Page 9 - January 2005 The Game

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
The Jockey Club Nears Completion of Earnings Conversion Project
The Game, January 2005 9
Did You Know....
That the now 6-year-old mare, Heyahohowdy,
has been retired as a broodmare.
Owned by Glenn Harvey’s Kelynack Racing Stable and
trained by Abraham Katryan, the mare by Domasca Dan out of Executive Diamond, by Bold Executive,
had 7 career wins, 6 seconds, and 3 thirds
from 25 starts and earnings of $626,633. Heyahohowdy will join the Kelynack broodmare band
which includes millionaire Mysterious Affair.
Only UNBRIDLED Son Standing in Canada Out of Stakes Winning Mare ($230,000 +)
Gun Power Unbridled - Miss Power Puff, by Lines of Power Correct, solid, 16.2hh
$2,000 l.f.
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First foals arrive January, 2005
Standing at:
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The Jockey Club and Equibase Company LLC today announced that they are in the final stages of software development necessary to begin converting Canadian earnings to their equivalent amount in U.S. dollars for display in the United States beginning January 1, 2005.
Although conversion of Canadian earnings takes effect January 1, 2005, results won’t be evident until the first Thoroughbred meets in Canada commence in April with the opening of Woodbine Race Course near Toronto and Stampede Park in Calgary.
Only Canadian earnings from 2005 and forward are being converted; The Jockey Club is not converting Canadian earnings retroactive- ly prior to 2005.
“Re-engineering more than 900 different computer programs for our family of companies in one year was certainly a challenging undertaking” said project coordinator Carl Hamilton, chairman of The Jockey Club Information Systems, Inc. “But now that the necessary software development is near completion, the industry will be able to move forward, starting January 1, with a more
accurate presentation of North American earnings.”
Officials at The Jockey Club estimated software development costs associated with the earnings conversion project to be approximately $500,000. Those costs are being absorbed entirely by The Jockey Club Information Systems, Inc., Equibase Company LLC and InCompass Solutions, Inc.
When racing and pedigree data were first stored electronically in the mid-1960’s, the databases of both The Jockey Club and Daily Racing Form were designed to manage all U.S. and Canadian race results under the heading of “North America.” This design was consistent with the manner in which the entire industry viewed the Thoroughbred industries of the U.S. and Canada: as one entity.
Racing data obtained by The Jockey Club from all foreign countries – more than 40 in total – is stored as received in native currency and is also converted and stored in U.S. dollars, using the Wall Street Journal’s daily conversion rates, for dissemination and display as per product requirements.
Conversion of Canadian Earnings - Questions and Answers
Provided by Bob Curran, The Jockey Club
Q: What was the background and rationale behind the decision to convert Canadian earn- ings?
A: When racing and pedigree data were first stored electronically in the mid-1960s, the dis- crepancy in value between the Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar was minimal. Over the years, however, the value of the Canadian dollar dropped to as low as $0.64 (in 1998) against the U.S. dollar. Such variance can greatly affect lists of the leading sires, horses, owners, breed- ers, etc.
The topic of conversion -- and the responsi- bility of paying for the extensive software development it would involve -- was debated among industry stakeholders for many years. When it became clear that there would never be a consensus opinion, The Jockey Club decided to fully underwrite the costs associated with the project through its commercial subsidiaries and in December 2003 announced that it would begin converting Canadian earnings to their equivalent amount in U.S. funds on January 1,
2005.* Officials of The Jockey Club and most other industry organizations and publications in the United States believe that converting Canadian earnings to their U.S. equivalent ensures the most accurate presentation of North American earnings.
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Q. What are the Canadian racetracks from which earnings will be con- verted?
A. Earnings from all Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse tracks in Canada will be converted. That list includes: Assiniboia Downs (Manitoba), Fort Erie (Ontario), Grand Prairie (Alberta), Hastings Park (British Columbia),
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