NMHA Vice President Susan Vescovo, who attended the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association convention alongside executive director Pat Bingham (July 17-20), said she found the entirety of the convention to be very interesting and eye opening. Of all the discussions she attended, she found the following to be the most relevant and important for New Mexico:

Welfare and safety Forum; Planning Committee; Wagering Forum: the HBPA feels model rules need to instigated, especially with advance deposit wagering (ADW), in order to assure that profits from off track wagering are distributed fairly and correctly.

Medication Committee: Three respected official, DRs Toban, Soma, and Maylan, sat on the medication panel. Discrepancies in testing were discussed, such as the use of urine to test for illegal substances, as opposed to blood, which is easier to test and more accurate, though requires a more expensive machine. Other discussion included metabolic bone disease, the correct level for which to test for a specific drug, and appropriate testing levels of testosterone. The overall consensus was that uniform and model rules need to be instated, alongside with practical regulations.

Susan feels that giant strides are being made to solidify the racing industry, especially in the medication field, and that the officials and panel members showed high levels of competency and dedication.