Guild sets board vote date

The Jockeys' Guild has scheduled a meeting to elect a new board of directors for June 26 in Louisville, Ky., the guild said on Wednesday.

The meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting of the guild's new 27-member Senate. The senators were elected two weeks ago from a slate of 58 different riders. Under the organization's bylaws, the Senate has the power to elect nine directors from its membership.

The guild's current board, headed by John Velazquez, has been serving on an interim basis since the organization fired its former chief executive and management company last November.

The choice of Louisville for the meeting was made in part because the Greater Louisville Sports Commission has invited the guild to relocate its offices from Monrovia, Calif., to the city, according to officials at the guild and the commission. The guild was based in Lexington, Ky., before the relocation to California in 2002, a decision made by its former chief, L. Wayne Gertmenian, a California resident.

Jeff Schneider, the marketing director of the commission, said on Wednesday that the commission has bartered for hotel rooms for the guild's senators and officials during their stay. The commission will also sponsor a breakfast and reception on June 26 during the meeting, Schneider said.

"It's something we're very interested in, and they're very interested in," Schneider said. "It's a logical place for them to have their headquarters."