The Thoroughbred Owners of California membership has elected Jim Cahill to its board of directors and re-elected five incumbents: Mark Dedomenico, Mike Harrington, Terry Lovingier, Jack Owens, and Bill Strauss.
Dedomenico, Harrington, Lovingier, Owens, and Strauss were elected to three-year terms, Cahill to a one-year term. The new board officially takes office July 1 and will be seated at TOC's first board meeting of the new fiscal year July 11 at Los Alamitos Race Course.
Cahill, a graduate of San Diego State University with a finance degree, was executive vice president of Costco before leaving that position to handle the financial affairs of the company's founder, Sol Price. He became an owner eight years ago with the claim of 8-year-old gelding Senator Matty, campaigned Washington Cup winner He's Not Bluffing, and currently has nine horses in training.
Dedomenico, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon and researcher, owns and oversees Pegasus Thoroughbred Training and Rehabilitation center in Redmond, Wash., where he is involved in researching new treatments for equine injuries and the use of platelet rich plasma and stem cell therapy. He has more than 50 horses in training, including several graded winners and has won two Eclipse Awards.
Harrington is an owner, trainer, and breeder. A graduate of Washington State University School of Veterinary Medicine, he took up training full time after retiring from his veterinary practice in 1993. He has campaigned top 2-year-olds Buck Trout, Swiss Yodeler, and Creative Cause .
Lovingier is owner and president of Lovco Construction Inc. in Signal Hill. He also owns and operates Lovacres Ranch in Warner Springs, standing several stallions, including Awesome Gambler, Empire Way , Time To Get Even, Bushwacked, Grace Upon Grace and Swiss Yodeler. He has raced many homebreds in small partnerships and campaigned grade I winner Willa B Awesome.
Owens was re-elected to the board in 2012 having previously served several terms beginning with the initial TOC election. He also served as chairman of the board in 2001-03, 2004-05, and briefly in 2011. A graduate of Stanford, he has been a lawyer for more than 30 years. Owens has been an owner and breeder for 30 years, racing predominantly in Northern California, and currently campaigns stakes winner City by the Bay.
Strauss was co-founder and CEO of Provide Commerce/Proflowers, a company he took public on NASDAQ in 2003 and sold two years later. He has owned racehorses for approximately five years and has had much success with horses such as The Pamplemousse , Turbulent Descent and Mizdirection.
A total of 7,024 ballots were mailed out to eligible voters, and 1,318 qualifying ballots were received. The complete vote tally is available for viewing on TOC's web site at www.toconline.com.
The newly elected directors join Nick Alexander, Bob Baffert, Ron Ellis, Ed Moger Jr., Billy Morey, Mike Pegram, George Todaro, Kathy Walsh, and Mike Wellman in comprising TOC's 2014-15 board.
Current TOC bylaws require that at least three board members be from Northern California. Representing Northern California on the board are Moger, Morey, and Owens. TOC bylaws allow for up to six owner-trainers on the board, and representing the owner-trainer seats are Baffert, Ellis, Harrington, Moger, Morey, and Walsh.