Posts Tagged ‘chris mccarron’
Friday, January 15th, 2010
By Ray Paulick
Over 20 years ago, during a trip to Japan to ride Pay the Butler in the Japan Cup and participate in the World Super Jockeys competition, jockey Chris McCarron was asked to speak at the Japan Racing Association’s jockey school, where teenagers with professional riding aspirations are taught about the sport, about horses and about life. McCarron was impressed by what he saw, and returned home vowing to someday help start a similar school in the United States.
“We’ve got the best racing in the world,” he said. “Yet we’ve never had a place to formally train for a job in the industry as a jockey. There are riding schools around the world. Panama has the most famous one, but there are others, including one in Newmarket, and the oldest one in the world was established in South Africa.”
Following his retirement in 2002, Hall of Famer McCarron ramped up his efforts and sought support for the idea of a jockey school, something the late Hall of Fame Bill Shoemaker toyed with during the latter stages of his career. He met with a group that included Keeneland president Nick Nicholson, who had worked with Shoemaker on the concept, and with seed money provided by Keeneland found a home for the school within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. McCarron called it a “match made in heaven.”
The North American Racing Academy was launched in the fall of 2006, with a first-year class of 11 students who would spend the next two years in the classroom, getting hands-on training from McCarron and be placed in an internship with a top trainer. The 11 students were selected from more than 50 applicants, and eight of them completed their studies, getting an associate degree. Subsequent classes included 10 students that enrolled in 2007 (six graduated), 17 in 2008 (16 are on target to graduate this spring), and 11 enrolled in the fall of 2009. In addition to those enrolled to learn how to become jockeys, the 2008 enrollment class included eight students on what McCarron calls the “horseman’s pathway.”
The North American Racing Academy has a staff of four. McCarron, the director, lectures in the classroom and offers hands-on lessons; there is a second full-time instructor; a barn manager; and a director of program facilities. The NARA is based at the Kentucky Horse Park and uses the Training Center on Paris Park classroom work.
Cost to students ranges from $132 per credit hour for Kentucky residents to $425 per credit hour for out of state students. Seventy hours are required for an associate’s degree.
The latter half of 2009 was a bittersweet time for McCarron, who was devastated to see one of NARA’s early graduates, Michael Straight, severely injured in a spill at Arlington Park. The final month of the year brought some good news when Ben Creed became the first NARA graduate to win a riding title, when he led all jockeys at the Turfway Park holiday meeting.
Creed is an example, McCarron said, of how students can really blossom during their on-track internships. “He surprised the heck out of me,” McCarron said. “He was not very far along when he was here, but he interned in California with John Sadler and came back a lot more polished. He really came along in a short period of time. Ben is one of those guys like me who had no previous experience at all with horses. He would not have been one of my picks at this time last year to stand out.”
Trainers involved in the internships include Todd Pletcher, Jonathan Sheppard, Shug McGaughey, Nick Zito, Wesley Ward, Doug O’Neill and Tom Proctor, among others. Interns are asked to gallop and breeze horses, clean tack and help around the barn. “I want them to know as much as possible about what it takes to get a horse ready to race in the afternoon,” McCarron said.
McCarron said he is “ecstatic” with the launch and early progress for the North American Racing Academy (which was not named a “riding” academy because he wants it to include programs for prospective grooms and trainers as well as jockeys).
He has even bigger plans for the school’s future, including a campus at the Kentucky Horse Park and possible expansion to a second division in the Ocala, Florida, area that would be part of the the Central Florida Community College System.
For more information, click here to visit the web site of the North American Racing Academy.
Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Ben Creed, chris mccarron, doug o'neill, Good News Friday, japan racing association, jockey, jockey school, john sadler, jonathan sheppard, Keeneland, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, liberation farm, michael straight, NARA, nick nicholson, nick zito, North American Racing Academy, shug mcgaughey, South Africa, todd pletcher, Tom Proctor, turfway park, Wesley Ward
Posted in Good News Friday, Jockeys | 4 Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
Every kid should be so lucky to have parents like Sandy and Beth Straight.
“They are very inspirational people,” said Nancy LaSala, executive director of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
The Straights are parents of 23-year-old twin sons, Michael and Matthew, who were living out their dream together as professional Thoroughbred jockeys until that dream turned into a nightmare in a split second on Aug. 26. That’s the day Michael Straight suffered severe spinal and head injuries in an Arlington Park racing accident. The lives of the family from Albany, N.Y., took a dramatic and tragic change.
Sandy and Beth Straight were watching the race at the Albany OTB parlor. Matthew was riding in Kentucky. All of them knew immediately that this was a bad spill. Arlington Park chairman Dick Duchossois dispatched his private jet to New York to bring Michael’s parents to the hospital. Matthew didn’t need to be told. He got in his car and began driving to Chicago within minutes of the accident.
Sandy and Beth Straight put their lives on hold and have remained with their son in Chicago since August. Every day they come to the hospital, first at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and now at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where Michael was moved Oct. 11 and is now undergoing occupational, physical and speech therapy. They are there from nine in the morning till seven at night many days, offering support, love and hope to their son. “It’s one day at a time Michael,” Beth Straight said.
The Straights aren’t wealthy people; they work for the state of New York’s labor department—or used to until Michael was injured. But thanks to fellow riders, friends, family, people in the horse industry and organizations like the Jockey Club Foundation, the Don MacBeth Fund and the Jockeys’ Guild, they are getting able to stay with Michael. Right now, the situation is grim. “No one knows,” Sandy Straight said. “The spine is a mystery. You just can’t give up hope.”
Matthew has been there for his twin, too, spending as much time with him as he can. “He likes us to be around,” Sandy said, “but there’s nothing that lifts his spirits as much as seeing his brother.” Earlier this week, Matthew took Michael out for lunch and cruised the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, not far from the Rehabilitation Institute.
Michael and Matthew Straight have always been best friends, and they both grew up dreaming of becoming jockeys. Sandy Straight talked about how as young boys he’d seen them straddling the back of a couch, using pillows for saddles and crouching low while driving their mounts to the wire in an imaginary race. When they were nine, the boys went from riding the couch to practicing on an Equicizer, the simulated riding device developed by jockey Frank Lovato and used by professional jockeys to get back in riding shape after taking time off. At 12, Michael and Matthew learned about an organization started by the late Trudy McCaffery, “Kids to the Cup,” which offered expense paid visits to tracks hosting major races around the country including the Breeders’ Cup. Getting a close-up look at their sport through the “Kids to the Cup” program cemented their desire to ride.
Eventually they went to the North American Riding Academy that Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron established at the Kentucky Horse Park, Matthew graduating in 2007 and Michael the following year. As required by the NARA curriculum, Michael served an apprenticeship, working in the stable of trainer Wesley Ward. He launched his career earlier this year, winning with his first mount at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6. He had 39 career wins when Im No Gentleman, the horse he was riding Aug. 26 apparently clipped heels and fell, throwing Michael to the Polytrack surface awkwardly. The horse, which apparently died from a broken neck, did not fall onto or roll over the jockey.
One of the Chicago-area owners Michael rode for, Dan Sullivan, organized a fundraiser for the jockey and his family on Oct. 25 at a restaurant Sullivan owns in a Chicago suburb. “Dan Sullivan has been incredible,” Sandy said. “He’s done so much for us. One of his kids wrote that letter up there on the wall,” he said, pointing to an over-sized, hand-printed letter signed by all of his classmates.
“Bill Thayer (Arlington Park racing executive) just loves Michael and he’s devastated over what happened. Guys like Wesley and Chris are being really hard on themselves, thinking they somehow are to blame for this, but it’s not their fault.”
Sandy and Beth said it was tough to watch Matthew when he rode at Arlington Park for the first time after Michael’s injury, and they watch his races from a completely different perspective today. “We always said ‘just get around the track safely,’” Sandy said, “but now…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
We had the opportunity to visit with Michael and his parents, along with the PDJF’s Nancy LaSala on Friday morning, while in Chicago on the second stop of the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive from Kentucky to California. The drive, in partnership with Breeders’ Cup Charities, is benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. We’ve had some fun raising money for the charities, but today’s visit really hit home what these seriously injured riders go through.
Everyone in racing is hoping that Michael Straight will not have to become the next rider to benefit from the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund—certainly not his parents. But the PDJF has to be there to help these riders when there are no miracles and prayers are not enough.
Michael and Matthew Straight will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks, on Nov. 12. The best birthday present for them would be an improvement in Michael’s condition, but the odds are against that happening so soon. A donation to Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the PDJF and V Foundation would be an appropriate way to recognize their birthdays. Please click here to make a donation.
If you can’t give, please consider sending a birthday card to lift Michael’s spirits. (It can be sent to Michael Straight, c/o Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611.) It might also lift the spirits of Sandy and Beth Straight. They have shown incredible strength over the last 10 weeks, but the stress they are experiencing and the pain they are feeling is taking a toll on them, too.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Arlington Park, Beth Straight, chris mccarron, dick duchossois, Don MacBeth Fund, Equicizer, Frank Lovato, Im No Gentleman, Jockey Club Foundation, jockeys' guild, kentucky horse park, Lutheran General Hospital, Matthew Straight, michael straight, nancy lasala, North American Riding Academy, pdjf, permanently disabled jockeys fund, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Sandy Straight, tampa bay downs, Trudy McCaffery, Wesley Ward
Posted in Good News Friday, breeders' cup or bust | 4 Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
(UPDATE: Magna Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. Click here for the company press release, with details on the filing.)
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
Hard to believe, but it’s been just over 10 years since Frank Stronach dove head-first into racetrack ownership with his December 1998 purchase of Santa Anita Park. Or perhaps I should say he did so with his company’s purchase of Santa Anita, since the 76-year-old Canadian auto parts magnate and Eclipse Award-winning owner and breeder has been careful not to spend too much of his own money on any of the racetrack ventures.
The strong-willed Stronach was hailed by many, including this writer, as a savior when he first rode into Southern California and purchased Santa Anita for $126 million. The historic racetrack was then owned by Meditrust, a real estate investment trust that had little to no interest in horse racing, and there were concerns about the sport’s future at the “Great Race Place.”
Stronach had big plans: a new stable area; a gated community to replace the infield parking lot; a grand entrance hall of sorts where horses of all breeds would be in the spotlight and robust women in lederhosen would serve an endless supply of cold beer. “I have no plans to move the mountains,” he joked, in a reference to the San Gabriel Mountains that serve as one of American horse racing’s most beautiful backdrops amidst concerns that he was going to change Santa Anita too much.
One of his biggest early supporters was the late Bob Lewis, a major horse owner and industry leader who had been going to the races at Santa Anita for decades. At a meeting Stronach conducted with horsemen who were worried that Santa Anita’s traditions would be thrown out the window, Lewis stood up and said:“Frank, you and I have had our arguments on the track, but as an owner I want to thank you for your magnanimous willingness to go ahead with your plans for Santa Anita. You’re going to be a breath of fresh air for this place.”
Stronach invested in some capital improvements, adding the new Frontrunners restaurant atop the grandstand and making Santa Anita’s track apron more appealing for railbirds. But big plans for a new stable area and other improvements were put on hold while he turned attention to his growing appetite for additional acquisitions.
He purchased Gulfstream Park in July 1999 for $95 million from a Japanese company that, like Meditrust, wasn’t interested in horse racing. Optimism abounded that racing in South Florida would improve. He also acquired land in Palm Beach County north of Gulfstream and built a state-of-the-art training center.
Then came deals to buy Golden Gate Fields along with the racing license for Bay Meadows in Northern California (though not the land on which the track was located); Thistledown in Ohio and Remington Park in Oklahoma; Portland Meadows in Oregon; Lone Star Park in Texas; and Laurel and Pimlico in Maryland. He also built Magna Racino, a racetrack/casino in his native Austria (since closed), and purchased plots of land for the possible development of a new track in Northern California and another in north central Florida. He started a racing cable network, HRTV, and an account-wagering company, Xpressbet. Once, when he disagreed with something I wrote in Bloodhorse magazine, he threatened to buy that publication – and he was serious.
There were rumors Stronach was set to purchase Suffolk Downs near Boston, Emerald Downs near Seattle, Monmouth Park in New Jersey, even Fairmount Park in Southern Illinois, among other tracks. In some ways, he looked like a kid in a candy store, and racetrack owners everywhere who were looking to unload their properties were hoping to catch his eye.
By now, Stronach’s racetrack interests were part of Magna Entertainment (MECA), a publicly traded spinoff of his Magna International (MGA) auto parts company that was formed in March 2000. A few years later, another Magna International spinoff, MI Developments (MIM), the real estate branch of the parent company, became the majority shareholder of Magna Entertainment after large shareholders in the auto parts concern protested that too much of their money was being invested in racetracks.
Stronach controlled the majority of the voting shares in all of the companies because of how they stock was structured into different classes. That allowed him to handpick board members and run the companies the way he saw fit. R.D. Hubbard, a very savvy businessman and racetrack owner who has had more than a few boardrowom battles of his own, told me very early on that only a fool would make a serious investment in a company that sells a majority of its stock in non-voting shares.
There was a constantly revolving door of top managers at Magna Entertainment and at many of the company’s racetracks that made it nearly impossible to ascertain who was in charge. (Click here for a partial roster of former Magna executives.) Some good people were brought in, but were never given the chance to manage without Stronach’s hands-on supervision. Other hires were head scratchers, including the appointment of former jockey Chris McCarron as general manager of Santa Anita. Stronach even called me once to see if I was interested in running one of his racetracks, something in which I had no experience or interest. I politely declined.
Interestingly, this is not how Stronach ran Magna International or his hugely successful breeding and racing operation, Adena Springs, where management was stable for years.
Stronach himself seemed to be afflicted with attention deficit disorder, lurching from one idea or project to another. All the while Magna Entertainment was accumulating massive debt that now totals $600 million and losing hundreds of millions of dollars. “We’re turning the corner,” he would say to increasingly skeptical analysts during conference calls to review financial results. Sometimes his focus bordered on the bizarre; witness his dive-off-the-deep-end launch of Frank’s Energy Drink, which now appears to be about as successful as his racetracks. Or his latest missive on how there should be changes in determining winners of Eclipse Awards, something Stronach wrote just days before Magna defaulted on the first of several debt obligations coming due this month.
In the early years, he seemed to love the limelight that came with owning racetracks. At a public forum at Gulfstream Park in 2001 that he used as a platform to publicize his views on the industry, Stronach said with glee, “I can’t wait to tear this place down.” Sure enough he did, rebuilding what many thought was a perfectly good grandstand and spending hundreds of millions to create a racetrack (and now casino) that is widely detested. He made similar promises to tear down and rebuild Pimlico, which would have been applauded, but those plans never got off the drawing board. Of course, Magna’s history in Maryland has been tainted by their recent folly in failing to file an adequate slot machine application for Laurel, after voters approved a statewide referendum last November. The company is now the laughingstock of the Free State.
Stronach also used his prominent position as owner of the nation’s largest racing company to air his differences with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders’ Cup, calling for democratic elections to the organizations’ boards of directors (while overlooking the fact that his own companies weren’t democratic because of the different classes of voting and non-voting stock). His ideas did have merit, and he deserves credit for helping bring greater transparency to some racing organizations.
Stronach once told me that he would “create his own Breeders’ Cup” because of differences he had with that organization. A couple of years later, he made good on that promise, creating the Sunshine Millions, an annual event at Gulfstream and Santa Anita that matches Florida-breds vs. California-breds.
The late Bob Lewis, his onetime supporter, began to publicly criticize Stronach’s comments about the NTRA and other industry initiatives. “Frank got mad and stopped talking to me after that,” Lewis told me. Then, with his broad, trademark smile, Lewis added, “So, naturally, whenever he’s at Santa Anita I go out of my way to reach out my hand and say hello to him.”
Clearly, Stronach can no longer be having fun as a racetrack owner. Though sources complain that he has surrounded himself with “yes” men at the corporate level — executives like Dennis Mills, CEO of MI Developments — he cannot help but hear the criticism that has come his way from racing fans, horsemen, state regulators, and shareholders in his various companies.
Magna Entertainment is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and institutional shareholders in MI Developments are threatening legal action if they feel that company’s board of directors breaches its fiduciary responsibility by extending additional credit to Magna Entertainment. Though some of its tracks are performing moderately well in this desperate economy, it’s too little too late, and the debt load is more than the company can absorb.
It’s sad, really, when I think back to the energy (sans Frank’s Energy Drink) and commitment Stronach brought to this endeavor 10 years ago. He had ideas – some good and many bad – that he felt could help reinvigorate racing. I have no doubt that his intentions were always to make Thoroughbred racing more appealing and successful. But his appetite for domination of the industry and his “my way or the highway” management style were a recipe for disaster. Several former Magna executives told me they tried to talk Stronach out of many bad decisions, but he seldom paid attention to them.
“You’ve got to listen, right?” Stronach said during a horsemen’s meeting at Santa Anita in April 1999. Unfortunately, he failed to take his own advice over most of the last decade. Now he’s paying the price, but so is the rest of the Thoroughbred industry. No one can be certain where those bad decisions will take us.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: chris mccarron, dennis mills, Frank Stronach, frank's energy drink, gulfstream park, HRTV, Magna, magna bankrupt, magna bankruptcy, Magna Entertainment, magna entertainment bankrupt, magna entertainment bankruptcy, magna international, magna racino, meca, mi developments, mim, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, santa anita, santa anita park
Posted in California, Magna Entertainment, Maryland Jockey Club, Race Tracks, gulfstream park, santa anita park | 21 Comments »
Sunday, October 19th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one holding his breath when the gates opened for the fourth race Saturday at the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting from Santa Anita. Seven “old” men and one still young woman, all of them Living Legends who have retired from professional race riding, were set to show that their skills had not all faded.
This wasn’t like one of those Old Timers Day baseball games at Yankee Stadium I remember watching on television in the 1960s, when pitches were lobbed up to the plate and spikes weren’t sharpened for slides into second base. These eight Living Legends would be aboard racehorses still in the prime of their careers in a game that can be dangerous for even the youngest, fastest-thinking and quickest-reacting athletes.
Thankfully, the eight horses and riders made the seven-furlong course safely, with 59-year-old Canadian Sandy Hawley, one of the all-time great riders and gentlemen of the game, romping to victory aboard the race favorite, Tribal Chief. (Click here to view the race.) Hawley took his charge wire to wire to win by 6 ½ lengths, looking every bit as good as he did in his prime 30 years ago, when he was nine times Canada’s champion jockey and four times led all North American riders by wins. Tribal Chief gave Hawley his 6,450th career victory, 10th on the list of all-time North American leaders.
Following Hawley across the finish line were horses ridden by Living Legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Pat Day, Julie Krone, Jacinto Vasquez, Chris McCarron and Angel Cordero Jr. (Equibase chart.) All are members of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Not riding but participating in autograph sessions were three other Hall of Famers: Eddie Delahoussaye, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Jorge Velasquez.
Turns out I wasn’t the only nervous one. “I was a little nervous going into the starting gate, because I haven’t been out of a gate in 10 years,” Hawley said afterwards. “That was the part that I was worried about, so I grabbed a big handful of mane.”
The Living Legends race turned out to be a popular promotion for the riders and racing fans, and was a clever way to kick off a week featuring the 25th Breeders’ Cup world championships. Fans in the Los Angeles area and at tracks across did more than watch the Living Legends; they bet on them to the tune of over $1 million, with the $438,012 in the win, place and show pool the highest on the 10-race card.
There was immediate talk of holding another similar event in the future.
“If I was invited back again, I would do it again in a minute,” said Hawley, whose biggest personal challenge came in 1987 when he beat skin cancer. “I was 122 pounds two months ago, and when I got invited, I started working out and got on a few horses, and the weight came right off. I weighed 110 in the room today.
“Being back with these guys was a thrill. I’ve been with them the last few days, and you really don’t get to see them more than maybe once or twice a year at the Derby or the Breeders’ Cup. To be able to ride with them … when I got the call, I was like, ‘Holy cow, yeah, it would be an honor.’ The field of riders they ended up getting was tremendous, and I never thought in a million years that I had an opportunity to win, but I got on a good horse.”
I kept waiting for track announcer Trevor Denman to say that Hawley had the Living Legends race “in the bag” as they came down the stretch. Back in 1983, when Denman was just getting started as a racecaller in the United States, that’s exactly what he said about Hawley and a horse named Shanekite when they opened a big lead in the Morvich Handicap, run on the hillside turf course. “Sandy Hawley and Shanekite have this one in the bag,” Denman announced as they hit the sixteenth pole.
Unfortunately, Hawley heard Denman’s call and eased up a bit on Shanekite as they approached the wire, only to get beat on the money by a John Longden-trained runner named Kangroo Court, who was charging hard to the wire under a young apprentice rider, Joe Steiner. It was a rare mistake in an outstanding career for Hawley, and a racecall Denman would like to be able to do over. “I heard the announcer say I had it in the bag,” a fuming Hawley said afterwards, explaining the loss to reporters.
There was no letting up on Saturday. On this occasion, Hawley was the best of the Living Legends.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: angel cordero jr., Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World Championships, chris mccarron, Gary Stevens, hall of fame jockeys, Horse Racing, jacinto vasquez, jerry bailey, joe steiner, john longden, Julie Krone, kangroo court, living legends, living legends race, oak tree racing association, oldtimers day, oldtimers games, pat day, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, sandy hawley, santa anita, shanekite, trevor denman, tribal chief, yankee stadium
Posted in Breeders' Cup, California, Horse Racing, People, Racing Greats | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
It’s almost impossible to keep track of the comings and goings of executives at Magna Entertainment, the racetrack spinoff created in 2000 from Frank Stronach’s highly successful auto parts company, Magna International.
Magna Entertainment owns numerous racetracks, including Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields in California, Gulfstream Park in Florida, Pimlico and Laurel Park in Texas, and Lone Star Park in Texas; it co-owns HRTV with Churchill Downs and operates the Xpressbet account wagering company.
When the public company’s stock price fell below $1 per share earlier this year, the MEC board of directors enacted a 1-for-20 stock split, giving shareholders one share for each 20 they own. A $1,000 investment in MEC (symbol MECAD on NASDAQ) one year ago would be worth just $121 today. A $1,000 investment in MEC when it was created in 2000 would be worth less than $64 today. 
As a sidenote, during the time the stock price was plummeting, Stronach lent his name to a product called Frank’s Energy Drink, complete with "energy girls" and special events, a move that further fueled critics who said Stronach was no longer in touch with what was going on at his racetracks.
The latest departure, Scott Borgemenke, from the position of executive VP of racing, led the Paulick Report on a search of other departures from the executive offices of MEC’s headquarters in Aurora, Ontario, Can., and at various racetracks.
Here are just a few, including statements made by the executives and by Stronach upon their hiring and their leaving:
SCOTT BORGEMENKE
Jan. 28, 2008 - Appointed to the position of Executive Vice-President, Racing.
Said Borgemenke: "I am very excited to be taking on this new position. MEC’s commitment to the racing industry is unmatched. I feel fortunate to be joining a great team and look forward to putting my experience to work on the company’s behalf."
Frank Stronach, MEC’s Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, stated: "I am very pleased to have Scott join our team. I first met Scott a number of years ago and am confident that he will make a positive contribution to MEC."
July 21, 2008 - Borgemenke to leave his position as Executive Vice President, Racing effective July 18.
Stronach stated: "Scott has helped MEC move forward on a number of important operational initiatives. We very much appreciate his efforts, and we wish him well."
Said Borgemenke: "MEC is a company with enormous growth opportunities. I wish my friends there nothing but success, and will continue to provide any counsel I can. I will watch intently as the MEC team implements its strategic plan. Unfortunately, at this point in my life, my corporate and family responsibilities conflict."
CHRIS DRAGONE
Nov. 28, 2007 - Named president of Magna Entertainment’s Maryland Jockey Club tracks.
Said Dragone: "I look forward to working toward improving the racing and entertainment experience for Maryland horsemen and our customers. Working with the other key stakeholders I hope to build upon the platform established by Lou Raffetto and the De Francis family."
Stronach stated: "MEC remains strongly committed to the future success of Thoroughbred racing in Maryland. To this end we will put the full support of MEC behind Chris and the MJC management team."
May 13, 2008 - Dragone to be released as MJC president after Preakness.
Frank Stronach told Washington Post: "Chris is a nice fellow, but we thought (Tom Chuckas) had more experience."
LOU RAFFETTO
Feb. 10, 2006 - Lou Raffetto named president of the Maryland Jockey Club, replacing Joe De Francis.
Nov. 28, 2007 - Raffetto replaced by Chris Dragone as president of Maryland Jockey Club.
Stronach stated: "Lou worked very hard during his tenure with MJC to manage the day-to-day operations and improve the future of Thoroughbred racing in the state of Maryland. We wish him well in his future endeavors."
Said Raffetto: "I wish my colleagues at MJC well going forward and hope that the company will be successful in implementing its long-term plans."
MICHAEL NEUMAN
Feb. 27, 2007 - Michael Neuman named CEO. (Neuman succeeds Stronach, who has been Interim CEO since March 2006.)
Stronach stated, "The Board of Directors conducted an extensive search for candidates who understood the role of horse racing operations, gaming and entertainment to MEC’s business, while also demonstrating a proven track record to execute in the important new areas of opportunity. The Board of Directors is pleased to have attracted a candidate for CEO so uniquely qualified as Michael to lead MEC at this exciting time. We were also impressed with Michael’s understanding of the continued importance of debt reduction and improved operational effectiveness to MEC."
June 22, 2007 - Neuman leaves the company "effective immediately to pursue other opportunities.
Stronach stated: "Michael worked very hard during his time at MEC and we wish him well in his future endeavors."
Said Neuman: "I wish my colleagues at MEC well going forward and hope that the company will be successful in implementing its long-term plans."
JOE DE FRANCIS
July 20, 2006 - Joe De Francis named a Magna Entertainment Director, member of Executive Management Committee and Stronach’s "principal advisor on all technology and distribution initiatives."
Stronach stated: "Over the years, Joe has made an enormous contribution to the horse racing industry and to Magna Entertainment, in particular, and we are delighted that he has taken on this new role. Given Joe’s vast knowledge of both Magna Entertainment and the racing industry, we feel he is the perfect fit for our Board. On behalf of the directors of Magna Entertainment, I welcome Joe to the Board."
Said De Francis: "It has been a pleasure working with everyone at Magna Entertainment and watching the company evolve. I am thrilled about the direction in which Magna Entertainment is headed and look forward to being a part of this exciting time."
March 3, 2008 - De Francis resigns as a Director.
Stronach stated: "I want to thank Joe for all of his hard work on behalf of MEC over the years and we wish him well in his future endeavors."
PAUL CELLUCCI
March 18, 2005 - Former Massachusetts governor and U.S. ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci named Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development for Magna.
Said Cellucci: "It has been an honor to serve the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the President of the United States, but it is time for me to step away from public life. I am very excited about the prospects for MEC and working with Frank Stronach and MEC’s management team to build MEC into a global entertainment company and improve stockholder value.
Stronach stated: "Mr. Cellucci has an outstanding record of public service and will make an enormous contribution to (Magna Entertainment) and he will play a leadership role in our efforts to bring about regulatory reform at the state level aimed at modernizing the horse racing and pari- mutuel industry."
June 30, 2006 - Cellucci resigns.
Stronach stated: "Paul has helped MEC move forward on a number of important initiatives and we are pleased that we will continue to benefit from his counsel as he builds his new consulting practice", said Frank Stronach, MEC Chairman.
Said Cellucci: "MEC is a young company with a great future and I have enjoyed my full-time association with Frank and the other members of management. As I move into this new phase of my career, I look forward to continuing to advise MEC as it successfully implements its strategic plan".
TOM HODGSON
March 8, 2005 - Hodgson named President and CEO of Magna, replacing Jim McAlpine.
Said Hodgson: "Over the past several years, MEC acquired and developed the racing content and technology necessary to become a truly global player in the pari-mutuel industry," Hogdson said. "In order to ensure that MEC remains well-positioned to capitalize on industry opportunities, including alternative gaming and international opportunities, we need to operate with financial discipline."
Stronach stated: "MEC remains committed to its strong vision and leadership position within the horseracing industry. However, at this point in our development, we need to focus on financial and operating discipline at many of our operations. Our entire board, including Jim McAlpine, strongly supports Tom’s appointment as well as the need for improved financial discipline throughout the company. Tom brings a very strong financial background to MEC and he, together with the other members of the MEC executive management committee, will ensure that MEC maintains that focus."
March 14, 2006 - Hodgson resigns, effective March 31. Stronach named interim CEO while search for a new CEO is launched. Hodgson remains a consultant.
Stronach stated: " The Board has decided that, going forward, MEC should seek a CEO with in-depth knowledge and experience in the horseracing and gaming industry who can lead the Company in fully exploiting its opportunities in
this sector….Tom Hodgson has more than achieved our recapitalization plan goals, and we are grateful for his contributions to the Company."
JAMES MCALPINE
Jan. 10, 2001 -James McAlpine named president/CEO.
Stronach stated: "We are delighted to be able to confirm the appointment of Jim McAlpine as President and Chief Executive Officer of MEC. Having worked with Jim for many years while he was a senior executive officer of Magna International Inc., I have complete confidence in his talents and abilities. I believe that this appointment provides MEC with strong, experienced leadership for its new management team."
March 8, 2005 - McAlpine retires as CEO. He remains as a consultant to the company.
Stronach stated: "On behalf of the board of directors of MEC, I would like to thank Jim for his hard work over the past several years in launching MEC and helping to position it for the next stage in its development. We look forward to Jim continuing to contribute to MEC in his new role."
Said McAlpine: "Over the past five years, MEC people have worked diligently to make MEC the company that it is today, a company filled with opportunity. I have enjoyed leading this dynamic group and look forward to making a continuing contribution by supporting Frank, Tom and the executive management committee to see MEC achieve its full potential."
BRIAN TOBIN
March 24, 2004 - Former Canadian governmental official Brian Tobin elected Vice-Chairman of the MEC Board. Tobin is CEO of Magna Development, the majority shareholder of MEC.
Stated Stronach: "Brian will be an excellent director and I look forward to his contributions to our Board’s deliberations."
Aug. 20, 2004 - Tobin resigns.
Stronach stated: "Brian Tobin has been a great team leader and a great team player. The Board of Directors and I wish him well in his future business endeavours."
Said Tobin: "I have great respect for the MEC team and for Frank Stronach."
MARK FELDMAN and JERRY CAMPBELL
July 14, 2000 - Mark Feldman, named CEO (replacing Jerry Campbell, who was named vice chairman of the board).
Said Feldman: "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Jerry Campbell, the other members of the MEC Board of Directors and the talented MEC management team. I am anxious to get started implementing the Company’s multi-faceted growth strategy, including maximizing opportunities to utilize interactive media in sports wagering, development of the Company’s real estate assets with location based entertainment and retail operations and improving cash flow by taking advantage of scale efficiencies in track operations. All of these initiatives will be supported and enhanced by our commitment to developing a strong global brand."
Said Campbell: "I am pleased to continue to serve as Vice-Chairman and to remain a director of the Company. MEC has a strong balance sheet, has assembled some of the finest and strategically located thoroughbred racetracks in the United States and has the ability to expand, particularly pari-mutuel wagering via off-track betting centers (OTB’s) and telephone account wagering systems, within currently existing regulations."
Stated Stronach: "I would like to thank Jerry for his contributions in establishing the Company and am delighted that he will continue to provide guidance and assistance to the management team as Vice-Chairman. I believe that the management changes…will facilitate our pursuit of the opportunities in media distribution of racing and sports wagering."
Dec. 11, 2000 - Feldman resigns.
Stronach stated: "As was previously announced, Don Amos has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Graham Orr has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Amos and Mr. Orr are based in Toronto, where they were both previously senior officers of Magna International. Their appointment reflects my desire to remain closely involved with the Company during its formative years. As a result, Mark agreed that it would be more effective to consolidate operations in Toronto, but was not prepared to relocate his family to Toronto. I am pleased that Mark has agreed to continue to provide his services to the Company as a consultant, as he is an outstanding media executive."
Said Feldman: "I continue to be enthusiastic about the growth potential for the Company and its prospects to become a leader in the horse racing account wagering business. It is clear that Mr. Stronach should work closely with the executive team during these early years of developing the Company’s operations. In this regard it makes sense to operate the business from Toronto. I look forward to continuing to assist MEC in its key initiatives in the electronic media fields."
A partial list of other executives who have left the company in the decade since Frank Stronach made his first racetrack purchase (Santa Anita Park) in December 1999:
Bill Baker, Peter Beresford, Rick Cowan, Doug Donn, Roman Doroniuk, Andrew Gaughn, Michael Gilligan, Clifford Goodrich, Ed Hannah, Corey Johnsen, Brant Latta, Jack Liebau, Chris McCarron, Jack McDaniel, Graham Orr, John Perrotta, Lonny Powell, David Romanik, Scott Savin.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: andrew gaughn, bill baker, Brant Latta, brian tobin, chris dragone, chris mccarron, clifford goodrich, corey johnsen, david romanik, don amos, doug donn, ed hannah, Frank Stronach, graham orr, jack liebau, jack mcdaniel, James McAlpine, jerry campbell, joe de francis, john perrotta, lonny powell, lou raffetto, Magna, Magna Entertainment, mark feldman, mec, michael gilligan, michael neuman, paul cellucci, Paulick Report, peter beresford, Ray Paulick, rick cowan, roman doroniuk, scott borgemenke, scott savin, tom hodgson
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