Nicole Lever: What do you think were some of the highlights for the National Steeplechase Association in 2005?

Jonathan Sheppard: We were quite pleased to add a hunt meet to our calendar, that being Oakridge [in Lynchburg, Va.]. Also the Charleston meet [S.C.] is returning to our schedule for the fall of 2006 on the same date it held previously [Nov. 12]. Another very exciting prospect is that there is a proposed new hunt meet, also in the Charleston area, and they’re talking about a spring and fall meet.

I think the success of the filly and mare Sport of Queens series is a very positive move for the NSA. It in-creases the opportunities for new horses, as fillies and mares never had much of a chance to run over jumps before this.

We continue to have very good relations with the Atlantic City [N.J.], Philadelphia Park [Pa.] and Colonial Downs [Va.] race course managements, and the NSA presence in those racing markets seems firm. Our presence in the New York market, however, is a bit up in the air. The NSA has a historical place in New York racing, and to run over hurdles at Saratoga is an important part of the NSA calendar, so to lose an opportunity there would be a huge shame.

However, there is a glimmer of hope. We do have our foot in the door, as I have been invited to be a part of a new venture, Friends of New York Racing Inc., as a member of the Business Advisory Committee.

Moreover, I was also invited to a hearing as part of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Future of New York Racing. So the fact that a representative from the NSA has been invited to participate in both those functions means New York hasn’t shut the door to steeplechasing yet.

Lever: What is the NSA’s current philosophy on trying to expand the sport, especially in the participation of owners, jockeys and trainers?

Sheppard: The official position of the NSA board is to grow the sport. We have a two-pronged goal in that we want to enlarge the hunt meet calendar and try to increase purses at those meets and to increase our presence on the Thoroughbred racetracks.

Under the leadership and initiative of Guy Torsilieri [head of the Far Hills race meet], we have established a long-range planning committee. At our annual meeting this year he presented some very compelling figures that paint a clear picture of what we need to do to grow the sport.

Through the ’80s and up to 1992, the sport grew tremendously. Participation numbers were up and the purse structure increased significantly over those years. We then seemed to hit a plateau, and the sport has stagnated since.

Unfortunately, expenses have continued to rise and enthusiasm for the sport has dropped accordingly. There has also been a significant drop in licensed trainers that I suspect has much to do with the increase in expenses. Small stables can’t make a go of it. Interestingly enough, the number of horses in the sport has not dropped off.

What these numbers clearly suggest is that the main way the sport will grow is to increase purse structure. We are actively seeking solutions to find a way to do this.

What we really need is a sponsor for the whole sport. Unfortunately, the NSA budget does not allow for this to be a salaried position. We don’t really have anybody with the skill set to go out there and persuade a Land Rover or a Mercedes official to represent our sport. The potential is there, our demographics make us an attractive sport to market, but it won’t be easy.

Lever: In your opinion, is racing over fences at the flat track venues an imperative for steeplechasing?

Sheppard: It has always been my personal feeling that hunt meets are the foundation of this sport, the root of what we do.

Racing over hurdles at the flat tracks is not imperative to steeplechasing’s survival. Just look at the steeplechase Triple Crown races [for our novice hurdlers]. At one point, all three of the races were on flat tracks, and now none of them are. The hunt meets stepped up to the plate and gave a home to those races when they fell through at the flat track.

Racing at the flat tracks, and especially their purse structure, is merely icing on the cake.

Lever: Great strides have been made in improving turf conditions at all the NSA meets. What other programs are underway to improve safety for the horses and jockeys?

Sheppard: We tend to follow England’s examples in safety for the jockeys and horses in regards to making mandatory certain safety items: Things like the cushioned whip, the better helmets for the jockeys, mandated safety wings and standard-sized beacons marking the course, etc.

We also immediately adopted their “no-remount” rule when they implemented it. That rule doesn’t allow a jockey who has fallen in a race to remount and continue on. Funnily enough, England has since rescinded that rule, but we decided to stick with it. In England, now they leave it to the jockey’s discretion to remount if he thinks he’s capable. But I think it’s not always advisable to leave such a decision to someone who has just fallen on his head.

We have an excellent drug-testing program in place, and we were very progressive concerning “milkshakes.” We implemented a random pre-race milkshake testing program and were the third racing body in the Unites States to do so.

We’ve also made great strides in improving the officiating at race meets. In order to officiate now, you must have passed an education and certification program, and officials who are currently licensed must take refresher courses every two years. This is a far cry from the days when gentlemen used to be asked to officiate the night before a race meet at some cocktail party after they were drunk enough to agree!

Lever: We see an increasing number of NSA-sanctioned meets scheduled on the same day or same weekend. Do you think this is damaging to steeplechasing as it stretches the jockey pool thin and sometimes lowers the quality of competition at the less-popular meets?

Sheppard: I have always been a proponent of multiple dates. I think it’s good for the apprentice jockeys because in many instances they are given chances to ride on such weekends that they might not be given on a weekend where there is only one meet.

We schedule such race meets so as not to have them in adjacent states or towns, so the spectator base is not interfered with.

I also think it’s a good opportunity for trainers to find a sweet spot for that horse that just keeps getting beat. Some of those smaller race meets are the perfect place to win a race for horses of lesser quality. So from my perspective it’s quite positive.

I know from personal experience, some of my best rides (as a jockey in England) came when multiple meets were scheduled. I remember one year on Boxing Day there were 13 meets around the country, and I got rides at Kempton Park, a better track I would have never gotten rides at otherwise.

Lever: It seems that currently it takes a better off-the-flat-track horse to win a steeplechase race than it did, say, 10 years ago. Is that true?

Sheppard: I do think the quality of horses needed to win a race now is higher. These days it seems to take a $30,000 to $40,000 horse off the track to have a viable steeplechase prospect.

It’s one of the elements holding back new owner participation. To get into the sport is now costing more money. It’s hard for a new owner to invest a little money, to see if they like the sport, and expect to have some fun and win. Of course there are always exceptions, but not every one is lucky enough to find an Al Skywalker or a Rowdy Irishman. But there’s not much we can do about it. The cost of horseflesh is on the rise.

Lever: Any final thoughts?

Sheppard: What we all need in the NSA is a wake-up call. We cannot continue to live in the past; we need to look forward. My contri-bution, as I look to starting my second term, since I am not a great leader or a champion of causes, is to surround myself with good people to help generate new ideas and implement solutions to our problems.

We need good business heads and people with experience. We need to make our board a working one and not one with just honoree positions, myself included. But one thing to remember is that we actually only have a handful of paid positions. Everyone else is a volunteer, and we all have to make a living above and beyond what we do for the NSA. I don’t think it should ever be forgotten how dedicated the NSA members are to this sport that they love.