By Sue Finley
The biannual Pan American Racing Conference opens in New York City on Thursday, hosted by The Jockey Club and planned in conjunction with the South American Organization for the Promotion of Thoroughbreds, which represents the sport in nine Latin and South American countries, and the Latin American Racing Channel.
“Globalization” will be the buzzword, a spirit that is reflected in the geographically diverse agenda for the two-day summit, which will also include speakers and presenters from Europe and Asia.
Topics like the importing and exporting of bloodstock, drug policing, international race ratings and classifications, marketing, stud book issues and the promotion of Thoroughbred ownership fill a wide-ranging program of events, which officially kicked off Wednesday night with a reception at the United Nations.
But beyond the Pan Am's specific agenda items, two themes loom large as the backdrop for the conference.
The first will deal with the fact that no matter how far-flung and geographically separate various racing entities might be, jurisdictions from different parts of the planet are essentially trying to come to grips with the same sorts of issues.
The second theme has to do with how, as the sport moves toward globalization, does racing strike a balance between striving for international standards while maintaining the unique flourishes each region has to offer?
“You do want to keep that individuality,” said Andrew Chesser, who will be juggling dual roles at the conference as the manager of registration services at The Jockey Club and deputy secretary general for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). “Each distinct regional flavor is something that each racing authority should hold dear, but it's good to come together to see what similarities we can address as we're trying to promote the very best of global horse racing.”
National Thoroughbred Racing Association president Alex Waldrop, who will be delivering Thursday's opening remarks, supported Chesser's viewpoint by giving an example of how Lexington, Kentucky, manages to remain true to both local and international values at the same time.
“Communities like Lexington love Keeneland and its uniqueness,” Waldrop said. “No matter how international Keeneland has become–and it has become quite international, especially on the sales side–it is still uniquely Keeneland. No matter how global you become, you can never do away with the need to remain very, very, connected to the local market. You don't give that up in the globalization process.”
Stallion shuttling and simulcasting have emerged as two of the top trends between North and South America over the last several decades. Each sector is rife with both challenges and opportunities, Waldrop said.
“One of the challenges we'll be talking about is the Equator, and the different times of the year that make it difficult for horses to travel north-south as readily as we'd like,” Waldrop said. “And reciprocity is a big issue, that is, the ability to trade both north and south, especially in the simulcast area. Takeout issues are complicated in the Americas. Harmonization, racing rules, medication policies—there will also be a lot of talk about that.”
Chesser, who helped structure the Pan Am agenda, said one goal in lining up speakers was to try to offer fresh perspectives by juxtaposing the views of racing industry executives with those who are involved in outside endeavors.
Carlos Heller Solari, for example, can speak on both sides of that point. As the president of Club Hípico de Santiago and a leading breeder both in Chile and, more recently, North America (Haras Don Alberto), Solari also runs a premier soccer team, Club Universidad de Chile. He will deliver a presentation examining the global nature of racing and other professional sports in South America.
“We're trying to find the parallels between professional sports and racing,” Chesser said. “So he's going to talk a little bit about the likenesses between his soccer team and his breeding and racing operations.”
Chesser said Solari's talk will dovetail with a Q & A session with National Basketball Association commissioner emeritus David Stern, who will focus on the global growth and success of the NBA during his tenure.
“What did the NBA look like 25 years ago, and how do we translate that to what our sport of racing looks like today?” Chesser said. “We're steering the conference in a manner that racing is not something that we concentrate on only our home soil. We want to make it something that the rest of the world can appreciate.”
New York Racing Association senior vice president of racing operations Martin Panza will moderate a panel titled Delivering International Racing and Content to Bettors & Fans.
“That really will be a topic of conversation for the whole two days,” Chesser said. “Creating racing that is appealing not just to our home countries, but for the rest of the world.”
Richard Cheung, the executive director of customer marketing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, will moderate a discussion called Enhancing the Racing Customer Experience. In that panel, global media executives will “speak about how media itself is changing,” Chesser said.
“How do you get viewers, readers, and ultimately the people who bet on races into the mix?” Chesser said. “I think this will be one of the really strongest panels over the two days.”
Former and current jockeys will be represented at the Pan Am conference. Dr. Rita Rocca, a veterinarian from Maroñas Racetrack in Uruguay, will moderate a talk among John Velazquez, Ramon Dominguez and Chris McCarron that will cover important issues facing riders internationally.
“This is a global sport and it's not uncommon for jockeys to travel to different parts of the world to compete. It's important to be familiar with policies and practices, whether you're riding in South America, North America, Europe or Asia,” said McCarron.
“Think about all the really successful Latin and South American jockeys who have left their mark on U.S. racing,” Chesser said. “What should we be doing in terms of investing to continue to encourage this influx of jockeys from Latin and South America?”
Considering the prevalence of doping and medication reform in the global headlines, it is no surprise that topics pertaining to drugs will be covered in substantial detail, having been allotted panels in four separate time slots on Friday afternoon.
The British Horseracing Authority's zero-tolerance approach to anabolic steroids, the IFHA's global program to certify laboratories at the highest proficiency levels, and South America's efforts at phasing out raceday medication will all be up for discussion.
“A lot of South American countries in the last few years have gone through the effort toward the gradual elimination of raceday medications, including Lasix,” Chesser said. “We've not had a chance, at least at this global level, to learn how this came about and what the subsequent consequences might be in terms of field size and starts per horse. I think we're going to learn that those fears aren't quite so pronounced as some people might believe.”
In addition, an outside-the-industry doping perspective will be provided by David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who will share insights on the creation of the World Anti-Doping Code and his organization's efforts at bringing international consistency to drug policies.
“It's an ambitious two days,” said Chesser. “We come together at these conferences as sort of a think tank, to see how we can collectively pool our resources to address a lot of similar topics that affect racing throughout the world. I think we're stronger together than we are apart.”
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