The Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau announced Jan. 16 it will commence a search process immediately for a successor for president Frank Fabian, who will retire in March after nine years as the head of Thoroughbred Racing Association's security and investigative subsidiary.
Fabian was hired by the TRPB in 2005 after concluding a 20-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as the assistant section chief in the counterterrorism division in Washington, D.C. During Fabian's tenure, the TRPB responded to the pari-mutuel industry's growing reliance on simulcasting and account wagering by publishing comprehensive due diligence reports on 22 secondary pari-mutuel organizations, as well as performing limited-scope background checks on other entities.
Under Fabian's leadership the TRPB instituted the wagering analysis unit, which reviews the betting on all TRA-member tracks for betting anomalies through daily autonomous computer algorithms, as well as evaluation by TRPB personnel. The TRPB will expand its member tracks' ability to verify and review all activity in their wagering pools while providing stop-betting redundancy through the TRPB Tote Security System, which is in the final stage of development and scheduled for implementation later this year.
"I appreciate having had the opportunity to preside over a company whose dedicated employees work diligently toward furthering important initiatives which enhance the integrity of our sport," said Fabian. "Their extensive experience and knowledge regarding horse racing and the pari-mutuel industry has enabled TRPB to successfully respond to the evolving needs of the TRA membership, whose continued support has made possible these achievements. As I leave to pursue other interests, I do so with great confidence in TRPB as it moves forward."
John Mooney, chairman of TRPB's board of directors, said, "In the past 10 years, our industry has undergone significant changes to our business model and Frank addressed the needs of our tracks by focusing TRPB's resources on protecting and assuring the integrity of the members' extensive wagering networks. We are very grateful for his vision and dedication."