Eight nominated to seven open Breeders' Cup board seats

Eight individuals have been nominated to fill seven open seats on the Breeders’ Cup board of directors, including four individuals who are already on the board, according to a list of nominees released Tuesday by Breeders’ Cup.

The four nominees who are currently serving terms scheduled to expire this year are Barbara Banke, the owner of Stonestreet Farm; William S. Farish Jr., a top official at his family’s Lane’s End Farm; Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Godolphin; and Elliot Walden, president and chief executive of WinStar Farm.

The three directors whose terms are expiring and who are not nominated for re-election to the board include Bobby Flay, the celebrity chef; Craig Bernick, the president and chief operating officer of Glen Hill Farm; and Roy Jackson, the co-owner of Lael Stables. Over the past year, Flay and Bernick, among other board members, have advanced and supported several controversial proposals to the board, including bifurcating the organization’s event into two events separated by four weeks.

Flay decided not to run for re-election, according to the Breeders’ Cup. Both Bernick and Jackson were not re-elected as Breeders’ Cup Members this month, and the organization’s bylaws require directors to come from the ranks of its Members.

The other four nominees for the seven seats are Alan Cooper, racing manager for Flaxman Holdings; Walker Hancock, president of Claiborne Farm; Gavin Murphy, co-founder of SF Bloodstock; and Alex Solis III, co-founder of Solis/Litt Bloodstock.

Voting for the directors is conducted by the Breeders’ Cup’s Members, which is made up of 44 individuals elected by those who provide nominating fees to the Breeders’ Cup. Voting for the board seats is scheduled to be conducted July 2-July 10.

The four candidates who receive the most votes will receive four-year terms. The next two candidates will serve two-year terms, and the last candidate will serve a one-year term.