The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is asking for help from horseplayers, racing fans and the greater Thoroughbred industry to make a final, coordinated push in the effort to enact new regulations on pari-mutuel winnings and withholdings. An appeal penned by NTRA President & CEO Alex Waldrop has been distributed via e-mail to tens of thousands of contacts.
“The NTRA has been advancing this issue within the federal government for years and others in the industry sought these changes before the NTRA even came into existence nearly 20 years ago,” Waldrop says in his letter. “We are now on the cusp of Treasury finally enacting the new rules – going official, so to speak. There is too much at stake to not give our all in these final strides.”
The message continues: “We need you to let Treasury know you’d like them to enact the newly proposed regulations. Please take 30 seconds to add your name to the thousands that have already shown their support for Thoroughbred racing by visiting www.ntra.com/comment and submitting an e-mail to Treasury. The link does all the work – all you have to do is add your name, address and a valid e-mail.”
The full text of the e-mail from Waldrop follows this release and is available on the NTRA website at https://www.ntra.com/letter-from-alex-waldrop-we-need-you.
“We would like this message to reach every corner of the racing world,” said NTRA Chief Operating Officer Keith Chamblin. “Any industry organization or fan that wants to help is invited to forward our message on to their own contacts and adapt the language as they see fit.”
Full text of e-mail from Alex Waldrop:
To all Thoroughbred horseplayers and racing fans,
The final quarter of last Sunday’s incredible Super Bowl has me thinking about how no lead is ever safe and no race is ever over until time runs out or the result goes official. This is worth bearing in mind as we reach the mid-point of the U.S. Treasury’s 90-day public comment period on newly proposed regulations related to withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel winnings. As an industry we’re ahead by open lengths at the sixteenth pole but we must be kept to task.
The NTRA has been advancing this issue within the federal government for years and others in the industry sought these changes before the NTRA even came into existence nearly 20 years ago. We are now on the cusp of Treasury finally enacting the new rules – going official, so to speak. There is too much at stake to not give our all in these final strides.
We need you to let Treasury know you’d like them to enact the newly proposed regulations. Please take 30 seconds to add your name to the thousands that have already shown their support for Thoroughbred racing by visiting www.ntra.com/comment and submitting an e-mail to Treasury. The link does all the work – all you have to do is add your name, address and a valid email.
The proposed rule changes have received widespread industry support, including from horseplayers, horsemen, racetracks, and every major industry group. No less an authority than Steve Crist has called them “a godsend for horseplayers.” Now we need individuals like yourself to raise their voices and help us get this across the goal line. Go to www.ntra.com/comment right now and make it official.
Thank you for helping us to return more winnings to horseplayers and increase purse money for the good of the entire sport!
Best,
Alex Waldrop
President & CEO
National Thoroughbred Racing AssociationPS – To learn more about the proposed rule changes visit https://www.ntra.com/crist-qa/
About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the Eclipse Awards; the National Handicapping Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).
