Jason Egan has been named director of racing and racing secretary at Santa Anita, effective Jan. 27, the track announced Saturday. Egan will replace Chris Merz, who has accepted an executive position at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, according to sources. Merz has been director of racing at Santa Anita since February 2020. The change in leadership comes less than a month after the start of the track’s winter-spring meeting on Dec. 26. The track is hosting the Breeders’ Cup races in November. Egan will be supported by Rick Hammerle, who has been hired by Santa Anita’s parent company, 1/ST Racing, as a consultant. Hammerle has an extensive background at Santa Anita. He was named Santa Anita’s racing secretary in 2003 and was promoted to vice president of racing in 2011. Hammerle held that position until he was dismissed in late 2018 by track officials no longer with the company. :: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.  Steve Lym, a former racing official at Woodbine, was racing secretary at Santa Anita for a year beginning in early 2019. Hammerle has since worked as a racing executive at Kentucky Downs and Oaklawn Park. He has maintained a home in the Los Angeles area in recent years. Hammerle had been in preliminary discussions with 1/ST Racing officials about a consultancy role in recent months. Hammerle will remain as an official with Kentucky Downs, he said Saturday. Egan, who grew up in Washington state, is a former trainer who began working in the racing office in 2019 at Laurel and Pimlico, tracks owned by 1/ST Racing. Egan joined Santa Anita’s racing office in January 2021 and has served as racing coordinator until Saturday’s announcement. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.