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JOHN A MORRIS President of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States who addressed yester ¬ days convention session of the National Association of State Racing Commis MORRIS NASRC ADDRESS John A Morris president of the Thor ¬ oughbred Racing Associations of the United States Inc made the following address at yesterdays session of the National As ¬ sociation of State Racing Commissioners convention I am grateful for the opportunity to ad ¬ dress a few words to you on the occasion of your nineteenth convention conventionThoroughbred Thoroughbred racing as a national sport has come a long way since that day in Florida in 1934 when your association was formed We of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations though a more recently formed group feel a kinship of aims and spirit with all of you which is the welfare of thoroughbred racing The tremendous growth of racing and its increase in public acceptance during the past two decades is evidence that the efforts both individual and collective of the racing commissions and race tracks have had most tangible and encouraging results As long as we continue to act in unison and to think pro ¬ gressively the sport will continue to pros ¬ per This became apparent early in its history with the universal adoption of rules regarding stimulation and the resultant institution of the saliva test and the de ¬ velopment of improved methods of testing horses for stimulation stimulationTRA TRA Formed in 1942 1942Another Another big step forward in our field was made in 1942 when the major race tracks joined together to form the TRA Today thanks to the racing commissions and the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau set up by the member race tracks of TRA racing is now the best supervised and con ¬ trolled sport in the land I like to think of the general setup in thoroughbred racing as resembling somewhat the way the gov ¬ ernment of our country is organized and supervised The United States is composed of a group of 48 states that have delegated certain powers to the federal government such as the carrying of mails collection of customs the power to regulate interstate commerce etc at the same time reserving control over their local conditions This is a fortuitous setup because the problems of Maine and the problems of Florida differ greatly locally but carrying the mails and collecting the customs are the same in each state So it is in horse racing racingYour Your association recognizes the rulings of all the other associations of a national character such as the warning off of un ¬ desirables and this is as it should be The TRA tracks retain jurisdiction over their own plants but we have a Code of Stand ¬ ards to which we adhere and we have also delegated to the TRPB the interstate polic ¬ ing similar to the FBI in the federal gov ¬ ernment It is true that any complacency or relaxation of our efforts to keep the sport clean and above reproach is danger ¬ ous It is also an excellent thing to move towards the standardization of racing rules and regulations regulationsRules Rules Must Be Recognized Universally UniversallyThe The rules and regulations of racing like the laws of the land must be universally recognized and applicable to all without modification or relaxation This is the f irst basis of a firm foundation The fact that the TRA race tracks spend over onehalf million dollars annually to protect the sport from the chiseler and the cheat is quietly taken for granted however let there be one case of wrongdoing and there is a re ¬ sultant hue and cry entirely out of propor ¬ tion to its importance but none the less damaging to racing generally Those who administrate racing rules and regulations must be just and objective and in order to do so must be completely free of any suggestion or influence whether inspired by politics or sentiment sentimentKnowing Knowing the interest the National Asso ¬ ciation of State Racing Commissioners has taken year after year in racings public relations I would like to call your attention to a recent item by Oscar Otis in the DAILY RACING FORM Mr Otis quoted a prominent public relations expert who is not connected with racing who said Racing has the best public relations of any sport in America In my business Im borrowing ideas from the race tracks to promote good will for some of my industrial clients The final test of public relations as to whether it is doing a good job is that of public acceptance of the product in your case horse racing There is only one true yardstick for that attendance attendanceQuotes Quotes Public Relations Man ManThe The public relations man to whom Mr Otis talked went on to say It is my ob ¬ servation that most of the talk about rac ¬ ings poor public relations come from people within racing itself who often are too close to the picture to get an objective perspective If your business is doing well as measured by your gate then you can consider that a good job has been done I know that the people in baseball and foot ¬ ball think racing has done a remarkable job and the sports national public rela ¬ tions are excellent excellentThe The New York Times recently started a lengthy story on the front page with the observation that Horse racing which used to be called the sport of kings is threatening to become the king of sports sportsA A combination of circumstances has re ¬ sulted in racings increase in popularity in ¬ dividually and collectively to sell itself The Times article points to the fact that the racing commission and the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau have been work ¬ ing to maintain spectator and public con ¬ fidence It is significant to note that the Times thoughtful analysis of racings pop ¬ ularity mentioned the betting opportunities only as one of the possible reasons there ¬ for It recognized the work racing has been doing over a long period to build this pop ¬ ularity and acceptance acceptanceA A more delicate and perhaps more dan ¬ gerous problem which all in racing must consider is the everincreasing tendency in some quarters to view racing as an ever more productive source of revenue revenueWithout Without relaxing our efforts toward building good public relations we should redouble our efforts toward creating a bet ¬ ter understanding of racing and its econ ¬ omy on the part of legislators some of whom see the sport only as a ripe melon ready for cutting cuttingThe The relationship between increased tax ¬ ation and dwindling parimutuel play and consequent reduction of revenue has been observed in recent years Illinformed or uninformed legislators however are quick to seek still further taxes on the partici ¬ pants dollar It is up to all of us as in ¬ dividuals and as the representatives of groups in racing to fight the tendency toward everincreasing taxation by keep keepConfnuerf Confnuerf on Page Forty MORRIS7 NASRC ADDRESS Continued from Page Three Threeing ing our legislators fully informed of rac ¬ ings economic facts of life lifeTo To keep our best foot forward in rac ¬ ing at all times we must understand each other and our mutual problems The more we can place ourselves in the other fel ¬ lows position figuratively speaking the better we are enabled to see his point of viewand to understand his reactions With this in mind I would like to invite all of you to come to the New York office of the TRA and the Thoroughbred Racing Pro ¬ tective Bureau and see how we handle the various complaints which we get during the course of the year and how we take care of them Some may seem trivial but they are all pf them Important for a little rumor that is false if not scotched quickly can cast great discredit on the whole in ¬ dustry Also you can see how we work on public relations and endeavor to see that the right view of thoroughbred racing is continually kept before the public Some of you may have already visited our office but those of you who have not Mr Drayton and I are particularly anxious to have you do so as we believe it would lead to a greater understanding of our problems by the racing commissioners Also you might tell us some ways whereby we can be of greater assistance to you youWhile While I am in this inviting mood I would also like to suggest that you see Marshall Cassidy at The Jockey Club and if you can spare the time spend a day with him in his school for racing officials Some commissioners who have been only lately appointed may not realize how things look through the eyes of a starter patrol judge a jockey or a steward How ¬ ever if they will put themselves once in each of those positions uthey will have a greater understanding of the industry which will mean greater harmony among ourselves and after all harmony is the sport of all institutions and I cannot stress it too much nor do I ever want to cease working for it with all of you and everyone else in the thoroughbred racing world
