Page 24 - March 2007 The Game

24 The Game, March 2007 Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
HBPA Ontario Update
HBPAAdministrativeOffices:135Queen’sPlateDrive,Suite370,Toronto,ON,M9W6V1 phone:416-747-5252
The month of February has been an extremely busy month for the HBPA with the national HBPA winter convention held in Hot Springs Arkansas (Oaklawn Park), continuous financial and operational planning sessions by our Board of Directors for the upcoming race season at both Woodbine and Fort Erie, and importantly, the campaign in conjunction with the Jockey Club of Canada on Section 31 tax relief.
In case you are not aware, the HBPA of Ontario has worked diligently with the Horse Racing Alliance of Canada, spearheaded by the Jockey Club, to bring relief to all owners and trainers with respect to the Federal Tax laws. Specifically section 31. The campaign hit full throttle in February when all industry participants, including the HBPA wrote Minister Flaherty (Federal Minister of Finance) seeking a review of section 31. The HBPA further spent considerable
Report from the Executive Director
clearly outdated and acts as a barrier to investment in our industry. We are asking to modernize the Income Tax Act, to remove the antiquated tax provisions which may have been appropriate sixty years ago but are clearly not appropriate when measured against the highly com- petitive world we operate within today.
The government has a duty to provide a level playing field for all business in Canada and should therefore eliminate the cap on tax-loss deductibility for horseracing and breeding in the upcoming Federal Budget.”
We here at the HBPA encourage all industry participants to continue to write the Minister and show overwhelming support for an initiative that can shape the future of our industry in a very positive light. For a copy of a “template letter” and delivery instructions, please contact our office or visit our website at www.hbpa.on.ca.
time educating our members on the backside on the issue and requesting them to write a letter of support on this initiative directly to the Minister. At the time of writing, we col- lected over 200 letters of support in the middle of February.
The letter written on
behalf of our membership
was sent by our President,
Sue Leslie on January 31, 2007. The letter which was very well positioned is summarized as follows:
“For nearly 60 years owners and breeders of racehorses in Canada have faced an unjust form of tax discrimina- tion. No matter how much an owner or breeder invested in a horse(s) they can only claim a maximum of $8,750 as a
business loss. With this current cap, even the most dedicated owner/breeder has to think twice about the risk/reward equation. This cap on deductibility has caused a decline in the number of part- time owners who are willing to invest in racehorses. The net result of this anti-competitive tax regime is that it chases investment out of the Canadian horse breeding
sector and threatens the industry’s financial future.
To make matters worst, not only does the current tax regime discourage invest- ment in Canadian horse breeding, but it also creates a competitive disadvantage for Canadian-bred horses racing against American-bred horses at Canadian tracks.
Section 31 of the Income Tax Act is
Executive Director Nick Coukos
Trainer Testing for the 2007 Season
Assistant Trainer/Trainer testing will begin at Woodbine on March 21, 2007. All applications for test- ing must be completed and submitted to the HBPA no later than two weeks prior to the test date. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
The following is the Assistant Trainer/Trainer testing Schedule for 2007:
April 25 - Fort Erie
May 23 - Woodbine
July 11 - Both Woodbine & Fort Erie
September 12 - Both Woodbine & Fort Erie
For more information or to obtain your application
form contact the HBPA Backstretch Office at Woodbine 416-675-3802 or Fort Erie 905-871-3200, ext. 3249.
Woodbine HBPA Backstretch Office Open
The HBPA Backstretch office at Woodbine is open Monday to Friday 7am to 3pm until racing begins when the office will then be open 7 days a week.
The Backstretch Office at Fort Erie will re-open on Monday, March 5, 2007.
If you require assistance while the backstretch offices are closed please contact the HBPA administration office in Toronto which is open year round, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and can be reached by calling 416-747-5252.
Visit the HBPA of Ontario on-line at www.hbpa.on.ca
Whither Goest Chantal?
The Game is hearing that Chantal Sutherland is considering bringing her tack back to Woodbine this season. She’s been riding mostly in New York for the last two years and hitting the winner’s circle at about 10%. She won the 9th race at Aqueduct on February 18 with a very bright ride on Two G’s in a maiden claiming ($18,000) race with a purse of $35,000 at six furlongs. Sutherland got her horse right to the rail and gave Two G’s a nice even trip as the favorite, Stunt Man, challenged on the outside, then tired in the stretch. Two Gs paid $11.60, giving Sutherland her 7th win of the winter meet at Aqueduct.
Her plans for spring and summer apparently have not been completely decided. Don Parente, who would probably be her agent in Canada, says even he has not received the definitive word.
“I don’t know what she wants to do concerning Woodbine yet,” he said. “She’s not 100% sure.”
Pedro Alvarado to Calgary
Hastings’ leading rider in 2006, Pedro Alvarado, has given notice to the management at Stampede Park in Calgary of his intention to ride at the racetrack this Spring. Agent John Heath, who currently handles the book of jockey Stephan Heiler is expected to represent Alvarado.
We Are What We Drive?
Get Tied On
with Chaplain Shawn
As many of you may know, espe- cially if you haunt the Woodbine back stretch, I happen to be the proud owner of the Chaplainmobile, a 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara (please, no Viagra jokes!). I call it the Chaplainmobile because it has mag- netic signs on the side that say “Chaplain” as well as our logo, a cross in the middle of a race track. For the last couple of months, I have been driving our other vehicle, a 1987 Toyota pick-up, while JoAnn uses our Suzuki. Now, both my vehicles have logged a lot of kilometers, over 300,000 each. I admire them equally as they have served me and my fami- ly well. The Toyota is especially close to my heart. It has power nothing - no air or power steering, rubber floors, a bench seat, 5 speed tranny. The box rusted out long ago, so I found a home-made, wooden flatbed in the Buy and Sell that included a lock-box for $75. Last winter I installed it and my wife and I have driven it since. I use the Suzuki in the hot months as it has air and I’m just a weenie when it comes to heat.
I started using the Toyota during the last part of the 2006 meet and I
was surprised by the comments it received. What I heard from most men my age, (with quiet admira- tion), was “Those things run for- ever”. Some in the barn area expressed shock at my ride, but were understanding when I explained my wheels were due to budget cuts! I do have “Chaplain” signs for the small truck, so no one will get me confused with anyone else.
Others weren’t so kind. One lead- ing rider yelled out, “Nice car!” “Uh, thanks, it’s a truck! ‘87 in fact!” (I love it when riders cry poverty - just compare the wheels in their parking lot with the one across from the kitchen.) Another soon-to-be-out-of- work jock’s agent sniffed “Hey, nice car!” “Thanks - it’s a truck actually - ‘87 with over 300 K on the speedo - runs like a good thing!” (She didn’t get my acting dumb - if it was acting. Riders and agents just have to come up with better lines!)
After a while, I was starting to get a complex. “I thought you were sell- ing carrots,” smiled O’Neal. Do we really judge each other by what we drive? I must confess that I make assumptions as to the driver when I
see a Bentley or Mercedes cruising through the barn area - but for the most part a vehicle is just a vehicle. Yet we often sum up a person’s status by the year, make and model. I know my man Nemo has had to give up his pimped out Honda for a more practi- cal CRV - something better suited to hauling the kids. He had to take a moment, but still he carries on. Gersh continues with his vintage Mercedes diesel - frugal, yet stylish. Would I think of them any differently if they drove something nicer or racier? I hope not. I also got a kick out of peo- ple who needed a ride and just had to say something disparaging when they hopped in. Whatever happened to beggars shouldn’t be choosers?
In the book of first Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7 it says: “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." This year I’m going to make an effort to let someone know that if I yell nice car, I’m not acting dumb. Really.