The Jockey Club announced on July 24 the speakers for its 72nd Annual Roundtable on Horse Racing Issues, which will be held on August 1 at 10 a.m. ET at the Excelsior Springs Event Center in Saratoga Springs, NY. The event will also be live-streamed on the Jockey Club website. jockeyclub.com. Stuart Janney III, president of The Jockey Club, will chair the conference.
This year’s keynote speaker is Todd Gralla, principal at Populous, a global design firm focused on sports and entertainment, from stadiums and arenas to event spaces and urban environments. Gralla will discuss cutting-edge racetrack projects around the world. He will also provide insight into redesigning Belmont Parkintegrates modern technology into track operations while preserving the traditions of thoroughbred horse racing.
Joe Asher, chairman of the Wilson Center board of directors and former CEO of William Hill US and president of IGT’s PlaySports business, will present on the relationship between horse racing and sports betting, and Meghan Rodgers, senior vice president of public relations for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, will present an overview of the NTRA’s Safety First Run campaign.
Additionally, to provide an overview of horse racing in California, Gary Fenton—managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing, president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and member of The Jockey Club—will present on the present and future of California horse racing and Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer of 1/ST Racing, will share how California has improved the safety of its athletes, including the use of cutting-edge technology at the track.
The presentation will begin with an update on The Jockey Club and its companies from President and CEO Jim Gagliano.
The full agenda and speaker biographies will be posted on jockeyclub.com before the conference takes place.
The first Jockey Club Roundtable was held on July 1, 1953, at the Jockey Club offices in New York City. The following year, the conference moved to Saratoga Springs. Each year, the conference features discussions on important industry topics, including aftercare, horse safety, marketing, and national uniformity, as well as international perspectives and views from outside the Thoroughbred industry.
This press release has been edited for content and style by the BloodHorse team.
