Monthly news & updates
July, 2021
Seven Students Awarded 2021 Florida HBPA Scholarships
Congratulations to the seven students who have been awarded grants through the Florida HBPA’s 2021 Scholarship Program! A total of $18,000 in scholarships will be distributed to the students, who will attend Broward College, Broward Community College, Nova Southeastern University, Opportunity Training Careers, Sheridan Technical College, and the University of South Florida. The students and the careers they will be pursuing are: Rene Agustin, Accounting; Christopher Catanese, Athletic Trainer; Ronald Coy, Business; Marbella Martinez, Chemical Oceanographer; Isabel Greysi Teruel, Hemodialysis Technician; and Mayeli Valenzuela Alvarez, Fashion Design.

Qualified Florida-licensed trainers, backstretch employees and their direct dependents are eligible for the Florida HBPA Scholarship Program. Scholarships may be used for undergraduate studies at any accredited college, university, community college or trade school, and students are free to pursue any field of study. Recipients must be full-time residents of Florida. Applications are accepted from late May to early July each year.

The students will be celebrated at a luncheon at Ten Palms at Gulfstream Park on Sunday, Aug. 1, and a race will be named in their honor that afternoon.
Spotlight On: FHBPA Board Member Chester Bishop
Chester Bishop has always been interested in politics. As a young boy in his native Jamaica, he wanted to be Prime Minister. After moving to the U.S., he ran for the City Commission of Hollywood. Just 21 at the time, Bishop lost that election and thought, “Maybe running for office isn’t necessarily for me.”

It would be more than 20 years before he put his name on another ballot, but his second election was a success. Bishop was voted onto the Board of the Florida HBPA in 2011, and has been a mainstay ever since. He currently serves as the organization’s first Vice President.

“I would go to the horsemen’s meetings and speak out,” he recalled. “I could see things going downhill at Calder and I wanted to see things get better – the racing, the facilities. People asked me, ‘why don’t you run for the Board?’ I ended up running and getting elected.”

South Florida racing has faced its challenges in the 10 years that Bishop has served on the HBPA Board, but there have been changes for the better.

“It was always a little more difficult working with Churchill Downs,” Bishop said. “We don’t always agree with the Stronach Group, but they are now the only game in town, and it has been easier to negotiate on many things. That has been the most positive change.”

Much of Bishop’s life has been dedicated to making things better for his community.
Have You Signed Up for an InCompass Horsemen's Account?
InCompass Financial Services (IFS) allows horsemen to access their Horsemen's Bookkeeper accounts online. The service is free of charge, and offers owners and trainers the ability to view their account balances, statements, and tax forms, and to request a check, from every participating racetrack, all in one place. Both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs are participating racetracks. Click here for a list of all participating racetracks.

To create an IFS account, you will first need to register for an EquineLine.com Universal ID.

Click “Sign Up Now” at the bottom of the page and fill in the Customer Information. Choose a user name and a password of between 5 and 30 characters (letters and numbers only, no special characters), verify that you are not a robot, and click “continue.” You will be given a chance to review the information you’ve entered and make any necessary corrections. If the information is correct, click “next.” The next page offers Service Options, but you do not need to select any products (be sure to unclick any boxes that are checked). Click “continue” and then click “finish” and your Universal ID will be activated.

Log into InCompass Financial Services and you can link your IFS account to your Horsemen’s Bookkeeper accounts at all participating racetracks.

BEFORE YOU CAN ADD AN ACCOUNT, YOU WILL NEED YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER, AND YOU WILL NEED TO CALL THE HORSEMEN’S BOOKKEEPER AT THAT RACETRACK TO REQUEST A PIN.

Gulfstream Park Horsemen’s Bookkeeper – (954) 457-6222
Tampa Bay Downs Horsemen’s Bookkeeper – (813) 298-1637

Once you have all account numbers and PINS handy:

Enter your Universal ID and password and click “Login.” Click “Add Account” and choose the racetrack you want from the dropdown menu. Enter the account number and PIN and click “Add Account” under the PIN. Repeat for each account you’d like to add. You will now be able to access all information or request a check for any account, and you can create a consolidated statement from all of your accounts.