BC hires chief marketing officer

Peter Land, a former director of a public-relations firm with a background in sports marketing, has been hired as the chief marketing officer of Breeders' Cup Ltd., the company announced Monday.

Land, 46, started in his new position in the Breeders' Cup's New York City office on Monday, approximately four weeks before the 2007 championship event at Monmouth Park. The chief marketing officer position at the Breeders' Cup did not exist before Land joined the company, according to Jim Gluckson, a spokesman for Breeders' Cup.

Land said Monday that he will oversee Breeders' Cup's sponsorship, advertising, television, communications, and merchandise and licensing departments.

Land was previously the international managing director of Edelman, a New York public relations firm, and before that director of marketing communications for the National Basketball Association.

Though Breeders' Cup is well known within the racing industry, the event has struggled to establish itself in the larger sporting world on the same level as the races of the Triple Crown. This year, the television rating for the event was a 0.8, the lowest level in its 23-year history, although handle rose 15 percent to $134 million.

Land said that his priority for the Breeders' Cup will be to establish a strong brand for the event in the United States and abroad, and to use the brand to increase sponsorship and merchandise sales.