Board of Stewards

In the midst of what is an ongoing investigation at Penn National Race Course, private veterinarian Dr. Allen Post Bonnell, and three trainers, Kimberly A. Graci, Marlin Arthur "Joe" Miller and Michael S. Zalalas, were summarily suspended by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission (PSHRC) this week according to rulings by the board of stewards posted on the Commission's portal. After appearing before the board Nov. 5, Dr. Allen Bonnell was suspended after being found under section 185.2 to have engaged in inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct at Penn National...

In the latest detour in the exhaustive legal saga stemming from Justify's 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby win, the connections of the horse during his racing career filed a notice last week with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requesting that the agency entertain an appeal of a recent board of stewards decision disqualifying the horse from the race and to stay the purse distribution. In response, the CHRB have denied a stay of the stewards' decision but stated that it will "assign a Hearing Officer in this matter where...

Racing official Victor Escobar has been appointed New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) Steward, NYRA announced late Thursday afternoon. The former Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission (OHRC) State Steward, where he'd been since 2021 and where he had played a central role in the implementation of Category 1 rules at Remington Park, Escobar will join NYRA Feb. 16. As OHRC Steward, Escobar was also responsible for public communication with the betting public immediately following stewards' decisions. He has also served as State Steward for the New Mexico Racing Commission and as...

The Jockey Club of Canada, which recognizes outstanding achievements in Canadian Thoroughbred racing and breeding with the annual Sovereign Awards, is implementing changes to the guidelines for some of the awards, effective for the current year. Directly from the The Jockey Club's Board of Stewards are the following changes: 1). The trophy recipient for the divisional horse awards shall be the owner of the horse as of its last start in the award year and, if the owner is not also the breeder, the breeder listed on the Jockey Club Certificate...

Louis A. Cella has been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, filling the expired position of C. Steven Duncker. Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, was reelected to the board. Cella has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2017. That same year, he was named president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club, succeeding his late father, Charles J. Cella, and became the third generation of his family to serve on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North...

Barbara Banke, William M. Lear, Jr., and R. Alex Rankin have been elected to the The Jockey Club (TJC) board of stewards. Lear has been reelected, while Banke and Rankin are filling the expired positions of Everett R. Dobson and John W. Phillips. The board of stewards also consists of chairman Stuart S. Janney III, as well as Dr. Larry Bramlage, C. Steven Duncker, William S. Farish, Jr., Ian D. Highet, and Vinnie Viola. Reelected Lear has served as TJC's vice chairman since 2015 and has been a member of...

Dr. Larry Bramlage and William S. Farish, Jr. have been elected to the board of stewards of The Jockey Club, filling the expired positions of Barbara Banke and Michael O'Farrell, Jr. Bramlage is an internationally recognized equine orthopedic surgeon and a shareholder in Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. Additionally, he is a member of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee. Bramlage was awarded The Jockey Club Medal in 1994 in recognition of his contributions to Thoroughbred racing. He has been a member of The Jockey Club since 2002 Farish...