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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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The Jockey Club Creates Three New Scholarships Supporting Diversity In Racing

The Jockey Club announced Monday that it has created three new academic scholarships to support individuals from diverse backgrounds who are interested in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry: The Jockey Club Advancement of Women in Racing Scholarship, The Jockey Club Vision Scholarship, and The Jockey Club Benevolence Scholarship. These awards are in addition to The Jockey Club Scholarship and The Jockey Club Jack Goodman Scholarship.

– The Advancement of Women in Racing Scholarship ($20,000; $10,000 per semester) is open to women pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry who are enrolled full time as an undergraduate or graduate student at a college or university.

– The Vision Scholarship ($20,000; $10,000 per semester) is open to students from a minority racial or ethnic group who are pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry. Applicants must be enrolled full time as an undergraduate or graduate student at a college or university.

– The Benevolence Scholarship ($15,000; $7,500 per semester) is a need-based award to enable a student to attend a full-time program at a college, university, or trade program. Preference will be given to backstretch and horse farm employees and their family members.

“The Jockey Club is committed to supporting individuals who are passionate about the Thoroughbred industry and making it their livelihood, and we are pleased to be able to expand our scholarship offerings to assist those who will make significant contributions to Thoroughbred breeding and racing in the future,” said Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club Scholarship was first awarded in 2017 and provides $15,000 ($7,500 per semester) to a student who is pursuing a bachelor's degree or higher at any university and has demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred racing industry.

The Jockey Club Jack Goodman Scholarship was created in 2007 and provides $6,000 ($3,000 per semester) to a student in the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program (RTIP). Goodman was a resident of Tucson, a longtime member of The Jockey Club, and one of three founders of the RTIP.

Applications for all five scholarships are open now through February 1, 2021. More information and links to applications for the scholarships can be found here: jockeyclub.com/Default.asp?section=Initiatives&area=15. The recipients of each scholarship will be announced in the spring of 2021 in advance of the initial distribution of funds for the fall 2021 semester.

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In New Role As Keeneland President, Safety Will Be A Central Focus For Arvin

The guard at Keeneland will soon be changing, as Shannon Bishop Arvin has been named as the successor to retiring Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason. Arvin will serve as President-elect starting Sept. 1 and will take over the role officially on Jan. 1. Arvin comes to the position with a long history with the racetrack, having served as corporate counsel to Keeneland since 2008 and secretary and advisory member of the board of directors since 2015. Arvin is a partner at Stoll Keenon Ogden and has served on numerous industry boards, including the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, secretary of Horse Country, Director of Kentucky Bank and Director of The Lexington School; is Chair and Director of Bluegrass Care Navigators (formerly Hospice of the Bluegrass) and is Past President of the Thoroughbred Club of America.

Arvin will also be carrying on family tradition — her grandfather W.T. “Bish” Bishop was the track's first general manager, and her father grew up in an apartment next to the track's clubhouse. She is the first woman in Keeneland's history to serve as its president.

We sat down with Arvin to find out more about her outlook on her new role.

PR: Was your new position as president of Keeneland something you've always aspired to, or did it just sort of evolve organically?

SA: I have been working as a lawyer in the Thoroughbred industry for 18 years and have been lucky to work with a lot of great clients. My relationships at Keeneland have kept me close throughout my time there. I don't know that I can say it was my aspiration, but it's more of, 'I wake up every day and do the best I can for this institution, for which I have so much passion.' I couldn't be more excited to have ended up in this spot.

You obviously have a long family tradition of working in racing, going back a couple of generations. What made you want to stay in the racing business yourself?

SA: My dad and I were very close, but it's funny – I think he would have been just as happy if I'd been a school teacher or a chef as he was for me to be a lawyer and practice with him. He just wanted me to do the kind of work that made me happy. In fact, when I started practicing law, he suggested estate planning, because he knew I wanted a family at some point and that might be a nice area of the law where you could be a little more flexible. I did in fact pursue that as well, but the relationships just kept taking me back to the equine business. That's such a relationship business. My friends have been my clients, and my clients have been my friends, so my personal and professional worlds have always collided in such a way it has kept me really close to the industry.

Your grandfather was the first general manager of Keeneland; does the family association with Keeneland place a unique kind of pressure on you in this new role?

SA: I think it makes me excited more than anything. My dad was always careful not to apply that pressure to me. Of course I remember my grandfather, but I was pretty young when he passed away and it was before I recognized his professional contributions.

My dad was always careful to make sure I was doing what I was doing because I was passionate about it and it's what I wanted to do. He passed away from cancer, which is a horrible illness, but one of the benefits of it is you have a little foresight and the ability to plan. So I have all these letters from my dad which I'll keep forever, and one of them said, 'If this is ever too much for you or not what you want to do, please don't feel any pressure from me or anybody else to continue.' That's helped me a lot since 2008, to be sure I'm doing what I am because I feel confident about my contributions and happy.

Of course, you're the first woman to have held this position. How do you feel about being the very first?

SA: You know, I have sat in a lot of boardrooms with a lot of men over the years and I don't feel uncomfortable at all in that position. I feel like I haven't let that get in my way, and I've been fortunate to work with people through the years who haven't let it get in the way either. I think that leading for men or women is similar in that you set a vision, you have goals and strategies, you have a great team and you have to make tough calls.

It's not lost on me and I hope it does let women know that if you just get up every day and keep after it and be persistent, anything is possible. I have two young daughters who are nine and ten, and that's been a really fun part of this too, watching their minds work. When I told them I was taking this job they said, 'Mom, you already work at Keeneland.' But as time has gone on, I think it's evolved, especially for my 10-year-old, that this is a big deal. And I'm excited about that.

What are your long and short term visions for what you want to do in this position?

SA: Short term, we have got to operate in a way that protects the health of the industry during a global pandemic and that means working as hard as we can and doing all things possible to have safe sales this fall, a safe race meet, a safe Breeders' Cup. We need to protect the health of our athletes and our industry participants.

Keeneland is such a unique organization because we've had the same mission for 80 plus years. We're a model racetrack, a leading auction company, and we're guided by the best of the traditions of our sport. I think a really important part of that that will be a challenge is maintaining the best of those traditions and innovating in a way that enhances safety and integrity and attracts new owners and fans.

What areas of racing and sales do you think Keeneland has done really well to this point, and where are the areas of improvement you're hoping to work on?

SA: On the racing side, it's hard to think of anything more important than safety and integrity. I think Keeneland has done a great job of being a leader on that front, as a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, and even before that. We put so many resources into making this the absolute safest track that it can be. Certainly, as you've seen, we haven't done that perfectly. There's room for improvement on that and we'll continue to do that.

Sales, there are some silver linings of the pandemic and one of them is speeding up some projects that we already had underway, in terms of permitting online bidding promoting digital sales. We've got areas of bidding for those who are physically on the grounds so they can be socially distanced and safe. We've working on that innovation in the sales arena.

Hospitality has been such an important part of the way Keeneland has advanced in the last few years and I think that's going to look different, too. We're not going to be having big parties for a while, we're going to be having smaller, more intimate get-togethers and find creative ways to let people feel a part of what we have here and be energized by that.

Do you have a vision for how to attract new owners once we get beyond COVID?

SA: I think it's conducting our sport well, and that goes back to innovation. I don't have the magic answer that's going to attract new fans, but I think we can do things that will make our sport more attractive to the general public – have broadcasting conducted in a way that shows the inside of the business. Horse Country, I think, has been a great advancement in terms of letting people see the horse at an early age. There's no animal more majestic than the horse and I'm sure you feel the same way. Working to find ways to connect owners better with the horse. If you're in Ireland and you're sitting in a pub, it feels like everyone owns the leg of a racehorse. That's a great way to expose people to the excitement of our sport, let them catch the fever and have the fun of owning a leg or an ear of a horse in a way that shows them it's not just for the uber wealthy. There are all kinds of ways to be involved in our sport and I think we have to do a better job of bringing people to that.

Even if they just own a whisker and aren't in a position to be an owner for a period of time, we still want them to be fans.

How do you plan to address the ethical environment at sales? We hear sometimes about kickbacks and other arrangements that take place at the sales grounds; how do you envision addressing those kinds of things?

SA: I think it's education. I think sometimes in the horse business we've seen situations where really successful people come into the business and they don't necessarily do the same due diligence in the horse business that they have in their other businesses. I think it's education and getting to know the people they're doing business with and making sure they're comfortable with them. I'm a lawyer by training and I know horsemen and horsewomen tend not to like agreements but here are ways you can have agreements that are short and concise and don't bog down a transaction and still protects people.

Diversity has been a big topic in racing, and something Keeneland has committed itself to improving. Do you have an idea of how you will go about improving the diversity of your company?

SA: I think not just our industry, but our world, and particularly our country, are struggling right now to find a better balance. I think a silver lining in some of the strife we're seeing is that people are more cognizant and working harder to achieve better diversity. We all have work to do; our company has work to do, our community has work to do, and we're committed to doing that. And that's the first step.

We're going to do an assessment of where we are and where we need to go. I've been involved in hiring for a number of years too, and I've learned that to improve diversity it's not enough to say, 'Well the candidates aren't there.' You need to do outreach and work with the community to find diverse candidates, and work to attract diverse candidates to our company and to our industry. We're definitely committed to doing that.

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Shannon Arvin to Succeed Thomason at Keeneland

Shannon Bishop Arvin has been tabbed to replace Bill Thomason when he retires as Keeneland’s President and CEO at the end of 2020, the racing and sales company announced Thursday morning.

Arvin, a partner at the Lexington law firm Stoll Keenon Ogden (SKO), has served as corporate counsel to Keeneland since 2008 and as Secretary and Advisory Member of Keeneland’s Board of Directors since 2015. She will serve as the incoming President-elect beginning Sept. 1 and will officially transition to President and CEO on Jan. 1, 2021. She becomes Keeneland’s eighth President and the first woman in that position, joining Belinda Stronach (Santa Anita, Golden Gate, Gulfstream and the Maryland Jockey Club) and Stella Thayer (Tampa Bay Downs) as women currently serving as the head of a North American racetrack.

Thomason retires after a decade with Keeneland, including eight years in the top spot.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve as President and CEO of Keeneland,” Arvin said. “I am also thankful for my experience at Stoll Keenon Ogden these past 18 years. I appreciate the trust and confidence placed in me by my clients and my law partners, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in a different capacity.

A Lexington native, Arvin has deep ties to the Central Kentucky community and the horse industry. She graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a B.A. in Political Science, International Studies, with High Honors, and from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2002.

Arvin brings to her new role a unique perspective of Keeneland’s rich history and what the iconic track means to horsemen, fans and Central Kentucky. Her grandfather W.T. “Bish” Bishop was the first General Manager of Keeneland when the track opened in 1936. Her father, the late William T. “Buddy” Bishop III, grew up at Keeneland, living in an apartment next to the clubhouse. Buddy Bishop’s lifelong service to Keeneland included positions as Director, Secretary, Trustee and Counsel. He was also a partner at SKO and worked with his daughter at the firm until his passing in 2008.

“I have a deep love and passion for Keeneland and it is a tremendous honor to lead this organization and work alongside this amazing team,” she said. “By building on the foundation laid by Bill Thomason and those who came before him, and with a continued focus on integrity, innovation and safety, we will further the mission of Keeneland and ensure the future of this sport.”

At her law firm’s Lexington office, where she has practiced since 2002, Arvin has represented Thoroughbred owners and prominent industry organizations in Kentucky and around the world, among them Keeneland, Breeders’ Cup Ltd., Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. She also serves on the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of The Jockey Club. She also currently serves as Secretary of Horse Country, Director of Kentucky Bank and Director of The Lexington School; is Chair and Director of Bluegrass Care Navigators (formerly Hospice of the Bluegrass) and is Past President of the Thoroughbred Club of America.

“I have had the honor of working with Shannon for many years, and her expertise and knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry and her impressive leadership abilities make her a great choice for Keeneland,” Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming said. “Breeders’ Cup has a long-standing bond with Keeneland, and we look forward to working with Shannon, Bill and their entire team to not only make the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a resounding success in 2020 but also to innovate and grow our sport going forward. Today’s announcement is a major win for the future of racing.”

“Shannon is all-in for Keeneland and for Lexington; she has a tremendous knowledge of and love for the community,” Juddmonte Farms General Manager Garrett O’Rourke said. “In my early days at Juddmonte, I worked very closely with her dad, who I loved. She and her dad are very much alike, both wise and smart, and that is the biggest compliment I could give her. But more than anything else, her history and her roots in Keeneland are what make it the absolute glove fit. It couldn’t be a more obvious or perfect choice, and I am delighted for her and for Keeneland.”
The appointment of Arvin was a unanimous decision by the Keeneland Trustees.

“Bill notified us last year of his wish to spend more time with his family and his plans for retirement,” Keeneland Trustee Seth Hancock said. “We are grateful to have had ample time to thoughtfully select his successor. We have all known Shannon for years through her service to Keeneland and numerous boards in the racing industry. We approached her to see if there was an interest on her part, and I am happy to say there was. Our wide-ranging discussions with her that followed confirmed our initial judgement: Shannon’s leadership, professionalism, the respect she has earned within the horse industry, her intimate knowledge of Keeneland’s core businesses and her vision for Keeneland’s future made her the clear choice to become the next president.”

Bill Thomason | Keeneland photo

Thomason retires after a busy 10 years at the company.

Under his leadership, Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup for the first time in 2015, which generated a nearly $70 million economic impact for Lexington. He negotiated the event’s return to Keeneland in 2020. He also led Keeneland to become a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition. Thomason was integral in initiating the hiring of an Equine Safety Director at Keeneland and championed racing and sales medication reforms, among other industry initiatives. He has served as chairman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, a member of The Jockey Club, on the board of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Foundation and University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Advisory Board.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to be part of the Keeneland family,” Thomason said. “I feel privileged to work alongside people who share a commitment to always put the best interest of the horse first and to exceed our customer’s expectations. Keeneland was founded upon these principles, which continue to guide our operations to this day. Shannon’s life and work experiences intertwine with that philosophy, and I look forward to her leadership of Keeneland for years to come.”

Keeneland’s outreach during Thomason’s tenure expanded beyond traditional business lines, most significantly with the track’s historic partnerships with Red Mile and Churchill Downs on historical gaming and simulcasting facilities. Keeneland Hospitality was developed to elevate the on-site culinary experience for patrons and to deliver top-class special events. Retail operations branched out to include online sales, a remodel of The Keeneland Shop and the opening of Keeneland Mercantile to establish a presence for Thoroughbred racing in downtown Lexington. Customer service was also a focus of Thomason’s, and programs included construction of a Welcome Center, creation of a Keeneland Tour Program and participation in the formation of the popular Horse Country.

During this period, Keeneland also was named among the best places to work by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management.

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