Virginia Harness Horseman Association
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
July 1, 2019
The meeting was called to order by president, Scott Woogen at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Those present by phone were: Scott Woogen, Greg Trotto, Betsy Brown, Charles Robbins, Anne McDonald, Wilma Foley, Jan Nofsinger, Randy Jackson, Tyler Shehan, Mike Pearson, Dee Lineweaver and Debbie Warnick. A quorum was declared.
OLD BUSINESS:
Item 1. County Fair Races
A. Races will be held for four days, Aug 28, 29, 30 & 31. There will be eight races per day with an average of $2000 purses. Greg will talk to the VEA about putting up part of the purses.
B. We might need more stalls. Dee will talk to a local person about possibly using his stalls.
C. The fair has hired Clarence as the starter and his wife as the charter. Roger Huston will announce on Wednesday & Thursday but we still need an announcer for Friday & Saturday.
D. Debbie will work with Tom Eshelman to set up a meeting with the fair committee to finalize outstanding items.
Item 2. Race Meet
A. Racing application form and related information will be posted on line this week. Once applications are received the group will review them for approval.
B. There was discussion about the preference for racing. It was moved and seconded that first preference be given to Virginia owned, trained or bred horses. Second preference will be given based on dates. Motion carried unanimously.
C. Continuing the stipend distribution for horses finishing 6th, 7th & 8th was discussed. It was moved and seconded that we continue the $100 stipend payment. Motion carried unanimously.
D. It was suggested that we have races for four year & older Virginia bred horses. After much discussion, it was agreed that Debbie and Dee will investigate how many of these horses are still racing. If there are enough, we will have late closer races for this group.
E. There was discussion about having a vet on site to perform Lasix and emergency services. It was agreed that having the state vet perform these duties is not practical as it conflicts with her duties as the state vet. We will draft a letter to the Virginia Racing Commission outlining our concerns and requesting an independent vet be hired.
F. It was agreed that we need to continue the promotional double jog cart races. It was moved and seconded that we pay $100 to each of the owners that allow their horses to be used and $50 to each of the drivers that participate. Motion carried unanimously.
Item 3. HHR distribution
Scott gave an update on the negotiations of the percentage distribution of the income from the HHR machines that will start in June of 2020. Nothing has been finalized. There was a lot of discussion among the board about how we should proceed. Scott is going to talk at the VRC meeting on July 12th about the status of harness racing in Virginia and the problems we are facing. He encouraged anyone to attend that is available.
NEW BUSINESS:
Item 1. By Laws revisions
Greg Trotto suggested that we need to make some revisions to the by laws that were revised and approved by the VRC last July. It was agreed that Debbie will send out copies to everyone to review the sections pertaining to how board members are elected and whether board members need to be Virginia residents. This will be discussed at the next meeting.
Item 2. Spotsylvania County track
There was discussion about exploring the possibility of a closed car racing track in Spotsylvania County being turned into a harness racing track. It was moved and seconded that Mike Pearson and Greg Trotto continue to follow up with the Spotsylvania County government about this. Motion carried unanimously.
As there was no further business to be discussed, Scott Woogen adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Warnick
Executive Director
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