Waldrop to retire at end of ’21

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Alex Waldrop, for the past 15 years the president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, where he oversaw a successful effort to change tax rules in favor of horseplayers, will retire at the end of 2021, the NTRA announced Wednesday.

A lawyer by trade, Waldrop, 64, took the helm at the NTRA in 2006, at a time when the association had a broad but somewhat scattershot mandate. Throughout his tenure, the NTRA reduced the number of its priorities while strengthening those that remained, including a focus on using the NTRA as a lobbying vehicle for industry-wide priorities.

That lobbying effort culminated in the issuance of new tax rules in 2017 that allowed horseplayers to use the entire cost of a ticket in a single wagering pool for the purposes of determining tax liability, a modification that had an immediate and tangible impact on horseplayers nationwide. Prior to the issuance of the new rules, tax liability was determined by the unit cost of the single winning ticket, a practice that cost many regular horseplayers thousands of dollars in taxes a year.

While reaching consensus on legislative priorities was often difficult with a board that represented a broad swath of racing and breeding constituencies, the NTRA also played a role in advocating for guest-worker programs, favorable tax treatment for racing and breeding stock, and rallying the NTRA board to support the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act, which passed late last year despite opposition from some organizations in the racing industry.

“Alex was the right person at the right time to lead the NTRA,” said Alan Foreman, a director of the NTRA and chairman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “He stabilized the organization, refocused its mission and core functions, and produced results that have and will continue to benefit our industry in the future.”

Waldrop began his career in racing as the general counsel for Churchill Downs racetrack in 1992. He was later elevated to president of the track, where he oversaw a $126 million renovation of the track’s grandstand.

Early in 2005, he returned to law practice to head up the equine, gaming, and entertainment practice of the powerful law firm Wyatt, Tarrant, and Combs. He was hired by the NTRA nearly two years later, at the end of 2006.

The NTRA was initially started as a league office-type organization that had a nominal “commissioner” as its head.

But that broad strategy for leadership quickly foundered, and by the time Waldrop took the organization over, it was struggling to find its footing and proper place in the industry.

Waldrop gradually shifted the organization’s priorities to focus on benefits for its members, while also launching a federal PAC to support racing legislation and the organization’s Safety and Integrity Alliance, an accreditation program for racetracks modeled on those in other industries, such as hospitals.

In a brief interview earlier this week, Waldrop said that he had decided “it was time to retire,” citing the passage of HISA and other accomplishments at the organization.

“It’s the right time for new leadership to take the reins and lead the organization in new and exciting directions,” Waldrop said in a press release announcing the retirement.

The NTRA has formed an executive search firm in order to find Waldrop’s replacement, the association said.

SHIGEKI KIKKAWA Alex Waldrop has been president of the NTRA since 2006.