Owner-trainers gain greater representation on TOC board
By Steve Andersen
After months of discussions with an upstart group of horsemen, the Thoroughbred Owners of California is expected to increase from three to six the number of owner-trainers that can be elected to its 15-person board next year.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday between the TOC and officials with the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, a group of owners and trainers who have sought greater representation on the TOC board, and was announced by the California Horse Racing Board.
Wednesday’s agreement, which requires a change in the bylaws of the TOC and must be ratified by its members, is a sign that the CTHA’s effort to decertify the TOC as the state’s official representative of Thoroughbred horsemen in the state could be coming to an end. The CTHA conducted a petition drive earlier this year to gather signatures in an effort to decertify the TOC, and agreement was announced a day before the racing’s board monthly scheduled meeting at Hollywood Park on Thursday. At that meeting, the CTHA was expected to seek ratification of its election petition. The issue was expected to be dropped from the agenda.