In a realignment, Keeneland splits vice president of racing and sales into two positions

Keeneland Association, the not-for-profit Central Kentucky racing and sales company, has split one of its senior management positions into two as the company seeks to implement a “strategic realignment of its core racing and sales operations,” the company announced on Thursday.

Under the reorganization, Bob Elliston will become the track’s vice president of racing, instead of its vice president of racing and sales. Shannon Bishop Arvin, who has been approved to become the track’s president and chief executive at the end of the year, will serve as the company’s interim vice president of sales as a search is conducted for a full-time sales vice president, the company said.

Elliston has served as the vice president of both racing and sales since 2016. Prior to that, Elliston was chief operating officer of Breeders’ Cup for four years, and he was instrumental in Keeneland’s preparations for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup event. He joined Breeders’ Cup after a long stint as the general manager of Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky.

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Like all sales and racing companies, Keeneland’s operations have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. It canceled its immensely popular spring meet this year and held a special five-day summer meet in early July. The company’s two mammoth sales in September and November are still going ahead as planned, and the track hosts the Breeders’ Cup again this year, on November 6-7, directly following its three-week October meet.

“The demands of these two globally significant business lines require tremendous time and resources, especially as we navigate these unprecedented times and get ready for a fall season that includes two major sales, the fall meet, and Breeders’ Cup,” said Bill Thomason, the track’s chief executive, who is retiring at the beginning of next year. “We understand the uncertainty and the extraordinary challenges our customers are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We want them to know that we are all in this together, and we are committed to providing the best opportunities for them to succeed in the sales ring and on the racetrack.”

Elliston will “focus his attention on advancing Keeneland’s racing product, industry-wide safety and integrity initiatives, preparations for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and expanding Keeneland’s mission to grow the sport,” the company said in a release.

Arvin, who will become the track’s ninth president since its founding, has been Keeneland’s corporate counsel since 2008, as a partner with the Central Kentucky law firm Stoll Keenon Ogden. She has been the secretary and an advisory member of Keeneland’s Board of Directors since 2015, and was approved as the next president of the company on July 2.