Dale Romans has been elected as the new president of the Kentucky HBPA, following the long tenure of fellow trainer Rick Hiles.
Romans was voted president by the newly seated Kentucky HBPA board. The longest continuously serving board member, Romans has been on the HBPA board for most of his training career that began in 1986, with much of that as a vice president.
Trainers' representative John Hancock and owners' representative Travis Foley are the new vice presidents, taking over for Romans and the late Frank Jones Jr.
New Kentucky HBPA board members joining Hancock and Hiles as trainer representatives are Phil Bauer, Jordan Blair and Bret Calhoun, with Bill Morey an alternate board member. Newcomer Casey Klein joins Travis Foley and existing owner board members Buff Bradley and Mark Bacon, with a fifth owner representative to be named at the start of the year.
“My goal, starting immediately, is to build on the foundation Rick Hiles and the previous Kentucky HBPA boards established,” said Romans. “I've got a bunch of ideas, but the first thing I'm going to do is listen to the horsemen. After a lot of hard work in conjunction with our racetracks and lawmakers, Kentucky is now the No. 1 racing circuit in America and the gold standard. That's not the end point but an ongoing challenge to find new ways to improve and grow to benefit racehorse owners and trainers, which in turn benefits the entire industry.”
Alex Foley, the Kentucky HBPA's Executive Director, said the horsemen's organization is most appreciative of Hiles' “unwavering service and leadership. His tenure spanned years of significant change in the industry, during which he worked tirelessly to support Kentucky's racing community.
“Rick has been an exceptional leader and advocate for horsemen, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication to our industry,” Alex Foley continued. “We're excited to welcome Dale Romans as our new president. His experience and passion for the sport will be invaluable as we navigate the future.”
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