McDoniel Named Equibase President and COO

Kyle McDoniel has been named president and chief operating officer of Equibase Company LLC by the Equibase Management Committee, effective June 1, 2023, the company announced on Tuesday. McDoniel succeeds Sal Sinatra, who resigned in July 2022. James L. Gagliano served as interim president.

“Kyle will bring a fresh perspective to Equibase and the sport,” Ian D. Highet, chairman of Equibase, said. “The management committee is confident that his extensive background within sports media and sports betting alongside his business development and strategic planning skills fit perfectly with Equibase's objectives.”

Most recently McDoniel served as vice president of U.S. Strategic Partnerships for sports technology company Sportradar, where he led strategic planning, business development, and ongoing partnership management. He is a 25-year veteran in the sports industry, started his career with ESPN and subsequently held roles as senior vice president of Strategy, Marketing and Partnerships and vice president of business development for FOX Sports and also served as global head of Sports Partnerships and Strategy for Yahoo Sports.

“Horse racing is a fantastic sport, and I look forward to joining the excellent Equibase team in Lexington, Kentucky, and establishing relationships with stakeholders across the industry,” said McDoniel. “My priorities will be to develop new business opportunities to enrich the sport and provide everyone from professional handicappers to casual fans and the media with the tools they need to get the most out of racing.”

 

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Sal Sinatra To Serve As HISA Adviser

Former president and CEO of Equibase, Sal Sinatra, will advise the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) for the next six months on the integration of the InCompass interface at racetracks with the HISA portal, they said in a statement Thursday.

Sinatra designed, programmed and installed racing office software for more than 30 racetracks when he was a principal with TSNS in the late 1980s, before it was acquired by a subsidiary of The Jockey Club. The TSNS assets were then merged into what is now known as InCompass, the industry standard for racing offices.

HISA's portal utilizes InCompass' data stream to synchronize all horse-related information. Sinatra will assist HISA's technology team, led by Chief Technology Officer Steve Keech, to streamline workflow and provide a more seamless experience for users.

“Sal's subject matter expertise and relationships with racing offices across the country will be a major value-add to HISA and to the entire industry as we enter this new chapter in Thoroughbred racing,” said Keech.

“This is a crucial moment for Thoroughbred racing's future, and I am grateful to join the team working to make compliance with HISA's rules simple and straightforward for all involved,” said Sinatra. “I look forward to serving as a resource to the HISA team and to horsemen around the country as they continue to get acquainted with HISA's rules and requirements.”

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Sinatra Resigns As President And COO Of Equibase

Sal Sinatra, president and chief operating officer of Equibase, resigned Friday, according to a release of the Equibase Corporation.

“I am stepping aside at this point so that I may dedicate my time to personal issues that require my full attention,” said Sinatra. “I am grateful to the members of the Equibase Management Committee for their support of me and to my co-workers at Equibase Company and The Jockey Club for their help and kind assistance since I joined Equibase one year ago.”

Ian Highet, chairman of Equibase, said that James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club, will assume the role of president of Equibase in the interim. Equibase will commence a search for a new president, which will include internal and external candidates.

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Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: In Racing, Time Is Of The Essence

More than one Thoroughbred trainer has said that “time only matters if you're in jail,” but try telling that to a horseplayer. In North America, the fractional and final times of every race listed in a horse's past performances can play an important role in a bettor's decision-making process, not to mention the performance ratings – from Beyer and Brisnet speed figures to Thorograph and Ragozin sheets – that many horseplayers use.

The method of timing races at some tracks has changed in recent years from traditional beam systems that are tripped when the first horse passes designated poles to a GPS system based on transponders placed on a horse's saddle towel. The transition has not been seamless, and some tracks are now using a hybrid of both systems to compile accurate race times and running positions. Even that system can produce inaccurate times, as evidenced by several races on the two-day Breeders' Cup world championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.

In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Equibase president Sal Sinatra joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth to talk about the race-timing challenges he inherited when he joined the company earlier this year and how he hopes timing problems will be resolved. Sinatra, a longtime racing executive who worked in the statistical department of Daily Racing Form when he was just getting started in the business, understands the importance of accurate data, including times, in a horse's past performances.

Paulick and Hackbarth review undefeated Woodbine Star of the Week Lady Speightspeare's victory in the G2 Bessarabian Stakes under Emma-Jayne WIlson. Owned and bred by Charles Fipke (who also owned and bred Lady Speightspeare's multiple graded stakes-winning dam), the 3-year-old Speightstown filly is trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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