Stephen Panus has resigned as president of The Jockey Club's Media Ventures, which oversees the America's Best Racing brand, and several other structural changes were made to the management team, said Jockey Club president and COO James L. Gagliano via a press release on Thursday.
Gagliano will replace Panus, while Greg Charkoudian and Dan Tordjman have each been promoted to vice president of TJC Media Ventures. Charkoudian has been associated with The Jockey Club team since 2012 and Tordjman since 2014.
“I'd also like to thank Stephen Panus for his years of service to The Jockey Club and his leadership in growing the America's Best Racing brand into an integral part of our strategic efforts to market Thoroughbred racing to new fans,” Gagliano said. “We are pleased to continue an association with Stephen as a strategic consultant and wish him well as he embarks on new opportunities.”
Other promotions and title changes include:
- Andrew Chesser was promoted to director, Registration Services, and director of Business Development for The Jockey Club. Chesser has been with The Jockey Club since 2006; he also serves as a director of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
- Amber Florence was promoted to senior vice president of Finance and Business Planning for The Jockey Club. Florence joined The Jockey Club in 2023.
- Shannon Kelly was named director of Industry Relations for The Jockey Club. Kelly is also executive director of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation and began with the foundation in 2013.
- Shannon Luce was promoted to vice president, Communications, The Jockey Club. Luce has been with The Jockey Club since 2005.
- Christelle Morgan was named manager of Cataloging for The Jockey Club Information Systems. Morgan joined the company in 2001.
- Kristin Werner was named deputy general counsel and director of Industry Initiatives of The Jockey Club. Werner joined The Jockey Club in 2005.
The changes are in addition to the February 2024 announcement of Jamie Haydon as the new deputy executive director of The Jockey Club. Haydon also serves as the president of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.
“These promotions and added responsibilities to key members of our team reflect The Jockey Club's commitment to serve the industry with important initiatives to grow Thoroughbred breeding and racing,” said Gagliano. “We are very pleased to see these individuals advance in the organization, which speaks to their hard work and accomplishments and their dedication to the mission of The Jockey Club.
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