Charles Town fires racing secretary Wehrman

Randy Wehrman, the racing secretary at Charles Town racetrack in West Virginia, was escorted off track grounds by security personnel last week and fired, state racing officials confirmed on Tuesday.

It was unclear on Tuesday what prompted Charles Town management to fire Wehrman, who had been racing secretary since 2008. State racing officials said on Tuesday that they are investigating the matter and that a hearing will likely be held to determine whether to revoke Wehrman’s occupational permit.

“Our primary concern is the integrity of the investigation and the promptness with which we handle this matter,” said Jon Amores, the executive director of the state racing commission, who declined to comment on the details of the investigation. “I would be surprised, given the action that Charles Town took in firing him, if we did not conduct a hearing over his suitability to hold an occupational license.”

Wehrman, who is in his early 50s, has worked at racetracks his entire professional life, including an earlier stint at Charles Town from 1997-1999.

Prior to returning to the West Virginia track, he worked for 10 years in a variety of official racing capacities at tracks in Virginia and Kentucky, his native state.

Erich Zimny, the vice president of racing operations at the track, said he could not comment on the reasons why Wehrman was fired.

“We don’t comment on internal employee matters such as this,” Zimny said.

Danny Wright, one of three state stewards at Charles Town, said that stewards were not involved in the firing. Any initial hearing into the matter will be held in front of the stewards, according to Wright and Amores.

“We have adequate people here in the racing office, and racing isn’t going to miss a beat,” Wright said.