My goal is to keep the H.B.P.A. strong and vibrant and to continue to expand our range of activities in ways that will benefit the membership as a whole.  I believe that it is important that we work closely and in a business like manner with other stakeholders in the breeding and racing industry in order to not just sustain, but to flourish.  I also believe that simulcasting represents an opportunity for growth in our industry.
Therefore it is important that our H.B.P.A. have access to the best and latest information and consultation in this key area.
We must be committed to working side by side with track operators toward one common goal – to generate revenue.  The horsemen should receive a fair share.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prairieland for their co-operation with the H.B.P.A. and to wish all horse people a very Merry Christmas and hope your New Year is full of horse racing.

President,
Lloyd Holmes.

    As 2002 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who participated in the Marquis Downs live race meet this season.  Without the effort and dedication of all horse people involved in thoroughbred racing, this exciting sport would not exist in Saskatoon.  The 2002 live meet produced significant increases in attendance and handle which is encouraging for the future of racing. 

The HBPA and Prairieland Park face many challenges in trying to find new sources of revenue for the purses at Marquis Downs.  Whether it is lotteries, slot machines or the Internet, competition for gaming dollars is at an all time high.  It is essential for horse racing in Saskatchewan to be put on a level playing field with the racetracks in our neighboring provinces.

On behalf of the Prairieland Park Corporation, I would like to wish all HBPA members and their loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  May 2003 bring prosperity and happiness to all.

Doug King

Prevention
The West Nile Virus vaccine is available through veterinarians only. The vaccine is a killed virus vaccine. It requires two doses in the initial series to build up protective levels of antibodies. The two doses are administered at an interval of three to four weeks, with protective immunity developing in two to four weeks after the second vaccination. Horse owners must realize that their horse will not be protected from West Nile Virus infection for at least five weeks, and more likely eight weeks, after the vaccination series is begun.

What to look for in your horse.
West Nile Virus clinical signs relate to the central nervous system, because the virus causes an encephalomyelitis or brain and spinal cord infection. Clinical signs include listlessness, depression, loss of appetite, stumbling and incoordination, weakness of limbs, muscle twitching, partial paralysis, inability to swallow, head pressing, inability to stand, convulsions and death. Fever may or may not be present. 
The clinical signs will progress from mild through to an inability to stand and death in a period of five to seven days. These clinical signs are easily confused with other nervous system disorders in the horse. Diseases to be considered when making a diagnosis include rabies, sleeping sickness, equine viral rhinopneumonitis, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, and tetanus. All ages of horses are susceptible to the disease, although very young or very old horses, or horses already compromised by some other disease condition, are more likely to be affected.

Diagnosis
When a horse owner identifies any of the symptoms outlined, a veterinarian should be consulted to make a differential diagnosis, to collect samples for testing and to begin treatment. Blood samples are collected from the horse to test for the presence of West Nile Virus antibodies. Other tests may also be run to rule out other potential causes of the clinical signs. A second blood sample, 10 to 14 days later is collected to confirm the diagnosis. If your horse dies, the preferred option is to have the animal submitted to a diagnostic veterinary laboratory for a post mortem. The horse's brain and portions of the spinal cord should be collected for analysis. The brain will be tested for rabies as well as for West Nile Virus.
Please contact your local veterinarian, or call the provincial veterinarian:
Dr. LeeAnn Forsythe
Animal Health Unit
Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization.
Regina  (306) 787-6069

The HBPA and Prairieland are the final stages of contract negotiations on the 2003 contract as per CPMA regulations.

Your HBPA would suggest calling your local MLAs and discussion this matter with them. Do they support the end of horseracing in Saskatchewan, a tradition that has been around for 100 years?
 

Part 1 – Grant Allocation

-  SLGA will no longer mandate the grants for specific, designated races. The elimination of the designated grants will not preclude stakes races from being run where the industry believes they are in the best interest of racing in the province.
-  Each urban track (Saskatoon and Regina) will receive a grant in an amount equal to 92% of the pari-mutuel tax collected from wagering at their facility.
-  The grant provided to the two urban tracks must be spent on purse and operator expenses at the tracks, with 60% allocated for purses and 40% allocated for operator support.
-  A grant equal to 8% of the pari-mutuel tax collected from wagering at the two urban tracks will be allocated for the grant of $10,000 to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and to support rural horse racing (for the purposes of the grant, “rural racing’ includes racing at a track outside of Regina or Saskatoon). If no rural racing occurs, the 8% rural allocation less the amount granted to the WCVM will be available for use at Marquis Downs or Queensbury Downs, in proportion to the amount of tax collected at each venue.
-  An amount equal to any pari-mutuel tax collected from wagering at rural tracks will be granted to the respective track if racing occurs at that rural track in the following year. If there is no racing at that rural track in the following year, the portion of the grant collected from wagering at that track will be designated to racing at another rural track if racing occurs at another rural track. If no rural racing occurs in the following year, this amount will be divided equally between Qweensbury Downs and Marquis Downs.
-  If a rural track becomes self-sufficient, it may no longer be eligible to access funding from the 8% poop allocated for rural racing.
-  Under this grant allocation, no part of the grant is tied to a specific breed of horse.  Each horsemen’s association will have the opportunity to approach each track for race days and to negotiate purse amounts and stakes races.

Part II  -  Terms

1. General
-  Grants will be used only for the purpose for which they are allocated.
-  The operator grant at the two urban tracks will be paid out at $7,000 per day live racing to a maximum of the amount allocated for operator grants. The $7,000 amont will increase 3% each year, beginning in 2004, to account for inflation.
-  Any portion of the grant allocated to operator support that is not used by the operator will be available for operator support and purses at rural tracks.
-  There will be no requirement for a specific type of racing at one track. This will give the horsemen’s associations the flexibility to arrange for racing at any track (or several tracks) where the horsemen and exhibition association can agree to hold live racing.
-  There will be no requirement for a contract between the exhibition association and a specific horsemen’s association as a condition to the grant. However, Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) rules respecting written contracts continue to apply.

2.  Race Days
-  Applicants for race dates must be received by SLGA no later that October 31 in the year previous to the proposed racing season.
-  Once race dates have been confirmed at the urban tracks, they cannot be cancelled or changed without the consent of the track and the horsemen scheduled to race on the approved dates, if there is any agreement between the track and a horsemen’s association.
-  If race dates are cancelled at an urban track, the amount of the grant will be reduced by the amount of the per diem operator grant and an amount of purse grant calculated on a pro rata basis for each race day cancelled. However, if race dates must be cancelled due to an insufficient number of horses available to race, no consent is required.
-  Race dates at rural tracks may be cancelled if the track indicates to SLGA that the dates are conditional upon the track having access to the portion of the urban operator grants not used by the urban tracks. 
-  SLGA may consider applications for race dates after the October 31 deadline, but there may not be any grant support for those dates.
-  A race day will consist of at least 6 races.
-  Because of the timing of this  announcement, SLGA will be flexible on the addition and cancellation of race dates for the 2003 season. The rules contained in this letter will be fully in force for the 2004 race season.

Part III  -  Distribution of VLT Revenues.

-  The VLT revenue (15%  of total gross of machines) will be divided 50% to the operator and 50% for purse support.
-  All expenses with respect to the VLTs must be paid from the operator’s 50%.
-  The purse support will be divided among the breeds of horses racing at the track in the year following the year in which the revenues were generated, proportionate to the number of days each breed is scheduled to race.
 

The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Saskatchewan is a democratically elected and a nationally recognized organization that represent the interests of owners, trainers and employees involved in the thoroughbred racing industry. Anyone who becomes licensed as an owner or trainer at an HBPA sanctioned meet in Saskatchewan, is automatically a member of the Association. 
The Saskatchewan Division of the HBPA is one of the five Provincial Associations that form the H.B.P.A. of Canada. The H.B.P.A. is an organization to provide the horsemen with an authoritative, united voice – providing representation in the manner and conduct of racing. The H.B.P.A. serves to protect and maintain the interests of the owners, trainers, and employees who have an investment in the Thoroughbred Racing Industry. The H.B.P.A. wants to ensure that the needs of our membership are promoted and advanced.

- Forty-four per cent of those surveyed in Saskatchewan own more horses than they did five years ago. Twenty-two per cent own fewer horses than five years ago, and 34 per cent own the same number of horses.

- Of the number of horse owners in Saskatchewan, (includes all breeds), 20.3 per cent of them are classified as new participants.

- Saskatchewan boasts the third highest number of new participants out of all the provinces, preceded only by Ontario (27.22 per cent) and British Columbia (22.15 per cent).

- There are 13,035 horse owners in Saskatchewan, averaging approximately 9.47 horses each.
 

The proposed date for our next newsletter is March/April 2003.