Dayton hosts round table event for judges and officials

Dayton, OH — It was an early morning workout on Saturday (Oct. 27) for the 20-plus presiding judges, associate judges, and horsemen when starter Mike Woebkenberg, along with OHHA’s Susan Schroeder, presented the continuing education judges class on various issues in Ohio harness racing.

The group watched one video that took the original judges more than 20 minutes to make their call. OHHA photo.

The main concerns were about presenting a safe, timely, and enjoyable product to the public and working closer with fair officials to help them improve their presentation of the racing program.

While a lot of the draws for the fair races are electronic nowadays, a discussion was held as to perhaps posting the draw on Facebook Live to show the public how and when it is done.

Presiding judge Tony Brigano again wrote his proposal that would eliminate the need to submit a veterinarian-signed Lasix slip every race day and instead have the horse placed on a “Lasix list” and noted at the time of entry. This method is in use in numerous states that allow Lasix. It would increase trainer responsibility to make sure the horse receives the Lasix.

Those in attendance all agreed it would be a good proposal to submit for consideration.

The problem of late driver changes at the 67 county fairs is a concern as the betting public is sometimes not aware of any last-minute changes until the post parade and numerous ideas were put forth including listing several driver choices so officials can assign drivers further ahead of time.

An extended talk was held on track safety as numerous issues with some fair track’s racing surfaces was put in question. Since some do not use their track but for one week during the year the quality of the surface leaves much to be desired. Ideas were put back and forth including several that had a knowledgeable panel inspect the track two weeks prior to the actual racing dates so as to make suggestions on how to improve it and then see that it gets done.

The issue of using rubber cones as replacement for pylons are a problem at some of the fairs since they can be knocked into the paths of trailing horses and cause an accident. It was recommended that it might be better not to have any pylons at all then to use the cumbersome cones which are not always placed or measured out correctly.

While infield parking is a priority at most fairs it was hoped that there could be a better coordination with fair officials for a height limit to the vehicles so the fans could have a better view of the entire race.

A good point was made by one driver/trainer about some of the placement of the amusements that were seen by a green horse for the first time. Could they be relocated to a different spot further away from the track?

Everyone was in agreement as to putting out a timely, orderly race program as they want to work with the horsemen, announcers, and the mutual men to present a consistently good product to the public and give them a solid day’s worth of entertainment.

Presiding judge Mike Hall brought along a few DVDs with examples of “tough calls” for the judges to watch and then polled the group as to how they saw the infraction. It was a good exchange of opinions and ideas and showed how not every problem has the same set of eyes on it.

What started out as Mike Woebkenberg’s small gathering has evolved into a very informative and productive meeting and a good forum for all to express their opinions and concerns.

And the key words are open communication.

Thanks to Dayton Raceway and Director Mark Loewe for hosting the now-yearly event.

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