BY THE JOCKEY CLUB PRESS OFFICE (Edited)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY—In the keynote address of The Jockey Club’s 73rd Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, which concluded earlier Thursday, Everett R. Dobson, newly elected chair of The Jockey Club, discussed his plans for the organization and The Jockey Club’s ongoing plans to help grow the sport. 

“In closing, let me acknowledge the unwavering commitment so many of you have shown in advancing the cause of health and safety in our sport,” he said. “We understand the stakes and we are truly committed to ensuring we never take a step backward. For the first time in recent memory, health and safety has become a strength, not a weakness. My vision for Thoroughbred racing is rooted in growth.”

The conference was held at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs, New York and streamed on jockeyclub.com. The Jockey Club chair Everett Dobson presided over the conference and served as the second-half keynote speaker. 

Shawn Smeallie, founder of ACG Advocacy, discussed horse racing from a Washington, D.C., perspective, including various effects the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could have on the industry. He emphasized the importance of horse racing’s having a voice in Washington.

“Your voices make a difference with key decision-makers,” he said. “We need your help on issues important to the industry and I can assure you there will always be issues. We are a nationwide industry not without controversy. Whether it is visas for backstretch employees or efforts to weaken HISA, or if this tax change rears its ugly head again, we will need our champions ready, able and willing.

A presentation examining scheduling data was given by John Stewart, CEO and cofounder, and Dr. Ryan Kelley, principal data scientist and ML engineer, Fastbreak AI. 

“We believe our AI models reveal compelling opportunities to have a significant financial impact on horse racing through the development of a scheduling platform tailored to your industry’s need and facilitating cooperation amongst the racetracks,” Stewart stated. 

Dr. Kelley discussed how they built an optimized schedule to increase handle, focusing on reducing the overlap.

“We had an increase in the lift of total handle of thee percent, which mapped to about $360 million, give or take,” he said. “This is a fairly significant increase in handle just from a simple tweak in the schedule, which is to reduce the overlap.”

Steve Kornacki, a national political correspondent for NBC News who covers horse racing, discussed how he became a bettor, a broadcaster, a viewer, a part-owner and a lover of the industry. Kornacki’s presentation focused on the similarities of horse racing to politics and elections, specifically how to use metrics to better understand a campaign. 

“I’ll say that no matter what else I do in television, whether it’s horse racing, elections, or anything else, I doubt that I will ever be a part of something so satisfying,” Kornacki said. “I keep this in mind when I think about the question that I know this entire industry is grappling with and that is the future of the sport. How to attract new people into it, how to build the sport, how to grow the sport.”

Griffin Johnson, a social media influencer with more than 14 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and X, discussed his journey with Sandman and West Point Thoroughbreds after being introduced as an owner through America’s Best Racing’s A Stake in Stardom campaign and the role influencers can play in promoting horse racing. Johnson was interviewed by Shannon Kelly, director, Industry Relations, The Jockey Club. 

“The beautiful thing about what’s going on here today with The Jockey Club and having everyone, you know, mesh in the middle, is that this is the first time that we’ve ever been heard, really,” Johnson said. “I mean, there’s no other industry that I’ve ever been in where there’s so many powerful people in one room that are willing to listen.”

A panel featuring Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, environmental science advisor, New York Yankees, and Glen Kozak, executive vice president, Operations and Capital Projects, New York Racing Association Inc., examined how sports and racing are continuing to adapt to changes in the weather. The panel was moderated by James L. Gagliano, president and COO, The Jockey Club. 

Dr. Hershkowitz discussed how the weather has directly impacted all sports.

“As you’ve indicated with your data, the primary cause of cancellations in the last five years in the summer months have gone up 300 percent—is weather related impacts. There is no professional sporting venue in the United States, in the world, that is not being affected by climate disruption.”

Kozak discussed improvements being made to the new Belmont facility.

“What Allen just brought up about flooding and drainage, that’s probably the biggest improvement that’s been made at Belmont for the new facility,” he said. “It’s critical for what we’re doing with the infrastructure that’s there.”

During Dobson’s presentation, he also announced that Dr. Rebecca Butler of the Minnesota Racing Commission is the winner of The Jockey Club’s 2025 Regulatory Racing Vet Fellowship, a new initiative by The Jockey Club that awards up to $25,000 for vet school repayment. 

Return to the August 1 issue of Wire to Wire