Dear Members,

This is my first message as your MSBOA President.  We just had a very successful winter meeting.  Tables were filled.  Many came to hear the guest speaker, Mr. Trond Smedshammer, who is one of the leading trainers in the world.  His information and down to earth answers  to questions on training were well received by everyone!  Our Scholarship Auction raised  $5,270 and the Stallion Auction saw pledges of $8,500.  The Harness Raffle raised $1,155 and the 50/50 raised $343.  Thanks for your participation. 

I want to begin by thanking Diann Perkins for six years of outstanding  service.  Unless you are close to the day-to-day work of the MSBOA, it is impossible to imagine all that Diann has done for us.  She has been on the job more that forty hours a week-- for the last six years.  All of this has been for no pay and no travel reimbursement.  We now do much of the work of running the Maine Sire Stakes  program except  for handling purse monies and collecting stakes and stallion payments.  Our contract with the race commission office requires us to do a long list of jobs supported by approved budget summaries.  Here is a sample of contracted duties

  Notify members of deadlines
  Keep track of points and standings of stallions, mares, drivers, owners, trainers
  Advertise all sire stake legs and finals
  Publish quarterly newsletters
  Contribute information to appropriate web sites
  Create the stallion directory
  Give Press Releases and information to the media and tracks
  Advertise the stakes program
  Create and distribute calendars and poster
  Handle all awards and trophies

Diann has handled many of these things herself plus many more and has faithfully attended hundreds of legislative hearings on our behalf.

This year we are giving Diann a bit of a break but she will continue to do many of the tasks, which she does so well.  I also want to thank Kim Ireland and Brenda Deojay who are leaving the Board.  These two could always be depended on for good ideas, good judgment, and willingness to work. 

The MSBOA enters 2008 in the midst of change.  We recently testified to prevent the Harness Racing  Commission from being consolidated under the Gambling Control Board in Public Safety.  If this were approved, Henry Jackson, Executive Director of the Harness Racing Commission  would lose his job.  We testified against consolidating the Department of Agriculture with several other departments and giving up our Commissioner of Agriculture.  We testified in favor of a proposal to more accurately represent  the taxes collected from Penn National.  We are cooperating more closely with the MHHA and giving up nearly 3% of our purse money to fund their new office and Executive Director. 

Representative Don Marean has a bill being readied  (LD 2184), which will allow out of competition testing.  We supported this bill.  A plan is being developed to protect industries monies  and putting the monies into a dedicated fund, which will help fund the Maine Harness Racing Commission ($200,000-$300,000 a year).  This is a trade-off for greater protection of our funds.  Other important changes are being discussed  to make the racing industry more independent of government control.  We also supported other recommendations from the Racing Study Committee, which will go to the Maine Harness Racing Commission for action.

I believe your MSBOA Board must take a very serious look at any new ideas to take money from our purses.  (Be ready to come to Augusta if the Appropriations Committee tries to raid our money to pay for government overspending  and budget shortfall!)  The slots revenues are divided among all partners in the race industry.  The State Government is already getting 12.9% if revenues, plus 3% for "administrative costs."  The states share is already greater than any one of the groups that actually run harness racing.  Slots revenue is expanding and some short-sighted folks in Augusta seem to want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. 

As new slots revenue arrives from the expanded Hollywood Slots, we will also have more horses and we expect a significant increase in dashes.  More dashes will likely keep purses close to 2007 levels.  Any further cuts in purses are likely to discourage program growth. 

We will work hard to cooperate with others in the industry and welcome input from our members.  Call your directors.

I am excited about the great group of people now on our MSBOA Board of Directors.  These are folks who love our industry and our Sire Stakes Program and are willing to give their time with no reward.  I hope you will support and encourage them and share your ideas.
 

Sincerely,

MIchael D. Andrew
MSBOA President