University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program

Oaklawn Park President Louis Cella will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 Global Symposium on Racing at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort this December. Under Cella's leadership, Oaklawn has consistently expanded its racing footprint by lengthening the racing schedule, building a $100-million casino/hotel and by introducing fan-friendly entertainment options, leading to increased attendance and handle. "Under Mr. Cella's leadership, Oaklawn expanded their racing season into December while keeping both their on-track and simulcasting business strong," said Robert Hartman, Race Track Industry Program Chair. "Their racing product continues to strengthen as...

Registration is now open for the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP)'s 50th Global Symposium on Racing, the world's largest racing conference, scheduled for Dec. 9-11 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort near Tucson, Arizona. A full agenda of topics and speakers will be released later this summer. To register for the symposium, get host hotel information, or to explore sponsorship opportunities, visit racingsymposium.com.

The University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP), known for educating future leaders in racing, is hiring an Assistant Professor of Practice. The individual will deliver a minimum of 14 units of the program's core coursework and report directly to the Director of the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Click here for more information.

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be honored with the 2023 Clay Puett Award, the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program announced Wednesday. "Since its founding, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has been at the forefront of equine welfare," said RTIP Chair Robert Hartman. "Their impactful work, alongside their accredited organizations, has significantly elevated our industry by successfully transitioning Thoroughbred athletes to new homes and fulfilling careers." Founded in 2012, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance operates through a comprehensive process of accreditation, inspection, and the awarding of grants to approved aftercare organizations....

Officially sold out, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) opens its 27th annual training conference with a reception for attendees on Sunday evening at the Lodge in the Desert in Tucson, Arizona. The ORI Conference includes a dozen speaker sessions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, as presenters cover a variety of topics, including money laundering, regulatory oversight, medications, ethics, the media, human trafficking, licensing, drugs and alcohol on the backstretch, employee retention and barn surveillance. The final speaker on Tuesday will be Shawn Loehr, Director of Investigative Operations for the...

Money laundering, licensing, ethics, the relationship between the investigator and the media, human trafficking, an overview of Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and an in-depth case study at Rillito Park Racetrack are just some of the session topics that the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) will cover during their 2023 conference, which will be held from Sunday, Feb. 26 to Wednesday, Mar. 1 at the University of Arizona and The Lodge on the Desert in Tucson. True to form, the agenda, which was announced Thursday, places a strong emphasis...

Beginning Dec. 26--Opening Day of Gulfstream Park's Championship Meet--fans will be able to meet and watch track announcer Pete Aiello call a race while helping to retrain, rehome and retire Thoroughbreds. For a $50 donation per person, up to six fans can watch Aiello call a race from the announcer's booth with the proceeds going to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). "The TAA is very grateful to the team at Gulfstream Park and Peter Aiello for this unique and fun way to raise funds and awareness for aftercare. We hope...

A month ago, the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF), a think tank that uses independent research to try and drive changes in the sport, brought to light an example of what it said was brazen quinella pari-mutuel pool manipulation at Gulfstream Park. The scheme was apparently designed to jack up the odds the manipulator would receive on winning bets placed with non-pari-mutuel offshore bookies that paid on-track prices. On Wednesday, Pat Cummings, the TIF's executive director, told an audience at the Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona...

It might seem odd that during a Tuesday panel discussion titled "Capitalizing on Racing's Global Footprint," one presenter at the 2022 Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program insisted that localism trumps globalism when you're trying to market the sport worldwide. Yet Simon Fraser, the senior vice president in charge OF international simulcast signal distribution for 1/ST Content, made his case effectively by drawing upon his experiences in managing the content rights, data, odds and signals on behalf of a broad portfolio of global...

Cody Dorman, whose namesake Cody's Wish captured the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile earlier this month, will be presented with the Turf Publicists of America's 2022 Big Sport of Turfdom award. Dorman was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and is unable to walk or communicate without utilizing a tablet. The now 16-year-old first met an unnamed foal by champion Curlin when Godolphin hosted Cody and his family during Keeneland's Make-A-Wish Day in 2018. From their first meeting, the colt always showed an uncanny interest in Cody and...

The Mark Thurman Endowed Scholarship in Racing has been established at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) due to a donation from CHRIMS, a "not-for-profit, mutual benefits organization focused on providing technology solutions for the pari-mutuel gaming industry." CHRIMS made the donation to honor Mark Thurman's contributions to the racing industry upon his retirement as CEO. "Mark dedicated over three decades to building his vision of CHRIMS from a set of spreadsheets into a unique and powerful service critical to the operation of California racing," said Gunner...

Registration is now open for the Global Symposium on Racing, which will be held Dec. 5-7 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Now in its 48th year, the Symposium is the world's largest racing conference attracting top industry professionals who gather to discuss racing's challenges and opportunities. A full agenda of topics and speakers will be released later this summer. The Symposium offers an opportunity to network with colleagues and interact with industry peers; all while supporting the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP). This year, all RTIP alumni...