1999 Annual Report

Table Of Contents

• Commission and Staff
• Year in Review
• Live Racing at Hoosier Park
• Simulcast Wagering by Location
• Distribution of the Wagering Dollar
• State Revenues
• Breakdown of Handle by Breed and Type
• Purses Paid
• Purse Trends
• Purses Earned by Type
• Simulcast Handle - Hoosier Park as Host Track
• Simulcast Handle - Hoosier Park as Receiving Track
• Occupational Licensing
• Equine Drug Testing
• Human Drug Testing
• Standardbred Breed Development Program
• Thoroughbred Breed Development Program
• Blood Gas Analysis Program
• Riverboat Revenue
• 2000 Live Racing Dates

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Indiana Horse Racing Commission

To further assist the Commission with its regulatory responsibilities, the following individuals provided professional or technical service at Hoosier Park during the 1999 racing season.

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Year In Review

February

• The Commission initiates the nations first "@ home" licensing for owners. Applicants for license renewals can complete the licensing process, including receiving their photo I.D. badge, without visiting the licensing office.

March

• Commission Executive Director, Joe Gorajec, is the recipient of the Association of Racing Commissioner's International (RCI) award as 1999 Outstanding Executive Director. The award is presented to Gorajec at the RCI's annual convention in New Orleans.

July

• BJ's Whirlwind zooms by the field in the stretch to capture the sixth annual $150,000 Dan Patch Invitational Pace in a time of 1:50.1.

August

The first ever Little League Harness Racing Camp is held at Hoosier Park. Twenty (20) youngsters ages nine to thirteen, participate in the week long camp. Ellen Taylor, Executive Director of Harness Horse Youth Foundation and Tammy Poore, Hoosier Park's Publicity Director, play an instrumental role in the camp's success.

• Eric Ledford (135 wins) and Joe Anderson (63 wins) capture the driving and training titles, respectively.

September

• September 16th , Ed Martin, Jr. is appointed by Governor O'Bannon to serve a four-year term on the Racing Commission. Martin replaces Robert Ossenberg who had served the Commission with distinction since 1994.

October

• On October 2nd, an all-time record crowd is on hand to witness Forty One Carats win the $300,000 added Indiana Derby. A crowd of 10,063 packs the grandstand and easily breaks the attendance record of 8088 set at the 1998 running of the Indiana Derby.

November

• On November 15th, an application under the name "Indianapolis Downs" submitted for a permit to construct a track in Lawrence. The application is subsequently accepted for filing by the Commission on December 22nd.

December

• In the most dramatic conclusions in the history of the track, jockey Mike Morgan guides home six winners closing night to capture the leading rider title. Morgan begins the final night of racing in fourth place in the jockey standings and finishes with 65 wins. Morgan's title snaps a three-year leading rider streak set by Jon Court. Stanley Roberts wins the training title with 29 victories.
• The first year of "@ home" licensing renewals proves popular with owners racing at Hoosier Park. The Commission mails 574 photo ID badges to owners renewing licenses in 1999.

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Live Racing At Hoosier Park

The statistics above represent attendance and handle at Hoosier Park on live racing only. Thoroughbred handle includes Quarter Horse races. Additional wagering on Hoosier Park's live racing at Indiana OTB's is as follows - Standardbred ($1,763,103), Thoroughbred ($1,883,943) totaling ($3,647,046). Such wagering is included in OTB handle statistics on the next page.

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Simulcast Wagering by Location

Hoosier Park statistics represent all wagering on out-of-state simulcasts (no live racing). The number of simulcast dates at Hoosier Park reflect any dates on which full card simulcasting took place. Special race simulcasting at Hoosier Park is included in the handle, but not in the number of dates. All OTB statistics represent all wagers at each location on both in-state and out-of-state simulcasting.

Admission is not charged at the Indianapolis OTB, the Ft. Wayne OTB and at Hoosier Park for simulcasting. Consequently, attendance is not counted. Attendance at the Merrillville OTB was 85,673.

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Distribution of the Wagering Dollar

The following is a breakdown of the distribution of all monies wagered at Hoosier Park and its satellite facilities:

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State Revenues

The following are the direct state revenues collected in accordance with the pari-mutuel statute IC 4-31:

The direct revenue received by the State of Indiana exceeded the cost of regulation. Indiana Horse Racing Commission expenditures for calendar year 1999 were $1,152,831.86.

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Breakdown of Handle by Breed and Type

The handle above represents all money wagered at all Indiana locations.

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Purses Paid

The following is a breakdown by breed of purses paid at Hoosier Park. Breed Development purse supplements and some horsemen's fees are included. Purse monies from Breed Development bonuses for Indiana sired or Indiana owned are not included. The Kentucky Sales Company's and Hambletonian Society's contributions ($1,258,995) are not included.

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Purse Trends

Source: The United States Trotting Association
Note: The average daily purse distribution is calculated by multiplying the average purse by eleven.

Source: The Jockey Club

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Purses Earned by Type

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Simulcast Handle - Hoosier Park as Host Track

The following is a breakdown, by breed and track, of monies wagered out-of-state on Hoosier Park's live race meets.

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Simulcast Handle - Hoosier Park as Receiving Track

The following is a breakdown, by breed and track, of monies wagered at all in-state locations on simulcasts originating from out of state.

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Occupational Licensing

Pursuant to IC 4-31-6 and 71 IAC 5-1-1, all persons participating in pari-mutuel racing under the jurisdiction of the Commission are required to be licensed. The licensing process is the backbone of the Commission's regulatory efforts. Each prospective licensee is fingerprinted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Indiana State Police provide the Commission with criminal histories of all applicants. The Commission may refuse or deny the application for licensure of any person whose criminal or racing violation record is contrary to the public's best interest.

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Equine Drug Testing

Pari-mutuel horse racing can succeed as a legitimate major league sport only if its races are perceived by the wagering public to be honest, competitive contests, free from manipulation by man or drugs. With the exception of furosemide (lasix) and phenylbutazone (bute), under regulatory restrictions, state law and Commission rules prohibit the presence of any drug in horses racing at a pari-mutuel track. The Commission's drug detection program is one of the nation's most comprehensive and its laboratory one of the most respected in the racing industry.

Truesdail Laboratory in Tustin, California, serves as the primary testing laboratory for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. Truesdail Lab has been a leader in racing chemistry and drug-related research for over 50 years. The following table indicates, by breed, the number of samples analyzed and the number of positive tests reported. In each instance, the offending horse was disqualified and placed last. In accordance with the pari-mutuel statute, all purse money earned is ordered returned and redistributed.

The table below represents a further breakdown, by breed, of the name and types of drugs reported by the laboratory.

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Human Drug Testing

Commission regulations provide that a licensee or an applicant for licensure may be required, if reasonable suspicion exists, to submit to a drug test. Commission rules require a minimum suspension of thirty (30) days for a positive test for an illegal drug.

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Breed Development Programs

Overview
Pursuant to IC 4-31-11, breed development funds have been established to promote the breeding of horses while stimulating the agri-business sector of the state's economy. All breakage and unclaimed winning tickets are statutorily earmarked for breed development. In addition, twenty percent (20%) of the riverboat admission tax allocated to the racing industry is distributed to breed development funds. Standardbred and thoroughbred breed development advisory committees make recommendations to the Commission regarding the distribution of these monies.

Standardbred

The Standardbred Breed Development Program continued with a lucrative program at Hoosier Park in 1999 that included a series of Early/Late Closing events, the GENESIS Series and the Indiana Sires Stakes. The Early/Late Closing events for Indiana sired, owned and bred horses, Indiana sired, owned or bred overnights and the GENESIS series competed for $5,218,102 in purse money. The GENESIS is a series of races for two and three-year-old Indiana owned or sired fillies, provided as an incentive to encourage ownership of fillies in Indiana to improve the quality of broodmares thereby enhancing the value and quality of yearlings produced in Indiana. Most important, the Breed Development program has provided an opportunity for the Indiana Sires Stakes to become one of the industry's premier programs. A total of $1,569,447 was paid in purses in 1999 to the Indiana Sires Stakes for two and three-year-old and aged Indiana sired horses. The success of the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development Program during 1999 has resulted in nearly five million dollars paid in purses at Hoosier Park and premium prices received for Indiana sired yearlings at the Indiana sales. More than 1,940 broodmares were bred to registered Indiana stallions in 1999, assuring continuous growth of our state's Standardbred industry.

The successful county and state fair purse supplement programs were continued with increased purses to the fairs. Newly introduced was the "Fall Classic Racing Program" (better known as Second Chance Racing) which gave Indiana sired horses an opportunity to race after the completion of the Indiana State Fair and Hoosier Park. Owners of Indiana sired horses winning in open company at Hoosier Park received a bonus award. Breeder awards were made to the breeders of the winning Indiana sired horses of the finals and legs of the Sires Stakes and the Indiana sired Early/Late closing events. Through these continued efforts, the Standardbred Breed Development Program is developing and promoting a fast growing and high quality Standardbred industry in the state of Indiana.

Thoroughbred

The mission of the Thoroughbred Development Advisory Committee is to provide incentives and awards to three important elements of the Indiana thoroughbred industry: the owner, the breeder and the stallion owner. The intent of these incentives and awards is to promote investment of capital into the Indiana economy (via thoroughbred breeding, racing and related agri-business) and maximize the positive impact to the state's economy. The incentives reward risk, and the awards reward success on the racetrack…through winning!

The Indiana bred program is funded by the Breed Development Fund established in the Indiana pari-mutuel statute. The Breed Development Fund consists of breakage (the difference in the rounding off of pari-mutuel payoffs), outs (all uncashed tickets), and the riverboat admissions tax allocation. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission receives 65 cents for every admission on an Indiana riverboat. Twenty (20) percent of the 65 cents goes into the Breed Development Fund. The Breed Development Fund is divided equally, fifty (50) percent to the Indiana Thoroughbred Development Fund and fifty (50) percent to the Standardbred Breed Development Fund.

* Outstanding ticket revenue is based on tickets purchased in 1998 which expired in 1999.

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Blood Gas Analysis Program

The purpose of the Blood Gas Analysis (BGA) program is to deter and detect the practice of "bicarbonate loading" or what is known in the racing business as "milkshaking." This practice generally entails giving a horse a large quantity of an alkaline substance, usually baking soda, prior to a race. The alkaline substance neutralizes the lactic acid that is produced during exercise and, as a consequence, delays the onset of fatigue. Research has demonstrated that this practice induces some horses to race faster times. Bicarbonate loading can give a horse an unfair competitive edge and thus compromise the integrity of the sport. This practice is strictly prohibited by the rules of the Commission.

The BGA Program is operated by the Commission in a small laboratory located in the paddock at Hoosier Park. Blood samples of selected horses are analyzed prior to the race on a state-of-the-art blood gas analysis machine. Each sample is analyzed by a certified lab technician under contract through St. John's Hospital in Anderson.

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Riverboat Revenue

The statute permitting riverboat gaming in Indiana earmarks sixty-five (65) cents of the three dollar admission tax to the pari-mutuel horse racing industry. These funds are distributed to various segments of the racing industry in accordance with Commission rule 71 IAC 12-2-15.

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2000 Live Racing Dates

Download the 2000 Racing Calendar