Breeders’ Cup new President Craig Farvel, Former Del Mar Thoroughbred Club head replaces Greg Avioli
After a long and hard search since Greg Avioli’s resignation in March, Breeders’ Cup Ltd has finally landed the President and General Manager of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Craig Farvel to fill up the void that his predecessor left.
Breeders’ Cup Ltd did look inside the industry and outside the industry but Farvel seemed to be the right man for the job, who had a brilliant reputation, both inside, and, outside the industry. Given his contacts it is easy to see why the search committee voted for Farvel.
Initially the search for the Breeders’ Cup Ltd President included a pool of 60 applicants but outsourcing help from the firm Spencer Stuart, helped cut down the numbers to seven. Farvel resigned from Del Mar to hold the position of president at Breeders’ Cup Ltd, where he made some crucial decisions to help develop the Thoroughbred club.
His main financial endeavors could include an $80 million worth of grandstand re-construction and he also decided to lay synthetic turf, the installation cost $9 million.
Farvel, who turned 54, might have compelled the search committee to vote for him because he has got great track management, and, that experience would come in handy to get together the long term plans of the organization. His feedback would be valuable to decide the future hosts sites for Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Academically, Farvel holds a law degree from the University of Virginia and his credentials speak for themselves. He started out at Del Mar in 1990 as Executive President and got promoted to President after 20 years, he owned his reputation at Del Mar and he would certainly like to uphold it at Breeders’ Cup Ltd.
Breeders’ Cup Chairman Tom Ludt said:
“We are proud to have selected one of the most talented, innovative, and, respected individuals in our business to take the reins as the new Breeders’ Cup president and chief executive officer. Craig’s value as a leader and expertise in so many areas will be a terrific asset to our company in the expanded global universe of the Breeders’ Cup”.
One of the pressing issues during the president search was to decide the 2012 Breeders’ Cup host site and it was felt that a president type figure should be available to attend to such an important issue with time slipping away.
However, due to Farvel’s late addition to the current staff he will not take charge of it, and, leave it to the committee, who have already, done most of the work on it.
A new era begins for Breeders’ Cup Ltd under Farvel, who assumes position as the president on 18 July 2011, and, there will be high expectations from fans and the Breeders’ Cup crew to keep the organization afloat and financially sound.
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