Fravel leaving 1/ST Racing for investment firm

Craig Fravel, who has held a series of high-profile positions in Thoroughbred racing for nearly 35 years, is resigning his position as executive vice-chair of the track conglomerate 1/ST Racing next week to take a position with an international investment firm with strong ties to racing in the United States and Europe.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Brown Advisory, the investment firm Fravel will join as a partner and senior advisor. Fravel, 67, will be based in Southern California, according to the announcement.

In an interview on Thursday, Fravel said he will leave 1/ST racing on Aug. 9 and begin his new position on Sept. 9.

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Fravel has worked as an executive for 1/ST Racing since late 2019. The company operates such famous tracks as Gulfstream Park, Laurel, Pimlico, and Santa Anita.

Previously, Fravel was president and chief executive of the Breeders’ Cup from 2011 to 2019, and worked at Del Mar from 1990 to 2011, rising to the role of president and general manager.

With 1/ST Racing, Fravel was involved with the company during a turbulent time in California racing in the last year. The company announced in July 2023 that it planned to close Golden Gate Fields in Albany, the leading track in the northern part of the state.

Golden Gate Fields ran its final program on June 9.

Santa Anita has struggled with a decline in handle in recent years that has led to a seven-figure purse deficit and lower prize money.

In his new position, Fravel will be tasked with expanding the investment firm’s profile in California.

“They have some presence in California, mainly in San Francisco,” Fravel said. “They’re interested in expanding that and I’ll be part of that effort. It’s a new challenge.”

Fravel said he plans to continue to be involved in racing through charity work.

“I don’t think anyone should assume I won’t be visible in the horse racing business,” he said.

A member of the Jockey Club, Fravel is on the board of directors of such organizations as the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and Southern California Equine Foundation.

Brown Advisory, based in Baltimore, is led by chief executive Michael Hankin. Fravel and Hankin were classmates at the University of Virginia law school in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fravel said he reconnected with Hankin during the tenure at the Breeders’ Cup and that they were in contact in recent years when Fravel worked on issues pertaining to 1/ST’s tracks in Maryland, Laurel and Pimlico.

Hankin is part of the successful Bruton-Street US partnership of steeplechase runners that have campaigned such Grade 1 winners as Moscato, Scorpiancer, and Snap Decision. Scorpiancer won the Eclipse Award as the 2017 steeplechase champion, an award given to Moscato in 2020. Snap Decision, a Grade 1 winner as recently as May, has been nominated for the same prize in the last four years.

Brown Advisory has been the title sponsor of a leading steeplechase for novices at the prestigious National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse in Britain in recent years.

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