Staff representing every major initiative at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) will be in Tucson, Ariz., next week for the racing industry’s most important annual business conference, the Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming, organized by the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program, at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Symposium attendees, especially NTRA members, are encouraged to connect with NTRA representatives to learn more about potential collaborations and business opportunities.
NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop will appear on two Symposium panels. Tuesday morning he will help to kick off the conference as part of the 8:30 a.m. session, Is it Possible to “Do More With Less” When it Comes to Race Horses?, a conversation on foal crop sizes. On Wednesday morning Waldrop is set to moderate Day 2’s first session, Is Racing Ready for Legalized Sports Betting?
NTRA COO and National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tournament Director Keith Chamblin will be a guest on Tuesday’s annual Turf Publicists of America Mark Kaufman Workshop panel, How to Leverage the Handicapping Tournament Landscape to Advance the Sport. That conversation will be moderated by NTRA Director of Media & Industry Relations Jim Mulvihill.
For the first time, the NTRA is offering a Handicapping Contest Workshop during the Symposium for tournament directors, as well as racetrack and ADW executives. The two-hour session will cover contest formats, marketing tactics, insurance bonus programs, and other factors that can help drive contest revenue. Chamblin will lead the workshop along with the NTRA’s Senior Director of Events Michele Ravencraft and Digital Media Manager Holly Short. The Monday afternoon (2-4 p.m.) workshop is free to Symposium attendees but requires a reservation (e-mail mravencraft@ntra.com to RSVP).
Other NTRA staff expected to be on hand include NTRA Senior Vice President, NTRA Advantage Jeff Burch and NTRA Advantage Sales and Business Development head Fritz Widaman, who will host key partners and facilitate connections with industry decision-makers, as well as NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance Executive Director Steve Koch.
Following the Symposium, select NTRA representatives will remain in Tucson for the annual Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) conference, Dec. 7-8, at the Omni Tucson National Resort and Spa. A Thursday morning Legal Continuing Education “MasterClass” conducted by the International Masters of Gaming Law, in conjunction with the ARCI Regulatory Attorneys Committee, will include a panel with Waldrop on Emerging Technologies: Stretching the Boundaries of Pari-Mutuel Regulations and Regulatory Authority. Waldrop, who serves as Chairman of the Racing and Medication Testing Consortium (RMTC), also will represent the RMTC before the ARCI Model Rules Committee on both days.
For more information on the Symposium, visit ua-rtip.org/symposium. For more on the ARCI December meeting, visit http://arcicom.businesscatalyst.com/meetings.html.