Tag: People

The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation announced today that it will be hosting the Fashionable Fillies Luncheon Lexington at Jeff Ruby's on November 2, 2022, as part of the Breeders' Cup Festival Week. The media partner for the event is TOPSINLEX.

The luncheon will honor The Jockey Club members and Safety Net trustees Helen Alexander and Shannon Arvin and will offer cocktails and Jackson Family wines, food stations and passed hors d'oeuvres with Kentucky favorites, and the opportunity to shop from local vendors such as Boulevard Home, AJ's Clothing, and Breeders' Cup Milliner Christine A. Moore. Live music will be provided by Throwdown Thursday, which consists of five professional Kentucky-based musicians who perform in different Bluegrass bands that tour across the country.

For nearly two decades, Alexander managed the Thoroughbred division of King Ranch Farm in Lexington, Ky. King Ranch had success in racing and was annually among the leading consignors of yearlings.

At her Middlebrook Farm, Alexander is an owner, breeder, and consignor. Notable horses she has owned, bred, or co-bred include two-time Eclipse champion Covfefe and Grade 1 winners Arch, Aldiza, Acoma, and Bayern, a Breeders' Cup Classic winner.

Alexander is a past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. She has been a board member of Keeneland Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Breeders' Cup, Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Foundation, and chair of the Graded Stakes Committee.

Alexander has been a member of The Jockey Club since 1986 and served as a steward from April 2000 until August 2004. She has been a trustee of the Safety Net since 2008.

Arvin is the eighth president of Keeneland Association and the first woman named to the position. She began practicing law in 2002 at the Lexington firm Stoll Keenon Ogden (SKO), where she represented Thoroughbred owners and industry organizations in Kentucky and around the world. As an SKO partner, in 2008 she began serving as corporate counsel to Keeneland, and she has been secretary and advisory member of Keeneland's board of directors since 2015.

Arvin serves on the board of directors of the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Foundation and Stock Yards Bancorp, and is the chairman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. She is a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and The Lexington School. She became a member of The Jockey Club in 2019 and a trustee of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation in 2021.

“Helen and Shannon are exceptionally active members of the racing community, and they are well-respected leaders in our sport in Kentucky and across the nation,” said Shannon Kelly, executive director for the foundation. “Their contributions have helped to improve racing and the lives of many in the industry, and they are well-deserving to be honored at the Fashionable Fillies Luncheon Lexington.”

All proceeds from the event will be earmarked by the foundation to benefit the backstretch community in Kentucky, and local chaplains' and horsemen's organizations will help ensure the funds are distributed to those most in need.

“The Fashionable Fillies Luncheon has been one of the Safety Net's most successful fundraisers in Saratoga and California,” said Kelly. “We are very excited to bring this luncheon to Lexington to help support the backstretch community in Kentucky.”

Tickets ($150) and sponsorship opportunities are available at tinyurl.com/FFBC22.

The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation is a charitable trust that provides, on a confidential basis, financial relief to needy members of the Thoroughbred industry and their families. Recipients of the Safety Net Foundation's support represent virtually every facet of the Thoroughbred industry, from jockeys, trainers, exercise riders, and grooms to office personnel and other employees of racetracks, racing organizations, and breeding farms. Assistance can come in any number of forms, including financial aid, medication, surgical and hospital costs, therapeutic equipment, voice-recognition computers for quadriplegics, and wheelchair-accessible vans. Since 1985, The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation has provided more than $16 million in assistance.

The post Helen Alexander, Shannon Arvin To Be Honored At Safety Net Foundation’s Fashionable Fillies Luncheon appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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For much of his career, Jack Will was a horse racing writer's best friend, working the backstretch as a track publicist to provide the latest news and notes  that would be published under someone else's byline.

“He didn't want the spotlight on him,” said Breeders' Cup's longtime director of media relations, Jim Gluckson. “Jack just really liked working behind the scenes. His work was invaluable for both television broadcasters and writers.”

For many years, Will captained the Breeders' Cup notes team, which produced daily updates on every pre-entered horse in a Breeders' Cup race and was invaluable to racing writers and broadcasters around the globe. For most of his career he was a racing publicist at East Coast tracks, primarily in South Florida. He also wrote for Daily Racing Form and the short-lived Racing Times newspaper in the early 1990s.

On Oct. 2, Will died after suffering a stroke the previous month. He was 78 years old.

Friends recall Will working for the publicity department at Monmouth Park in the late 1960s after getting his start in racing at Pimlico in Maryland.  He spent several decades in South Florida, working at Calder from 1993-'11 and also at Gulfstream Park and Hialeah Park.

Trainers trusted Will because of his knowledge of the game. For writers, especially newcomers, he went out of his way to help them out with introductions and information. On any given night, until it closed in 2004, he could be found at Manero's Steakhouse just down the road from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. A horseman's hangout, it gave Will a head start on the following morning's backstretch rounds. In recent years, he was a regular at the Upper Deck Sports Bar just off Gulfstream Park property.

Among the tributes to Jack Will:

“That is so sad about Jack Will – an old-fashioned racing journalist with a fantastic dry sense of humor. Such great memories of time spent at the bar with him during Breeders' Cup.” – Adrian Beaumont, International Racing Bureau

“Jack helped me learn the ropes in my early days on the Breeders' Cup notes team. Fond memories of his expert direction and dedication to excellence.” – Claire Crosby, editorial director, BloodHorse

“Jack Will took me under his wing when I came to the USA. His knowledge was expansive and his wit plus charm never ending.” – Marette Farrell, bloodstock adviser

“Jack was calling charts at Atlantic City and wrote a footnote that said something like 'So and So went to the front, held the lead throughout, and was disqualified for no apparent reason.'[ He was living with the chief steward at the time. Legend! He was also a great storyteller.” – Larry Collmus, race caller and broadcaster

“Jack was a true gent. I remember my first day I ever called races in the U.S. – at Calder – Jack was really kind but also very helpful with what I should and shouldn't do. A true gentleman of the turf.” – Mark Johnson, racing commentator

“One of the good guys. I will always remember our many conversations at Upper Deck as Jack enjoyed a cigarette and sipped on his beer from a wine glass. Cheers my friend. RIP.” – Mike Penna, Horse Racing Radio Network

The post Jack Will, 78, Popular Racing Writer And Publicist, Succumbs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Ontario Racing's Board of Directors has announced two significant additions to the Board structure by appointing Andrew Gaughan as the organization's next Independent Chair and bringing on Jamie Martin as an Executive Consultant to the Board.

Gaughan has nearly three decades of domestic and international experience in the horse racing and pari-mutuel and digital gaming industries.

Gaughan first joined the sector in 1994 as a manager with Woodbine Entertainment Group (then the Ontario Jockey Club), and over the next three decades served in senior leadership positions with WEG, Magna Entertainment Corporation, Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ listed), and Sportech PLC a UK based publicly traded (LSE) gaming technology business.

In these roles Gaughan oversaw operations and business development in several global markets and developed an in-depth knowledge of the executive management skills and business strategies required to operate with a growth mindset in the highly regulated horse racing industry.

“Andrew is the ideal candidate to step into the role,” said outgoing Independent Chair John Hayes. “Over an accomplished career as a senior executive, including the CEO role at Sportech PLC, he developed the skills that will be required to facilitate collaboration with Ontario Racing's partners and stakeholders and ensure that the industry is well positioned for success in the coming years.”

Gaughan currently owns and operates a consulting practice focused on the global horse racing and pari-mutuel and digital gaming space. He resides in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Ontario Racing would like to thank Hayes for his thoughtful and dignified leadership over the past five years but is delighted that such an accomplished and capable candidate has filled the role.
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Jamie Martin is contributing to the Ontario Racing Board of Directors in the capacity of Executive Consultant to the Board. Over the previous 30-plus years Martin has held leadership positions with Grand River Raceway, Woodbine Entertainment Group, and the Western Fair Association.

In these roles Martin oversaw a successful bifurcation of Grand River Raceway into its own not-for-profit entity, managed the strategic direction of Woodbine Entertainment Group's world class thoroughbred and standardbred racing for over a decade, and worked with both the racing and gaming partners of Western Fair Association at various levels of the business.

“Jamie's experience with both the standardbred and thoroughbred breeds, and his relationships with racetrack and other industry partners across the province make him an invaluable asset to the Ontario Racing Board of Directors,” said Ontario Racing Board and Executive Committee Member Katherine Curry. “We look forward to tapping into his wealth of racing knowledge to help the industry achieve its strategic goals.”

Both Gaughan and Martin begin their roles on November 1, 2022.

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Keeneland announced Thursday that Mark Taylor, President and CEO of Taylor Made Farm near Nicholasville, Ky., has been named to its Advisory Board of Directors.

Longtime Keeneland Directors Louis Lee Haggin III, Charles Nuckols III and Duncan Taylor will move to Emeritus roles on the Advisory Board.

“We welcome Mark Taylor to the Keeneland Board, where his lifelong experience in the horse industry and his business acumen will be invaluable as we navigate future opportunities and challenges,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “We also thank Louis Haggin, Charlie Nuckols and Duncan Taylor for their decades-long service and commitment to the Board.”

Mark Taylor was named President and CEO of Taylor Made Farm on Jan. 1, 2022, after previously serving as the farm's Vice President of Marketing and Public Sales Operations. A perennial leading consignor in North America and at Keeneland, the 1,200-acre Taylor Made Farm has been a family-run Thoroughbred operation for 44 years. Today, in addition to sales consignment, Taylor Made stands eight stallions, among them Horse of the Year Knicks Go and leading sire Not This Time, and manages multiple racing and breeding partnerships.

The post Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor Named To Keeneland’s Advisory Board Of Directors appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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