USTA District 4B members meet in Madison
January 27, 2013,by Jessica Schroeder, USTA Outreach & Membership Enrichment Coordinator
Madison, WI — The USTA District 4-B annual meeting was held on Saturday (Jan. 26) in Madison, Wis.
Chairman Bob Yohn and Director Gabe Wand led the discussion for rule change proposals and the following votes were tallied:
Proposal #1 (Bonus Earnings): Approve
Proposal #2 (Race Numbering): Approve
Proposal #3 (Prohibition of Same Day Fair Entries): Reject
Proposal #4 (Provisional Driver Preferences): Reject
Proposal #5 (Matinee License Minimum Age): Reject
Proposal #6 (Timing In Hundredths): Reject
Proposal #7 (Pleasure Horse Registration Language): Approve
Proposal #8 (Standard of Conduct Language): Approve
Proposal #9 (DNA Verification Requirement for Sales): Reject
Proposal #10 (Appeals to Full Board): Reject
Proposal #11 (Animal Cruelty Mandatory Ban): Accept
Earlier in the day, the Wisconsin Harness Horse Association held their annual meeting and discussed racing opportunities for 2013. For the first time in more than 25 years the group had a presence at the Wisconsin Fairs Convention and is entertaining adding race dates to the schedule. They also went over the success of the Harness the Stars tour that garnered them the 2012 Blue Ribbon Fair award.
Later in the evening, the Association held their annual awards banquet, recognizing the top ten pacer, trotter and driver awards, with highest honors going to Khakis Fancy (pacer), Get Physical (trotter) and Gabe Wand (driver). The James Laird Memorial Award for Excellence was given to Party Hangover, Horseperson of the Year to Brian McMahon and inducted into the Wisconsin Harness Racing Hall of Fame were Dr. J.P. West and Susan Schroeder.