They got my man Bredar......

...damn shame...CDI is at it again.....

Churchill fires Bredar
By MARTY McGEE
Doug Bredar, the racing secretary at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park since February 2002, was fired Monday by Churchill Downs Inc., the parent company of both tracks.
Bredar, 44, was unavailable for comment, but a family member confirmed that he had been informed of the firing Monday and had already cleaned out his office at Churchill in Louisville, Ky., and was scheduled to do so Tuesday at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

Julie Koenig Loignon, vice president of communications at CDI, said Monday that "no one within the company" would comment on the firing "as a matter of policy."

At Churchill, Bredar replaced Jerry Botts, who died following a brief illness on Dec. 31, 2001. Botts was highly popular with horsemen at Churchill and had worked there as a racing official for 30 years.

Before his tenure at Churchill and Ellis, Bredar worked as an official at numerous tracks throughout the country, including Hollywood Park, Gulfstream Park, Arlington Park, Turf Paradise, and Prairie Meadows. He and his wife, television reporter Caton Bredar, currently reside in Louisville.

[Scurlogue Champ]

They have been cleaning house over on Central Avenue.

Originally Posted by moodwalker

They have been cleaning house over on Central Avenue.

Yes they have.....yours truly was one of the 15 they hacked after the Derby....I like the company and a lot of its people, but it is one brutal environment there...everybody walks down the halls looking over their shoulders....it was a very uncomfortable experience, but one that I wouldn't have traded for anything...they are a very intelligent company, but their primary weakness is that they may be too intelligent in general business and not intelligent enough in the fields required to understand their product - i.e.: all of the top executives and decision makers have a very limited knowledge of horse racing....I know that fact used to always frustrate Doug and many other of the small portion of the company that actually knew the sport.....Oh well, Doug will land on his feet....he's a sharp guy and very professional and he is a good racing secretary....

As for that job, Ben Huffman - another great guy who I regard as a personal friend - is 1-9 on the morning line to fill that spot.....Doug was actually hired over Ben in 2002 for that position....

[Scurlogue Champ]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Yes they have.....yours truly was one of the 15 they hacked after the Derby....I like the company and a lot of its people, but it is one brutal environment there...everybody walks down the halls looking over their shoulders....it was a very uncomfortable experience, but one that I wouldn't have traded for anything...they are a very intelligent company, but their primary weakness is that they may be too intelligent in general business and not intelligent enough in the fields required to understand their product - i.e.: none of the top executives understand a thing about hourse racing....I know that fact used to always frustrate Doug and many other of the small portion of the company that actually knew the sport.....Oh well, Doug will land on his feet....he's a sharp guy and very professional and he is a good racing secretary....

As for that job, Ben Huffman - another great guy who I regard as a personal friend - is 1-9 on the morning line to fill that spot.....Doug actually beat out Ben in 2002 for that position....

I have heard the same from my friends who have worked there.

Let me ask you this, why do you think they put people without much knowledge about the intricacies of the game in the decision making positions?

I had a discussion about that very fact with one of the professors over at the University in the Equine Department.

It sure does seem odd.

How did you like Meeker? And how long do you think Greg Bush will last with the way things are going?

Originally Posted by moodwalker

I have heard the same from my friends who have worked there.

Let me ask you this, why do you think they put people without much knowledge about the intricacies of the game in the decision making positions?

I had a discussion about that very fact with one of the professors over at the University in the Equine Department.

It sure does seem odd.

How did you like Meeker? And how long do you think Greg Bush will last with the way things are going?

The primary factor is that there are very few people that have a broad racing knowledge and qualify from an education and experience standpoint, believe it or not....it is a very limited group, so they go out to relative sports industries and hire people from those sources....Theie VP of Marketing came from AFI Bowling company, which involves sports, but he knows nothing about racing....it is what you have to deal with...they are assuming that smart and diligent people with adapt and it doesn't work much of the time...

As for Meeker, I thought he was OK....Reportedly, he didn't want to hack us after the Derby but the Board (Mr. Duchessois) made him do it.....Mr. D makes 90% of the major decisions there and wants a puppet for a CEO - that is the real reason Meeker stepped down...

I will say this though...I betcha the environment gets a little less volatile now that Meeker is gone beause he ran that place like a dictatorship and that is why it was very militant and very strict and cut-throat for a while IMO....

It really is a great company though and it is a shame that they are this unstable....I'm seriously not bitter at all about my situation, although I obviously was dissappointed....

No CEO should be in the position for longer than 5 years. The reason being is that a company always needs leadership and new blood. Churchill Downs should be an A track. They should never be running $5k claimers on a Saturday. The product at Churchill has gone downhill over the years, but they turn a good profit and good businessmen. Until that Duchessois understands that he needs to stay out of the way then Churchill will never get better.

[Scurlogue Champ]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

The primary factor is that there are very few people that have a broad racing knowledge and qualify from an education and experience standpoint, believe it or not....it is a very limited group, so they go out to relative sports industries and hire people from those sources....Theie VP of Marketing came from AFI Bowling company, which involves sports, but he knows nothing about racing....it is what you have to deal with...they are assuming that smart and diligent people with adapt and it doesn't work much of the time...

As for Meeker, I thought he was OK....Reportedly, he didn't want to hack us after the Derby but the Board (Mr. Duchessois) made him do it.....Mr. D makes 90% of the major decisions there and wants a puppet for a CEO - that is the real reason Meeker stepped down...

I will say this though...I betcha the environment gets a little less volatile now that Meeker is gone beause he ran that place like a dictatorship and that is why it was very militant and very strict and cut-throat for a while IMO....

It really is a great company though and it is a shame that they are this unstable....I'm seriously not bitter at all about my situation, although I obviously was dissappointed....

Doesn't Duchossois hate Meeker? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Yes they have.....yours truly was one of the 15 they hacked after the Derby....I like the company and a lot of its people, but it is one brutal environment there...everybody walks down the halls looking over their shoulders....it was a very uncomfortable experience, but one that I wouldn't have traded for anything...they are a very intelligent company, but their primary weakness is that they may be too intelligent in general business and not intelligent enough in the fields required to understand their product - i.e.: all of the top executives and decision makers have a very limited knowledge of horse racing....I know that fact used to always frustrate Doug and many other of the small portion of the company that actually knew the sport.....Oh well, Doug will land on his feet....he's a sharp guy and very professional and he is a good racing secretary....

As for that job, Ben Huffman - another great guy who I regard as a personal friend - is 1-9 on the morning line to fill that spot.....Doug was actually hired over Ben in 2002 for that position....

The environment you describe, Joel, are very much in line with a company that has a little topsy turvy standing to them. Kind of like having a paper company where the people spread at the lower levels of the job have great knowledge of the product, and how to market it, how to best use it, but is run by a group of suits that best attribute is using tried and true measures that dont really apply to the paper business. That sends a mixed message to good employees (like yourself) who get frustrated and annoyed with what goes on.

Its a lousy situation to be in. But, you seemed to turn out ok!

I'm probably saying more than I should here......