Proposal to Modify the Process of Certification of Washington-breds

Your Action Is Needed

Click to read Frequently Asked Questions, Part 1

Click to read Frequently Asked Questions, Part 2

The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (WTBOA) would like to modify the process of certification of Thoroughbreds foaled within the state of Washington. The result of this modification would be to ensure that only Thoroughbreds foaled in Washington and certified by the WTBOA would be eligible for Breeders' and Owners' Awards.

History:
The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association was responsible for the original legislation establishing the Washington-bred Owners' and Breeders' Awards. We were one of the first states to have an owners' and breeders' awards program. At that time we did not foresee the importance of mandatory membership in our organization in order to receive these awards. Many states that established owners' and breeders' awards programs since then have concurrent certification programs. Following are the requirements and charges in other state programs based on the information on their respective websites.

Certified State-bred Programs:

ALABAMA – Has not had registration fees since live racing left the state.

ARIZONA – Broodmare must be in registry ($10 fee), must foal in Arizona and foal remain in Arizona for six months. Foal fees: $35, by Sept. 30 of yearling year, $50, by Dec. 31 of yearling year; or $100 thereafter.

ARKANSAS – Foal fees; $40 ATBHA member/$100 non-member, by Dec. 31 of weanling year; $200 ATBHA member/$300 non-member, as yearling; $500 ATBHA member/$750 non-member fee as 2YO. Other fees: mare registration - $50 ATBHA member/$100 non-member; late member, $500.

CALIFORNIA – Foal fees -- $100 CTBA member/$125 non-member by Sept. 30 of yearling year; $125 CTBA member or $150 non-member by Dec. 31 of yearling year; $750 CTBA or non-member after Jan 1 of 2yo year. Other fees: stallions – annual fee of $750, before Feb. 15, between Feb. 16 and March 15 fee is $1,000.

COLORADO – Foal fees - $50 as weanling; $100 as yearling; $150 as 2yo; $250 as 3yo. Other fees – mare registration, $75, with $40 transfer fee; stallion registration, by Jan 1, $200, by July 1, $330, with $40 transfer fee.

DELAWARE – Foal fees, $50 for weanlings, $100 for yearlings.

FLORIDA – Foal fees, by Aug. 31 of weanling year, $75 FTBOA member/$150 non-member; between Sept. 1 – Dec. of weanling year, $150 FTBOA member/$300 non-member; yearling, $300 FTBOA member/$600 non-member; 2yo or older, $7,500 for either FTBOA or non-member.

IDAHO – (nominations for Idaho Cup  - $250 by Dec. 31 of weanling year; $750 for yearlings by Dec. 31 of yearling year; $5,000 for all other ages, by Dec. 31)

ILLINOIS – Mare must arrive before March 1, foal in Illinois and remain continuously in state. Mare must be bred to Illinois stallion. Application for foal registration must be sent within ten days of foaling

INDIANA – No registration fee required if filed by time it is 12 months old. After 12 months, until Dec. 31 of yearling year, $200; 2yo year, $400; 3yo and older, $1,000.

IOWA – Foal fees, $30. Other fees, broodmares, $30.

KENTUCKY – Fees, as foal, $30; as yearling, $50; as horse of racing age, $300. Other fees, annual stallion fee of $200.

LOUISIANA – LTBA member rates: weanling, $25; yearling, $250; 2yo, unraced, $1,000; horses who have raced, $5,000.. Other fees: mare, $20, transfer $20.

MARYLAND – Fees: by May 31 of yearling year, $75 MHBA members/$175 non-members; after May 31 of yearling year, $250 MHBA members/$400 non-members.

MASSACHUSETTS – $50 foal fee. Other fees: Stallions, $100.

MICHIGAN – Mare must be registered before Feb. 1 of year foaling; stallion must be registered before Jan. 1 of breeding season; foal must be registered by ?; all with the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture.

MINNESOTA – foal fee, no fee if filed within 30 days of foaling; $50 fee up to 60 days from foaling; $100 fee up to 90 days from foaling; $300 up to 120 days from foaling. Other fees: no fee if filed before March 15 of year of foaling; $50 fee, March 16-April 14; $100 fee, April 15 to June 13; after June 13, $300; stallion fee, no fee if filed by January 31; $50 fee, Feb. 1 to March 1; $100 fee, March 2, May 1; $300 after May 1

NEBRASKA – Foal must be conceived and foaled in Nebraska out of a properly registered mare. Late fees accessed if required annual broodmare report is not provided to the official registrar by Sept. 1.

NEW JERSEY – Foal fees, 30 days within birth, $50 TBANJ-member, $150 non-members; after 30 days until August 31 of year of birth, $100 TBANJ-member, $200 non members; after August 31 of year of birth, $250, TBANJ members, $350 non-members. Other fees: stallion, annual fee of $100

NEW MEXICO – Foal fees, $50 weanlings, $100 yearlings, $200 2yos, $300 3yos and up. Other fees: permanent stallion fee, $400; permanent mare fee, $100.

NEW YORK – Foal fees, $75, weanling; yearling, $150; 2yo, $250; 3yo, $500. All fees to be paid by Dec. 31 of respective year.

OHIO – Foal fees, weanling (until Oct 15), $25; weanling (Oct 16-Dec 31), $75; yearlings, $150; 2yos, $300. Other fees: new stallion, $100; stallion renewal,$25; new broodmare, $100.

OKLAHOMA – Foal fees, by Dec. 31 of year foaled, $50; yearlings, $150; 2yos, $450; 3yos, $750; 4yos and up, $1,000. Other fees: broodmare, until Dec. 31 of year prior to foaling, $75; after Dec. 31 and prior to foaling, $150; broodmare hardship application, $200, plus application fee; reaccredidation, $75 by Dec. 31 prior to year of foaling; after Dec. 31 and prior to foaling, $150; stallion, by Feb. 1 of breeding year, $225; after Feb. 1 but before June 30 of breeding year, $400; hardship application, $200 plus application fee; reaccredidation by Feb. 1 of breeding year, $225, reaccredidation after Feb. 1 but before June 30 of breeding year, $400.

PENNSYLVANIA – Foal fees, by Dec 31 of foaling year, $10 PHBA members, $50 non-members; paid by July 31 of yearling year, $30 PHBA members, $70 non-members; after July 31 of yearling year and with 30 day mandatory waiting period, $500. Other fees: stallion, $500 annually.

TEXAS – Foal fees, by May 31 of yearling year, $75 TTA members, $125 non-members; June 1 through Dec. 31 of yearling year, $200 TTA members, $250 non-members; on or after Jan. 1 of 2yo year, $1,500 TTA members; $1,550 non-members. Other fees: stallion or mare, $75, TTA members, $125 non-members; after date of foaling, but before Dec. 31 of foaling year, $150 TTA members, $200 non-members.

VIRGINIA –Foal fees, by Dec. 31 of year of foaling, $25; by December 31 of yearling year, $50; 2yos and up, $200. Other fees: Va-sired horses, regardless of age, $25; stallions, early $100, late, $250.

WEST VIRGINIA – Foal fees, weanlings or yearlings, WVTBA members, $100, non-members, $200; 2yos and up, WVTBA members, $200, non-members, $300. Other fees: stallion, $250 original nomination, $150 each year thereafter.

Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and Oregon do not have “registered state-bred” programs.

Proposed Fees:
At the last commission meeting, the assistant attorney general gave her opinion that the WHRC should not and would not get involved with setting fees for certification. The WTBOA presented a proposed fee structure to the commission for certifying. Foals would be certified for $25 for members and $175 for non-members. As a result of concerns and input from our members and others involved in the Washington Thoroughbred industry, the proposed non-member fee has been reduced to $50. Membership in the WTBOA is $150 per person; however, there would be no requirement for membership.

To compare, as shown above, California charges $100 for members and $125 for non-members. In addition they require an annual fee of $750 for stallions.

Supports Industry-wide Services:
We feel strongly that the WTBOA is important and needs to be supported. Many of the breeders of Washington-bred Thoroughbred foals receive breeders' and owners' awards but are not members of the WTBOA. We feel it is unfair for breeders to participate in our awards program without supporting the organization. The WTBOA brings many benefits to breeders other than the awards. Following is a list of some of the things the WTBOA does for our members:

• Publishes bimonthly magazine
• Publishes and distributes e-newsletter
• Maintains industry website
• Promotion and marketing for the Thoroughbred industry
• Maintains a comprehensive library
• Established and administers the Northwest Race Series
• Conducts sales
• Puts on industry social functions, including the annual Awards Banquet, along with the WHBPA and Emerald Downs
• Provides statistical and historical research for individuals, as well as for the magazine, including the annual Washington Thoroughbred Hall of Fame and TOBA winners
• Provides information on leading breeders and owners
• Most importantly, provides a voice as an agricultural community

These all come with cost and currently we are struggling financially. A certification program would certainly help us in that regard.

Integrity:
We also feel that a certification program would help uphold the integrity of the Washington-bred horse. Currently anyone can claim their foal was born in Washington by merely selecting Washington as the state of birth on The Jockey Club registration application. While a certification program may not eliminate untrue claims, it would certainly make it harder for a breeder to claim a foal was born in Washington if indeed it was foaled somewhere else. To do this, we will send out applications for certification on which the breeder must state the address at which the foal was born. This form must be signed by the breeder. In addition, we will require any farm that foals a mare that they do not own to provide a written, signed statement listing all foals born on their property during that year. If there is a complaint about a certified foal, the complaint will be investigated.

In addition, we feel a certification program would benefit the WHRC by providing current contact information for all breeders of certified Washington-bred foals. Currently it is difficult to determine breeder information on racehorses if they are raced under a stable name.

In the future, as funds permit, we may work toward micro-chipping all certified foals which could help the WHRC with identification at the racetrack, and help the WTBOA with identification at our sales.

We see this as a matter of fairness and integrity. Right now, it is quite possible to receive breeders' awards without supporting our organization in any way. Few other organizations are structured this way. Most athletic organizations, whether amateur or professional, require membership in the organization to qualify for the awards program. It does not seem fair to have some breeders supporting their organization and others not, while all benefit from the breeders' awards that the WTBOA was responsible for obtaining.

If implemented we feel that both the commission and the WTBOA would benefit.

What You Can Do:
The Washington Horse Racing Commission (WHRC) is currently taking public comment regarding the proposed certification program. You can make your feelings known by taking a brief (less than a minute) survey on the WHRC website at whrc.wa.gov. We encourage you to select Option 2 in order to help us move this action forward for the benefit of all of those who are involved in breeding and racing in the state of Washington.

PLEASE NOTE: The WHRC site asks you to complete the survey by May 31, 2010. However, they will accept comments and survey responses until mid-afternoon on Thursday, June 10. The certification program is on the agenda for the WHRC meeting that will take place on Friday, June 11, at 9:30 a.m. at the Auburn City Council Chambers, 25 W. Main, Auburn. We urge your support both in taking the survey and with your presence at the meeting on June 11. Thank you.

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