The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, and

Rye Brook, New York Rye Brook is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, within the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Rye (town), New Yo ...

. Historically, it is the marketing departments of the individual tracks, not the national marketing campaigns, which have attracted a fan base. In 2012, the radio campaign by advertising agency, DeVito/Verdi, led to an increase in a younger, more affluent fan base, and won the Mercury awards for the best radio campaign. The current President and CEO of NTRA is Tom Rooney, a former member of Congress from Florida.

History

Founding and early lobbying

The NTRA was formed in 1998 with startup funding provided by

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

Limited,

Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) is an American trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1961, TOBA's stated mission is to "improve the economics, i ...

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

Keeneland Association Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

Oak Tree Racing Association The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American nonprofit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California. Graded Stakes races at the Oak Tree meet Since Oak Tree Racing moved to Hollywood Park in 2010, so ...

and the National Thoroughbred Association. It replaced the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America as the sponsor of the

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

awards in 1998. Beginning in the late 1990s, the NTRA operated a number of lobbying campaigns in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

They NTRA registered a "hard money"

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

on July 14, 2000, with the organization quoting that "a $1-million PAC is a necessary complement to the NTRA's federal lobbying efforts."

Online wagering - Federal authorization

On December 15, 2000, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

passed a package of

appropriations bill An appropriation bill, also known as supply bill or spending bill, is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending. In some democracies, approval of the legislature ...

s which included an amendment to the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA), a bill first enacted in 1978. The NTRA had been a key lobbying team behind the new legislation, and the IHA Amendment was signed by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on December 22 and clarified that the US horse racing industry could conduct interstate

simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

and "commingling of pools and account wagering," so long as the states where the activity occurred permitted such activity. This legislation confirmed that Internet-based wagering related to horse racing was legal, so long as the wagering business could confirm the identity and age via closed-loop authentication. Separate gambling legislation known as the

Federal Wire Act The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, often called the Federal Wire Act, is a United States federal law prohibiting the operation of certain types of betting businesses in the United States. It begins with the text: Several legal opinions and rulin ...

that historically prohibited any betting over state lines via technology stayed intact, with horse racing becoming the sole exemption for federally recognized online gambling in states that authorized the activity.

Federal tax relief

Beginning in 2002 the NTRA lobbying team advocated for H.R. 4474, which gained bipartisan support for its proposal to eliminate the 30% tax that the U.S. government then placed on all international bets. This legislation was signed into law in by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

October 22, 2004. In 2006 the NTRA lobbying team secured an additional exemption for horse racing in the

Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) is United States legislation regulating online gambling. It was added as Title VIII to the SAFE Port Act (found at ) which otherwise regulated port security. The UIGEA prohibits g ...

, signed by President Bush on October 13, 2006.

Marketing and advertising

Historically, it is the marketing departments of the individual tracks, not the national marketing campaigns, which have attracted a fan base. In 2012, the radio campaign by advertising agency, DeVito/Verdi, led to an increase in a younger, more affluent fan base, and won the Mercury award for the best radio campaign. In September 2017, two of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's radio ads, created by DeVito/Verdi, won "Hall of Fame" awards at the 2017 Clio Awards show. The Hall of Fame selections are for "outstanding work from the past that has stood the test of time and cemented a place of honor and respect in the hearts and memories of consumers and advertising professionals alike".

Tracks

Northeast

* Aqueduct (Ozone Park, NY) *

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

(Elmont, NY) *

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

(Farmington, NY) 'Inactive''*

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

(Oceanport, NJ) 'Inactive''* Saratoga (Saratoga Springs, NY) *

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to cre ...

(Boston, MA)

Midwest

Canterbury Park Canterbury Park (formerly Canterbury Downs), is a horse racing track in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation ("Canterbury Park") hosts parimutuel wagering on live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing at its ...

(Shakopee, MN) * Indiana Grand (Shelbyville, IN)

South

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

(Louisville, KY) * Fair Grounds (New Orleans, LA) *

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for ...

(Hallandale Beach, FL) *

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

(Lexington, KY) * Kentucky Downs (Franklin, KY) * Laurel Park (Laurel, MD) *

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

(Baltimore, MD) * Turfway Park (Florence, KY)

West

* Del Mar (Del Mar, CA) *

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

(Albany, CA) * Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, CA) *

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

(Arcadia, CA) * Sunland Park (Sunland Park, NM)

Canada

* Woodbine (Toronto, ON)

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , title = Fiftieth Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing , url = http://www.jockeyclub.com/roundtable/pdf/roundtable_02.pdf , publisher =

, date = August 18, 2002 , access-date = 2014-07-06 {{cite news , title =Horse Racing Nuzzles Capitol Hill , first =Shalaigh , last =Murray , newspaper =

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

, date =July 25, 2003 {{cite news , title =Edited Press Release: Horse PAC Increases Size of Board of Directors , url =http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/31944/horse-pac-increases-size-of-board-of-directors , newspaper =

The Blood-Horse ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

, date =January 27, 2006 , access-date = 2014-11-30 {{cite news , title =Gambling ban falls short again , first =Mike , last =Brunker , url =http://www.problemgambling.com/net_gambling_falls_short.html , publisher =

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, date =December 27, 2000 , access-date = 2014-11-10 {{cite news , title =Odd Befellows on Internet Betting , first =Peter H. , last =Stone , newspaper =

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

/ Lobbying and Law , date =June 14, 2003 {{cite news , title =Elimination of Withholding Tax Becomes Law , first =Tom , last =LaMarra , url =http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/24974/elimination-of-withholding-tax-becomes-law#ixzz3Kt89lM7V , newspaper =

, date =October 22, 2004 , access-date = 2014-11-30 {{cite news , title = Bush Signs Internet Gambling Bill That Includes Horse Racing Exemption , url = http://www.hbpa.org/HorsemensJournalDisplay.asp?section=3&key1=8364 , newspaper = The Horsemen's Journal , publisher = HBPA.com , date = Winter 2006 , access-date = 2014-11-30 {{cite web, title=NTRA, url=http://www.ntra.com/, publisher=NTRA, access-date=16 July 2013

External links

The NTRA official website
1997 establishments in the United States Horse racing in the United States Sports governing bodies in the United States Sports organizations established in 1997