G.D. Hieronymus, director of broadcast services at Keeneland, to retire

LEXINGTON, Ky. - G.D. Hieronymus, the longtime director of broadcast services for Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington who ushered the track into the high-definition age, will retire in February, the track announced on Tuesday.

During his 20-year tenure as the head of broadcasting, Keeneland won the International Simulcast Award seven times. In 2006, amid a massive renovation at the Central Kentucky track, Keeneland invested millions of dollars in state-of-the-art high-definition television equipment, at a time when many of the track’s simulcast and television partners were not similarly equipped. Hieronymus oversaw the project, which was the first of its kind in U.S. racing.

A racing fan and horseplayer, Hieronymus, 61, won the 2004 Eclipse Award for Local Television Achievement, a category that has since been discontinued. Hieronymus has also directed award-winning commercials and features for Keeneland, area Thoroughbred farms, and industry organizations. In 2017, Hieronymus was appointed to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Board of Trustees.

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Hieronymus will officially retire on Feb. 1, 2021, but will continue to work during the spring and fall meets at Keeneland next year “on special projects for the track and its industry and philanthropic partners,” the racetrack and sales company said.

Prior to being hired at Keeneland, Hieronymus worked for 19 years at Hammond Communications, a major local broadcasting company in the Lexington area. He was vice president of productions at the company before moving on to Keeneland in 2000.