John Harris, a member of the California Horse Racing Board since 2000, announced he is ending his second stint as the board's chairman and will be leaving the regulatory agency in the next couple of months.
Later in the meeting at Santa Anita Park on Jan. 15, the board elected Keith Brackpool, who was appointed to the CHRB by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September, to replace Harris as chairman for 2010. David Israel was reappointed vice chairman.
Harris, one of the leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders in California, said he will leave the board in order to devote more time to his sprawling Central California ranch and to state water issues.
"Looking back on my time with the CHRB, It's been a fun ride," said Harris, was was re-appointed in 2007. "We've gotten a lot done."
Brackpool, 52, of Los Angeles, has served Cadiz, a land and water resource development company, as a member of the board of directors since 1986. He has been the company's president and chief executive officer since 1991 and chairman of the board since 2001. Brackpool served as co-chair for the Governor’s Agriculture and Water Transition Task Force from 1998 to 1999.
Brackpool is also a racehorse owner.