There’s a saying in the news business that writers aren’t talented enough to make up this stuff. The latest in the long parade of executives tapped by Frank Stronach fits the bill.
Last week, the father of The Stronach Group turned to California Horse Racing Board Chairman Keith Brackpool to be the director of West Coast operations, according to his interview with the Daily Racing Form. According to the CHRB, Brackpool is taking an equity position in The Stronach Group, which includes Stronach’s racetracks, the XpressBet account wagering company and an interest in HRTV.
This could be interesting.
Flash back, via The Blood-Horse archives, to a 2010 CHRB meeting where Brackpool blistered then MI Developments CEO Dennis Mills, who represented Stronach then, when MID was the Stronach entity that owned the tracks.
“All we are seeing in the press reports is your bemoaning all the regulations that exist in California,” Brackpool said. “When you took over these assets (Santa Anita, Golden Gate, and account wagering provider XpressBet.com) two weeks ago, were the laws in California any different? Now all we hear is regulations need to change, how California racing is broken and you need to fix it.
“When you purchased those assets, you fully believed you had acquired good assets. Are we really to believe that MID has an interest in continuing in horse racing, or is it more interested in the real estate?”
Now, almost three years later, Brackpool is tapped as the latest Stronach executive.
Possibly the only move that would have been more surprising for racing interests (such as Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc.) — one could argue — is if Brackpool, instead, had gone to work for Betfair and TVG, which is eager to implement the exchange wagering that Brackpool advocated as chairman.
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