by Paul Ramlow, USTA Internet News Manager

Columbus, OH — The 43rd annual meeting of the North American Harness Racing Secretaries was held last week at the Embassy Suites Resort in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

The meeting, in which the Racing Secretaries discussed the 2011 stakes schedule, opened on Thursday morning, Dec. 2, and concluded on Saturday, Dec. 4.

The stakes scheduling went extremely well, according to Carol Cramer, who produces the annual stakes guide for the USTA. She said that most of the Racing Secretaries were in attendance, along with representatives for the Sire Stake programs from Canada, New York, Kentucky and Maryland.

The 2011 USTA rule change proposals were read and discussed at the Friday morning session, which was conducted by USTA Director Ken Marshall, with USTA President Phil Langley also in attendance.

The meeting concluded with a luncheon on Saturday.

Many changes, revisions and new races will be forthcoming prior to the mid-January release of the USTA Stakes Guide.

There was no election of officers held and the 2011 slate for the organization remains as follows: Kevin Mack, Hoosier Park, President; Connie Hochstetler, The Red Mile, Vice-President; and Sharon Herrmann, Secretary.