University of Louisville

Liam Benson has joined Old Colony Insurance as part of its team of farm and equine agents. Benson, who grew up doing everything from foaling mares to training horses of racing age on his family's Ocala farm, attended the Equine Industry Program at the University of Louisville. He joined the stallion nominations team at Taylor Made Farm in 2017, while also managing his family's boarding operation in Lexington. "I'm looking forward to joining the team at Old Colony in a way that I can continue to be around horses, while...

The Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, placed the first in-person sports wager at Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet said in a release Thursday morning. The bet was a $20 parlay on the win "over" for the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville football teams, and the "under" for Duke University's squad. "Today is a great day to celebrate and have a little bit of fun doing so," said Gov. Beshear. "It has taken many years to get here, but sports wagering is finally a reality in Kentucky....

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 has named Tom Aronson the 32nd recipient of the John W. Galbreath Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship in the Equine Industry. Aronson is an original business architect of two of the most successful companies the history of horse racing, the Television Games Network (TVG) and Exacta Systems, both of which have become billion-dollar wagering companies since their creation. The award is named for the late John W. Galbreath, a self-made person who distinguished himself in both business and as a horseman. Previous Galbreath Award...

David Richardson, M.D., a distinguished Kentucky-based surgeon who owned and bred Thoroughbreds for nearly half a century and was known as a thoughtful, cerebral racing regulator whose zeal for the sport shone through in his volunteer service on numerous industry-related boards, died Sept. 7 in Saratoga Springs, New York, after developing pneumonia related to COVID-19. Richardson had been briefly hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Saratoga Hospital; he was believed to be 76 years old. Chauncey Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners...

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...

Churchill Downs will host "Louisville Live," the University of Louisville (UofL)'s annual preseason basketball event, Saturday, Sept. 18. In conjunction with Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser and a theme of "Horses & Hoops," the evening will feature an 11-race night card and live entertainment featuring UofL's men's and women's basketball teams on a portable court. The official DJ for the Louisville Cardinals, DJ K-Dogg, will be on stage and UofL's 1986 NCAA Championship men's basketball team will sign autographs. Specialty cocktails will also be available. Five stakes are scheduled,...

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) staged its first live-online, 16-hour continuing education course (CE) Dec. 14 -15. The event, hosted by the University of Louisville, was attended by racing stewards, judges and officials from 17 states, Abu Dhabi, Canada, and Trinidad/Tobago and covered topics ranging from media and crisis communication training to racehorse aftercare awareness to the Horse Racing Safety & Integrity Act 2020. CE courses are designed to bring officials together to discuss both the cutting-edge industry issues as well as those faced on a daily basis. All...

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) and the University of Louisville have announced a 16-hour continuing education course to be held live online Monday, Dec. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Both sessions begin at 8:00 a.m. ET and finish each day at 5:00 p.m. ET. Speakers during the live online sessions include: Alex Waldrop - CEO and President of the NTRA; Dr. Will Farmer - Churchill Downs Equine Medical Director; Barbara Borden - Chief State Steward, Kentucky Racing Commission; Hugh Gallaher - Safety Steward, NYRA; et al. Registration is...

The University of Louisville (UofL) Equine Industry program launched the first-ever Racing Investigator Certificate Program Monday. The two-day program, an initiative of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), was conducted online, but the ARCI is working with UofL and the University of Arizona's Racetrack Industry Program to hold future programs in person. "The job of a racing investigator is a specialty involving knowledge not only of police procedures concerning interrogation and evidence gathering, but also of horse racing, the backstretch, and the horses themselves," said ARCI Chair Tom Sage....

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 University of Louisville College of Business Equine Industry Program has named Spendthrift Farm owner B. Wayne Hughes as the winner of the 2019 John W. Galbreath Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship in the Equine Industry. "B. Wayne Hughes helped shift the breeding industry paradigm significantly in the last decade," said Sean Beirne, director of the equine program. "He has not been afraid to rethink and experiment to lead the industry in a new direction." The Galbreath Award has been given annually since 1990 to honor entrepreneurial leadership that has had...