Farish wins runoff election for Breeders’ Cup board seat

William S. Farish Jr., a member of the family that owns Lane’s End Farm in central Kentucky, has won a runoff in an election for a four-year seat on the Breeders’ Cup board of directors, according to the organization.

Farish, the current chairman of the board, beat out Bobby Flay, the New York-based celebrity chef and horse owner, in runoff voting Monday and Tuesday, the Breeders’ Cup said. Flay will receive a one-year seat on the board.

In another runoff for the remaining one-year seat on the board, Antony Beck of Gainesway Farm in central Kentucky beat out Bruce Lunsford, a central Kentucky businessman, the Breeders’ Cup said.

The Breeders’ Cup board determines the organization’s major policies and has the final say on host sites for the Breeders’ Cup two-day event. Recently, the board approved Keeneland outside Lexington, Ky., as the 2015 host site and Santa Anita in Southern California for the 2016 event. Del Mar in Southern California will host the 2017 event.

In addition to the three members involved in the runoff voting, the 14-member board now includes: Barbara Banke, Stonestreet Stables; Craig Fravel, president of Breeders’ Cup and a former Del Mar executive; Roy Jackson, Lael Stables in Pennsylvania; Bret Jones, Airdrie Stud in central Kentucky; Tom Ludt, president of Santa Anita; Clem Murphy, the international breeding operation Coolmore; Bill Oppenheim, journalist and pedigree consultant; Dan Pride, Darley’s Kentucky operation; J. David Richardson, chief of surgery at the University of Louisville; Elliott Walden, WinStar Farm in central Kentucky; and Barry Weisbord, owner of Thoroughbred Daily News.