 So good morning, everyone. I hope that everyone is staying healthy and safe during these times. Pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, General Laws, Chapter 38, Section 20, notice is hereby given that the Horse Racing Committee of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will convene a public hearing for purposes of gathering comments, ideas, and information relative to the Race Horse Development Fund distribution percentages. Given the unprecedented circumstances resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic, the committee will conduct the public hearing utilizing remote collaboration technology consistent with Governor Baker's order, providing limited relief from certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law to protect the health and safety of individuals interested in attending public meetings. This committee invites and will hear comments, ideas, and information from 10 representative members from each of the standard bread, harness, and thoroughbred race horse race industries relative to the present percentages in place for the distribution of funds from the Race Horse Development Fund in three separate categories, purses, breeding programs, and health and welfare benefits. And specifically, whether any adjustment of any or all of the three established percentages should be considered for the upcoming racing season. Pursuant to the public notice, the committee has requested that the standard bread, harness, and thoroughbred horse racing industries each designate up to 10 speaker representatives that will have a maximum of four minutes each to make public comments to the committee. The committee has requested the names of the designated speaker representatives for this meeting to have been emailed to Todd Grossman, General Counsel for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. In addition, members of the public were invited to submit written comments via email to attorney Grossman at Todd.Grossman at MasksGaming.gov with split comment in the subject line. Written comments were requested to be received by yesterday afternoon, 4 p.m. Tuesday, January 26, 2021. For the members of the public attending this call, I just wanna name the members of the committee so that you're aware of who's on the committee and those that are attending. I am Brian Fitzgerald, chair of the committee and the governor's designee. We also have an attendance commissioner, Gail Cameron, who is the representative from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Liz Zelnick, who is here on behalf of the treasurer's office, Paul Umbrello as representative for the thoroughbred horse racing industry, and attorney Peter Goldberg as representative for the standard bred harness horse racing industry. For those who will be participants in speaking today, I'd like you to follow just a few guidelines. Please remember for each speaker, your time is allotted for four minutes. We would ask that each speaker be mindful of their allotted time and they will receive a cue from either attorney Grossman or myself when they have one minute to speak. Each speaker should introduce themselves with their name, residential or business address in the racing industry that they are representing. Each speaker should remember that their public comments are being recorded to become part of the public records of the horse racing committee. The chair shall reserve the right to interrupt the speaker if their comments are deemed to be duplicative from another speaker or to mute an individual when their allotted time has expired or if any verbal comments are deemed to be offensive or personal attack against any individual or organization. No speaker may yield their time to another when the speaker has concluded the next speaker on the list shall be introduced. We appreciate all of the speaker's participation in this important process and the information that you are providing to us. Finally, at the conclusion of all of the speakers, we'll reserve a few minutes for the members of this committee to ask any questions or make any comments that they wish to do if they wish to do so at that time. And I believe we've received roughly a list of 13 speakers. I will first call upon a representative of the thoroughbred industry and then we'll kind of alternate between representative speakers at that time. So the first speaker on the list that I have is William Legorio, Mr. Legorio. Yes, yes, this is William Legorio, 36 Witherby Avenue, Riviera Mass, representing the thoroughbreds for the Mass of the Thoroughbred Hostage Association. And we, I'm calling in today to voice the opinion of the thoroughbred side on our end and that is to talk about, more importantly, we'll start off with the breeders, if I could start off with the breeders end, and that is the attention that was called to the breeders, especially this past summer via television media and so on and so forth. And I wanna put forth that we have been working on comprehensive legislative changes to the breeders program with some very strong authors of legislation, as well as getting full support on the piece that we put together with the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. I know that in the past, we've talked about the lack of racing and the fact that the lack of racing has stymied, basically stymied the breeders program. And with that said, we saw this summer, probably some reasons why we could possibly lose more of that money. And it's important that we understand that the thoroughbred breeding end of it has been the strongest end all along, and we fully support what the standard breads have done with it. I think with our comprehensive legislation, you'll see that you can in fact put together a very useful program for the state and for the husband and the farms without a live racing program intact. And the way we looked at this is through a program that lays down some specifics, but in fact, what it does is allow for a mass bred program and then similar to the standard breads, a mass accredited program, which allows a little more broad based use of Massachusetts bred horses getting incentives. And with this being said, you're able to involve owners and the farms without the live racing going. And with legislation that currently sits on the books that allows out of town racing, our incentives to be paid at any track in the United States. It allows the use of this money to feed the farms and the industry within the state by giving you accredited horses that have to spend a significant amount of time in the Commonwealth, and that's what's important here. The difference between the standard bred and the thoroughbred side is that we don't allow artificial insemination, so we have live cover. There's actually a more comprehensive time and effort that goes into the farms. And we've looked at a number of different ways and I did run this by the Department of Agriculture in particular, the deputy commissioner and it's gained their full support. I wanna get copies of this out there for people to see. My fear is that in looking at what's going on right now, the standard breads have an open book to say, look, it's not working and we need to take all that money. When in fact, we can have a very vibrant breeders program while we await a thoroughbred racetrack in the Commonwealth. Now COVID has set back a number of things. It's set back our plan in Raleigh and it's set back, I believe the plan and where him had a setback, but we're hoping that the plan in Sturbridge still has legs and we're all optimistic and fully supportive of getting a thoroughbred track back. But the idea of the breeders money disappearing is a mistake. I think when you look at the legislation that we're gonna put forth here and get submitted and hopefully get it on soon so that we can get this filed and get moving, you'll see that this works even without live racing and the argument would be to take it away because there's no breeding, it will not be the case. We've worked with the major breeders over the years, the Kirby's, the Ryans, et cetera, et cetera and the fully supportive of all of this. And I think that it'll take a little bit of that spotlight away from what we saw this summer on one particular investigative report. I think the idea of running races out of the country, not getting the permission of the gaming commission, et cetera, et cetera. I hope we cover all of those bases with new legislation. I look forward to hearing from other speakers, but that's where we're going with this and I wanna get copies of this out for you folks to see. On the per side of it, I will say that to take any more or degrade this press money anymore will eliminate the possibility of a thoroughbred track. So I hope you keep that in mind and keep in mind that the thoroughbred industry was the major player in this for many, many years. I thank you all for your time and I hope to listen to all of the other comments. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ligoreal. You're welcome. The next, thank you. Mr. Geron on the list. Mr. Chairman, can I make a quick comment please? I'm not sure if you got this, Mr. Fitzgerald, but I think that Tony Grossman did. The standard bred industry has reduced its list of speakers from 10 down to three or four, okay? So there's two from the HH, A&E who'll be speaking. I think, again, I think Tony Grossman has that list. It's Mr. Griffin and Mr. London who will be speaking. Then on the breeder side, I believe it's Mr. Dusharm and possibly Mr. Fontaine. So those are the four. The other ones, you don't have to call out. Thank you. All right, okay, all right. So then Mr. Billingsley is not speaking today. Correct. Correct, okay, all right, okay. So then I guess I would call upon Mr. Dusharm. Is Mr. Dusharm there? Try hitting star six to unmute yourself. Yes, Mr. Dusharm is here. Okay. Okay, thank you. Sorry, I was disconnected there. I'm George Dusharm. I live at 11 Holbrook Street, Norfolk, Massachusetts. I'm a director on the board of the Mass Breeders and I represent the standard bread industry on the breeder side. And what the Racehorse Development Fund has helped grow our program immensely. It's helped the farms headed in the right direction. We have people breeding horses now that never did before and are buying brood mares and investing in the Commonwealth and the program. And just trying to keep the program headed in the right direction and any more money that we could add to add more races and keep all the money in the state would be beneficial to us as trainers and drivers in the state keeping the farms afloat and growing as they have done. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Dusharm. Thank you. The next speaker that I have on the list from the thoroughbreds, Lisa Welsh. Good morning, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Yes, thank you. Okay, my name's Lisa Welsh. I reside 51 Walcott Street, Everett, Massachusetts. I wanna thank you, Chairman Fitzgerald and the members of the committee. I do work directly with the Mass Lawsmen and Women Receiving Health and Welfare Benefits. I've been authorized to speak on that behalf. This current membership program from New England, HBPA, given our long-time horsemen and women these benefits are needed more now than ever. We have several horsemen and women struggling with severe health conditions such as cancer, heart issues, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and paralyzation. And with the rising costs of care and medications, these benefits are the differences between paying for their living expenses, paying for their medications they can't live without and buying groceries to put on their table. Everyone's going through difficult times with this pandemic of COVID-19 and the loss of jobs. However, it would have a detrimental effect on our horsemen and women to lose these benefits. Our horsemen asked me that I ask you to please keep our health and welfare programs stable. And I thank you for the time that you've given and you can give my minutes to anybody else. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Welch. Thank you. All right. So the next speaker on the list that I would have is Mr. Paul Fontaine. Mr. Fontaine, are you present? Yes, I'm here, thank you. Okay. I'm, my name's Paul Fontaine. I have been a director of the Mass Breeders and I'm here to speak on behalf of the Breed Program for the Standard Breads. I've been participating in this program for many years, probably more than cared with it. And frankly, I've never been so excited about the Mass Breed program as I am now. It's growing really fantastically, rapidly, significantly. The curve is definitely up. It's like a self-feeding prophecy. We have more mass breads coming from more breeding, from more mares, more farms, more green space. It's created more competitive sci-estakes racing, which invigorates not only the participants, such as myself, but also the fans who come to Plain Ridge and watch the sci-estakes races. I think that the fact that the program is not only alive, but it's thriving would certainly encourage this committee to not only support it, but to enhance its support, to recognize how successful the Standard Breed Breeding program has been. From the bottom to the top, everybody is excited, everybody is involved, everybody's enthused, and more mass breads are created by this enthusiasm, which is obviously what this committee and everybody in Massachusetts is interested in doing. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Funti. So the next speaker that we have is William Robbins. Mr. Robbins, are you present? Yes, yes, I'm here. My name is Bill Robbins, and I live at 175 Littleton Road, Chumsford, Mass, and thank you for having me. I'm here to represent the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association. I've done financial work for the organization for quite some time, and I just wanted to emphasize how important the funding is with respect to the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association. It's now the only means for us to have resources to meet our mission statement, which is encouraging Thoroughbred breeding, education, and of course, Thoroughbred racing. But secondly, from a financial perspective, I just wanted to bring up one issue that is becoming a little bit precarious for the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders, and that is for us to meet our state obligations as far as the restrictions that we have on us. We have a restriction that we really can only spend 8% of our state funds that come from the casinos on the administrative expenses for the organization. And of course, as other folks have mentioned, the times now are unprecedented with the COVID and of course, the resources have decreased and we find ourselves in a situation where it's practically impossible for us to meet that obligation, to stay within the state guidelines of just having enough resources to run the organization. And so I just wanted to make that technical point from a financial perspective that the committee could consider that we need, we need every dollar we have right now just to stay in compliance with the law. And I just wanted to make those two points and I appreciate you having me and listening to me. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Robbins. Okay, the next speaker that we have on the list is Mr. Robert Griffin. Mr. Griffin, are you present? Yes, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and committee members. My name is Robert Griffin. I reside in Salem, Massachusetts. I'm speaking on behalf of the Honest Husbands Association of New England. Currently, I am an owner of eight standard bred race horses owned in a gentleman's partnership. I hold at least a 25% interest in each husk. I am a relative newcomer to the husk racing industry having become involved only three and a half years ago. I have been a fan of both our bred and standard bred husk racing for almost 60 years. My love for husk racing is related to the husk not to the gambling aspects of the sport. I have traveled extensively around the country with camera in hand to attend major thoroughbred and standard bred stake races. A friend and coworker of mine got involved in standard bred racing partnership with a trainer around six or seven years ago. I started following their husks, visited their bond and attended their races a few times. In July, 2017, I was invited to join the partnership, which I did with no hesitation, beginning with three husks. Along with being a fan, I had seen how well the husks were cared for and how good the husks looked in appearance. This was the basis of my yes decision. What are my impressions thus far? The people who work in the standard bred industry have a genuine love and passion for the sport. The grooms and trainers who work with the husks put in 12 or more hours a day on a regular basis. Much of it is hard physical labor. I have witnessed this firsthand as I'm a hands-on owner who wants to be around the husks. Other people who I have brought to see our husks at the bond and race track have all remarked that they had no idea of how much work went into getting a husk onto the track. The grooms and trainers are not only good to their husks, but they are good to other people as well. I felt welcomed into their community. They taught me many things from cleaning stalls to jogging husks, truly hands-on experiences. On many race days, I have worked in the race paddock to help out with our husks. I have seen husband rush to help other grooms and trainers who might need some help with their husks. They are quick to lend their equipment to other husband who may be missing something or whose equipment breaks. They were leaving transport one another's husks to and from the race track in their husks vans if they have space available. They may be competing against one another, but helping one another is a rule of thumb. They let the competition be decided by the husks on the race track. No one wants to see a driver or another husk get injured. In the past three and a half years as an owner and working as a groom, I have met many new people. I am proud to say that many of them have become new friends and acquaintances on a first name basis. I have no regrets in having made the decision to become an owner in the standard bread industry. These hard work and indedicated people with a love and passion for their sport deserve your continued support. With that support, I hope purses and races get better and I encourage others to get involved. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Griffin. Okay. Mr. Umbrello, I just wanted to ask, I had only three names from the thoroughbreds, so I just wanted to ask, do you know of any other speakers? Well, not mom, no. No, we're all set at this time. You're all set. Okay. All right. Okay. Then I will call upon Mr. Paul London. Can you hear me? Yeah. Can you hear me all right? Yes, we can hear you. Thank you. Okay, great. Yes, my name is Paul London. Good morning. I represent the standard breads. I started in the business about 35 years ago. I live at 27 Packard Ave in Hull, Massachusetts. I am presently on the horseman's board at Plainridge and in also the treasurer. Regarding last year's harness meet, a strict plan was put in place by the state to follow COVID protocols. There were no COVID cases within the horsemen or horsewomen's community for the entire meet. The horsemen and horsewomen appreciate the opportunity they have here in Mass and did everything and everything they could to keep the meet going. Regarding our horse population, our quality of racing and breeding is getting better and better. I am one of these people I go every day. I see more and more new owners. I also see people that were out of the business for many years and now back in. It's all positive. We are doing exactly what the Race Horse Development Fund was built to do. At last year's Spirit of Mass Trot and Clara Barton Pace, a world record was set and we also attracted the horse of the year selected by the United States Trotting Association. So we are getting national exposure also. The growth of Plain Ridge is unlimited and the horsemen and horsewomen in the board are going to do all they can to have Plain Ridge become one of the best places to race in the country. I would like to thank you all for your hard work. And thank you to let me speak. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. London. Attorney Goldberg, are there any other speakers that you have on behalf of the standard breads? I just wanna make sure since we have a reduced list. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, that is our list for today. Thank you very much. Okay, all right. Then at this time, I'd like to ask, are there any comments or questions that any of the committee members have? Okay, all right. So seeing none, I wanna thank my fellow committee members and to all of the speakers who have been speaking today, as well as those who've submitted their written comments for the information that you've provided to us. Your information is very helpful towards our process. And with that, I believe we can close the public hearing at this time. Mr. Fitzgerald, if I may. Yeah, sure. Is it timely to discuss essentially scheduling another meeting in the near future due to some developments between the two groups? I believe we could schedule a meeting just based on, I think our plan was originally to have executive summaries submitted towards the end of February. Right, that was the plan. And Mr. Umbrella and myself have been working tirelessly together. We'd like to report to the committee some of our fruits of our labor, if you will. And if we could schedule a meeting for maybe early the mid-February, that might be efficient and save everyone some time. Okay, all right. In terms of scheduling, Mr. Grossman, is there some time that we could then reserve some time in February? Schedule? I think at the committee's convenience, we can schedule another meeting. Yeah, I'm in favor of moving forward quickly if it's possible. And I think the next step maybe should be just to put out some possible dates and then let the committee members kind of pick one that they could be available for. Okay, all right. Both to Mr. Umbrella and Attorney Goldberg, do you need some time to formalize your presentations? No, I think if we had two weeks, I mean, maybe the first week of February, I think that would give Mr. Umbrella and myself plenty of time to come up with what we need to come up with to present to the committee. Okay, I'm kind of looking at February 10th. Is that okay? Is that work? The 10th is fine with me. Can we take a minute to check our calendar? Hold on. Sure, sure. Chairman Fitzgerald for myself, I was gonna say the second week would be better so I can accept the 10th. I'm available on the 10th. And the 10th, could we do the afternoon? Is that possible? I have a 930 hearing that probably run about 45 minutes to an hour. So I could do 11 o'clock, probably. Or do you wanna do two o'clock in the afternoon? Does that work? Two o'clock works for me. Two o'clock works for you? Okay. It works for me as well. Okay, all right. Okay. Paul, does that work for you? That works for me. Okay, all right. All right, so then we'll convene our public meeting then on February 10th, 2021 at 2 p.m. Thank you very much. Okay, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everybody. Very informative. Thank you. Thanks, everyone. Thank you. Thank you to all the speakers. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.