Minutes of the Meeting Held

October 13, 2009

The Delaware Harness Racing Commission met for a meeting at Harrington Raceway

Harrington, Delaware at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

Commission Members Present

Beth Steele, Chairman	George P. Staats, Commissioner
Robert B. Brown, Commissioner	Larry Talley, Commissioner

Others Present

Andrew Kerber, Deputy Attorney General	Brian Manges, Chief Investigator
Charles Lockhart, VP of Horse Racing, D. Downs	Scott Egger, Presiding Judge
Salvatore Di Mario, Executive Director, DSOA	Hugh Gallagher, Administrator
Judy Davis-Wilson, DSBF	Karen F Craft, Harrington Raceway
Emily Galloway, DHRC Vet	Gene Lankford, Del Pointe
Annie Renzetti, DHRC Vet	Patrick Carter, DE Dept of Finance
Betty Ann Davis, DHRC Personnel	Donna Dowd-Krol, DHRC Personnel

Call to Order/Welcome	Chairman Steele called the public session of the meeting to order at 10:28 a.m. and welcomed those in attendance.
Approval of Minutes Old Business New Business REPORTS: Chief Veterinarian Administrator Veterinarian Dr. Jay Baldwin	Commissioner Brown moved to approve the September 8, 2009 DHRC Minutes as written. Commissioner Staats seconded. The motion passed unanimously. None to report Welcome to Larry Talley – new Commissioner- Larry gave some personal comments about himself . Patt Wagner – new Commissioner as well – was not in attendance, she had a schedule conflict. Public Hearing for Rule Changes: No Court Reporter available so the hearing will be tabled and re-scheduled for the November Commission Meeting. Post Race Urine Collection: Dr. Renzetti stated that post race urine collection is handled now at Harrington within the containment area. Horses go immediately to the containment area with the groom, where urine and blood are collected. At Dover, there is not enough space in the containment area to accommodate this, so horse’s are taken back to their own race stall area to be washed, then return to the containment area for blood and urine collection. Harrington has a more ideal and much larger containment area. The veterinarians are supportive of changing Dover back to mirror the Harrington containment area procedure. Sal Di Mario stated the question was raised at a DSOA board meeting on why the containment procedure is not consistent at both tracks. Di Mario claims he does not want the grooms or the attendee of the horse carrying equipment to the containment area. He states it is better for the horseman to have the horse brought back to his assigned stall as opposed to going to the containment area. Commissioner Brown asked if taking the horse back to the assigned stall affects the testing. Di Mario stated no, the groom stays with the horse all of the time. Dr. Emily Galloway stated no one has ever complained to her how the containment area is set up and finds it odd there is a problem now. She offered the containment area such as Harrington is easier to control. Dr Annie Renzetti suggested the Commission have a couple of buckets in the containment area for the winners of each race to use. Chairman Steele asked how long the protocol for the containment area has been in effect at Harrington Raceway. Karen Craft stated the Harrington procedure has been in effect since the paddock opened. Presiding Judge Egger offered there is a commission rule that the winning horse and any special tests should be taken to the designated testing area. That is where the horse should be taken and nowhere else. Chairman Steele stated the testing procedure should follow the rule regarding same. Racing Administrator Hugh Gallagher stated that according to the rule the horse to be tested should be taken directly to the test barn and does not leave there until the samples are procured. Attorney Andrew Kerber stated the commission is in compliance with the testing rule at this time and given the physical layout at Dover, which Dr Renzetti is happy with, the procedure of the testing area should be followed. Commissioner Brown inquired if there was another way to obtain the blood and urine samples. Dr. Renzetti stated NO. Commissioner Staats stated he felt there should be one groom with each horse. At the present time grooms handle too many horses per night which leave some horses unattended. Chairman Steele stated things will stay the way they are now and the Commission will provide buckets, water and other amenities for the horsemen in the containment area to use during the testing period. Approval of employees for the upcoming Dover Downs Meet – Administrator Hugh Gallagher went over the list of employees available to work the 6 day a week meet at Dover. He has approval from Human Resources at the Department of Agriculture to fill the open position vacated by Louise Kinsey. Also at this time, the paralegal JoAnn Price is absent and the length of her absence is unknown at this point. Mr. Gallagher pointed out that since we are covering the position of JoAnn Price the Licensing Department is dangerously thin at this point. Commissioner Brown made a motion to accept all of the employees discussed for employment at Dover Downs 2009-2010 Meet which was seconded by Chairman Steele and approved by the Commission. Commissioner Brown introduced Patrick Carter from the Delaware Division of Revenue. Mr. Carter is requesting the application for a DHRC license be revised to reflect any tax the applicant would owe to the State of Delaware. He stated the Department of Finance wants to tighten up the compliance of financial responsibility for purse money paid in Delaware. Commissioner Brown obtained a list of the purse money paid out and only approximately 50% had filed taxes in Delaware. Mostly large owners and trainers from out of state are not paying taxes in Delaware. Carter suggested a letter of clearance from the Department of Finance. Commissioner Brown suggested federal and state taxes be withheld up front when the checks are issued. Charles Lockhart from Dover Downs stated there is never any tax money withheld on purse checks , but they do issue Form 1099 as required by federal law. Mr. Carter offered any withholding would have to be enacted by the General Assembly. Mr. Lockhart stated if there is a regulation , then the tracks would handle it like they handle the federal withholding with the Form 1099. Attorney Andrew Kerber feels the Commission needs to do more work with Mr. Carter and tracks on this matter. Hugh Gallagher , Patrick Carter and the tracks will get together in the future to discuss how to set up a procedure for the state to collect tax money. No futher action taken by the Commission at this time. Dr. A. Renzetti stated nothing to report at this time, things are going well. Hugh Gallagher reported: Appeals : Skolnick Appeal – Mr. Gallagher ruled to uphold the Judges’ decision in this matter. Mr. Skolnick called yesterday , said he wanted to appear at today’s commission hearing, but has not appeared. Accept the Judge’s book as advertised. Motion to accept this administrator’s ruling by Commissioner Staats, seconded by Commissioner Talley and unanimous approval by the Commission. Waite Appeal – owner Gary Iles – this was a disagreement between trainer and owner – both the owner and trainer were fined by the Judges’. Mr. Iles did not appear at the hearing last week. Iles did not appeal the Judges’ decision but instead paid the fine. Mr. Waite appealed his ruling. Administrator’s final decision is that Mr. Waite did not act improperly. Mr. Waite’s appeal upheld. Commissioner Brown made a motion to accept which was seconded by Commissioner Staats and unanimous approval by the Commission. Dr. Jay Baldwin (DHRC-Bleeder Medication Veterinarian) presented a comprehensive study on Lasix in South Africa , a follow up study on Electrocardiogram from Chester, PA. and a recent ruling by the NJRC. Lasix has been used in the United States for over 40 years with no controlled scientific study to show effectiveness. Not used in other countries except on a limited basis in Canada. Lasix is a diuretic which dilutes the urine this could possibly mask the use of other illegal drugs. Study was completed at Vaal Racetrack in South Africa. Study was published in Journal of the AVMA July 2009. Findings were that horses without Lasix were more likely to bleed , while on lasix the severity of bleeding was reduced by 68%. Findings were so dramatic that countries are now expected to reconsider the ban on Lasix (furosemide). A wave of cardiac arrhythmias prompted team from UPenn/New Bolton Ctr to perform pre & post race ECG’s and blood samples. These were done May thru August 2009. Data collected is being analyzed for risk factors associated with cardiac arrhythmias. However, the incidence of heart problems (at Chester) declined during the study and now appears to have increased again….. The NJRC issued regulations on the use of the hyperbaric chamber on 9-2-09. This was in response to the rapidly growing use of the hyperbaric chamber as a form of treatment in the Northeast. Highlights of the regulations : all hyperbaric chambers must be registered with NJRC: facilities & trainers must keep complete records of treatments : said records are to be available to the NJRC at request : all treatments must be performed by or under direct supervision of a NJRC licensed veterinarian: treatment may not be given within 48 hours prior to a horses’ race. Dr. Baldwin noted that this treatment seems to have a positive effect on healing of tissues in the lung and tendon areas. Discussion was held on issues and questions between attendees at the meeting and Dr. Baldwin. Administrator Hugh Gallagher offered to the Commission that Dr. Soma is also working on a study of an EPO antigen. He will research further and present his findings to the Commission. Hugh Gallagher stated he has reason to believe that this drug could be in use in this jurisdiction . Dr. Renzetti inquired, where do we stand on EHV in Dover ? Charles Lockhart – Dover Downs is not requiring EHV at Dover. Dover will be checking for coggins but not EHV. The State Veterinarian is not making it a priority and has informed the Commission of her standing on EHV. Chairman Steele stated since the State Veterinarian is not taking a stand on EHV, the Commission will do the same.
Investigator’s Report Judge’s Report Public Comment Executive Session	Brian Manges, had nothing to report Presiding Judge, Scott Egger had nothing to report No public comment Commission adjourned to Executive Session at 11:50 am by Chairman Steele. Convened at 12:00pm 12:40 pm Executive Session was adjourned, motion by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Chairman Steele and accepted by Commission..