MID Pays First Half Dues to NTRA

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MI Developments, among the largest dues-paying members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, committed to the organization for the first half of 2010 and will discuss its future involvement.

MID had been on the fence with the NTRA but recently paid up for the first six months of year, NTRA senior vice president Keith Chamblin said. The company, formerly Magna Entertainment Corp., pays about $350,000 a year in dues.

Earlier this year, Churchill Downs Inc. left the NTRA and lost its board seat. The racetrack company had paid about $350,000 a year in dues as well.

“We haven’t had a chance to sit down with (MID) to talk about the remainder of 2010 and 2011,” Chamblin said.

The NTRA board of directors held a special meeting Aug. 20 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. MID, which has a seat on the board, wasn’t represented, but Chamblin said that wasn’t unexpected given a series of events in California that have occupied the time of MID management.

The special meeting was held to discuss strategic priorities for 2011 in advance of the NTRA board’s regular meeting in September. Preliminary budgeting was a focal point, Chamblin said.

“There was discussion about a number of programs and initiatives, and how we hope to pay for them,” Chamblin said.

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