2008 Minutes

VIRGINIA RACING COMMISSION

Minutes Of The Commission Meeting

October 15, 2008

HORSEMEN’S BUILDING
COLONIAL DOWNS
10700 HORSEMEN’S ROAD
NEW KENT, VA

In Attendance
Commission Members:
Peter C. Burnett, Chairman
Mark Brown, Vice Chairman
William H. (Trip) Ferguson
I. Clinton Miller
David C. Reynolds

Commission Staff:
Victor I. Harrison, Executive Secretary
David S. Lermond, Jr., Deputy Executive Secretary
Kimberly M. Carter, Office Administrator
Joseph M. Roney, Director of Operations & Enforcement

Attorney General’s Office:
Amy K. Dilworth
________________________

At 9:30 a.m., Chairman Burnett called the regular monthly meeting of the Commission to order.

The minutes of the September 17, 2008 meeting were approved.

During Commissioners Comments, Vice Chairman Brown expressed congrats to Iain Woolnough and his crew for last Saturday night’s race. A horse from up north called, “Enough Talk” came down and trotted the fastest trotting mile in history. Colonial Down received a lot of positive publicity.
Iain Woolnough commented, “We are really proud of that.”
Vic Harrison added,, with respect to the races put together by the Racing Secretary, “thus far I’ve seen more blanket finishes, more horses right across the finish line during this meet than I have, I think, in any other that I’ve witnessed, and I’ve witnessed a few of them. Kudos to him and the job he’s done.”

Commissioner Reynolds, Chairman of the Marketing and Promotion Committee, introduced Julie McCracken of CRT/tanaka who provided an update on the recent marketing activities to date and the actions of the Ambassadors. Chairman Burnett commented that fifty copies of the Educational piece, “Project Hoofbeat” teaching booklets were delivered to Loudoun County Elementary Schools

Commissioner Reynolds spoke about a recent, very enjoyable night spent at the race track. He added that the remaining $110,000 remaining in the marketing fund is to be spread out over the months through June, 2009.

Acting on the recommendation from Mr. Harrison, the Commission approved Colonial Downs’ November simulcast schedule including the additions of: the Fair Grounds, Sam Houston, Turfway Park, Dover Downs, The Meadowlands, and perhaps Rosecroft Raceway.

Dawn Martin with the Auditor of Public Accounts gave a brief review of the findings for the year end July 30, 2008. During the audit, it was determined that there weren’t any instances of noncompliance that are required to be reported.

Colonial Downs’ representatives, President Ian Stewart and Iain Woolnough, General Manager of Colonial Downs, gave an update on the harness meet. Although the overall wagering is down about 4%, it is not that bad relative to the rest of the country.

There was a brief discussion of a planned Halloween meeting with Patrick Gottschalk, Secretary of the VA Department of Commerce and Trade.

Ian Stewart gave an update on a project that they are doing in relation to the account wagering centers. The betting terminals are enhanced laptop PC’s with a touch screen, in a number of private clubs in various parts of the state allowing people to wager on their EZ Horseplay accounts. The track would like to automate a number of functions. The functions consist of: the sign-up function, the ability to deposit cash into your account, the ability to take withdrawals from your account and the ability to generate a program that you can wager on. It’s somewhat similar to an ATM machine.

There was a discussion on the state of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Fund. Glen Petty expressed his concern as to why the broke Breeders’ Fund is not on the agenda and strongly suggested that it be addressed.

The next meeting was set for Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

There being no further business, the monthly meeting was adjourned at 11:11 a.m.