Beshear reorganizes horse racing authority

By Janet Patton - jpatton1@herald-leader.com

Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday reorganized the state panel that regulates horse racing in Kentucky, adding several new members that are major Democratic party backers.

Beshear said he was making the move because racing is “in crisis and immediate, aggressive action is necessary to preserve its integrity.”

New Kentucky Horse Racing Commission
Robert M. Beck Jr., Lexington equine attorney, re-appointed chairman;
Tracy Farmer, owner of Shadowlawn Thoroughbred farm in Midway, appointed vice chairman;
Edward S. “Ned” Bonnie, Louisville equine attorney, re-appointed;
Francis Thomas Conway, Louisville trial attorney, Thoroughbred owner and father of Kentucky attorney general Jack Conway;
John Thomas Ward Jr., Paris Thoroughbred trainer and former commission member;
Frank L. Jones Jr., owner of Recreonics in Louisville and former commission vice chairman;
Burr James Travis II, Fort Mitchell attorney and Thoroughbred owner;
Michael Anthony Pitino, son of University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino and Thoroughbred owner;
Dr. Jerry L. Yon, Lexington gastroenterologist, re-appointed;
Thomas Gaines, co-owner of Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds, son of the late John Gaines and former commission member;
Betsy Lavin, owner of Longfield Farm; re-appointed;
Dr. Foster Northrop, Crestwood equine vet; re-appointed;
Tom Ludt, co-general manager of Vinery stallion farm and former owner of Cromwell Insurance, re-appointed;
Alan J. Leavitt, president of standardbred farm Walnut Hall Ltd., re-appointed;
and Wade Houston, former University of Tennessee coach, former U of L assistant coach and father of NBA star Allan Houston.
Ex-officio members include Tourism, Arts and Heritage Secretary Marcheta Sparrow; Public Protection Secretary Bob Vance; and Economic Development Secretary Gene Strong.
Off the commission:
Connie Whitfield, wife of Rep. Ed Whitfield, vice chair;
Kerry Cauthen, co-owner of Four Star Sales;
Dell Hancock, co-owner of Claiborne Farm;
Franklin S. Kling Jr, bed and bath conglomerate Saturday Knight Ltd.;
Doug Hendrickson, former Maysville bank vice president;
and Richard Knock, Union developer.
Janet Patton

The move comes as Ellis Park, a Thoroughbred racetrack in Henderson, abruptly closed on the eve of its 44-day summer meet.

“Any state like ours who claims to be the ‘Horse Capital of the World' and has a signature industry like the horse industry needs to address these issues very quickly – the medication issues, the safety issues, all of the kinds of things that are creating the crisis that we have right now,” Beshear said. “We need to move on it quickly and I believe the group that I have put together will do just that.”

It is unclear how the re-organization will affect the Equine Drug Research Council, which was considering medication rules on steroids and blood-doping agents. The council has been headed by Connie Whitfield, who was not reappointed to the new Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The commission will have to be approved next year by the state General Assembly.

State Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, a member of the drug council, said on Thursday that the move comes at “a very inopportune time.”

“With the steroid issue and the Ellis Park situation, it seems to be very odd timing to make a massive change like this,” Thayer said. “I don't understand any compelling reason to make a wholesale change in the racing authority like this except for political reasons.”

Several of the ousted members of the authority, such as Whitfield, who is the wife of Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield of Hopkinsville, had Republican connections.

The holdover appointments from the administration of Gov. Ernie Fletcher were Tom Ludt, Vinery stallions co-manager and a former insurance executive, and Dr. Jerry Yon, Lexington gastroenterologist. Another, Thoroughbred consignor Thomas Gaines, also had been previously appointed by Fletcher.

The new appointees include Tracy Farmer, who was state Democratic Party chairman as well as head of an independent fund-raising committee that backed Beshear and was heavily supported by tracks and horse connections seeking casino gambling.

Another, former University of Louisville and Tennessee basketball coach Wade Houston, co-chaired Beshear's inaugural committee with Farmer. The basketball connections also include Michael Pitino, son of UofL coach Rick Pitino.

The father of Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway – attorney Thomas Conway – is also among the appointees.

Former commission vice chairman Frank L. Jones, who owns a Louisville pool business, gave to both Jack Conway and Beshear in the last election cycle.

Thoroughbred owner and Fort Mitchell attorney Travis Burr II in the last year gave $3,500 to the state Democratic party and another $3,500 to the Kentucky Victory 2007 fund, which backed Beshear.

Some of the new panel were appointed by Beshear to the old one in April, including chairman Robert M. Beck, who is the Lexington equine attorney who represented Calumet Farm in its bankruptcy. Beck also put together the world-record $60 million syndication of Fusaichi Pegasus and the syndication of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones.