USTA Department Activities

1
USTA Department Activities

• 2008

2
Executive

• Transition to new Defined Benefit Pension Money
  Managers completed per direction from Pension
  Committee
• USTA Financials tracking closely to budget
• Working through transition to new executive vice
  president replacement, overseeing various
  department projects.

3
Communications

• Created and released 100 Years in Harness, our
  new photo book reflecting harness racing of the
  20th century. Promoted book on tour that covered
  14 stops.
• Unveiled Harness the Excitement, an
  introduction to harness racing, intended to get
  newcomers interested in the sport. All members
  are encouraged to spread them through their
  communitiesat doctor offices, barber shops,
  community gatheringsas well as racetracks,
  fairs, etc.
• Created A Winning Combination, a potential
  owners guide to harness racing. The booklet is a
  guide for anyone seeking to enter ownership, and
  will be the text for the New Owner Seminars
  hosted by Outreach Administrator Jamie Coffy. It
  is accompanied by a Web site to guide people to
  ownership and support their efforts, and a
  teachers guide to help other groups put on
  their own owners seminars.
• A multimedia approach is now being taken related
  to all projects, including print, Internet and
  video componentsfrom publications to event
  coverage.

• Developed and expanded USTA on You Tube, our
  video channel, featuring videos from across
  racing, history, etc., located at
  http//www.youtube.com/ustrotting.
• Hoof Beats earned Honorable Mention for General
  Excellence from American Horse Publications.,
  taking home first prize for event design, second
  prize for color staff photo and honorable mention
  for feature article.
• Hoof Beats produced 75th anniversary issue,
  featuring an amazing cover gatefold image from
  world renowned photographer Harry Giglio.
• Developed an extensive, yet reasonably priced
  line of logo items, which includes summer and
  winter apparel.
• Launched Harnessphere, racings only online
  social community, which attracted 300 members in
  the first day.
• Worked with Customer Service and It on New Member
  packet.

4
Customer Service

• Implemented disaster recovery efforts to ensure
  that customer service representatives may serve
  the urgent needs of the membership in an
  emergency.
• Assisted Communications effort to brand and
  update and USTA customer service forms. This will
  be an on-going effort into 2009.
• Instituted new policy of reaching out to closing
  racetracks about status of outstanding paperwork
  and will continue to establish better
  communication between track clerks and USTA.
• Partnered with Race Track Support to cut down on
  horses racing without active electronic
  eligibility.
• Cross-trained customer service representatives to
  assist publications department and Communications
  Department in taking customer publication and
  logo merchandise orders. Continue to cross train
  CS reps to be cross trained in all aspects of
  department work.
• Continue efforts to digitize/preserve all CS
  documents. Back-log scanning of stable,
  corporation, agent and executor paperwork
  complete.

• Processed 25,174 transfers of ownership.
• Serviced more than 24,000 members including 6,949
  drivers/trainers and 426 officials.
• Registered 234 new stables and corporations.
• Activated 7,509 Electronic Racing Eligibilities.
• Processed 8,875 new foal registrations.
• Registered 817 imported horses
• Registered 83 new drivers colors
• Answered 44,050 customer phone calls.

5
Harness Racing Communications

• Extensive promotion and publicity for Crazy
  Good.  Reviews in Cleveland Plain Dealer, Buffalo
  News and others. Arranged seven book readings and
  signings.
• Arranged national publicity for
  Somebeachsomewhere and Deweycheatumnhowe in
  unprecedented scope in USA Today, Boston Globe,
  New York Times, Globe and Mail (Canada) and
  Sports Illustrated in addition to placing
  numerous stories in local outlets on both horses
  (Middletown and Philly for Dewey central Ohio
  for SBSW breeder).
• Provided on-site publicity services at World
  Trotting Derby, Breeders Crown, Goshen races,
  Hambletonian.

• Placed more than 10 hometown stories on
  participants in USTA Driving School.
• Provided HRC-bylined Chester stakes event
  coverage on request for Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Placed David Siegel/World Cup stories in
  California papers and Stanford alumni magazine.
• Recruited six college journalism students for the
  annual Clyde Hirt Sports Writing Workshop in
  conjunction with the Hambletonian. The students
  wrote more than a half dozen pre-race/post-race
  stories placed in newspapers across the country.

6
Information Research, Race Track Support

• Continued testing, training, and support of
  eTrack. This new web-based software for the
  racetracks to enter horses in races, produce
  program pages and transmit results to the USTA
  and media is being utilized for all pari-mutuel
  and fair tracks.
• Collaborated on function and design for
  enhancements to PATHWAY. These changes included
  the hypothetical mating report and the addition
  of yearling sale results for sires.
• Produced and edited catalog pedigrees for seven
  yearling and mixed sales. Produced and edited
  pedigrees for nine state stallion directories and
  The Horseman and Fair Worlds Breeders Book.
• Created racelines in printed and online document
  form for racehorses in ten mixed sales
• Collected summary racing information, converted
  earnings, and entered foreign racelines for
  horses being imported to race in North America.
• Consulted in design and function of new Fines and
  Suspensions information system utilizing FAS for
  making purse redistributions.

• Collaborating on design and function of new
  web-based application intended to generate
  payment and race dates for Stakes Guide and
  internet calendar of stakes schedules.
• Prepared content for annual USTA publications,
  such as Sires and Dams, Trotting and Pacing
  Guide.
• Collected yearling sale results for inclusion in
  USTA database.
• Performed customer service function for PATHWAY
  and RacewayLite internet information services.
• Performed data corrections and quality control of
  racing information.
• Served as an information resource for USTA
  members, staff, media, and general public.

7
Information Technology

• Rolled out eTrack, the new race charting program
  to nearly all pari-mutuel tracks, and specialized
  it for fair racing eTrack customized for racing
  officials reporting and entry
• Worked with Communications to develop new Entries
  Results portal at racing.ustrotting.com with
  quicker posting with enhanced information (like
  mutual payoffs).
• Created with Regulatory the web-based Fines
  Suspension system, with historical information
  loaded
• Developed MyPathway personalization, new printing
  and display features

• Updated and improved established programs like
  STARS (online stallion directory), RacewayLite,
  PATHWAY and PATICS.
• Upgrades to USTA Internet capacity to service
  growing needs and Web site features
• Technical enhancements to enable USTA staff
  working offsite events
• Disaster Recovery planning, secondary datacenter
  facilities and phone system failovers
• Creation of Training and Customer Testing
  platforms in support of web-based applications.

8
Regulatory

• Works closely with Standardbred Investigative
  Services on integrity-related issues.
• Participates as members of the board of directors
  and subcommittees of industry related
  organizations, including
• Racing Officials Accreditation Program
• Racing Medication and Testing Consortium
• Association of Racing Commissioners International
• Big Event Team
• Worked with IT to develop the new Fines and
  Suspension System (FAS).
• Conducted a Racing Officials Accreditation
  Program in conjunction with the University of
  Louisville.

• Conducted USTAs Annual Standardbred Driving
  School, and organized USTAs Charity Golf Outing
  to promote Youth Outreach programs.
• Promoted amateur driving clubs, and coordinated
  the Tim Fouts Amateur Driving Championship race.
• Assisted racing commission and officials with
  regulatory matters.
• Coordinated the identification of nearly 12,000
  horses by USTA ID Technicians.
• Reviewed membership applications and license
  requests as members of the Membership Review
  Committee.
• Held County Fair Racing Summit in Ohio to
  identify issues relative to county fair racing,
  and developed Best Practices Manual for county
  fair harness racing