August 2014 Rosecroft Summer-Fall Meet Racing Applications Now Available (Fort Washington, MD – August 8, 2014) Racing Applications for the 2014 Summer-Fall race meet at Rosecroft Raceway are now available at www.rosecroft.com. The 27-date meet will commence Saturday, September 13 with live racing every Tuesday and Saturday through December 13. A purse increase of approximately 5% will be part of the fall purse structure, bringing the overnight purses to an average of approximately $65,000 per race date. Rosecroft will continue to provide additional incentives for Maryland racing participants including entry preferences and a 15% purse earnings bonus for “Maryland Preferred” horses and horsemen. “The racing program at Rosecroft continues to improve and Maryland horsemen and horses are the biggest beneficiary with over 80% of the starters and purse earnings going to Maryland owners, trainers or horses bred, sired or foaled in the state,” said Chris McErlean, Vice President of Racing for Penn National Gaming, parent company of Rosecroft Raceway. The first condition sheet of the meet should be posted by August 29. Qualifiers will be held Saturday, September 6 starting at 11 a.m. First race post time for live racing will be 6:40 p.m. Rosecroft Raceway Prepares for Fall Meet in 65th Season Special Maryland Sires Stakes Races Scheduled to Start the Fall Meet (Fort Washington, MD—August 11, 2014) Rosecroft Raceway will continue live harness racing with a Fall meet at Rosecroft scheduled to begin on September 9, 2014. Rosecroft will continue to emphasize its on-going commitment to rebuild the Standardbred industry in Maryland by continuing to offer a 100% preference to Maryland connected horses in all races. “We are committed to Maryland racing and helping to rebuild this industry,” said Chris McErlean, Vice President of Racing for Penn National Gaming, parent company of Rosecroft Raceway. “We are working side by side in conjunction with the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association and the Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association to revive Standardbred racing in Maryland,” McErlean continued. One special focus at the beginning of the 2014 will be newly added prep races for 2 and 3 year old Maryland Sires Stakes eligible horses. The two year old divisions will be raced on September 13 and the 3 year old division will be raced on September 16. Each prep race will go for a purse of $3,000. “Horsemen understand that Maryland must have a strong breeding industry to survive. The efforts of the Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association to promote growth the Maryland Sire Stakes program are admirable and Rosecroft is pleased to see the growth and attention it is now receiving. I am very happy for our racetrack to play a part in this renewal working with MSBA,” concluded McErlean. Maryland Standardbred Breeders President Dan Myer said, “One again Rosecroft has come through for the Maryland Breeding industry. We are very pleased to be working with the Rosecroft team to promote the Maryland Sires Stakes.” Horsemen who are interested in learning more about breeding in Maryland or participating in our program may contact Dan Myer at 410-603-1585 or visit the website at www.mdbreeders.org. Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association President Tom Cooke offered the following comment, “We are very pleased to be working together with our colleagues from MSBA and wish to acknowledge our appreciation for Penn National Gaming and Rosecroft. Penn National has continued to operate Rosecroft under difficult financial situations and their commitment to the Maryland Standardbred horsemen has been fantastic. We are anxious to do our part in helping this partnership continue so Maryland racing thrives.” The 2014 Rosecroft live racing meet will continue through December 13. Horsemen may contact Sharon Roberts or Gina Maybee in the CSOA office with questions or for help at 301-567-9636. Racing applications are available on line or through the CSOA office and should be submitted by August 25th. Important Information concerning the upcoming 2014 Summer-Fall Race Meet at Rosecroft Raceway th Rosecroft is planning to hold qualifiers on September 6 if sufficient numbers of horses are entered to justify them. Entries will be due by noon September 5th. Rosecroft will move to the process of direct deposit for all horsemen’s purse checks commencing with this race meet. Rosecroft has asked the help of CSOA in terms of collecting the appropriate direct deposit forms (and stable rosters) to make certain there are minimal delays in this process. These forms must be received before purse monies can be distributed. Horsemen are encouraged to complete their racing applications and submit them by August 25th. Rosecroft WILL NOT be going to ABC Classification of Horses Rosecroft will now move to the automated computer draw. There will be a 5% purse increase across the board for the 2014 Fall meet. Rosecroft will continue the practice of providing a 15% bonus for Maryland owned, sired/bred, trained and foaled horses. Additionally, Rosecroft will continue to provide a $100 out of competition stipend for horses finishing 6th or worse. Rosecroft will continue the 100% race entry preference policy. Entry preference will be in the following priority: 1. Maryland owned, 2. Maryland sired/bred, 3. Maryland trained, 4. Maryland foaled and 5. Virginia owned (entry preference only, no bonuses). Maryland Bred is defined as the owner of the mare at the time of conception is a Maryland resident. Horses that were not bonus or preference eligible as of July 13, 2014 (60 days from the start of the meet) will not be eligible for a bonus or preference during the entire 2014 Fall meet unless they were (1) claimed or (2) purchased at public auction. This does not mean that horses who are not preference or bonus eligible cannot race at Rosecroft - it means that they will not get a bonus or entry preference. The Maryland Standardbred PAC was established to support legislative issues that could positively impact Maryland Harness Racing. There are approximately 300 PAC's currently registered in Maryland. The Maryland Standardbred PAC is the only one representing the standardbred horsemen in the State. We encourage our members to send a personal check made out to Maryland Standardbred PAC, P.O. Box 671, Brandywine, MD 20613. All contributions are voluntary and helps us make certain that Standardbred voices are heard. New TCO2 Testing Procedures 1) One hour after the finish of a race two tubes of blood will be drawn and be centrifuged. 2) Both samples will be sent to the laboratory for testing. 3) Laboratory will test one tube to determine the TCO2 level in triplicate. 4) If first specimen is in excess of established thresholds on all three runs the second tube of blood will be tested in triplicate as well. 5) If second specimen is in excess of the established threshold on all three runs it will be considered a positive finding. Maryland Racing Commission Unanimously Approves Multiple Medication Violations (MMV) At the June 17, 2014 the Maryland Racing Commission voted unanimously to adopt a Multiple Medication Violation (MMV) point system, as the next step of the Uniform Medication Program. The MMV Point system is going through a process of drafting regulations and the approval of those regulations. Maryland Racing Commission is planning on having the MMV point in place as of January 1, 2015, but points will be accumulated as of January 1, 2014. Every licensed trainer in Maryland started with zero points as of January 1, 2014. The MMV point system is designed to create uniformity within the racing industry and will operate similar to motor vehi- cle’s point system. The industry will be handing out points for drug violations and tracking Maryland trainers and train- ers everywhere with those violations through a national central database maintained by Association of Racing Commis- sioners International. The trainers’ offenses will be track just like the MVA tracks drivers’ records. When too many points are accrued, trainers, like vehicle drivers, will be penalized. Each violation will carry a penalty ranging from 0.5 points for the smallest offense to 6 points for the most egregious. When a trainer has from 3-5.5 points, penalties begin with an additional 30-day suspension. A constant point system of- fender could face penalty of up to 360 days with 11 or more points. The MMV point system is in addition to the current penalty system. Trainers are subject to the established penalties handed out by the MRC for each violation. Penalties for multiple violations will run consecutively with the underlying penalty. If trainers remain clean for a certain amount of time, ranging from 1 to 3 years based on the degree of seriousness and amount of points on their records, they can have their records wiped clean. Multiple Medication Violation Program Points Penalty Class Points if Controlled Therapeutic Substance Points if Non-Controlled Substance Class A N/A 6 Class B 2 4 Class C 1 2 Class D 1/2 1 Suspensions Expungement Period Points Suspension in Days Penalty Class Time to Expungement 3.5-5 30 Days Class A Permenant 6-8.5 60 Days Class B 3 Years 9-10.5 180 Days Class C 2 Years 11 or more 360 Days Class D 1 Year Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners’ Association participated in the 2014 Horse Forum put on by the Maryland Horse Industry Board and Maryland Horse Council. Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners’ Association, Maryland Standardbred Breeders Association and Rosecroft Raceway were all Gold Sponsors of the event. Save The Date Saturday, December 13, 2014 Lets get some Standardbreds all decorated up for this event! 2014 MARYLAND STANDARDBRED 2 Year Olds 3 Year Olds Ocean Downs Ocean Downs Prelim - August 17 Prelim - August 21 Final - August 24 Final - August 28 Rosecroft Rosecroft Prelim - September 23 Prelim - September 20 Final - September 30 Final - September 27 Standardbred Horse Show at the Maryland State Fair Monday and Tuesday, August 25-26, 2014 For more information please visit http://www.marylandstatefair.com Check out the Cloverleaf S.O.A.’s website at www.cloverleafsoa.org to sign up for the CSOA Membership e-mail mailing list.