Columbus, OH — A total of 41 rule and bylaw change proposals have been submitted to the U.S. Trotting Association and will be voted upon by the full board of USTA Directors in March at the 2025 annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.
The 2025 proposed rule changes may be found here.
Prior to the final decision on which rules will be adopted, amended or rejected, they will be discussed at each of the USTA’s 12 district meetings. Current USTA members in attendance at each district meeting will review and vote to provide a recommendation for each proposal; those recommendations will be submitted to the full Board of Directors at the annual meeting where the final decisions on rule change proposals will be made.
All USTA members are asked to consider the proposed rule changes and encouraged to attend their local district meeting to provide input. Members who are unable to attend their local meeting are urged to contact their local directors prior to the meeting date.
The names and contact information for directors in each district may be found online via this link. For a schedule of district meetings, some of which will be held in-person and others by Zoom, click here. Meeting notifications will be sent via email to current USTA members approximately three weeks prior to each meeting.
The 41-rule and bylaw change proposals cover a wide range of issues that include ownership percentages, limiting starts for horses by age, the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy, raising the limit of mares a stallion may breed in a breeding season, and the prohibition of Ovum Pick Up/Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
The list also includes proposals submitted by the Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund (SRIF). SRIF, along with USTA staff, have established a number of proposals that would augment the framework of the organization as it applies to integrity matters and participation.
Submissions were provided by USTA members, racing officials, horsemen’s associations, and directors from Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.