“Horse racing board to pay $400,000 to settle sex discrimination suit” plus 3 more

Horse racing board to pay $400,000 to settle sex discrimination suit
Horse racing returns to Ely Aug. 21-22
Horse Racing Begins This Weekend
Horse Racing Notebook: 'Mixed' meet an option

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Horse racing board to pay $400,000 to settle sex discrimination suit

Posted: 01 Jul 2010 12:48 PM PDT

A former Cal Expo horse racing steward will receive $400,000 under the terms of an out-of-court settlement of her case alleging gender and age discrimination by the California Horse Racing Board.

Pam Berg, 66, served as a CHRB steward on the Northern California fair circuit and as an associate steward at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows for eight years, ending in 2006. Her assignments also included work at Cal Expo's nightly harness meet, about 80 miles from her home. Berg's contract was not renewed after it expired in 2007.

Assuring fairness as the top on-track state officials, stewards oversee horse racing and enforce CHRB rules and regulations.

In a suit filed last year in Sacramento County Superior Court, Berg alleged the CHRB gave preference to less qualified male stewards when making assignments to the state's larger racetracks. She also alleged that her contract was not renewed due to her earlier claims of discrimination.

At its June 22 meeting, the CHRB approved the $400,000 settlement in executive session. Of that total, $100,000 will be in the form of a 10-year annuity, costing the state $92,000.

Terms of the settlement were included in AB1714, a bill approved by the State Senate today and now awaiting the governor's signature. It would appropriate $392,000 from the state's horse racing fund to the Department of Justice to pay Berg's settlement.

Berg also is a well-known activist for horses after their racing careers are over. At her small ranch in Sonoma County, she operates the Glen Ellen Vocational Academy, Northern California's best known home for retired racehorses. In 2004, she won the national Dogwood Dominion Award for her single-handed efforts to save injured or retired thoroughbreds.

Call the Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075.

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Horse racing returns to Ely Aug. 21-22

Posted: 01 Jul 2010 09:05 AM PDT

All Class Reunions & Fourth of July Celebration

The Ely Times will be publishing an All Class Reunion Special coming out June 30. Class schedules, Special events, Old class photos.

Horse Racing Begins This Weekend

Posted: 01 Jul 2010 10:45 AM PDT

A new season of live pari-mutuel horse racing opens at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds on Saturday and Sunday with the July Fourth Racing Festival.

The two-day racing festival opens the eight-day summer schedule that features live pari-mutuel horse racing over four weekends at the local five-eighths mile oval.

Sponsored by the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association, the July Fourth Racing Festival will see both thoroughbred and quarter horse action at the Class III track, located on Texas Highway 16 South (Kerrville highway).

Gates open at 11 a.m. and post time is 1 p.m. daily.

Admission to the race meet is $5 for adults, $1 for children six to 12 years of age and free for children under six.

Box seats are available in the grandstand for $9 each.

A summer season pass, which is good for all fair association-sponsored events at the fair grounds this summer, is available for $30 each.

After the July 4th Racing Festival, the season continues with the Fredericksburg Texas Fest Race Meet on July 17-18, the Gillespie County Race Meet on Aug. 14-15 and on Aug. 28-29 as part of the 122nd Gillespie County Fair, which runs Aug. 26-29.

For more information on the upcoming live pari-mutuel horse racing season, the season passes or any of the upcoming events, call the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association at 997-2359 or visit their website at www.gillespiefair.com.

For more on this story, read this week's print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the 'Subscribe' button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!

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Horse Racing Notebook: 'Mixed' meet an option

Posted: 30 Jun 2010 10:51 PM PDT

Sam Houston Race Park might hold a "mixed" meet next summer.

When Texas Horsemen's Partnership officers and members gather with track officials today at Lone Star Park, then convene a Friday session at Sam Houston Race Park, discussions will include blending thoroughbreds into SHRP's 2011 quarter horse season.

The mix would insert two, perhaps three, thoroughbred races into each quarter horse program.

Momentum grows to dump SHRP's 2011 thoroughbred season and consolidate those dates into a higher-level meet at Lone Star. That shuffle would ensure at least two benefits from a mixed meet here. It would prevent the Houston track from going more than a year without thoroughbred racing. It would also give Texas owners and trainers a venue for racing less-talented thoroughbreds.

No matter what happens during the two meetings, THP and its members will not play their trump card.

THP, which represents all racing breeds, is empowered to shut down simulcast signals — both outgoing and incoming.

SHRP, Lone Star and Retama races are seen and bet at locations around the world. On a typical day, incoming simulcasts enable SHRP to present races from 25 or 30 tracks as distant as Australia. SHRP customers wager into a common money pool with the host track and all other tracks receiving the host's signal.

When the three Class 1 Texas tracks are not running live races, incoming simulcasts account for most of their income.

If THP cannot reach what it considers a fair agreement with the three tracks, it can close them, at least temporarily, by cutting off simulcasts.

Marsha Rountree, THP's executive director, promised there would be no such action.

"Our organization has that authority, but we would not use it," Rountree said. "This matter (consolidating SHRP and Retama race dates at Lone Star) is not that serious.

"Sometimes our members get angry over an issue. They tell us, 'We should just pull the signal.' But pulling a signal would accomplish nothing good. Simulcast revenue provides purse money for live racing. No one wants to see a Texas track fail. If that happened because of a pulled signal, our horsemen would be hurting themselves."

Asked what she would consider "serious" enough to pull a simulcast signal, Rountree identified a situation in which horsemen were denied what they considered a fair share of simulcast revenue.

At least one other issue demands attention at today's and Friday's meetings, which are closed to news people. Even after word leaked about negotiations to consolidate at Lone Star, the tracks' leaders continued to withhold information from racing fans.

Rather than agree to divulge what they could, officials agreed to say nothing. The silent treatment was wise before someone revealed the clandestine meetings. Once word got out, total silence no longer made sense.

Someone in those secret meetings should have said, "What about our fans? Those are the folks who show up faithfully, root for horses, bet on them and purchase food and drinks. Don't we owe them something? Like a partial explanation of where things are?" If anyone spoke like that, the words failed to reach disinterested ears.

Secret negotiations began in January. Fans have been entirely and ungratefully excluded from the information flow.

Had this situation existed in the NFL, MLB or NBA, a contingency plan would have kicked in once news of the negotiations leaked. Instead, track officials have offered nothing substantive to those who keep them in business.

Now it's time for racing officials to consider their fans as they develop honest answers to two fair questions. Why not offer as much information as possible? Why not do it now?

Major races for SHRP

The $346,000 Sam Houston Futurity will be North America's third richest race this week as well as the biggest race for quarter horses.

To be run on a Friday program that starts at 7 p.m., the futurity and the $113,000 Sam Houston Derby are featured.

Only the $1 million Queen's Plate Stakes at Woodbine and Monmouth's $750,000 United Nations Handicap offer larger purses than SHRP's futurity. The purse even exceeds that of Belmont's celebrated, $300,000 Suburban Handicap.

SHRP also offers programs tonight at 7 and Saturday at 5 p.m.

horsechronicler@gmail.com

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