Ludt replaced by supervisor at Santa Anita

Tom Ludt, the senior vice president of racing operations at Santa Anita Park, has been replaced in his role by Keith Brackpool, his immediate supervisor, according to a late Thursday announcement by the company that owns the track, The Stronach Group.

In a release, The Stronach Group said Brackpool would take over “day-to-day operations effective opening day” of Santa Anita’s spring meet, which begins Friday. Brackpool is currently the chairman of The Stronach Group’s West Coast operations, which includes Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. He is a former chairman of the California Horse Racing Board.

The release said Ludt has been appointed “to spearhead a key company initiative,” though it did not identify the initiative. Ludt did not immediately respond to phone messages or e-mails.

The Stronach Group is controlled by Frank Stronach, the owner and breeder who began buying up racetracks through public companies he controlled in the late 1990s. Management of tracks under his control has been characterized by rapid turnover.

Ludt, the former president of Vinery Farms in central Kentucky and chairman of the Breeders’ Cup, was hired by Stronach in April 2013.

“We very much appreciate Tom’s stewardship of the Santa Anita Park operations over the past two years, and we have now asked him to focus his talents on an important new project that we plan to roll out in the coming months,” Brackpool said in the release.