December 18, 2009

The second meeting of the Turfway Park Horsemen’s Committee for the 2009 Holiday race meeting was held on Friday, December 18, 2009.

Chip Bach, Director of Operations; Cliff Brown, Plant Engineer, Jeff Chapman, Track Superintendent; and Rick Leigh, Director of Racing attended representing Turfway Park.

Bill Connelly, Dave England, Wayne Mogge, Jeff Greenhill, and Marty Maline attended representing the KHBPA horsemen’s committee.

1.) LIGHTS ON THE BACKSTRETCH-Cliff Brown explained that upon attempting to correct the lights issue near in the vicinity of the receiving barn they became aware that it was actually a wire problem. He is attempting to pull the wire through the conduit underground but so far has been unsuccessful. It may require trenching the area to access the wires. At the present time, he has corrected the problem on a temporary basis. The lights in the parking area that occasionally are not working is due to a timer issue and requires overriding the timer to assure that the lights are on. In response to a question by Dave England regarding the speaker system, Cliff Brown suggested that they will see if it is attributable to the amplifier.

2.) OUTRIDERS-The issue still exists. Horsemen have requested that one outrider be positioned on the backstretch of the racetrack to address problems that occur near that gap. Chip explained that the outriders are of the opinion that when there is a loose horse they work better in tandem. The horsemen’s committee questioned this logic. Chip suggested that he will contact other racetracks to see what protocol they follow.

3.) PURSE STATUS-After a discussion with Cliff Reed, Chief Financial Officer, the previous morning it appears that the December race meeting will end in the vicinity of $200,000 overpaid in purses. He is of the opinion that with the limited days in January and February, hopefully, that can be eliminated. While the reduced race meeting is uncharted waters, so to speak, he is hesitant to suggest that purses will be increased any time soon or that extra days can be added. He did mention that possibly if entries remain strong and that is reflected in more money being wagered perhaps more races can be added on the days that we are racing.

4.) HAY TRUCKS ON THE HORSE PATH-Feed trucks or horse vans maneuvering on the horse path are causing deep ruts which may be dangerous to horses. In an effort to alleviate the problem, Chip suggested that a strongly worded letter will be composed explaining that any van or feed truck found to stray onto the horse path without alerting the guard shack may have their privileges to travel on the backstretch revoked.

5.) ELIMINATING TRAINING ON MONDAYS-The horsemen’s committee agreed to poll horsemen at Turfway Park to determine if it is acceptable not to train on Mondays when the race meeting reduces to three days in January and February. Horsemen committee members emphasized that this is a temporary solution and should not be contemplated as a permanent alternative.

6.) CO 2 TESTING-On occasion, the racing commission veterinarians are cutting it too close and taking blood from horses just as they are ready to leave the barn to race. Rick Leigh expressed the opinion that it is the purview of the stewards to rectify this problem and make sure the veterinarians are taking blood samples within a reasonable amount of time.

7.) POTENTIAL SNOW EMERGENCY-Chip explained that they are well prepared to deal with the inclement weather. Salt has been distributed to the barns and the company responsible for salting and scraping the barn area is prepared. Chip also mentioned additional salt is available to horsemen at the salt pile.

8.) WATER LINE PROJECT-Bill Connelly commented that the water line problem has been satisfactorily corrected. However, the pile of debris left behind is creating a hazard. Cliff Brown assured that the issue will be addressed promptly.

9.) RACING SURFACE-Horsemen have commented that kickback and balling up in the horses feet continue to be significant issues. Jeff commented that they are attempting to address the issues with the cultivator which appeared to work at Woodbine in Canada. In addition, they are in constant communication with the polytrack experts in an effort to alleviate the two issues. He expressed the opinion that watering the track is not a solution especially with temperatures below 32 degrees. In addition, the weight of the water tracks also creates additional problems, but if water turns out to be the only solution, Jeff will contact Keeneland since they have trucks better suited to distribute the weight on the track.

Respectfully submitted,

Marty Maline
Executive Director, KHBPA