BC board cut from 46 to 13

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Breeders' Cup Ltd. elected a new 13-member board of directors during a meeting on Sunday at Keeneland Racecourse.

The new board replaces a 46-member board that had been in place for at least half of Breeders' Cup's 22-year existence, according to D.G. Van Clief, the president of the organization and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which merged with Breeders' Cup five years ago. Late last year, the Breeders' Cup board approved a bylaw change that reduced the board to 13 members, in the hopes of creating a "more effective and more efficient structure," Van Clief said.

Elected to the board on Sunday are: Antony Beck of Gainesway Farm in Kentucky; Robert N. Clay of Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky; Bill Farish Jr. of Lane's End Farm in Kentucky; Tracy Farmer, Kentucky racehorse owner; Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, a partnership group based in New Jersey; Jim Friess of Claiborne Farm in Kentucky; R.D. Hubbard, racehorse owner and breeder and owner of Zia Park in New Mexico; B. Wayne Hughes, owner of Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky; G. Watts Humphrey, owner of Shawnee Farm and a former chairman of the Breeders' Cup board; Robert Manfuso, owner of Chanceland Farm in Maryland; Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps, a New York-based owner and breeder; Satish K. Sanan, owner of Florida-based Padua Stables; and Jerry Shields a New York-based owner.

A chairman of the board will be elected at the Breeders' Cup's next meeting, which has yet to be scheduled but will likely be held within 10 days, Van Clief said.

According to Van Clief, 15 members of Breeders' Cup's former board volunteered to stand for election. Van Clief would not identify the two who were not elected.

Van Clief said the new board included people from different geographic locations and viewpoints, and he predicted that the board would be much more involved with the organization's strategic decisions as a result of the streamlining.

"With the 46-member board, it was nigh impossible to get everyone in the same room, and to be honest, with that many people, we had a lot more factionalization than you would expect," Van Clief said. "With this board now in place, we have directors that are committing to taking the time to address a rapidly changing business landscape."