Hale replaced, takes new role at MJC

By Matt Hegarty and Jim Dunleavy

Georganne Hale, a longtime Maryland racing official, is being replaced as director of racing of the Maryland Jockey Club and will take on a new role as vice president of racing development in Maryland, Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, confirmed Monday.

The Stronach Group owns the MJC tracks of Laurel Park and Pimlico.

Hale, who has worked in the racing offices at Maryland tracks for more than 30 years, is being replaced by Chris Merz, who will have the title of racing secretary. Merz, 27, had previously been the stakes coordinator at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a racing official at Santa Anita Park, and the assistant racing secretary at Los Alamitos. Santa Anita Park is owned by The Stronach Group.

Ritvo said he hopes the move will lead to larger field size and increased handle in Maryland.

“We are growing the handle in Maryland, but – with our slots subsidies – not as fast as we should be,” Ritvo said. “Georganne knows the area. She knows the horsemen. We want her to be communicating with people in the area, creating new Maryland stables, bringing in new owners and trainers to participate in our program.

“I want to free up Georganne. I don’t want her stuck behind a desk trying to the fill the Friday card.”

Hale’s new responsibilities include overseeing the revitalization of the Washington D.C. International, assisting with the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships, and leading and monitoring philanthropic initiatives with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Beyond the Wire, and Canter for a Cause.

Hale will be working closely with MJC president Sal Sinatra.

Stronach Group officials notified Hale more than a week ago that they were seeking to move her to another area of the company, and negotiations over the move have been conducted the past week.

Merz has been on hand at Laurel since Friday.

Hale began working in the racing offices of Maryland tracks in the early 1980s and was swiftly installed as the director of racing and racing secretary of the Maryland Jockey Club’s two tracks. She also was the racing secretary at Timonium State Fair.

Hale is one of the few women in the racing industry to hold a top post at a racing company. At the time she was named racing secretary in Maryland, she was considered a trailblazer.

Merz graduated from the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in 2012. He began working in the Santa Anita racing office in 2014, and joined the staffs at Los Alamitos and Del Mar in 2015.

“I identified him in California as someone who is full of ideas and not afraid to take a chance,” Ritvo said. “He was behind our Ship and Stay program, which has been very successful.

“I wanted to bring in someone with crisp, new thoughts. I didn’t want an East Coast guy. I wanted someone from outside the area.”

Ritvo said he would like to see Laurel become the home of several big-event days during the year, and to do that the track needs to continue increasing handle and revenue.

A plan has been in the works the last few years to bring back the discontinued Washington D.C. International, a turf race that used to attract some of the best horses in Europe.

“I would like Laurel to bring back the D.C. International at a high level, hopefully host a Breeders’ Cup, and possibly become the home of the Preakness,” Ritvo said.

Handle on races at Laurel and Pimlico was up 12 percent in 2017 compared with 2016, according to the MJC, and handle on the live product in Maryland was up in both 2015 and 2014. However, the growth rate has flattened this year, according to MJC officials.