Mike Lakow takes job as head of racing operations at Gulfstream

Mike Lakow, who was hired as racing secretary at Saratoga and Aqueduct in New York last year, has taken a position to run the racing operations at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., according to the owner of the track, The Stronach Group.

Lakow, who has held a variety of positions in the racing industry, will replace Bill Badgett in the position of vice president of racing operations at Gulfstream. Badgett, a former trainer, recently took a position at the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, The Stronach Group said.

The Florida HBPA has been looking for a person to fill the position of executive director. Stephen Screnci, the president of the organization, said on Tuesday afternoon that Badgett has been named the executive director and that contract negotiations are “well down the road” but not yet fully complete.

With the Gulfstream job, Lakow will have a year-round full-time position. He was not responsible for racing operations at Belmont Park, one of the three tracks operated by the New York Racing Association, along with Aqueduct and Saratoga.

“I’m thankful to The Stronach Group for offering me the opportunity to return home and join Gulfstream Park, which was my favorite racetrack when I started in the Thoroughbred industry,” Lakow said in a release. “Gulfstream has unlimited potential and has so much to offer for the racing fan and horsemen year-round.”

Once a seasonal track on a three-track Florida circuit, Gulfstream Park races nearly year round now, having taken over most of the dates previously held by Calder Race Course in Miami and Hialeah Park. Gulfstream also runs a meet at Calder during the late summer under a lease with the track’s owner, Churchill Downs, and is responsible for its racing operations. Calder is expected to cease racing at the end of the lease.

Lakow began his career in racing as a steward in Florida. He has also worked as a jockey’s agent, as the general manager of a Central Kentucky farm, and as president and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

Lakow was also the racing secretary at NYRA from 1993-2005 before returning to the association last year. He had also served as the racing director at Santa Anita Park, another track owned by The Stronach Group, from 2013-2014.

NYRA is currently racing at Belmont Park, where Pat Pope is racing secretary. Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA, said on Tuesday that the association will have an announcement on how it will fill Lakow’s position “at the appropriate time.”

“We wish Mike all the best with The Stronach Group at Gulfstream,” McKenna said.