Freehold, NJ — United States Trotting Association District 12 directors and members came, saw, and considered 23 rule changes proposals at their 2019 annual meeting on Friday (Oct. 18), and by the end of the session, balance ruled the day. The group recommended the acceptance of 11 submissions, suggested the rejection of 11 more, and tabled another – a comprehensive amendment of current whipping rules – for more detailed examination at the USTA full board of directors meeting in March of next year.

The USTA District 12 meeting took place at Freehold Raceway Friday (Oct. 18.).

The meeting, led by directors Jeff Gregory and John Brennan (who was re-elected as the district’s chairman), got off to a lively start when the first rule change item, one that would prohibit heat racing, led to much discussion and a narrow vote that found the majority in agreement with the proposal. Later on in the meeting, a proposal concerning the mandatory remeasurement of racing ovals similarly provoked carefully considered positions on both sides of the argument. In the end, this item, too, was recommended for acceptance.

District directors Jacquie Ingrassia and Chris McErlean joined Gregory and Brennan at the head table. Among those in attendance were district members Jason Settlemoir, the CEO of the Meadowlands Racetrack and himself a USTA director in District 8; Tom Charters, former CEO of the Hambletonian Society and newly-elected member of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame; Al Ochsner, Executive Administrator of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, and Katie Eick, a sophomore at Rutgers University and a USTA youth delegate. Freehold Raceway Director of Racing, Karen Fagliarone, hosted and participated in the meeting, then provided lunch in the track’s Renaissance Room to those in attendance.

The district’s voting results are as follows:

Proposal #1 (Elimination of heat racing) ACCEPT
Proposal #2 (Extended pari-mutuel meets) ACCEPT
Proposal #3 (Prohibit gene doping) ACCEPT
Proposal #4 (Pylon requirements) REJECT
Proposal #5 (Extended saddle pads) REJECT
Proposal #6 (Racetrack maintenance) REJECT
Proposal #7 (Jail period for claimed horses) REJECT
Proposal #8 (Interfered horses purse money) REJECT
Proposal #9 (Weighted post position draw) REJECT
Proposal #10 (Distinguishable starting point) REJECT
Proposal #11 (Post-July 1 qualifiers) ACCEPT
Proposal #12 (Standards for fair start pole) REJECT
Proposal #13 (Amateur driver eligibility) REJECT
Proposal #14 (Amateur driver eligibility) REJECT
Proposal #15 (Trainer’s license minimums) ACCEPT
Proposal #16 (Driving colors – “P” license) ACCEPT
Proposal #17 (Whip regulations) TABLED
Proposal #18 (Sex change reporting requirement) ACCEPT
Proposal #19 (Remeasure track circumferences) ACCEPT
Proposal #20 (Recording ownership percentage) ACCEPT
Proposal #21 (Multiple embryo transfers/year) REJECT
Proposal #22 (Definition of Standardbred) ACCEPT
Proposal #23 (Non-Standardbred definition) ACCEPT