March 17, 2017
Board Members Present: William P. Brewer, Pam Christopherson, Tim Floyd, Mary Lou Griffin, Dana Halvorson, Greg Luce, Debra Pabst, Keith Swagerty (by phone) and Jennifer Webber. Absent: Jim Engstrom, Nina Hagen and Dr. Duane Hopp. Staff present: M. Anne Sweet.
The meeting was called to order at 12:25 p.m. at the WTBOA offices by President Halvorson.
Previous Board Minutes: Minutes from the February 17, 2017, meeting were presented and reviewed. Brewer moved to approve the minutes as presented. Floyd seconded the motion and the minutes were approved.
Amended sections for the minutes of November and December 2016 and January 2017 were presented and reviewed. Brewer moved to approve the amendments as presented. Webber seconded the motion and the amendments were approved.
Finance Committee Report: Treasurer Pabst noted that the Awards Banquet (Saturday, February 25) was very well attended and netted $25,000. The financials reports were in good shape, although it was noted that the December 2016 power bill with Puget Sound Energy had been unusually high, although there was nothing different with the use of the building. However, it was noted that there had also been a rate increase and it had been colder this year than in past years at that same time. The Business & Occupation audit with the Department of Revenue had finally been completed. As a result of the audit, they refunded all but $6,000, which is what they determined we owed, plus they paid us interest on the money they had been holding. Also, the buyer from last year’s WTBOA Sale finally completed payment for the two horses he had purchased through the sale and the consignors have been paid.
Northwest Race Series (NWRS): Chairman Pabst reported that $150,000, including a $21,000 rollover from last year, has been allocated for the 2017 NWRS. The NWRS has about $142,000 for 2017, but there may be additional late nominations and usually the entire amount that has been committed is not paid out.. There is a NWRS-funded CD with RBC Wealth Management that matures in May. At that time the RBC account will be closed out and the funds will be moved to Bank of America. We will communicate with the Bank of America investment people regarding how to best handle those funds. [Note: Thus far, there has been one late nomination in the amount of an additional $3,500 to the 2017 NWRS.]
Sales Committee Report: Chairman Webber reported that the committee would be meeting in April. As of this date, there are three nominations. She expressed some concern regarding the number of potential entries and noted that pinhooking had been down this year. A Canadian with possibly two to three horses to enter has expressed an interest in entering the yearlings in the sale, but had expressed concerns regarding availability of a veterinarian at the border. A veterinarian is only available Monday through Friday until 3:30pm, which would mean that they would need to come down on Friday. Webber was also going to investigate what might be possible in this regard. [Note: As of this typing, 100 yearlings have been entered in the WTBOA Summer Session, with eight more to come that the staff is aware of. Final entries are due by April 28. Mixed Sale entries are due by May 15.]
Publications Report: Sweet reported that the staff is working on the working on the Spring/Champions issue of the magazine, which will also include a Hall of Fame profile on Loto Canada and a people profile on John Parker, among other things.
Later in the meeting Luce reported that he had spoken with Jeff Cota, Managing Editor for the American Farrier Journal. Luce commented on what a great resource the Journal is and had inquired on behalf of the magazine about the possibility of reprinting some of their articles in Washington Thoroughhbred. Cota was agreeable to the idea and offered to do whatever he could to help. Luce passed along Cota’s contact phone numbers to Sweet who will communicate with Cota. It was decided that we would request the article about the shoeing techniques used for American Pharoah for the summer issue of the magazine and the article about correcting foals for the fall issue.
Washington Horse Racing Commission (WHRC)/Emerald Downs: Sweet reported that Dr. Tom Gilliom gave another equine health report, this time focused on Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) and potential problems it could cause, including quarantine of the Emerald Downs barn area, plus bio safety practices that would need to be observed. He emphasized the importance of vigilance and immediate quarantining of EHV-1 positive horses, should this arise.
Dr. Josh Ramsay of WSU reported on the 2016 necropsy findings. He discussed their process, as well as improvements and advancements that have been made in the necropsy process. He noted in particular that a high percentage of the necropsies show that there have been shoulder fractures in three-year-olds who are just coming back after a long lay off.
Annual Awards Banquet: Sweet reported that there were a record 275 attendees and, as noted above, a net profit of $25,00. In addition, $3,000 was raised for the Washington Thoroughbred Foundation. Staff and board members alike have received good comments, and everyone seemed to enjoy the Roaring ’20s theme.
Bylaws Amendments: Two Bylaws amendments were discussed.
Bylaws Article IV, Section 1 – There was discussion, pro and con, regarding limiting out-of-state Board members to just two. The point was made that if we want to go to the Legislature with some action, it might not be perceived well if too many of the Board members were out of state. Others expressed the opinion that it didn’t matter where they live if they want to come and help grow and promote Washington breeding. The examples of Glenn Todd and the Christophersons were cited. Brewer moved to amend the suggested Bylaws change to read: “A majority of the Trustees must be residents of Washington State.” Webber seconded the motion and the motion passed. The final vote will take place at the next Board meeting.
Bylaws Article VI, Section 2 – The proposal is to eliminate the requirement that the 2nd Vice President should organize the Awards Banquet. It was noted that while this implemented to solve a problem and was a good idea, but it isn’t working as intended. The duty of organizing the Annual Membership Meeting will remain in the Bylaws. This Bylaws change as noted was approved.
Following the approval of the amendment to Article VI, Section 2, election for the position 2nd Vice President took place. Engstrom and Swagerty had accepted nominations to run for the position. After voting, Swagerty was elected for the position of 2nd Vice President.
Goals and Initials: Pabst reported on the Washington Broodmare Club that she is working on putting together. She has come to an agreement with John Parker for the broodmare prospect Dance With Effie, who earned $80,000 and has a decent pedigree. Members will be able to join for $500 per year and will commit to participate for five years. She feels that she will need 25 people to make it financially viable. Parker will own the mare, and Pabst will own the resulting foal. Dance With Effie will be bred to Atta Boy Roy. If it the club doesn’t go, Pabst and Parker will have co-bred the mare. The idea is to go to the races with the foal, which will then more likely cost $1,000 per person. Pabst stated that this is not a WTBOA program, but one that she will be running, not with the intent to make money, but to break even and to introduce people to breeding a mare. She has communicated with Vince Bruun at Emerald Downs who is coordinating the Emerald Racing Club this year and she will ask him about pitching the Broodmare Club to the Racing Club people.
Luce requested a list of WTBOA members be circulated to Board members for review in determining members who are breeders versus handicappers and also to try and identify new members who might benefit from mentoring from more experienced members.
Social media was discussed and Brewer and Webber agreed to engage and activate the WTBOA social media, especially through Twitter, which is also set up to automatically appear on Facebook. The WTBOA also has an Instagram account. Sweet will provide Brewer and Webber with the login information.
There was discussion regarding how we might help move Emerald Racing Club people to the next level of involvement through other partnerships and/or solo ownership. Luce volunteered to communicate with Bruun. Floyd and Brewer will assist.
Next Meeting Date: The next meeting was scheduled for Friday, April 14, 2017.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:48 p.m.
April 14, 2017, Meeting Minutes
Pending approval at next meeting
Next Meeting
Friday, May 12, 2017
