Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association
Posted: Dec. 12, 2016
Four members of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association board of directors won re-election in voting conducted this fall.
The counting of ballots by the public accounting firm Gegorek & Company Dec. 9 showed that Marty Nixon, Michael Langdon and Rick Johnson won re-election in the owner-director category, while Mickey Goldfine, who ran unopposed, returns as a trainer-director.
The ITHA said Deane Pantaleo finished fourth in the owner-director category and is the first reserve should there be a resignation.
The candidates in the owner-director category earlier issued statements on their goals for the organization.
Nixon said he will “continue to fight for better purses and conditions for all Illinois horsemen,” and noted that the “current business model cannot be sustained when the tracks are made whole through subsidies and control of purse accounts while the rest of the industry accepts lower income.”
Langdon said the ITHA must continue to work toward passage of racetrack gaming legislation “that makes our industry competitive with other industries; engage new fans and owners through the use of social media and creative marketing; and we need to continually support equine retraining” for retired racehorses.
Johnson, who joined the board in 2012, said he will continue to champion owners’ issues within the ITHA, “relentlessly pursue every option to increase our purses until we pass gaming (legislation), and work with all parties to enact gaming legislation to save the greatest of sports—Illinois horse racing.”
(Photo courtesy of Arlington Park)