based organizations, the Thoroughbred Network Inc. and Career Blazer Foundation, are working with Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) field director Mark Deane on a project “dedicated to expanding the children’s horizons and awareness of life outside the city environment, specifically by introducing the children to the traditions and open space of the horse farms in the surrounding states.”
Tickets are being sold, at $2 apiece, allowing participants to submit a name for a colt by Black Tie Affair (Ire) out of Lamina Blue, by Electric Blue. The winning name will be selected by a panel of judges and announced at the final session of the Washington International Horse Show on October 28. Deadline for entry is October 25. To join in this worthwhile cause, call the VTA at (540) 347-4313.
