ISA Board of Directors hold March meeting

The Indiana Standardbred Association (ISA) held its third meeting of 2026 Monday, March 2 at the ISA Offices in Greenfield. President John DeLong called the meeting to order before going through the agenda that included committee reports, approval of minutes, and an update from the recent legislative session that concluded last week.

One of the first committees reported was the breeders, owners, sales category. Jamie Macomber explained the recent change made by the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development, tweaking the verbiage to Indiana Sired only and dropping Indiana Sired and Bred (ISB). This affects listings for the sales catalogs. Breed Development will now only list foals as Indiana Sired beginning for horses born in 2025. The board agreed to follow suit with the state altered rule and will allow all Indiana Sired foals beginning in 2027 to compete in the Elite Series, as long as they meet all eligibility requirements for starts on the ISFC. Jessica Barnes recently reiterated that breeders of horses born outside of Indiana will not be eligible for breeders’ awards. Only horses born in the state of Indiana will be eligible for breeders’ awards.

Doug Rideout reported on the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit (ISFC) and brought a proposal to the board for approval to hire James Witherite of Michigan to provide videography for all ISFC stops this summer. Witherite has also noted he will combine race days for viewing when two fairs are running simultaneously and will also offer commercial time between races. The board approved the proposal and also established guidelines for commercial time, which was set at $500 per season for a 30-second commercial or $250 for the season for a still spot. Anyone interested in advertising on the livestream for the ISFC should contact Tony Renz at the ISA.

Renz also asked for approval to purchase yard signs again for the ISFC, an endeavor that is in partnership with Breed Development. The yard signs have provided local advertisement for the racing programs at each of the stops on the ISFC.

Carrie Hollman provided samples of toboggans and caps that will be provided this season. Toboggans will be passed out soon in the paddock at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. Hollman also reported the ISA currently has more than 400 members as memberships are coming in strong right now because the new year began March 1.

Rhys Helt gave an update on the potential of placing membership opportunities online. He is checking into the service, Stripe, which is cheaper than both Venmo or PayPal. A small fee would be required by members applying and renewing online. He will continue to investigate the opportunity for ISA.

Executive Director Renz received approval for sponsorship of the FFA Booth at the National FFA Convention in the fall. The booth will once again be in partnership with the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association, Harness Horse Youth Foundation, and the U S Trotting Association. Booth space has increased, so they plan to downsize on the size of the booth to offset the cost increase.

Renz also noted the ISA Golf Outing is set for Monday, June 1 beginning at 1 p.m. at Grandview Golf Course in Anderson. Lunch begins at 12 p.m. and the cost per golfer has gone up to $30 per person. The board approved the cost up to 60 golfers for the event, which they co-sponsor with Harrah’s Hoosier Park.

Because the ISA Golf Outing is set for the first Monday of June, the ISA meeting has been moved to the following Monday, June 8. In addition, the ISA Meetings for July and August have also been moved to the second Monday of the month due to ISFC racing. July’s meeting is set for July 13 while August’s meeting is set for August 10.

President DeLong suggested the possibility of purchasing Meta glasses, which could be worn by various participants to secure video for various social media and video outlets. Renz plans to research the item and come back to the board in April for exact costs and options.

Adam Kallick and Matt Norris provided a look at the recent legislative session, which was completed last week. President DeLong noted his appreciation for the recognition horse racing got during the session as well as the new people they connected with at the statehouse. He noted racing is mentioned in all the right spots moving forward.

Kallick added in the big picture racing is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. The group hopes to assemble another legislative day in 2026 at one of the area farms to give those in the statehouse an inside look into racing and its impact on the state. Norris concluded with explaining next year is a budget year and will be more robust with gaming discussion as a result.

Renz thanked Kallick, Norris, and Mike McDaniel for their hard work for the ISA during the legislative session, noting the long hours each of them spent representing racing and keeping the ISA informed.

President DeLong gave a report on the purse account at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, showing the account is better in comparison to 2025. He also noted some purse increases in targeted races and says other conditions could see an increase as well. He also received a report from Gabe Prewitt with details on the cancellation of racing Friday, February 27 due to a malfunction of equipment in the audio visual department with sending out the signal. The track is working on repairs and replacement of equipment before racing resumes Thursday, March 5. DeLong also explained per the contract with Hoosier Park, each horse who was scheduled to race, and did not scratch, received $300 following the cancellation after Race 6 last Friday. The remainder of the purse money goes back into the account.

Jay Hochstetler noted the new Website is nearly ready to go. Renz added John Adamsky is adjusting a few options for the mobile option of the website and hopes to have everything ready to go in the next few weeks.

The meeting concluded with showing the recent video done by Hoosier Park for the presentation to the Hambletonian Society to get the Hambletonian for a three-year-commitment beginning in 2027. The Society is set to meet in Florida in March.



President DeLong adjourned the meeting. The next meeting for the ISA Board of Directors is set for Monday, April 6 at the ISA Offices in Greenfield.