Aronson among Churchill layoffs

Tom Aronson, a longtime racing consultant who had served as a vice president for programming and product development for Churchill Downs Inc. since March 2007, was among personnel laid off Wednesday by the Louisville, Ky.,-based company.

Aronson confirmed Wednesday that he no longer was with the company and that he intended to resume his role as president of the Racing Resource Group, a consulting company he founded in 1989. Churchill has a longstanding policy of not commenting on personnel matters in cases of layoffs and firings.

Aronson had a key role in the hiring of Mark Johnson as the new track announcer early this year. He also spearheaded the creation of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes, which was run for the first time in England in March, as well as the inauguration of the Z5, a super high five wager that rotates among Churchill-owned tracks. His departure from Churchill was one of several known to have happened Wednesday.

Churchill announced Monday that Kevin Flanery has been promoted to the position of president of the company's flagship track in Louisville, filling the vacancy created earlier this year when Steve Sexton moved to head up the company's new entertainment subsidiary.