Columbus, OH – A total of 21 rule and bylaw change proposals have been submitted to the U.S. Trotting Association and will be voted upon by the USTA Directors in March at the 2023 annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

The 2023 proposed rule changes may be found here.

Prior to the final decision on which rules will be adopted, amended or rejected, they are discussed at each of the USTA’s 12 district meetings. USTA members in attendance at each district meeting will review and vote to provide a recommendation for each proposal; those recommendations will be submitted to the full Board of Directors at the annual meeting where the final decisions on rule change proposals will be made.

All USTA members are asked to consider the proposed rule changes and encouraged to attend their local district meeting to provide input. Members who are unable to attend their local meeting are urged to contact their local directors prior to the meeting date.

The names and contact information for directors in each district may be found online via this link. For a schedule of district meetings, click here.

The 21 rule change and bylaw proposals cover a wide range of issues that include several racing rules involving the standardization of warmup and race saddle pads, fencing for infield ponds, no contest races, restrictions on 15-year-old racing, and purse money distribution.

Other proposals consider topics such as the monthly submission of stallion breeding dates, changing the limit of number of mares bred to a stallion to live foals registered, the use of frozen semen following the death or castration of a stallion, amateur driver’s license categories, and the creation of a new membership type for participants of the Standardbred Incentive Program (SIP).

Submissions came USTA members, racing officials and directors from Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.