| Monday, August 10, 2020 | Contact: Alexa Ravit (212) 521-5307 |
| 68th Round Table Conference to Feature Anti-Doping, Achieving Integrity, and Diversity | |
The Jockey Club announced today that its 68th Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing will highlight the importance of reform in medication rules and testing, challenges faced by the Thoroughbred industry, and insights into the claiming system. This year’s conference will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be streamed on The Jockey Club’s website at jockeyclub.com on Sunday, August 16, at 10 a.m. EDT and be aired on TVG and Racetrack Television Network’s respective platforms. The Jockey Club Chairman Stuart S. Janney III will preside over the conference. “While we are disappointed that we cannot host an in-person event, we are excited by this year’s lineup of speakers and the perspectives they will share with the conference’s virtual attendees,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. Gagliano will interview three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond about anti-doping and the importance of clean competition. LeMond has been outspoken about performance-enhancing drugs for more than 30 years and has testified before the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Trainers Mark Casse, John Gosden, and Jessica Harrington will discuss training and competing in different jurisdictions in a panel moderated by Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club. Casse was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame this year, while Gosden has trained champions in both the United States and Europe. Harrington, based in Ireland, has trained top horses on the flat and over jumps. Bob Costas, former sportscaster for NBC Sports and current sportscaster for MLB Network and contributor to CNN, will discuss covering the Triple Crown races and the challenges faced by sports in 2020. Prior to leaving NBC Sports in 2019, Costas co-anchored or hosted its coverage of baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, NASCAR, boxing, the Olympics, and horse racing. Costas co-hosted NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby from 2001-2018. Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, will present on America’s system of claiming races and recommend changes that would benefit the sport. Before joining the Maryland Jockey Club, Sinatra spent 15 years at Parx Racing, where he was the vice president of racing and racing secretary. Katrina Adams, the immediate past president of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), will discuss the importance of diversity. She previously served two terms as the USTA’s chairman and president and was an accomplished professional tennis player on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour for 12 years. Adams was the first African American, first former professional tennis player, and youngest person ever to serve as USTA president. Jason Wilson, president and chief operating officer of Equibase, will deliver a report on the activities of The Jockey Club. The full agenda and bios of all speakers will be posted on jockeyclub.com in advance of the conference. The Jockey Club Round Table Conference was first held on July 1, 1953, in The Jockey Club office in New York City. The following year, it was moved to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It founded America’s Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing, and in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, operates OwnerView (ownerview.com), the ownership resource. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com. | |