Former Kentucky Senator Damon Thayer, who served as a champion of horse racing during his 22-year tenure in the Kentucky General Assembly, will be the keynote speaker at the National National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Conference Feb. 25-27 in Florida.
Thayer will address the conference on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa on Tampa Bay.
Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, said he strives for keynote speakers who bring in a topical but also uplifting message.
“Former Senator Thayer fits the bill perfectly, including his increasing ownership interest in racehorses through the C.J. Thoroughbreds partnership,” Hamelback said. “Damon has spent his entire adult life in horse racing in some capacity, including in publicity, marketing, track and event management and with his consulting company, as well as the past 22 years as a citizen legislator. Few people are as well-positioned to speak to horse racing’s complex problems and, while admittedly difficult, solutions.”
Thayer said he’s honored to be invited to deliver the keynote address.
“I look forward to sharing some success stories from Kentucky’s legislative wins on behalf of the horse industry and talking about the things I have in common with horsemen across the country,” Thayer said.
Thayer grew up around horses in northern Michigan far from any racetrack. His passion was steered toward racing after his dad, at a 4-H leadership meeting, met a gman who bred and owned racehorses. Through such happenstance and making his own luck during and after graduation from Michigan State University, Thayer worked his way from positions with increasing responsibilities at Detroit Race Course, Thistledown, Maryland Jockey Club and Turfway Park.
Thayer joined the Breeders’ Cup in 1999 as vice president/event management. In 2003 he successfully ran for the Kentucky State Senate, spending his last 13 years in office as the Senate Majority Floor Leader. He left the Breeders’ Cup in 2007 to launch Thayer Communications and Consulting.
In the Kentucky Senate, Thayer spear-headed support for the law passed in 2021 to protect HHR gaming. He was instrumental in the 2022 legislation that standardized the excise tax on every pari-mutuel wager placed in Kentucky, allowed Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund money to be added to the purses for claiming races and reduced the “breakage” so bet payouts are rounded down to the nearest penny.
In 2004, Thayer pushed through creation of the breeders’ incentive funds financed through the six percent sales tax on stud fees. He was appointed by both Republican and Democratic governors to the Equine Drug Research Council, which recommends equine medication regulation and testing policies to the racing commission.
Thayer also was a vital player in Kentucky’s years-long effort to get sports betting in the state, requiring the companies creating the odds and handling the bets to partner with one or more racetracks in the state. For all that and more, he was honored in November with the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award.
The HBPA Conference features a full-day of panel discussions and presentations on Tuesday, Feb. 25 and a half-day on Wednesday, Feb. 26, after which an afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs is scheduled, courtesy of the racetrack. The full National HBPA board will meet Thursday morning, overseen by National HBPA President Doug Daniels.
In addition to Thayer’s keynote address, the Feb. 25 awards luncheon includes honoring Spikezone, off an 11-for-14 season, as the National HBPA’s Claiming Horse of the Year.
National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association