(edited press release)
Ed Halpern, executive director and general counsel for the California Thoroughbred Trainers, plans to retire after his contract expires in December, the organization announced.
Halpern, 67, has served in his dual post since December 1999 in addition to his training duties. The CTT is recognized by the California Horse Racing Board as the official representative of all licensed trainers in the state.
The organization is managed by a board of directors that is comprised of nine elected trainer directors. The duties of the CTT include administering a pension fund for trainers and their employees. That fund currently has 3,200 participants, including approximately 800 retirees who currently receive monthly benefit checks. Additional activities of the CTT include representing trainers’ interests before the CHRB, the State Legislature and other local and national racing organizations.
The CTT also negotiates race meet contracts with each racing association, provides recreation activities, educational opportunities and other services for backstretch workers, and provides college scholarships for the children of backstretch workers through the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation.
Halpern expressed gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve and to manage the many programs that are administered by the CTT.
“I look back on the past ten years with a sense of pride because of what we were able to accomplish," he said. "Probably the most well-known achievement was the creation of a workers’ compensation program that has saved and/or distributed well in excess of $120 million to trainers and owners.
“Although I will miss working for this industry, it is time to move on to other opportunities and to new responsibilities.”
The CTT board of directors will determine a plan for hiring a new executive director when it meets in August.