Breeders' Cup changing security firms

Breeders' Cup Ltd. has notified the Thoroughbred Racing and Protective Bureau that it will not use its services for security during the two-day event at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4-5 this year, according to officials with the organizations.

Breeders' Cup has decided to take its security operation "in-house," according to Chris Scherf, the executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, which operates the protective bureau. The bureau's "big-event team" had provided security services for the Breeders' Cup since 2005, Scherf said.

This year, Breeders' Cup has hired G4S Secure Solutions, a security company, as part of a "three-tiered approach" to work with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and independent contractors from the "big-event team" to provide security operations under the direction of the commission and Breeders' Cup, according to Jim Gluckson, a spokesman for the organization.

"We felt after running into a few issues with duties and communications last year that a better way to handle equine security for 180 entrants was to create a new model," Gluckson said. "The 'big-event team' has done a great job for us in the past, but we wanted to try a new model for equine security this year."

The Thoroughbred Racing and Protective Bureau provides investigative resources to racetracks that are members of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations or contract for its services.