NEWS
TOC wants to expand auction reforms
Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 7:09 PM
by Pete Denk
The Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) is calling for prohibition of anabolic steroids, full disclosure of medical and ownership information of horses at auction, and licensing of bloodstock agents and consignors.
The TOC board unanimously approved the recommendations, proposed by the TOC Medication and Integrity Committee at its January 18 meeting. Florida breeder Earle Mack, who has spearheaded the ongoing sales reform movement in Florida, issued a press release on Wednesday strongly supporting the TOC’s stance.
The TOC, Mack, and Stonestreet Stables’ Jess Jackson believe the Sales Integrity Task Force did not go far enough in its recommendations that the auction industry police itself through self-regulation, including a code of conduct for bloodstock agents and voluntary disclosure of medical and ownership information.
Jackson is on the TOC’s Board of Directors, but chairwoman Marsha Naify said Jackson was not the impetus for the TOC’s statement.
“Our committee wanted to make a response to the Sales Integrity Task Force, and everyone was 100% in favor of these recommendations,” Naify said. “The feeling of the current board is that the industry needs to change. It’s an industry that’s been stagnant, and we need to move into modern times in so many ways, and this is one way we can do it.
“We want to work with Kentucky, and we just don’t want to be left out of the discussions, because California does bring in huge revenue for the racing industry. A lot of California owners, including me, spend a lot of money on horses in Kentucky, in addition to California and Florida.”
The parties are largely in agreement on the steroid issue, although some auction companies are waiting until 2009 when they hope most states will enact steroid rules for racing and develop threshold levels for naturally occurring steroids. The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. will test for steroids at each of its sales this year, and Keeneland will do so at each of its sales except the April sale of selected two-year-olds in training, which is conducted under Kentucky’s rules of racing.
On disclosure of ownership and medical procedures, the TOC believes transparency would inspire confidence in the Thoroughbred auction process. Members of the Sales Integrity Task Force have argued that full disclosure could hurt the industry by discouraging participation and making the process of selling horses more difficult.
“A voluntary policy is simply not enough,” Naify said. “Consequently, a mandatory disclosure policy is required to address questionable bidding tactics that artificially inflate sales values and undermine integrity of auctions.”
Bloodstock agents are already licensed in California, but not in Kentucky. The TOC also hopes to license consignors.
The Sales Integrity Task Force’s recommendations were a product of months of work from the 36-member board and three sub-committees. The recommendations were approved by the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association, Fasig-Tipton Co., Keeneland Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).
TOBA’s Dan Metzger said he acknowledged the TOC’s recommendations and recognized the group's importance as a constituency representing owners, but he also believes in the task force’s work.
“I think it needs to be pointed out that the task force, which had broad representation from the world’s leading buyers and sellers, spent literally hundreds and hundreds of man hours from a legal and practical standpoint,” Metzger said. “This was a very thorough, professional effort, and while we’re acknowledging it’s not a finished product, we feel very comfortable it has set a good bar for the industry in establishing levels of transparency and integrity, while at the same time balancing privacy rights in disclosure requirements.”
Metzger said the task force will announce a committee to monitor sales reforms in the near future.
Fasig-Tipton President Walt Robertson said the task force has made “positive contributions to the way we’re going to do business.”
“We spent a lot of time on it, and we came up with some positive changes that will help everyone concerned,” Robertson said. “It’s a work in progress and we will continue to look to see how we can improve.”
Pete Denk is Sales Editor of Thoroughbred Times
