Columbus, OH – The U.S. Trotting Association’s 2026 Board of Directors annual meeting is scheduled for Friday (March 6) through Sunday (March 8) at the Hilton Columbus at Easton Hotel.
Registration begins at 1 p.m. on Friday with the Communications/Marketing Committee meeting first on the agenda beginning at 5 p.m. A welcome reception will follow at 6:30 p.m.
On Friday morning before the meetings, Ty Higgins, the general manager for Ag Net Communications and featured speaker for the Communications/Marketing Committee meeting, will host his weekly podcast from the Hilton. Higgins will be interviewing USTA President Russell Williams, USTA COO TC Lane and USTA Director Dr. John Mossbarger from Midland Acres farm.
Saturday’s (March 7) meeting schedule leads off with the Registration Committee at 8:30 a.m. followed by the General Opening Session starting at 10 a.m.
Once the meeting is called to order by Chairperson Joe Faraldo there will be the introduction of five new directors – Roy Burns (District 1), Tina Schrock (District 5), Michael Carter (District 7), Andrew Demsky (District 8), and Rich Mattei (District 8A) followed by a presentation by USTA President Russell Williams, the election of officers, then reports from USTA Executive Vice President Mike Tanner and Financial Officer Ally Ward.
Next on the General Session agenda are industry updates on the Harness Racing Medication Collaborative by USTA Chairperson Faraldo, the Standardbred Transition Alliance by President Don Marean, and the American Horse Council by President Julie Broadway.
The morning session will conclude with a discussion of any other business and a group photo of the Board.
At noon on Saturday, the annual Recognition Luncheon will feature the presentation of the President’s Award (winner to be announced) and 20 Years of Service Awards to Mark Ford and Chris McErlean as well as a 40 Years of Service Award to Faraldo.
After the luncheon on Saturday, the Racing Committee (includes Driver/Trainer, Fairs, Pari-Mutuel, Regulatory) will meet at 1 p.m. and the final session of the day will be a 3 p.m. meeting of the Finance Committee.
Saturday at 4 p.m., there will be a broadcast of the HarnessRacing.com show hosted by the USTA’s Wendy Ross, who will be doing interviews and updates on the news from the annual meeting. The broadcast will be available on the USTA Facebook page and YouTube channel.
On Sunday, the Rules Committee will meet at 9 a.m. prior to the Closing General Session at 10 a.m.
In the Closing Session, committee reports from Registration, Racing, Finance, and Rules, will be presented followed by the approval of the 2026 budget and closing remarks from USTA President Russell Williams, who will announce the location and dates of the 2027 Board of Directors annual meeting.
The agenda for the Board of Directors meeting is subject to change.
For daily news updates starting Friday, please visit the USTA website.
Also, follow all the up-to-date news on ustrotting.com and U.S. Trotting Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages.
The hashtag #USTABOD26 will be used on social media throughout the meetings.