Thayer to Co-Chair Economic Development Task Force

Kentucky Sen. Damon Thayer, also an executive with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders' Cup, has been appointed Senate chairman of the state Task Force on Economic Development.

Senate President David Williams made the appointment. Thayer, also a co-chair of the Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Horse Farming, will co-chair the economic development panel and implement its agenda and goals.

"It is an honor to have been chosen to chair the Task Force on Economic Development," Thayer said in a release. "Kentucky has the potential for vast economic growth in the coming years, and I am looking forward to working with Gov. Fletcher's economic team and the task force members to identify opportunities to create jobs throughout the commonwealth."

Thayer, like Fletcher and Williams, is a Republican. The Task Force on Economic Development is comprised of Republican and Democrat lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was created by action of the Legislative Research Commission in January 1999, and was passed by the General Assembly as a permanent subcommittee of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee in 2003.

Before he moved to the Breeders' Cup, Thayer served on the executive team at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. He won the Senate seat last year in a special election.