Vic Stauffer resigns California steward post

Vic Stauffer, the longtime racetrack announcer who has worked as a steward for the California Horse Racing Board since 2011, resigned his CHRB position on Thursday last week, effective immediately, according to Stauffer and CHRB officials.

In an e-mail, Stauffer said that he resigned in order to “explore other opportunities” and “spend more time with my family.” Stauffer was hired by the CHRB late in 2011 while still announcing at Hollywood Park, the Los Angeles-area track that closed at the end of 2013. He has also been an analyst for TVG and a jockey's agent in Southern California.

Stauffer most recently worked at Golden Gate in Northern California as a “safety steward,” a liaison between the stewards and racing licensees on safety and medication issues. He had also served in the stewards’ stand at several fairs in Northern and Southern California over the past several years.

Mike Marten, a spokesman for the CHRB, said the board has 18 stewards still under contract, and that the resignation would not lead to any staffing problems at California tracks.

Over the past two decades, Stauffer has also called races at Gulfstream Park and Hialeah Park in Florida.