VanMeter Excluded From Keeneland During ‘Further Review’ Following Racist Social Media Posts

Keeneland released the following statement Wednesday morning after well-known bloodstock agent Tom VanMeter was put on blast for racist social media posts. Those statements were widely condemned by several industry groups, including Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, The Jockey Club, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. VanMeter later apologized and pledged to become a better ally to people of color.

“Effective immediately, Tom VanMeter will be excluded from the Keeneland premises, including participation by VanMeter and VanMeter-Gentry Sales in sales and racing activities, while Keeneland further reviews the circumstances related to the recent reprehensible comments VanMeter made on social media.

“Keeneland takes its role in advancing inclusion and diversity seriously. But we know that we as a company, an industry and a society have much work to do. Only through listening and concrete action can we hope to live up to our values of respect, community and equality.”

The post VanMeter Excluded From Keeneland During ‘Further Review’ Following Racist Social Media Posts appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Keeneland to Refuse VanMeter Entries

Keeneland will refuse to accept entries for sales or racing from Tom VanMeter following his racist comments on social media earlier this week.

Keeneland released the following statement Wednesday morning:

“Effective immediately, Tom VanMeter will be excluded from the Keeneland premises, including participation by VanMeter and VanMeter-Gentry Sales in sales and racing activities, while Keeneland further reviews the circumstances related to the recent reprehensible comments VanMeter made on social media.

“Keeneland takes its role in advancing inclusion and diversity seriously. But we know that we as a company, an industry and a society have much work to do. Only through listening and concrete action can we hope to live up to our values of respect, community and equality.”

The post Keeneland to Refuse VanMeter Entries appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Gabby Gaudet Joins TDN Writers’ Room

Like everyone else, Gabby Gaudet is looking forward to Keeneland’s special summer meet, which kicks off Wednesday. With 10 graded stakes races packed into a five-day schedule, she knows the meet will be special, but also different. Keeneland has never run in the summer before, and, for this meet, no spectators will be allowed to attend. As one of the hosts of the track’s simulcast feed, Gaudet’s job will be to deliver the “Keeneland experience” to people’s living rooms.

“I know people will miss Keeneland and miss being on track,” said Gaudet, this week’s Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland. “Hopefully, we’ll be back in the fall. I think what we will be doing will make the transition a little bit easier for the passionate racing fan.”

Because fans aren’t allowed to attend, Keeneland is enhancing its simulcast production as part of the “Keeneland at Home” theme that will be part of the meet. Gaudet, along with Scott Hazelton, will kick things off each racing day at 11:30 with a 30-minute simulcast show previewing the day’s races. It can be viewed on Keeneland.com, the Keeneland Race Day app, Keeneland Select or CWKYT locally in Lexington. During the meet, the Keeneland simulcasting feed will also be available on the TDN website.

Once the races start, Gaudet, a regular on TVG, and Hazelton will be giving blanket coverage of the meet. Gaudet will, of course, handicap the races and give her opinions on the looks of the horses in the paddock. Since the media is not allowed in, she will also conduct numerous post-race interviews in an effort to make as much information as possible available to the writers and the fans.

“We’ll be trying to do more with the interviews after the races,” she said. “We’ll talk to the winners but also to a trainer who has a heavy favorite that loses. We will be trying to provide as much information as possible for the media and for the fans and for the public who cannot be onsite.”

Not everything will be about who wins and loses.

“There will be the entertainment and the fun element,” she said. “Keeneland will be posting some of their famous recipes, like burgoo, online. Burgoo in July doesn’t sound too appetizing, but you can print it out and put it in the cookbook for later.”

Gaudet has become one of the most visible personalities in racing. When asked what others can do to follow in her footsteps, she said the easiest way to get there is to put in a maximum effort.

“Work hard, ask questions, and don’t pretend that you know everything because you won’t get very far,” Gaudet said.

Gaudet made history earlier this year when she worked as an announcer at the Keeneland January sale, becoming the first woman to do so. She said she felt immense pressure, but would like to work more in that role in the future.

“Yes, I would definitely like to do more of it and I believe I might be doing some more at the September sale,” she said. “I haven’t confirmed that with anybody, but I believe that’s in the pipeline. That whole experience was such a whirlwind. And honestly, because of the pandemic, it feels like that happened maybe five years ago. It was a historic moment.”

Elsewhere on the show, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, the writers discussed the latest developments out of Arkansas, where, according to reports, two Bob Baffert-trained horses, Gamine and Charlatan, tested positive for the banned substance lidocaine. Earlier in the week, the split samples from both horses confirmed the positive, but Baffert has vowed to fight the impending penalties. The consensus among the writers was that Baffert was fighting an uphill battle because of the trainer’s responsibility rule.

The writers also dove into the story of Tom VanMeter, the Lexington area consignor who made racist posts on social media. Click here to listen to the podcast and click here to watch it on Vimeo.

The post Gabby Gaudet Joins TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

VanMeter Extends Apology for Racist Comments

One day after his racist comments on social media were made public, Tom VanMeter sent the Thoroughbred Daily News a statement which he asked be published in the Tuesday night edition.

“Over the weekend, comments I made on a private page of a social media platform surfaced which have since come under scrutiny due to their racist nature. I will not attempt to deny that I wrote the comments, nor will I attempt to justify my actions. Certainly, I am frustrated with the current social situation in our country, however, what I wrote was unjustifiable. I was wrong and am disgusted by my actions. Contrary to what these comments might suggest, in no way do those responses represent my true feelings towards my friends and community members of color. Moving forward I am committed to listening and learning as to how I can be a better ally and advocate in my community and within the racing industry as to how we can better foster inclusivity for all. In the meantime, as a gesture of goodwill, I have made a donation to the NAACP in support of the important work this organization continues to do. I am hopeful all the industry stakeholders and the community at large can forgive me. I can and will do better.”

Monday, in response to a post asking people to retweet if they planned to boycott the NFL after they changed their policy to allow players to peacefully protest racial inequality in America during the national anthem by taking a knee, VanMeter referred to the National Football League, substituting an abbreviation of the “N-word,” a racist slur, for the word National. He also said of protestors, “Put em back in their cage!!!”

VanMeter’s son, Griffin, made his own post on Facebook yesterday, which was critical of his father’s behavior.

Griffin posted the following.

“Today, my Dad wrote racist comments on a racist post on Facebook. Luckily for him he got called out for it as he should have. I’m glad that it was public because his racism is a conversation I wanted to have with him for over 20 years but never had the courage to start. I am sorry to both of us and all of us for that. I care deeply about my dad, and also care deeply about fighting racism.
It hurts my heart for somebody I love to be so misguided. Yet, I understand how he got there. It hurts my heart to think about people reading those bigoted words. It hurts my heart to think of the generations of people who have been denied life and progress because of white supremacy and systematic racism. I hope my Dad can unlearn the racism that was taught to him and that he later taught to me. I hope that he can learn love, acceptance, and promotion of all people. As white people, especially overly privileged white people, we must do our part to change oppressive individuals and systems. Luckily, my Dad will have that opportunity and I will do my part to support him on his anti-racism journey. I’m not looking or need validation for this post. I’m looking for everyone to examine what we can do better to make this world more livable for everyone. Some of that might include deep reflection and reconciliation of our actions. Black Lives Matter.”

The post VanMeter Extends Apology for Racist Comments appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights