USTA District 11 deliberates at Dover Downs

Dover, DE — The USTA District 11 directors held their annual district meeting on the afternoon of Thursday (Nov. 29) at Dover Downs, conducting Association business and, with a small but invested group of local members, debating the merits of a full slate of rule change proposals.

Dan Bittle, who will continue on as district chairman, presided over the gathering and was joined by fellow directors Corey Callahan, John Hensley Jr., and Russell MacKinnon. MacKinnon was re-elected without opposition for another three-year term. USTA Executive Vice President Mike Tanner was on hand and assisted with the rule change deliberations.

The meeting kicked off a big day at the Delaware oval, which presented the $260,000 Hap Hansen Progress Pace final won by This Is The Plan, a race in which legendary Hall of Fame trainer, Jimmy Takter, sent out his last stakes starter prior to his retirement this weekend. Takter’s entrant, Thinkbig Dreambig, finished a solid fourth.

By the end of the session, the district members and directors had voted to reject 15 of the proposals, accept seven of them, and set aside three others for further examination. One other vote, on a proposal that would give both the starter and the judges autonomy to issue penalties for violations of the starting rule, ended in a tie.

The complete list of the District 11 votes is as follows; (to read the full rule change proposals, click here).

Proposal #1 (Racing terminology and definitions): Rejected
Proposal #2 (Paddock rules): Rejected
Proposal #3 (Horses entering track): Rejected
Proposal #4 (Pari-mutuel, non-extended meet wins): Rejected
Proposal #5 (Persons eligible to claim): Accepted
Proposal #6 (Non-extended meet trailers): Tabled
Proposal #7 (Purse distribution for DQ’d horse): Rejected
Proposal #8 (Secure entry process): Accepted
Proposal #9 (Electronic display of entry): Accepted
Proposal #10 (Outside/inside post draws): Rejected
Proposal #11 (Come to gate no nearer than ¼-mile prior): Rejected
Proposal #12 (Speed of gate): Rejected
Proposal #13 (No charging of gate): Rejected
Proposal #14 (Penalties for violation of starting rule): Tie vote
Proposal #15 (Deletion of “Holding Horses Before Start”): Accepted
Proposal #16 (Single trailer – second tier): Rejected
Proposal #17 (Definition of amateur driver): Rejected
Proposal #18 (“P” drivers for amateur races only): Tabled
Proposal #19 (Distance of lead horse from pylons): Tabled
Proposal #20 (Black whips): Rejected
Proposal #21 (Extended break placings): Rejected
Proposal #22 (Mud aprons): Rejected
Proposal #23 (Total number of mares bred): Accepted
Proposal #24 (Deadline for lists of mares bred): Accepted
Proposal #25 (Restriction on reuse of names): Rejected
Proposal #26 (License trainers/active USTA membership): Accepted

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