Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has added three new members to its board of directors and announced Betty L. Mabee, a board member since 2002, will now serve in the role of director emeritus.
DMTC board chairman Robert S. Strauss made the announcement that David H. Batchelder of San Diego, Jon Kelly of Rancho Santa Fe, and Marie Moretti of Sacramento would join Del Mar racetrack’s leadership body, expanding its board to 12 members.
Strauss also saluted Mrs. Mabee, wife of the late John C. Mabee, who was one of the founding members of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and its leader for a quarter-century.
"Betty Mabee was at her husband's side from the beginning and is part of the very heart and soul of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club," he said. "We will carry her wisdom forward on this board, and we are both indebted and honored that she was one of our seminal forces."
Batchelder is the founder and principal of Relational Investors, a $7-billion investment fund specializing in strategic block investments. He is the chairman of one public company and a director of nine others. Since graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1971, he has proved himself a management expert in finances, mergers, and acquisitions across a wide spectrum of industries and positions. He and his wife, Sylvia, have three children and three grandchildren.
Kelly is a former television executive whose family established and owned KCRA-TV in Sacramento. He had other television properties in the West as well as banking and real estate interests in the Sacramento area. In his youth, he developed a passion for racing and returned to the game full force in the past decade, racing and breeding his own stock across the country. His handsome chestnut Borrego, whom he owned in partnership, was a star on the American racing scene, winning more than $2 million, including a victory in Del Mar’s 2005 Pacific Classic (gr. I). His stable’s two current stars are Sporting Art and Bacare. He and his wife, Sarah, have seven children and 14 grandchildren.
Moretti, who in 2008 finished an eight-year tour as a commissioner of the California Horse Racing Board, has served five California governors during her extensive public service career. Most recently, she was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive director of the California Service Corps. Additionally, she held executive positions with major public affairs and public relations firms in the private sector. She was introduced to racing by the legendary jockey Bill Shoemaker and helped plan and market his international retirement tour dubbed "The Legend's Last Ride." She is married to Terry McGann.
The three new members join board regulars J. Terrence Lanni (a member since 2001), Martin J. Wygod (1999), Rollin W. Baugh (1992), Tom C. Stickle (1989), Warner C. Lusardi (1988), Joe Harper (1978), and Dr. James R. Buell (1970).