NY Again Considers Continuing Ed for Trainers

An effort in New York to set minimum annual continuing education thresholds for Thoroughbred trainers is back on track, with state regulators expected next week to embrace the new rule.

When the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association at the last minute raised objections to the plan, the New York Gaming Commission Oct. 31 suddenly pulled the proposal from the agenda of its board meeting scheduled for the following day.

The regulatory agency, though, Dec. 9 released details of its agenda for next week's board meeting, with a recommendation from the board's staff that the horsemen's ideas be rejected and the proposal be approved.

In a memo to the board, the agency's general counsel, Edmund Burns, notes that the plan was supported in letters to the agency by The Jockey Club and the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

The plan wold require four hours as a minimum floor for continuing education participation each year for trainers, including assistants. Keeping or attaining a racing industry license in New York will be conditioned upon meeting the education requirement, though trainers not based in the state  who have 12 or fewer starts in a year in New York can request a waiver.

The agency said in September that The Jockey Club and stewards have, for years, offered free continuing education for trainers. 

But the NYTHA, while endorsing the concept of additional annual education courses for trainers, in late October called upon the gaming commission to halt the rule's approval until a number of its concerns could be addressed. The horsemen's group raised objections that Thoroughbred trainers were being "singled out" and that the agency was not addressing standardized continuing education mandates for others in the industry, which the agency today "suggested" include owners, jockeys, and Standardbred trainers.

An Oct. 31 letter to the agency from NYTHA president Rick Violette Jr. said that while continuing education is valuable, "it should not be to the benefit of just one category of horse racing licenses."

Violette also raised concerns about the possible lack of available coursework for trainers to meet the requirements, noting stewards haven't offered courses for several years. He also said the rules were vague about the types of coursework that would be eligible, and that mandate should include an "extensive" array of programs that trainers could take to meet the rule's edicts.

In its new public filing on the matter, the gaming commission Dec. 9 noted that ARCI fully backs the New York effort and that it has "expressed interest" in using its database to help track trainers and the continuing education coursework they take each year. It added that The Jockey Club "reasserted support" for the plan and noted that training modules are already available to those affected by the planned rule. The group said it has developed free online training modules and that it, too, would be willing to track compliance and notify the state when trainers have met the minimum annual standards.

As for NYTHA's concern about too few courses being available, the gaming commission said today: "Staff believes that NYTHA's concern is unfounded.'' Between the offers from ARCI and The Jockey Club, as well as what it said could be on-track presentations by the state's equine medical director at the start of each Thoroughbred meet, there will be enough in-person and online class options "appropriate for the satisfaction of the proposed continued education requirements.'' 

The agency also rejected a call by the NYTHA for the state to raise the bar for new Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers and assistant trainers in the kinds of qualifications needed to get a license to work in New York. "This matter is not the subject of this proposed rulemaking and is not presently before the commissioners,'' states the letter to the board from Burns.

The gaming commission also noted that the proposed rule includes a provision for continuing education courses to be approved in advance so trainers know the time they spend will count toward the four-hour requirement.