Chamblin to Step Down as RCI President

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Rumor became fact Sunday night when Tony Chamblin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International for the past 15 years, announced he would step down, effective July 1. The RCI will form a committee to search for a replacement.

The announcement, made during the opening ceremony of the RCI convention at the Radisson Hotel in Lexington, comes as the regulators organization seeks to maintain solidarity in the wake of several defections earlier this year. When the roll call was taken, representatives of 20 jurisdictions were present, down considerably from 1997, the year the North American Pari-Mutuel Regulators Association was formed.

Chamblin, who received a standing ovation from the about 100 officials and their guests who attended the convention kick-off, said he "decided it was a good time to look for new challenges." He later told members of the press he planned to stay involved with RCI handling international affairs.

"I think the time was right (for me to resign)," said Chamblin, whose current contract was to run for another two years. "Fifteen years is a long time to serve an organization of this type. It's no secret there has been turmoil in the organization, but I think we've made great accomplishments. My head is held high. Maybe someone else can come in and hopefully soften the turmoil."

In December, Chamblin agreed to contractual concessions that reportedly included a reduction in pay. Several jurisdictions left RCI soon after that board meeting, but Chamblin and outgoing chairman Dennis Lee of Nebraska said that conflict had been resolved and had nothing to do with Chamblin's announcement Sunday.

"The reason I made those concessions was an effort to bring unity to the organization," Chamblin said.

Earlier this year, letters from member jurisdictions apparently unhappy with the direction of the organization were released by the Texas Racing Commission, one of the defectors. Lee said there were inaccuracies in the letters, some of which questioned Chamblin's integrity and also actions of board members.

"We faithfully and fully answered every questioned passed on to us," Lee said. "There was a pattern of distributing misinformation. It not only discredited Tony, but every officer and director of RCI."

In 1997, Chamblin agreed to a cut in pay and other concessions, though there was a plan in place for him to get back some money if the organization showed a profit. A few of the letters released this year alleged that a check was written to Chamblin in the amount of $50,000. Chamblin has said everything he has done was agreed upon by the board of directors.

Lee said he didn't know the origin of the conflict, but he did say he didn't believe it was a "NAPRA-disguised event." Chamblin said he wouldn't "name names," and instead struck a conciliatory note.

"RCI still has a strong nucleus, and some work must done with the officers in building bridges," Chamblin said. "Hopefully, this is an opportunity to bring the organization together. It's ludicrous to have two regulatory organizations in American racing. It's a duplication of effort, resources, and distribution of data."

"It has been a divisive period," Ohio racing commissioner Norman Barron said. "Hopefully, some of the dissidents will reach out."

Arthur Khoury of Massachusetts will take over as chairman. Each year, the vice chairman automatically becomes chairman of RCI.

The keynote speaker Sunday night was Magna Entertainment chairman Frank Stronach, who spoke on deregulation in the pari-mutuel industry. He no doubt raised some eyebrows among the multi-breed crowd when he suggested track owners should be permitted to offer their product whenever the market demands it.

"I don't want to name names, but we have several tracks where we can't race at night because of Greyhound or harness tracks," Stronach said. "That impedes my freedom. I feel they're infringing on my rights. In the final analysis, market forces will make the determination."

Stronach also said his tracks shouldn't be forced to provide their product to competitors in their market. "I have to give them my product, and they sell it to the public," he said. "Well, I could take my product and do a much better job with it. Over and above, it's unconstitutional."

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