State Incentive Programs Discussed in OwnerView Webinar

The ninth installment in the 2024 OwnerView webinar series was held Nov. 5 and discussed the similarities and differences among varying state incentive programs. The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. The panel was sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association, and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link, which were answered at the end of the webinar. The panel consisted of Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association Inc., the Maryland Million Ltd., and the Maryland Horse Foundation; Roger Heitzmann, secretary and executive director of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association; Steve Koch, the associate vice president of operations for the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association (FTBOA); Chauncey Morris, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders; and Najja Thompson, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB). Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, was the moderator. The webinar began with a question concerning the downward trend of foal crops over the years. Falter asked the panel what their best practices are to reverse these negative trends. "To see what's happening with the national foal crop is very worrisome for all of us. So, I think that what Maryland has tried, and we continue to try to offer different kinds of incentives and try to front load money to breeders as their horses make it to the track." Goodall said. "We have a substantial group of people who take advantage of the commercial market in Maryland, but we really want to encourage people to breed to race." The main discussion covered each panelist's state incentive program. Speaking about one of Kentucky's incentive programs, Morris said, "Here in Kentucky we have a supplemental purse structure called the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund that was started in 1978. It is for horses that are by Kentucky stallions that stood the stallion season here in Kentucky and [were] foaled in Kentucky. They can race for extra purses." Thompson said, "We try to incentivize and encourage our New York-breds to also run in open company, and I think it's important as we develop our program. I think that, as everybody has mentioned, that of course we do have our restricted race program, but we want to see our horses develop and compete on the biggest and highest stages." Koch commented that Florida has been going through a lot of advancements. House Bill 7073 released more than $33.5 million per year on an ongoing basis and will enable Florida to almost double its incentive programs. Discussing Louisiana's breeder incentive program, which pays for first, second, and third place finishes for Louisiana-bred horses anywhere in the world, Heitzmann said, "Those breeders awards, if they're a stakes race, they're paid just like a stake in the state. If they're just a regular race, an overnight race, they're paid in the group of 'all' that we put money aside to pay that breeders award." Panelists also addressed other issues, including how to grow the sport and attract new owners and breeders. The replay of Tuesday's Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available online. The final 2024 Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panel, "Veterinary: Common Ailments requiring time off (inserting a screw, bone bruising, bucked shins, typing up," is scheduled for December 10 at 2 p.m. ET. The full schedule can be found here. There is no registration fee for the 2024 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.