NINE CANDIDATES SEEK SEVEN BREEDERS’ CUP BOARD POSITIONS
By Ray Paulick
Nine individuals including six incumbents are running for seven open positions on the Breeders’ Cup board of directors in voting that begins next Saturday, July 10, and continues until July 15 at 5 p.m. EDT.
The six incumbents seeking re-election to two-year terms are Helen Alexander of Middlebrook Farm; Antony Beck, Gainesway Farm; William S. Farish Jr. Lane’s End; Terrence Finley, West Point Thoroughbreds; Roy Jackson, Lael Stables; and Satish K. Sanan, Padua Stables. The seventh open position on the 13-member board is currently held by racetrack operator R. D. Hubbard, who was not re-elected in recent voting among Breeders’ Cup nominators for the 39-member board of members and trustees.
David Willmot, of Kinghaven Farms and Woodbine Entertainment Group, and Jerry Crawford, of Donegal Racing, who received the highest and third-highest number of votes in the 2010 members and trustees election, are seeking their first term on the smaller operating board of directors. The remaining candidate is Barry Weisbord, co-publisher of the Thoroughbred Daily News, who was elected to a three-year term on the board of members and trustees in 2008 and has since been actively involved in forming slates of candidates in subsequent elections.
The Weisbord “slates” for members and trustees elections have been countered by Farish, the Breeders’ Cup board chairman whose father Will Farish had previously been chairman of the Breeders’ Cup executive committee that ran the organization prior to governance changes that allowed foal and stallion nominators to vote. Farish and his allies organized and backed their own slate of candidates.
Both the Weisbord and Farish camps have been actively courting recently elected members and trustees who are considered “independent” of either group.
Voting will take place among the 39 members and trustees (including those recently elected); along with six founding members (Brownell Combs II, Will Farish, James Friess, Brereton Jones, John T.L. Jones Jr., James Philpott); former Breeders’ Cup presidents James E. Bassett III and D.G. Van Clief Jr.; and current officers of the company, CEO Greg Avioli, treasurer Matthew Lutz, and secretary Robert Watt. Voters are permitted to assign their ballots to a proxy.
There has been criticism over the election procedures allowing founding members, former Breeders’ Cup presidents and current officers of the company to vote in board elections. Critics have particularly focused on voting by corporate officers which, they say, could compromise their relationships with directors. Voting is by secret ballot, so it isn’t clear if those officers have voted in the past or for whom.
Copyright © 2010, Blenheim Publishing , LLC
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Tags: Antony Beck, Breeders' Cup, Donegal Racing, gainesway farm, Greg Avioli, Helen Alexander, Jerry Crawford, lael stables, Lane's End, matthew lutz, Middlebrook Farm, padua stables, Paulick Report, R. D. Hubbard, Robert Watt, Roy Jackson, satish sanan, Terrence Finley, west point thoroughbreds, william farish
July 2nd, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Another institution in need of term limits.
July 2nd, 2010 at 6:56 pm
They have made some positive change to improve the election process, the incumbents are just scared of not being re-elected so they are unwilling to change the election process so that it is a true transparent election where the best people are elected. Currently that is not the case, more the people who control the most votes.
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:28 am
how many votes for Dennis Mills ?? and who could have voted for him. ????
totally unqualified.
July 3rd, 2010 at 8:15 am
Completely unrelated but…..Why doesn’t Tom Durkin call the BC races? He might be the best race caller of our time and perhaps ever? (No offense to Trevor Denman who is really good, just not the best.)
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:56 am
Another organization recyling the same people. It’s no wonder that nothing ever changes. Put some fresh minds in these positions and maybe, just maybe, we’ ll get some new ideas.
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:57 am
Durkin is contracted with NBC for the Derby and Preakness. When the Breeders’ Cup switched from NBC to ESPN/ABC back in 2007, NBC did not allow him to also do the BC for a competitor. Wasn’t a hard choice for Tom.