The NMRC met in public session on April 15, 2009.

The following was discussed and acted upon:

There was a discussion of race days for 2010.  The Commission requested that the tracks and Horsemen produce suggestions for their 2010 dates by June 1, 2009.

The May 20, 2009 NMRC meeting was originally scheduled to be held in the NMRC offices in Albuquerque, but will be held at Sunray Park, Farmington, NM instead.  The public session will take place at 9:30 AM at Sunray Park.

The NMRC approved the following race days for the DAA despite objections from the Horsemen.  The final schedule for running the State Fair meet and the DAA meet for 2009 is:

August 8,9,10,11, 14,15,16,17,18, 21,22,23,24,25,28,29,30,31,  (18days)

September 4,5,6,7    (4 days)

September 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27   (NMSF)  (17 days)

October 2,3,4,5,6,9,10,11,12,13,16,17,18,19,20,23,24,25,26,27   (20 days)

Total of 59 days of racing.

(Please note that the Lineage Races will be held very early in August this year.  Plan your nominations/pre entries accordingly.  The DAA final condition book and stall app will be out very shortly.)

The NMHA objected to the above schedule on several grounds: First, the meet calls for five consecutive days of racing (Friday, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues) with two days off for virtually all weeks of racing (The State Fair would run 17 days straight.)  The NMHA argued for 4 days of racing per week with 3 days off, as has been practiced at NM tracks in the past. The NMHA requested that the meet be run from mid August to mid November as was done in 2008.

Second, the NMHA argued that compressing 59 days of racing into such a short amount of time would stress the horses and limit the number of starts that a horse could make.

Thirdly, we objected to racing the 5 days per week because of the possible precedent setting nature of the schedule: we are concerned that other NM tracks will attempt to do the same thing with their future race meet schedules. 

Finally we argued that the meet as scheduled would bypass the NMRC’s own goals to have 2 tracks running against each other at the same time.  This race meet as scheduled would not overlap the majority of the ZIA meet. 

The NMRC decision was split with Commissioners Sanchez and Delgado voting for the DAA schedule. Commissioners Willis and Fowler voted against the schedule.  Chairman Rael broke the tie in favor of the DAA.

The Toe Grab Rule on Racing QH is suspended. The NMRC decided to suspend the rule on the height of the front toe grabs for the racing QH.  Effective April 15, 2009 the height of the front toe grabs on racing QHs is not limited.  Contact the NMRC at 505.222.0702 for more information.  We have requested a written notification of the action by the NMRC.  Once received notice will be sent out. The rule for Tbs continues to apply.  The max toe grab height (front) for a TB remains at 2mm as per rule.

Over objection by the NMHA, the NMRC voted to allow ZIA Park to run 9 races on its four Friday cards for the upcoming 2009 race meet.  The NMHA requested that the Fridays be run with an 11 race schedule in accordance with all other race days at ZIA Park. We urged that running 11 races would further the NMRC goals of having more races available for our horses to run in.

The groundbreaking for the new track at Raton will be rescheduled.  Once the new date is determined we will let the Horsemen know.

The NMRC approved “live streaming” of Sunland Park QH races on the AQHA website.  Go to AQHA.com for more information.  You will be able to watch the QH races on your computer via internet. There is no betting on the races streamed live at the AQHA.com website.

The NMRC will hold a medication committee meeting on May 5 at the NMRC offices in Albuquerque. The time is yet to be determined.  We will send out a notice when the time of the meeting is determined.  Scheduled for discussion are anabolic steroids, clenbuterol and milkshake testing.

Please consult with your vet about the restriction on the use of anabolic steroids in the racing horse.  The penalty phase for testing for equipoise, winstrol, testosterone and nandrolone will go into effect on May 31, 2009.  A violation of the rule will be a class 3 violation which calls for a 6 month suspension, loss of purse and a $1,500.00 fine at the minimum.  Please talk to your vet before he or she administers any medications to your horses.

As always if you have any questions or comments regarding this note or any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to call me at 505.266.7056 (office) or 505.205.6650 (cell).  You can reach us on the net at www.newmexicohorsemen.com where you can go to our blog (blog.newmexicohorsemen.com) for the latest information from the NMHA.  If you wish to send us an e-mail, send it to kirsten.nmha@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Pat Bingham