University of Louisville Equine Industry Program

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program has named Michael Dickinson the 33rd recipient of the John W. Galbreath Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship in the Equine Industry. In addition to training, Dickinson is also known for developing Tapeta Footings, the synthetic surface widely utilized for both racing and training. Tapeta has been installed at Turfway Park in Kentucky and at Gulfstream Park in Florida, Golden Gate Fields in California and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania, as well as facilities in Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom....

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program (EIP), in conjunction with Horse Racing Nation, released its free Fall 2021 speaker series, which will be held in person this year on the UofL campus. The series includes panel discussions on the "Super Card" trend in racing and growing racing through diversity and inclusion. The final event in the series will be an interview with Houston business owner, philanthropist and horse owner Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale. The events will be held from 5:30-6:45p.m., and will be broadcast live on the Horse Racing...

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program will formally launch the Association of Racing Commissioners International's Racing Investigator Certificate Program online Oct. 5 and 6.  Registration is now open at https://louisville.edu/business/payments/equine. There is an $80 fee to defray university costs associated with offering the program. "The job of a racing investigator is a specialty involving knowledge not only of police procedures concerning interrogation and evidence gathering, but also of horseracing, the backstretch, and the horses themselves," said RCI Chair Tom Sageof Nebraska, a former longtime law enforcement officer and racing...

A free speaker series addressing current topics in the racing industry has been scheduled for the fall, it was announced Monday by the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program (EIP). Prominent industry figures are scheduled to be part of the panel discussions, which begin Sept. 22. "Our previous panels have focused mainly on the racetrack, however this year we have added a panel exploring the new dynamic occurring in Kentucky horse sales," said Sean Beirne, director of the EIP. "The sales companies have shifted the way horse sales are conducted...

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) in conjunction with the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program have announced the release of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey. The results of the survey, whose participants will remain anonymous, will be shared with Kentucky and federal lawmakers to assist in policy-making decisions to best meet the needs of the industry. "Kentucky's horse industry has 35,000 individual operations," said Elisabeth Jensen, the executive vice president of KEEP who oversees the body's daily operations. "These businesses provide nearly 80,000 jobs in Kentucky and...

Due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) announced that it has extended the dates for completion of required continuing education (CE) hours by one year for all accredited racing officials, stewards, and judges. Those who have already completed CE hours this year will be credited and their renewal date moved forward accordingly. Originally scheduled for July 6-13, the ROAP Accreditation School, hosted by the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program and the CE program scheduled the same week, have been canceled. If possible, the program...