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Maryland Commission Chair Resigns, Citing ‘Emasculated’ Powers

Michael Algeo, who has served on the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) since 2016 and was chairing that board, resigned from both positions, effective immediately, June 14.

Frank Vespe of Maryland's “Off to the Races Radio” was first to report the scoop on his show's June 17 broadcast.

Algeo's departure accentuates a time of regulatory upheaval within Maryland racing that in recent months has been marked by three other long-serving commissioners (David Hayden, Tom Bowman, Tom Winebrener) also either resigning from the MRC or not having their terms renewed by the governor.

Those recent departures have roughly coincided with the passage of a Maryland law in April to create a to-be-appointed oversight board with broad powers, the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA).

In addition, the MRC is in the midst of the nationwide regulatory transition involving the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority coming into power to police the sport's safety and drug testing.

Speaking on Vespe's show, Algeo also cited other concerns for the sport as he leaves his position, like the seemingly never-ending cycle of horse safety issues, plus the decades-old debate within Maryland about whether Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, or both figure into the state's long-term plans for racing.

“I've often compared it to playing a Whac-A-Mole game,” Algeo told Vespe. “The minute you address one issue, one crisis, up pops another. And so I just thought it was time for new blood, younger blood, somebody that can come in and have a fresh look. And God bless them, because it's a great industry, and I feel very honored to have served for the past seven years….I'm going to be as interested as everybody else to see where this goes and how this all ends.”

Asked by Vespe how all those pieces of the puzzle-the MRTOA, HISA, horse safety, the possible rebuilds at Pimlico/Laurel-are going to fit together under the commission's umbrella, Algeo admitted he didn't have a good answer.

“I'm going to plead ignorance,” Algeo told Vespe. “I don't know how they're going to fit together. [The question I often get now is] 'Oh, so Maryland has created a new racing authority to oversee Maryland racing. So there is no more commission?' That's the question I'm getting. That's the perception of people, and perceptions carry a lot of weight.”

Algeo continued: “I believe that the role of the MRC has been diminished significantly. It has been emasculated significantly. And it is not what it was when I started in 2016. And so it's going to be really interesting to see how two entities, the racing authority and the racing commission, work together.

“The simple answer is that the commission is a regulatory body, period,” Algeo told Vespe. “I have been told that the [MRTOA] is really just a failsafe creation in the event that [1/ST Racing, which owns Laurel and Pimlico] should leave Maryland and [some entity] is needed to run the day-to-day operations. But until it actually forms and we see how it operates, I still have a lot of questions.”

Algeo is a retired Maryland Circuit Court judge. His stint as the board's chair had been scheduled to end in October, with his term on the MRC expiring in July 2024.

Last month, Algeo was honored before the GI Preakness S. with the Special Award of Merit at Pimlico's annual Alibi Breakfast. That award recognizes those “who have made a positive impact on the racing industry.”

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Second Episode Of ‘Truth To Power’ Series Provides Action Points For Those Who Care About Racing Diversity

The second installment of The Racing Biz panel series titled 'Truth To Power' aired Wednesday with a focus on practical suggestions for those in the racing community to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. The panel series aims to define and address the issues racing faces with diversity among its workforce and fan base.

See a recap of the first installment and watch a replay here.

The second panel included expertise from Renee Hess, founder and executive director of Black Girl Hockey Club, Ron Mack, founder of the Legacy Equine Academy, and Leon Nichols, CEO and founder of the Project to Preserve African American Turf History. The panel was moderated by The Racing Biz founder Frank Vespe, freelance journalist Teresa Genaro, and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes.

A few key takeaways from the discussion, with a full replay below:

Panelists believe the rich history of standout Black jockeys from the early days of American racing like Jimmy Winkfield and Isaac Murphy provides a great basis for bringing Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) back to the sport.
“Ironically, Thoroughbred racing can really be called the first sport to demonstrate equity and inclusion,” said Mack. “The jockeys I mentioned earlier were not only jockeys, but they were trainers, they were owners. They held power and influence in the culture of Thoroughbred racing, even in the late 1800s. As we honor and celebrate the glory of the past, at the Legacy Equine Academy we're training and cultivating our kids for the future of the sport.”
Hess's model with Black Girl Hockey Club was really to provide a sense of community to the comparatively few Black fans and participants in ice hockey, though she points out you don't have to be either Black or female to join — you just have to support the mission of including more diverse participation in the sport. Originally, the club began as a fan club and has grown to become a nonprofit that provides scholarships to girls who play in travel teams around the world. Not only is that helping diversify the sport's players, it's bringing fandom to people outside the United States who may not have become familiar with ice hockey otherwise.
The first step in improving diversity and inclusion, Hess said, is to talk about it. Businesses and organizations within an industry will prioritize something if they believe their consumers value it.
“Once we utilize our voices and let these organizations know that this is something the masses want to see, I think we'll be able to make these changes and drag these industries kicking and screaming because it is a financially sound decision,” she said. “Because this is the direction other sports are moving into. Our sports need to do the same if they want to remain relevant. We talk about 'growing the game' in hockey, and what better way to grow the game than to include the Black community, the LGBTQ community?”
Nichols hopes that his project can also grow racing by showing a new community of people that they have heroes in the sport, too. He is part of a group workshopping a screenplay based around part of Isaac Murphy's career, specifically about the famous match race in which he piloted Salvatore against Tenny, which was one of the greatest rivalries in American sports at the time.
“Reading Isaac's story, one thing you'll learn about him is … he was so inspired to set an example as an African American male in the 19th Century that it drove him to try and rove his equalness and Black excellence,” said Nichols. “Out of that came the match of the century.”
Mack is hoping to continue building a pipeline from school to racing industry jobs through the Legacy Equine Academy, but said he's not just preparing the students to be grooms or hotwalkers — he's encouraging them and preparing them to become racehorse owners and corporate executives. Not only should it be possible for those students, it should be desirable for racing to see better representation at the higher levels of administration.
If diversity is important to you but you don't sit at the top of the totem pole in your workplace, Hess said you probably have some influence you can use to prioritize equity. Do you hire interns? Consider looking for them at historically black colleges in addition to the programs you already correspond with. Do you manage your company's newsletter content? There's a chance to acknowledge achievement or history of the company or industry through the work of diverse trailblazers. Another thing she encourages: Keep having conversations about these topics — even though they're probably going to make you uncomfortable sometimes.
“I do think that when you are a non-Black, non BIPOC person, talking about race can be a little bit uncomfortable,” said Hess, who launched a campaign called Get Uncomfortable to encourage these dialogues. “I'm not 100% on that because I'm Black, but I get the gist that could be the feeling. But it's all about having these uncomfortable conversations … Change is uncomfortable.”

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Truth To Power Series Continues March 17 With Renee Hess, Ron Mack, Leon Nichols

The Racing Biz, LLC, a media company focused on Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region, will host the second in a series of digital panel discussions designed to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion within the Thoroughbred industry on March 17 at 5 p.m. ET.

The series, titled “Truth to Power,” was created by The Racing Biz founder Frank Vespe in partnership with freelance journalist Teresa Genaro and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes for the purpose of bringing together participants from the racing realm and other sports to share their perspectives on racial, gender, and social inequality within their respective industries and the importance of and efforts to promote greater inclusion.

The upcoming panel is set to feature Renee Hess, founder and executive director of Black Girl Hockey Club (BGHC), a non-profit and advocacy group focused on making hockey more inclusive for the Black community; Ron Mack, founder of Legacy Equine Academy, which promotes the equine and agriculture industry to racially diverse middle and high school students; and Leon Nichols, CEO and founder of the Louisville-based Project to Preserve African American Turf History.

“We are so pleased our first panel attracted an active viewership who contributed questions and comments, and we are very much appreciative of the media coverage that followed,” Vespe, Genaro, and Hughes said jointly. “We look forward to more impactful conversations as the series moves forward.”

The first “Truth to Power” panel took place on February 24 and featured noted bloodstock agent Greg Harbut, his business partner, Lexington-based entrepreneur Ray Daniels, and Rose Grissell, head of Diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority. An archive of that panel can be found here.

The March 17 panel will be streamed on both The Racing Biz website and social media platforms @TheRacingBiz as well as on the NTRA's Twitter account @NTRA.

Tentative dates for future panels include April 7 at 5 p.m. ET.

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Diversity In Racing: Panel Examines How The Sport Is Doing, Where It Can Improve

As discussions about improving diversity and inclusion continue in a range of sports and businesses, The Racing Biz debuted its first in a series of panels last week addressing the subject in horse racing. The 'Truth to Power' series is a cooperative effort between the trade publication and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The first panel was anchored by The Racing Biz owner/publisher Frank Vespe and featured writer Teresa Genaro, NTRA director of communications Alicia Hughes, owner Ray Daniels and horseman/bloodstock agent Greg Harbut. It also featured clips from a pre-recorded conversation between Vespe and Rose Grissell, head of diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority, about strategies to improve diversity across the pond.

Catch a full replay of the panel discussion here. A few key takeaways:

Many point to the number of female or non-white exercise riders, jockeys, and assistant trainers working in racing as evidence that the sport doesn't have a problem with diversity and inclusion. That doesn't really hold up, panelists say, because senior management and boards of companies, racing commissions, and other groups are still almost entirely made up of white men, with limited exceptions. Hughes pointed out that at the time of the panel, there had been eight public announcements about hiring or promotion of upper-level staff at racetracks since Nov. 30. All eight were white men. No doubt, Hughes said, they were well qualified for their roles, but that doesn't do much for those companies' assertion that they prioritize diversity and inclusion.
Often, this homogeneity is explained as institutions simply “hiring the best person for the job.”“That is either ignorant or just deliberately obtuse because it suggests from the get-go that the most qualified person for the job is a white man,” said Genaro.
“When you talk about embracing diversity and your practices don't line up with it, it makes me question – what are your hiring practices?” echoed Hughes. “Where are you advertising these jobs? Are you advertising these jobs? How many people were interviewed? How many people from diverse backgrounds were interviewed? How many people of color were interviewed? I have a hard time, both in my lived experience and my research, finding tangible evidence that these organizations are backing up their statements with action.”
By contrast, Grissell said British sports organizations funded by the government are required to have at least 30 percent female participation on their boards.
Prioritizing diversity at the upper levels of an organization or business does a few things. It attempts to level the playing field to make sure traditionally underrepresented groups are getting a fair shot at advancement. It signals to women and minorities that they are valued by that business. It also helps the business improve its internal and external communications to be more appealing to a broader range of people.Harbut pointed out that that public relations aspect is important, because racing needs all the help it can get to grow right now. If nothing else, reaching out to new demographics is just good business.
“It's no secret the industry is struggling right now to attract new fans … you don't see the younger generation embrace racing the way they do in Lexington,” said Harbut.
Passively allowing people of all backgrounds to attend racing doesn't mean they're going to feel comfortable or interested in doing so.“We're simply not engaging with certain groups of the population in the UK, whether that's through perception or the reality of barriers,” said Grissell. “Our marketing and media presents racing in a certain way which could potentially be seen as exclusive to some. I think we can't be naïve or even arrogant enough to think just because we've opened the doors, people are going to walk in. We have to show them why racing is a sport for them.”
Hughes pointed out the struggles and triumphs of NASCAR as an example to horse racing. NASCAR had similar issues to horse racing with declining ratings and a homogenous fan base. When the sport banned the Confederate flag at its tracks and supported a driver who was initially thought to be the target of a racially-motivated hate crime, Hughes said the organization lost a few fans – but it gained many more. Its actions also generated national attention that led high profile personalities like Michael Jordan and Pitbull to begin investing as owners.
If you're watching the diversity and inclusion conversation with interest and thinking about improving policies in your company, panelists urge you – hire a professional diversity training service to help you. Too often, the burden of organizing new programs in this subject area falls to a junior member of staff because they are female or BIPOC and assumed to be subject matter experts. The problem with that is that building new company policy, marketing, staff training, etc., quickly becomes a time-consuming unpaid task for that staff member.

See the full panel replay here.

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