The second installment in the 2025 OwnerView webinar series was held on April 8 and discussed the efforts racetrack executives make to ensure they are keeping “Owners First.”

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Stoll Keenon Ogden. The panel was sponsored by Muirfield Insurance and New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc.

A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link, which were answered at the end of the webinar.

Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the panel with guests Andrew Offerman, senior vice president, Racing and Operations, The New York Racing Association; Cathy Shircliff, director of Equine Industry Relations, Churchill Downs; David Jerkens, Del Mar Racing Club senior vice president / racing secretary; and Jodie Vella-Gregory, vice president of Industry Relations, 1/ST RACING.

The webinar began with a discussion on the importance of fans and Thoroughbred owners to racetracks.

“Without the owners, we don’t really have a sport,” Shircliff said. “So that’s first and foremost. I’d just add that, you know, something that Jodie touched on, but I think is very important, is that owners are always the key first fan.”

Andrew Offerman agreed, stating that the first fan ideology is very important, especially with new technologies and social media platforms to give fans a voice in the industry.

When discussing the ways racetracks help owners celebrate a win, although each panelist represents a different track with different practices, they all agreed that it’s very important to enable owners and their guests to celebrate in the best way possible, whether it’s a bottle of bourbon from Del Mar or a personal photographer to capture the special moment at Santa Anita.

On the subject of owner syndicates, Vella-Gregory said, “I mean, honestly, we love syndicates. It lowers the barrier to entry, so the more horses and more people we have, the better for sure. So, we’re always just trying to create elevated experiences…have dedicated spaces for them, discounts, trying to get as many people into the winner’s circle as safely as possible.”

The panel also discussed what efforts racetracks are making to attract new owners into the game.

“I think that it’s an area that falls into the void quite frankly, because I think that it’s not determined whether that’s a racetrack responsibility, a trainer responsibility, an industry responsibility,” Offerman said. “And I think that there are a lot of individuals out doing things to promote, whether it be certain micro-share groups or certain forms of ownership.”

“I think definitely we can improve on trying to attract new owners because, like everyone said, once you get that experience and you’re in the winner’s circle — the horse happens to win — I mean, that’s a feeling that you want to share with your friends and others and it’s like nothing else in sports, so hopefully we can continue to improve in that area,” Jerkens said.

The replay of Tuesday’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available at bit.ly/OVVideos.