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SANTA ANITA RACE
TRACK HOSTS 2023
HORSE RACING
WOMEN’S SUMMIT
Advances Racing By Empowering
Women
Arcadia, CA - After 364 days and stops in
Kentucky, Arizona, Florida and New York,
the Horse Racing Women’s Summit (HRWS)
returned to Santa Anita Park on September
29th. Over 150 women from 13 states and
Canada gathered for the second Horse Racing
Women’s Summit.
“What a difference a year makes,” said
HRWS Chairwoman, Stephanie Hronis. “We
can’t thank our community enough for their
participation and investment in the Horse
Racing Women’s Summit movement. One of
the things that we are most proud of is that
over 10% of our attendees this year are here
because of Pay It Forward scholarship tickets.
Those are made possible by our generous
sponsors and individuals who want to
be sure that this event is accessible to all. We
look forward to growing that percentage in
the future.” Generous support from 1/ST and
FANDUEL TV led a total of 31 sponsors that
made the extraordinary event possible.
First to the stage was keynote Reagan Cannon,
International Leadership Speaker and
Coach, who discussed Conquering the Competence
Complex. Cannon explained that
when little girls are told to “be good, stay
within the lines, follow the rules, don’t speak
out of turn,” it follows them throughout their
careers. Fighting that “be good” mentality
takes relational courage, moving forward in
the face of fears. She gave practical tips and
techniques on how to develop relational
courage and ultimately battle the competence
complex that holds many women back.
Kicking off the first panel, attendees enjoyed
an inspiring video message from Keeneland
President & CEO, Shannon Arvin. Arvin recognized
the many challenges in the industry,
but emphasized that “These challenges represent
opportunities for racing, we just have
to be smart, and creative, and work together
to take advantage of the opportunities.” The
panel, moderated by Millie Ball (XBTV & 1/
ST RACING), dove into current events and
how “business as usual” is being challenged
in so many facets of the sport. Panelists
Britney Eurton (NBC & FanDuel), Joi Garner
(NYRA), Lisa Lazarus (HISA) and Dr.
Casille Batten (1/ST RACING) were realistic
about the state of the industry, many identifying
this year as a tipping point, but also
aligned on themes of optimism and opportunity,
progress, adaptability and efforts to
invigorate interest from the next generation.
Asked about the current challenges to HISA,
Lazarus said that she is always listening and
reacting when somebody makes a compelling
point stating, “We don’t always get it right,
but we care and we are trying to get it right -
there is a freshness to that.”
Following panel one, ground-breaking turf
publicist Jane Goldstein took the stage to
award Charlsie Cantey with the 2023 Jane
Goldstein Award for Exemplary Leadership.
Cantey’s impact on the careers of the many
female horse racing television commentators
was demonstrated in a tribute video. Cantey
recognized the impact of Goldstein herself
stating, “Jane put her shoulder to the door
and opened it for all of us to walk through.”
In her final comments, Cantey compelled
summit attendees to keep on going - “You
have your work cut out for you, but we are all
here for the love of the horse and the love of
racing. Please carry on.”
Thursday's lunch featured a presentation
by Debbie Marshall, PNC’s SVP and Client
& Community Relations Director, who
gave impactful opening remarks at the 2022
HRWS related to the worldwide economic
gender gap. Marshall revisited the topic noting
that the years projected to close that gap
have come down from 257 to 169 years, which
is still too long. She explained that the three
major drivers are women being underrepresented
in the workforce, women still having
unequal access to credit, and the nature of
unpaid domestic work.
Moderator Michelle Yu kicked off the second
panel which featured veterans Amy Zimmerman
(Santa Anita Park), Ann Hall (Del Mar
Thoroughbred Club) and relative newcomers
Jessica Paquette (Parx Racing) and Claudia
Spadoro (Hipica TV & Gulfstream Park).
All commented on the role that social media
plays in the industry, both positive and negative,
referring back to Shannon Arvin’s comment
that, “Social media gives an unearned
voice to anybody with a cell phone.” Questioned
about how she handles negative feedback
on social media, Paquette stated that
she is now good at “choosing grace and not
striking back.” For final words of wisdom,
she emphasized that “A rising tide raises all
ships - clap for your friends and recognize
who doesn’t clap for you.” Spadaro, originally
from Venezuela, was in school for broadcast
journalism when she had an opportunity
to do an internship at Gulfstream Park. It
is there that she identified a target audience
with room for growth and her passion led to
Hipica TV, which is now the biggest Spanish
language horse racing channel. Zimmerman
said, “I don’t care if you are a man, a woman,
or a billy goat - if you are smart - I want to
work with you.” Hall imparted, “It is about
building relationships, supporting your team,
getting support, and even supporting those
above you.” Claudia said, “It is not a competition,
it's an alliance - together we go further.”
Christina Blacker moderated the final panel,
entitled Looking Forward, and featured
Karen Chavez (NY Race Track Chaplaincy),
Annise Montplaisir (Amplify Horse Racing),
Chanel Minnifield (Let’s Ride & Zen Heart),
Catherine Iste (Los Angeles Chargers). The
conversation centered on education, inclusion,
and entry points to racing, something
that Montplaisir is singularly focused on with
Amplify Horse Racing. She stated, “The ten-
year goal for Amplify is to have nationwide
educational outreach programs serving a
continuum of youth and young adults.” Iste
emphasized that moving people up the ladder
in an organization is key, stating that
“Sometimes you need to find an interim spot
for somebody to keep them moving up until
their next spot opens.” Minnifield spoke to
representation and inclusion for people and
horses and urged the group to recognize that
representation is important and that people
need to see themselves in positions in order
to be able to dream about being there themselves.
Continuing on inclusion, Chavez said,
“The backstretch community is the backbone
of the industry,” and urged the group to work
on including more backstretch representation
at events such as this. In closing, Blacker encouraged
the group to dive in, sharing what
she tells her three daughters: “Being ready is
not a feeling, it is a choice - you choose to be
ready.”
On Friday morning, over 50 HRWS attendees
gathered again for an opportunity to
have roundtable discussions with the goal
of identifying a 2024 ‘Pillar of Priority’ that
will guide the HRWS efforts in the next year.
Collective think tanks, attendee surveys, and
a brand new membership platform are all
key ways the HRWS is already empowering
individuals in racing to contribute to the advancement
of women in the industry.
About Horse Racing Women’s Summit
Founded in 2022, the Horse Racing Women’s
Summit (HRWS) has grown into a movement
gathering national attention. The inaugural
multi-day summit at Santa Anita Park and
subsequent events brought together people
from all facets of the horse racing industry
with the mission of connecting and empowering
women in horse racing. We look forward to
continuing to inspire Summit members to be
trailblazers, build networks, meet new friends,
foster deep discussions, and ultimately Engage,
Innovate and Invest!
Martha Miller, 80+, was one of the
summit's more mature attendees. "I
knew how to read a racing form before
I could read mu 1st grade reader".
S. Henderson/MVN
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