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Newby, Merz Appointed To New Roles At Santa Anita

Officials at Santa Anita have announced that Nate Newby has been promoted to the position of general manager, while Chris Merz will add racing secretary to his current role of director of racing.

Newby has most recently served Santa Anita as its senior vice president and general manager and comes as Aidan Butler transitions to his new position as chief operating officer of 1/ST Racing and president of 1/ST Content in Florida. Butler previously headed California operations for Santa Anita’s parent company The Stronach Group. Newby, who has been at Santa Anita for nearly 20 years, has been the vice president of marketing since 2013. A hands-on horseman, Newby also is a skilled tournament director and handicapper.

Merz returned to Santa Anita earlier this year after a short stint as racing secretary for the Maryland Jockey Club. He also served as the stakes coordinator at Santa Anita and Del Mar, and the assistant racing secretary at Los Alamitos, prior to joining the Maryland Jockey Club.

“These well-deserved promotions are a reflection of the great bench strength in place at Santa Anita,” said Craig Fravel, CEO of 1/ST Racing, in making the announcement. “Both Nate and Chris helped guide Santa Anita through a very difficult time and, with Aidan now heading up our company’s East Coast operations, we are fortunate to maintain the continuity of the team.”

Steve Lym, who has served as Santa Anita’s vice president of racing since late 2018, has been appointed senior VP for racing development for 1/ST Racing and will be assisting Butler in his new role.

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Golden Gate, Health Department Issue COVID Update; 200 Positive Tests

Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health issued the following update Friday evening with regards to a COVID-19 outbreak at the track which has shut down racing at least through November:

City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST RACING, which operates the track, is following all of the City’s recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have taken include the following:

Every person living or working on-site has been tested and additional testing will be done.

All those who have tested positive are isolated off-site, following federal, state and City guidelines. The track is assisting with off-site housing for those who have tested positive and has arranged for twice daily food delivery to ensure that those individuals do not have to leave isolation and have the essential items they require.

Golden Gate Fields’ on-site medical director, an infectious disease expert, is providing medical consultation to those who live and work at the racetrack.

For those close contacts who have tested negative but still need to quarantine for 14 days, the track is providing daily food delivery and access to medical support as well as the means to safely quarantine, including additional bathrooms and handwashing stations.

Golden Gate Fields continues to implement health and safety measures including, strict social distancing, masking policies and regular COVID-19 testing with isolation requirements for any positive cases or identified close contacts.

Both Berkeley Public Health and 1/ST RACING will be closely monitoring the situation to follow all local, state and federal guidelines. Should testing identify more cases, further investigation and tracing will be done by Berkeley Public Health and additional isolation and quarantine will be required.

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Paul Williams Named Chief Executive Officer Of 1/ST Technology

1/ST announced today the appointment of Paul Williams to Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST Technology and to Chief Technology Officer, 1/ST. Williams joined The Stronach Group in 2018 as the company's first Chief Technology Officer, focused on building and delivering the digital and technology road map to maximize the company's world-class platforms and to expand the opportunities for innovation across The Stronach Group's racing and gaming verticals.

As Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST Technology, Williams will work directly with 1/ST Racing and 1/ST Content to amplify the company's innovative racing and content programs. He will lead the consolidation of 1/ST's digital businesses to drive revenue for some of horse racing's largest and most recognized racing and gaming brands including, AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST Bet, XB Select, XB Net, PariMAX and Betmix.

In addition, Williams will continue his responsibilities as Chief Technology Officer, 1/ST to build on the industry-leading internal and external IT infrastructure that is currently in place at 1/ST. He will focus on strengthening and improving the digital systems that support company-wide platforms to increase cyber defense capabilities, digital efficiencies and innovative customer interfaces.

“Paul's added appointment to Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST Technology, represents the ongoing evolution of 1/ST as Thoroughbred horse racing's premier operator,” said Belinda Stronach, Chairman and President, 1/ST. “I have tremendous confidence in the 1/ST team and their collective commitment to evolving our racing and gaming platforms with continued forward-thinking that will drive our company's growth for the future.”

“As we look to the future of Thoroughbred horse racing and to gaming in general, the opportunities for expansion and innovation are endless,” said Williams. “By structuring the 1/ST Technology, 1/ST Racing and 1/ST Content businesses as congruent brands, we will be able to offer our customers world-class racing and gaming products that reflect the new era in our sport.”

Since joining The Stronach Group, Williams has improved the Xpressbet legacy platform and has successfully engaged a new generation of customers with the development and roll out of the 1/ST Bet app, an innovative mobile platform that has changed the wagering experience for everyone from the first-timer to the experienced horse player.

Williams has a passion for building immersive technologies supported by world-class infrastructure and has led several large-scale global technology teams throughout his career. He formerly served as Chief Information Officer of IBEXGlobal and Chief Information Officer at Cantor Gaming and as Global Director of Trading Infrastructure at Cantor Fitzgerald, LLC.

For more information on 1/ST and 1/ST BET please visit www.1st.com and www.1stbet.com or @1ST_Racing and @1stbet.

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Paul Williams Named 1/ST Technology’s CEO

Officials at 1/ST announced Friday that Paul Williams, who has been with The Stronach Group since 2018 as Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed to the dual roles of 1/ST TECHNOLOGY’s Chief Executive Officer and 1/ST’s Chief Technology Officer. Williams will work directly with 1/ST RACING and 1/ST CONTENT to amplify the company’s programs. He will lead the consolidation of 1/ST’s digital businesses to drive revenue for AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, and others. In addition, Williams will also continue to build on the internal and external IT infrastructure that is currently in place at 1/ST.

“As we look to the future of Thoroughbred horse racing and to gaming in general, the opportunities for expansion and innovation are endless,” said Williams. “By structuring the 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, 1/ST RACING, and 1/ST CONTENT businesses as congruent brands, we will be able to offer our customers world-class racing and gaming products that reflect the new era in our sport.”

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