Columbus, OH – On Saturday, Jan. 24, Chairperson Gabe Wand and Director Cathy Dessert hosted the annual USTA District 4B meeting in Madison, Wisc., in conjunction with the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association Awards Banquet.
The meeting included discussion and voting on nine proposed rule and bylaw changes. A total of 22 District 4B members were in attendance.
Voting results on the 2026 proposals were as follows:
- Resigning membership while under investigation — Approved
- Horse race fatalities reported to USTA — Approved
- Shoes off/shoes on — Rejected
- Horse retirement contribution from claims — Rejected
- Start caps for 2- and 3-year-olds — Rejected
- Deposit for appeals — Approved
- Stallion cap of 160 mares — Rejected
- Standardbred as embryo transfer recipient mare — Rejected
- Executive committee composition — Approved
District 4B was the final district to hold its meeting. Voting results from all districts, along with results from online voting available to members through their USTA accounts, will be presented to the full USTA Board of Directors at the annual meeting scheduled for March 6-8, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. Online voting instructions are available via this link.
A list of meeting recaps may be found here.