TGA Elections In accordance with the TGA By-Laws, Article III: Officers: Section 1-4 and Article IV: Section 3-5, the following TGA Officers and Director positions will be open for election in the Spring of 2012: Vice President: John Dalton Secretary/Treasurer: open Directors: David Peck and Charlie Pevehouse Directors are elected for two-year terms by the membership-at-large. For 2012, the top 2 vote-getters for Director will be elected. If you are interested in running for either Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer or Director, please download & print the nomination request and return to the TGA. All completed forms must be returned to the TGA by December 31, 2011.
The 4th Quarter meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Friday; December 9, 2011 at the TGA office at 10:00 a.m. Click to view the agenda.
The TGA Office will be closed Thursday; November 24th and Friday; November 25th to observe the Thanksgiving Day holiday. We will resume business Monday; November 28th @ 9:00 am. Happy Thanksgiving!
After many years in the greyhound business and serving the Texas Greyhound Association, Harlyn Goebel has resigned as President of the TGA effective November 10, 2011.  The Board of Directors and the Membership appreciate his countless hours of dedication to the greyhound industry and wish him much success in his future. Per the TGA Bylaws, as acting President, John Liberatore conducted an Executive Committee meeting on Friday; November 11, 2011 and appointed John Dalton as Vice President and Joe Frey to fill the Director’s vacancy and the appointments were approved by the Board. The Board then voted John Liberatore as President to fulfill the remainder of Harlyn Goebel’s term. The Board expects a smooth transition and will work hard to keep the TGA moving forward as it has under Harlyn’s leadership.
The Texas Racing Commission held a Rules Committee meeting in Austin on September 13.  On the agenda was the introduction of proposed rule changes to Chapter 315 to prohibit the use of live lures in the training of greyhounds; provide for inspections of greyhound breeding farms; and provide for inspections of greyhound training facilities.  Dr. Quirk is the TxRC veterinarian and is the author of the proposed rule changes. Click here to read the proposal. This is just the start of the process.  The next Rules Committee meeting will be sometime in November, and at that time the TGA will have a position paper. The Committee meeting is open to the public, and we also post the date on the TGA website when it is determined. Please give your comments to the TGA office or any of your elected Board members.
The 3rd Quarter meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at the TGA office at 10:00 a.m. Click to view the agenda.
The 2nd Quarter meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, June 1 at the TGA office at 11:00 a.m.  Click to view the agenda. Public Hearing The Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee of the Texas House of Representatives will hold a public hearing on our two bills, HB 2111 and HJR 111, on Tuesday, March 29.  Our bills are among the 23 gambling bills that will be heard that day.  Click HERE for the Agenda. The TGA, along with the racetracks and horsemen’s organizations, will be testifying in support of our two bills.  It is anticipated that there will be at least two overflow rooms available to hold all the people interested in the hearing.  The hearing will also be video broadcast live on the website  http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/  Day at the Capitol It isn’t too late to sign up for our Day at the Capitol on Thursday, March 31.  Click HERE for the Day’s activities, as some of the times have changed since our last notice.  Please meet at the Stephen F Austin hotel, located at 701 Congress Ave.   If you drive to the Capitol, you may want to consider the Capitol Visitor’s Garage at 12th and San Jacinto. It is not too bad a walk to the hotel, and the maximum daily charge for Capitol Visitor Garage parking is $8. We will break out into groups to visit legislators’ offices after the rally on the south side of the Capitol.  The Win For Texas team will give you all the main points to cover when you talk with legislators or their aides. Win For Texas will be providing buttons for you to wear, and make sure you have your walking shoes! Come and show your support for Texas racing!  Contact LOIS at the TGA to sign up. Legislative Lunch Texans for Economic Development, our coalition, held a luncheon on March 24 for legislators and their staff.  Providing background and support for slot machines at racetracks were Andrea Young of Valley Race Park, Jon Hockenyos of TXP, an economic and public policy consulting group, and Mike Bacelice, who has done most of the statewide polling on the slot machine question.  The keynote speaker was Senator Jeff Wentworth, the co-sponsor of Senate bills SB 1118 and SJR 33, companion bills to the House bills.
Gulf Greyhound Park Kennel Information If you have greyhounds to place, click here for a list of contact information for the kennels at Gulf. All of the kennels take lease dogs, depending on available space.
Election Results The results of the election for President and Directors were announced at the Annual Membership Meeting held on Saturday, March 12.  Harlyn Goebel was re-elected as President.  James Parker, Paul Watt, John Dalton and David Hays were elected to serve two-year terms as Directors. Day at the Capitol March 31 is our designated Day at the Capitol.  Click here to view the time shedule from Win For Texas.  Please let Lois know if you will be attending, either by phone (254) 857-4377 or email lmowery@texasgreyhoundassociation.com. We ask for your RSVP by Friday, March 25. We need a count of attendees to organize the groups by legislative district, so let Lois know as soon as possible. The three Class I horse tracks are sponsoring buses to take anyone who wants to attend.  Buses will leave from Lone Star Park, Retama Park and Sam Houston Race Park, early morning on the 31st. If you want to take the bus, just let Lois know and we will reserve a seat for you. The event is not just for people directly involved in racing, but also anyone who supports slot machines at the racetracks, so let your family and friends know that they are welcomed and encouraged to attend, too! A big turnout will help all of us when we go to the rally on the Capitol steps and then visit individual legislators. We will have two greyhounds wearing Win For Texas blankets and the horsemen are bringing a couple horses, so we plan on having some good media coverage.
Capitol Rally Mark your calendars for March 31 for a Capitol rally in Austin.  Win For Texas is coordinating our grassroots efforts with an informational meeting in the morning, followed by a rally on the Capitol steps and visits with individual legislators. As soon as the schedule for the day is confirmed, the TGA will send out the details of the day. Plan on attending !  We want to show our support for the slot machine legislative bills in the House and Senate.
and We’re Off! This morning, Speaker Pro-Tem Beverly Woolley filed HB2111  and HJR111 authorizing slot machines at Texas racetracks and three Indian reservations.  At the same time, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa has filed SB1118 and SJR33 with Senator Jeff Wentworth signing on as a Co-Author. We now have bills to support and our bills are the first to actually generate revenue for the state of Texas to help close the budget deficit. Our public relations firm is on it, so look for media coverage in the following days. Stay on Win for Texas for latest updates.
The TGA Track Committee submitted guidelines for leasing the TGA track to the full Board for its approval.  On a unanimous vote, these guidelines were approved for posting to the membership.  The Board would like for the TGA track to be used, but must also ensure that it is not a large money-loser and that the track surface and  equipment be maintained properly.  Attached are the guidelines for leasing the TGA track.  If you are interested, please contact the TGA office at 254-857-4377.
Win For Texas issued a press release today (2/14/11) about the latest poll on adding slot machines to existing racetracks and Indian reservations.  You can read the press release here.     For a detailed look at the poll, click here.
Legislation The 2012-2013 Texas Budget dominated the news out of Austin this week.  Jim Pitts, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, presented a budget of $156.4 billion for the biennium.  A good summary can be found here: Texas House Budget Proposes Sweeping Cuts that includes a link to the Legislative Budget Board for all the details. As expected, deep cuts are proposed for all the state agencies and services.   As this information gets absorbed in the following weeks, particularly layoffs and other cutbacks, we can expect some lively discussions taking place at the Capitol.  Of course, the racing industry stands ready to offer $1 billion in annual revenue by authorizing slot machines at racetracks. There will be several major press releases coming out in the next two months, so stay current at Win For Texas.  The TGA will also send out eNews on these press releases. Texans for Economic Development (TED), our coalition of racetracks, horsemen and greyhounds, is planning a major Day at the Capitol for racing supporters in March. As soon as the date is set, we will send out an alert. We plan on having both a horse and a couple of greyhounds there, with the greyhounds wearing Win for Texas blankets in the Lone Star design. The TGA Board has approved the purchase of copies of the book, "Born to Run"  to give to all the legislators.  If you haven't seen it yet, the book is a terrific pictorial of greyhounds, from the farm to racing to retirement.  One chapter is devoted to Texas racing that we will bookmark. The TGA will have some copies of the book for sale in the office at the annual membership meeting.  The TGA is preparing additional economic impact projections for the legislators that will be a part of the upcoming press releases. As we all know, with the rising cost of raising and maintaining greyhounds, we will be spending a significant amount in Texas for farms, feed, supplies, equipment and care when all 3 greyhound tracks are running year-round. We anticipate our bill being filed in March and will let you know as soon as it is assigned a bill number.  In the meantime, here are some facts to know when you are talking with people about slot machines at racetracks.  We will have additional facts for you when the bill is filed to discuss with your representative. Membership Meeting  The Board has set the annual Membership Meeting for March 12 at the TGA office.  Lunch will be served from 11:00-12:00, followed by the election results, membership meeting and Board meeting. The TGA will be sending out an Election Newsletter the first week of February, with biographies of the candidates. Racetrack Management Services Agreement As you know, the TGA has an agreement, called the RMSA, with Gulf Greyhound Park to provide consulting services to Gulf Greyhound Park.  The current members of the RMSA are John Dalton, Diane Whiteley and Joe Frey.  Each year an individual at Gulf is elected to represent the kennels on the committee.  Last week, the kennel owners elected Fred Currid as their 2011 representative. In addition, they elected Tommy LaRosa as their kennel representative to track management. If you have greyhounds to place, next week the TGA will post on its website the names and contact information of the Gulf kennels.  All of the kennels lease greyhounds. TGA Training Track  The TGA Track Committee is putting together guidelines for the lease of its training track for local schoolers.  The Committee met yesterday to discuss the guidelines and plan to post them on the website soon for interested parties.
Texas Budget The Texas Comptroller announced this morning a projected budget deficit of $27 billion. Revenue estimate puts shortfall at $27 billion  Slot Machines in the News Over the weekend, the major newspapers had articles detailing the results of polls related to the upcoming Texas legislative session, budget deficit and gaming.   Austin American Statesman   Voters want schools and health care spared from cuts   Houston Chronicle Lawmakers return to red ink, mixed voter message Dallas Morning News No way to fix Texas' budget problem without displeasing many San Antonio Express News   Poll: Texans don't want to cut social services  60 Minutes  Another item was a piece on last night's CBS television show 60 Minutes here! . This piece was clearly slanted against slot machines and makes a direct link between slot machines and addicted gamblers, ignoring the facts and studies that show problem gamblers have addictive personalities that also manifest themselves in other addictive activities.  The piece seems to say that opening a casino causes individuals to become addicts. There was little mention of the available funds for the treatment of problem gamblers in all the states, nor of the small minority of problem gamblers.  Such a fund is an integral part of our proposed legislation in Texas.
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