The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has more than doubled the size of the board of directors of its political action committee in order to step up fund-raising efforts."A $1-million PAC is a necessary complement to the NTRA's federal lobbying efforts," NTRA executive vice president Greg Avioli, who serves as PAC president, said in a statement. "A large, geographically diverse and inclusive board will enable us to meet that goal more quickly." Horse PAC, as it's called, held its first quarterly meeting Jan. 26 and changed the bylaws to increase the number of directors from 11 to 25.Bill Farish will remain chairman of Horse PAC. Other returning board members are Case Clay, Bob Elliston, Terry Finley, Ben Haggin, Lucy Young Hamilton, John Harris, Jack Liebau Jr., Terry Meyocks, Joseph Shields, Jr. and ex-officio director and NTRA commissioner D.G. Van Clief Jr.Appointed to the board Jan. 26 were Antony Beck, Laura D'Angelo, Wilhelmina McEwan, and Anne Poulson. New members will be named at a later date.During the meeting, the board authorized a $50,000 disbursement to federal political candidates for the first quarter of 2006, and reviewed fund-raising strategies for the year.
Horse PAC supports federal political candidates who serve on Congressional committees that oversee matters pertaining to the horse and pari-mutuel industry. Horse PAC disbursements to date exceed $696,000. The fund has raised more than $1 million since 2002, which makes it the horse industry's largest federal PAC.
