The Commission to Study the Promotion, Expansion and Regulation of the Harness Racing Industry held their first meeting today at the State House in Augusta. For the most part, the commission spent most of the day prioritizing the items to examine. The commission was in agreement that the integrity of the sport needs to be improved.
One of the major issues discussed was the policies and procedures of the drug testing policy. Items discussed included security procedures currently in place compared with other jurisdictions; who and why certain horses are tested, and suspensions for positive tests
The other major issue discussed had to do with racing officials. Major concerns in this area had to do with how the judges are hired, educated and what tools they have available to them to properly do their job.
The commission will meet two industry experts at the following meetings. The first one is Scott Waterman, DVM, who is the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Among other topics, Dr. Waterman will discuss tests that are available and the policies that he recomments. The other expert is T.C. Lane who is the director of Officials for the USTA.
The commission has to submit their final report to the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry by December 5, 2007.

Across the hall, another commission also met for the first time. The Committee to Review the Taxation of Slot Machines met to explore ways to simplify the current taxing procedure for the Bangor racino.

Members heard from the gambling control board and a Penn National representative. Committee members spend most of the time educating themselves on the terminology used within the taxation structure and the gambling industry.
John Johnson, CEO of Penn National, called the current taxing structure "riduculous" and "horribly flawed". Penn National would like to see changes that would not change the tax that they are paying the state, but change the methodology behind the structure. The current structure elevates the revenues to the public to suggest that the money wagered at Hollywood Slots is much greater that actual revenues. The elevated revenues leads the public that there is more money available to tax and makes them a "easy target" when state budget shortfalls exist.

We will keep our eyes on these meetings over the next two months and try to keep you informed. A trip to Augusta may be interesting to all horsemen as these issues are concerning your well being in the sport. Just by sitting in and listening you will be educating yourself on some of the issues and how Augusta works, but also, you will be supporting your industry. Committee members will look positively on the sport if they see horsemen taking an interest in what is discussed in Augusta.