Avioli to be Guest on Talkin' Horses

Breeders’ Cup president and chief executive officer Greg Avioli will be the guest for the July 26 edition of bloodhorse.com “Talkin’ Horses,” sponsored by AIRshod.

Avioli will answer questions live online at www.bloodhorse.com/talkinhorses Thursday beginning at Noon ET.

Avioli managed the Breeders’ Cup through its most financially successful Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2006 at Churchill Downs with a record total handle of more than $140 million. Prior to being named president and CEO, Avioli served as deputy commissioner and COO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association from 2001-2006. He was the NTRA’s general counsel and vice president of business affairs from 1998-2000.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1989, Avioli joined the law firm Long, Aldridge, and Norman in Atlanta. In 1994, he joined the sports marketing firm International Sports and Entertainment Strategies, where as senior vice president of international and business affairs he developed domestic and global sports properties with the PGA TOUR, United States Tennis Association, International Olympic Committee, and the Atlanta Olympic Games Organizing Committee, among many ventures.

He developed the Breeders’ Cup Challenge, a series of 25 qualifying races for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and expanded the Breeders’ Cup into a two-day format, which will debut at Monmouth Park in New Jersey this October. Avioli’s appearance on Talkin’ Horses coincides with the launch of the Challenge.

Questions for Greg Avioli can be submitted in advance now or during the live online discussion by going to www.bloodhorse.com/talkinhorses. The same Internet address will also carry bloodhorse.com “Talkin’ Horses” web cast live.