OQHRA continues to update horsemen and women with developments from the current situation.

The OQHRA would like to update you on some developments from this morning as we have been able to work more on the current situation. The live racing WILL CONTINUE with the grooms, jockeys, trainers, and ONE MANAGING OWNER. The respective managing owner will be allowed within the Saddling Paddock and Plaza.

Additional Information:

• Remington Park’s front-side facilities will be fully closed and locked without interior access
• There will be automated tellers outside available
• Owners will have to walk through the tunnel in order to access the apron
• Owners will ONLY be allowed during their respective race(s) with absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS
• Anyone entering the premises will have to enter through the loading dock-entrance off of 50th street (east of the zoo entrance). To access the backside you will need to enter there and go to the maintenance entrance on the north end of the property. Only trucks and trailers will be allowed through the construction entrance and through the horseman's gate.

We would like to emphatically stress that although an owner is permitted to be present for their respective race(s), the OQHRA discourages this. OQHRA is working on behalf of all horsemen and want to emphasize how important it is that everyone fully understand and adhere to these guidelines. Any form of misconduct jeopardizes our ability to continue live racing.

Purse Reductions:
As we stated yesterday, the temporary closing and subsequent loss of revenue from the Remington Park Casino will cause purse reductions. The OQHRA staff, Board of Directors, and members in attendance at yesterday’s board meeting (3/17/20) spoke at length on how to approach and handle this situation. There will be a reduction in races offered from 560 to 500 this meet. :

• Quarter Horse Purse Reductions will include a 15% purse reduction on all purses with exception of trials and finals
• Paint and Appaloosa Purse Reductions will include a 40% purse reduction on all purses with exception of trials and finals

We understand that these reductions look drastically different between the breeds. The main reason for the difference is overall race offerings. In a typical year the QH's will run 488 races and the Paints/Appaloosas run 72 races. Therefore, there are more races to spread the reduction over for Quarter Horses vs. a fewer number of races for Paints and Apps. Our goals is to cut the purses as little as necessary and return to the previous levels as quickly as possible.

We understand that the horsemen may have a lot of questions, but also feel a horsemen’s meeting would be too large of a gathering. Any questions can be directed to Krissy Bamberg at (405) 623-3234, Kole Kennemer (405) 551-5718, or Justin Rihard (405) 416-0310.

Respectfully,

Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association