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an ordained pastor who recently served as executive pastor at two Kentucky churches.
He was an executive director in the Kentucky Governor’s Office for Local Development as well as a program/account manager for two of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world - Asahi Glass Corporation and Johnson Controls. Waits will support and assist training of chaplains to meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of those in the horseracing industry across the U.S.
Chaplain John Shumaker, who is serving as president of RTCA, said the Executive Director Search Committee “did an excellent job in finding Dan for this position.”
“We believe he is the man God hand-picked to lead this organization into a brand new era,” Shumaker said. “We are looking forward to a future filled with opportunities to reach more people in the industry that we love for Christ.”
RTCA will host its third annual golf tour- nament on July 21 at The University Club in Lexington, Kentucky, and is looking for players and sponsors to support the RTCA’s work at tracks across the country.
RTCA invites individual golfers or teams of four to play in the tournament. Hole sponsors and event sponsors at the Bronze, Silver or Gold level are also available. Learn more about the mission and activities of the RTCA at rtcanational.org.
PDJF Day across america July 30
The Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF) will host their 3rd annual PDJF Day Across America on July 30. The day of fund- raising and awareness-building will take place at tracks across the country with special events, jockey autograph signings & other promotions. One of the most well-known charitable racing organizations, the PDJF provides assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic injuries on the track. Among the PDJF Board Members who supports the organization is multiple Champion Quarter Horse Jockey G.R. Carter Jr.
The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund is
a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial assistance to 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Since its founding in 2006, the fund has disbursed more than $7 million to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or brain injuries.
For more information on the PDJF Day Across America, call (630) 595-7660 or visit www.pdjf.org.
oklahoma horse inDustry Pushes against governor’s sales tax Plan Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin plans to
pull the state’s sales tax exemption on horses, which would bring in about $1.3 million a year needed to help fill a $1.5 billion deficit.
Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association Executive Director Debbie Schauf stated that places such as Heritage Place, which sells $20- $25 million worth of horses a year, would go out of business as buyers turn to neighboring states where there is no sales tax. “She’s trying to fill
a $1.5 billion gap in the budget,” Schauf said. “This measure will generate $1.3 million to $1.4 million a year, but at the expense of an industry that creates $3.6 billion a year.” Schauf also said, “You can’t tax the industries that are generating more tax revenue than you’re proposing.”
Some lawmakers, including those in the rural caucus, have promised to stand up against the proposal.
Schauf is a former representative in the Kansas legislature so she has a unique under- standing of what the Oklahoma lawmakers are facing. She warns that a sales tax on an industry that brings many jobs and other ben- efits to the state could have unforeseen costs in lost revenue.
“Spokespeople for the governor’s office are quoted as saying horse ownership is a luxury,” Schauf said. “There still would not be a sales tax on any other form of livestock, but they were suggesting that they might have a sales tax on horses. And it wasn’t just horse sales – it’s a sales tax on horses.”
Facing such a large budget deficit, budget cuts and new revenue are vital to the state’s bot- tom line and balancing the budget.
“The governor has not taken it out of her proposal to the legislature,” Schauf said. “You have to remember how the legislature works. The governor can propose things and she has the right to veto things, but she can’t draw a bill, run a bill or vote on a bill. She really has no say other than to suggest what she would like to see them do. She can then either sign or veto legislation once they pass it.
“The governor’s staff projection was that it would generate $1.3 million,” Schauf said. “The truth is that the horse industry in Oklahoma already pays $102 million annually in taxes. That’s just attributable to the horse industry. We pay $22 million in special taxes from pari-mutuel wagering and gaming that goes to education. We pay $12.2 million in payroll taxes, and we pay $68 million in real estate and property taxes. So, it really doesn’t make sense to try to fill a $1.5 billion gap in revenue for the state with a $1.3 million tax against an industry that’s already paying you a $102 million and that will just take their business somewhere else to avoid the tax. The horse industry contributes $3.6 billion a year to the Oklahoma economy. That’s almost 10 percent of the entire ag industry for a year.”
Schauf estimates that in 2014, there were 46,400 attendees at horse sales in Oklahoma and 7,200 horses sold through public auction in the state.
“Those sales created a $10 million economic income,” Schauf said. “Ninety percent of that was done by out-of-state people who came to buy or sell their horses. If you figure that 90 percent of that $10 million of economic impact isn’t going to come because they can go to any neighboring state and not pay sales tax, that’s a pretty scary number.”
equibase oFFers Free quarter horse stats
Equibase Company LLC is offering an expanded list of free statistics for Quarter Horse racing. The new information is available at equibase.com and includes leaders’ lists, leaders by track, and individual profile pages for horses and their human connections.
“With the launch of this new statisti-
cal area on equibase.com, we are once again broadening our menu of free data so that fans who enjoy American Quarter Horse racing can follow the sport more easily,” said Jason Wilson, president and chief operating officer for Equibase Company.
Equibase’s new expanded statistical area includes a Quarter Horse section that compiles expanded horse, jockey, trainer and owner statistical profiles.
The stats can be searched and includes cur- rent year and career statistics as well as entry and results information for those with recent activity.
Complementing the statistical profiles are annual leaders’ lists that feature all horses, jock- eys, trainers, and owners back to the year 2000.
The lists feature a “quick find” search tool and are sortable by categories such as sex, age and stakes (including graded) races.
Similar features are also now available for Quarter Horse track-specific statistics as well.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Equibase and immensely grateful for the added exposure our sport will receive on such a popu- lar and prominent website,” said Jen Perkins, director of racing for the American Quarter Horse Association.
In addition to the statistical information
on equibase.com, Equibase also offers the free Equibase’s Quarter Horse Stakes Virtual Stable service, which provides entries, results and workouts via email notification.
Equibase Company is a partnership between subsidiaries of The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry’s official database.
Through its website, mobile platform and mobile applications, Equibase offers a com- prehensive array of free statistical information as well as premium handicapping products and reports in support of the North American Thoroughbred racing industry.
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track chatter