Keeneland Association announced on Monday that Amy Gregory has
been appointed as director of communications, effective immediately.
Gregory joined Keeneland in 2006 as media relations manager, where she supervised all press and public relations tasks for Keeneland’s racing, sales, and simulcast operations.
Gregory, a native of Henderson, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville’s law school, began her career in the Thoroughbred industry as a writer for Thoroughbred Record before working with Breeders’ Cup Ltd. as a communications specialist. Prior to joining Keeneland’s staff, she worked for 18 years at Churchill Downs Inc. in government and media relations.
“Amy is a highly respected communications professional with extensive knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry and Keeneland operations,” Keeneland president and CEO Bill Thomason said. “Her experience, passion and integrity made her the clear choice to lead our growing communications initiatives.”
“Keeneland is recognized globally as the gold standard in the Thoroughbred industry, and I’m honored and thankful to be part of its outstanding team,” Gregory said. “For someone who has loved horses and Keeneland her whole life, this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Julie Balog served as Keeneland’s director of communications from 2011 to the end of the track’s 2013 spring meet, before departing to work with YMCA of Central Kentucky.
Racing also injects money into the industry, paying jockeys, trainers, grooms, etc. Hundreds of employees -- pari-mutuel clerks and racing officials -- help put on the show, which the state gets a piece of in income taxes.
All of this, worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, was lost because on an antiquated law. Not being allowed to race on Christmas or Easter is OK, but Palm Sunday? The New York Racing Authority races on Thanksgiving, and that's a holiday that the vast majority of us celebrate.
Changing this law would be a slam-dunk revenue creator.
Gerard Bringmann, Patchogue
Editor's note: The writer is both a racing fan and a practicing Catholic.
HI-
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
Gregory joined Keeneland in 2006 as media relations manager, where she supervised all press and public relations tasks for Keeneland’s racing, sales, and simulcast operations.
Gregory, a native of Henderson, Ky., and a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville’s law school, began her career in the Thoroughbred industry as a writer for Thoroughbred Record before working with Breeders’ Cup Ltd. as a communications specialist. Prior to joining Keeneland’s staff, she worked for 18 years at Churchill Downs Inc. in government and media relations.
“Amy is a highly respected communications professional with extensive knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry and Keeneland operations,” Keeneland president and CEO Bill Thomason said. “Her experience, passion and integrity made her the clear choice to lead our growing communications initiatives.”
“Keeneland is recognized globally as the gold standard in the Thoroughbred industry, and I’m honored and thankful to be part of its outstanding team,” Gregory said. “For someone who has loved horses and Keeneland her whole life, this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Julie Balog served as Keeneland’s director of communications from 2011 to the end of the track’s 2013 spring meet, before departing to work with YMCA of Central Kentucky.
Letter: Why close racetrack on Palm Sunday?
Photo credit: AP | In this photo provided by New
York Racing Association, Stay Thirsty, left, with Ramon Dominguez
aboard, captures The G1 Cigar Mile horse race at Aqueduct in New York.
(Nov. 24, 2012)
To see what's wrong up in Albany, one only
needs to look at the fact that the Aqueduct Racetrack was closed on
Palm Sunday. On an average Sunday, The Big A has a total handle of
between $6 million and $7 million, of which New York
State takes a percentage.Racing also injects money into the industry, paying jockeys, trainers, grooms, etc. Hundreds of employees -- pari-mutuel clerks and racing officials -- help put on the show, which the state gets a piece of in income taxes.
All of this, worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, was lost because on an antiquated law. Not being allowed to race on Christmas or Easter is OK, but Palm Sunday? The New York Racing Authority races on Thanksgiving, and that's a holiday that the vast majority of us celebrate.
Changing this law would be a slam-dunk revenue creator.
Gerard Bringmann, Patchogue
Editor's note: The writer is both a racing fan and a practicing Catholic.
OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M - NY Daily News
www.nydailynews.com/.../open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-articl...
OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES
IN $2M. By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Monday, April
14, 2003, 12:00 AM. Print · Print; Comment ...OTB FACES HAND SLAP OVER PALM - NY Daily News
www.nydailynews.com/.../otb-faces-hand-slap-palm-article-1.667233
Apr 16, 2003 – By Jerry Bossert
/ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ... Aqueduct was also closed on Palm
Sunday, but OTB thrived on action from around the
country.
HI-
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> Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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