Deerfield Beach, FL — The annual North American Harness Racing Secretaries meeting convened Thursday morning (Dec. 5) in Deerfield Beach, Fla., at the Embassy Suites Hotel.

The meeting is an active and valuable discussion for the racing secretaries to work around the room to each track represented and announce their prospective 2020 stakes schedules. Friday morning when they reconvene at 9 a.m. they will go over any conflicts, changes or more additions to the schedule.

Also on Friday morning the racing secretaries will go over and discuss the 2020 USTA submitted rule changes and make their suggestions and/or changes known on each individual rule submitted.

Saturday morning there will be a brief final gathering of the racing secretaries to go over the dates one last time and announce any final changes, if they are known at that time, to the 2020 racing schedule.

The new slate of officers for the 2020 and 2021 racing seasons will be Tom Wright, Delaware County Fair, president; Nick Salvi, The Meadowlands, vice president; and Sharron Herrmann, longtime secretary/treasurer of the group, who was returned to those roles.

The annual Grand Circuit meeting for the 2020 racing season will also commence Friday afternoon in the same meeting room with John Campbell, president, calling the meeting to order with all stewards in attendance. They will go over the treasurer and publicity reports and discuss the awards presentations to the Grand Circuit champions at the annual Dan Patch Awards in Florida.

The 2020 Grand Circuit dates will be announced following the final release of the racing dates sometime in late January.