From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (Dec. 22, 2018)–Santa Anita Park has announced highly respected Canadian racing official Steve Lym will become the track’s Vice President and Racing Secretary as the track readies for its 82nd Winter Meet opening day this Wednesday, Dec. 26.
Steeped in the Thoroughbred business from childhood, Lym served as Woodbine Racecourse’s Racing Secretary from 2003 through 2013 and as their Director of Racing from 2013 until just recently.
Lym, who is married (Jennifer) and has two sons, Curtis, 20 and Jordan, 19, will be joining his Santa Anita team just after the first of the year.
“I’ll be there the first week in January and Jennifer and I are looking forward to this new chapter in our life,” said Lym today from Toronto. “Coming from Woodbine, where we too, are a bit isolated in terms of ready access to other major tracks, I see similarities in the business model that Santa Anita is faced with an I think I bring a skill set that will transfer nicely to Southern California.”
“Steve is very excited to be coming to Santa Anita and we’re fortunate to be getting a man of his stature and character,” said Tim Ritvo, COO for The Stronach Group. “In addition to his wide breadth of experience as a horseman and racing official, Steve has served on a number of national and international boards and committees, including the Breeders’ Cup Selection Panel, which will serve him well in his new position.”
In addition to his Breeders’ Cup efforts, Lym’s standing in the Thoroughbred industry has been further enhanced by his involvement with the International Federation of Horseracing Authority World’s Best Racehorse Ranking Committee; the North American Ratings Committee, the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee and as a committee member of the Governmental Rules Working Group, which oversees all horse racing rules and regulations in Ontario, Canada.
“We think Steve’s overall experience is going to prove invaluable,” added Ritvo. “In his position at Woodbine, he was basically dealing with a year ’round racing dynamic which will serve him well here at Santa Anita. As everyone knows, we have a number of industry stakeholders that we deal with on a daily basis and Steve has already told me that he looks forward to working with all of them, including groups here in California such as the CHRB, TOC and CTT.”
In advance of Lym’s arrival, the Santa Anita Racing Office is being headed by Racing Director Dan Eidson, who along with TSG Vice President of Racing, PJ Campo, has overseen the production of Santa Anita’s first condition book as well as entries for Dec. 26, 28 & 29.
“We’re excited that Steve will soon be joining forces with Dan and PJ, and together, we are going to be presenting our fans and horsemen with fair and consistent racing, across the board,” continued Ritvo. “Steve and our entire team know that we have to embrace change and produce the best possible product for our customers to wager on. We can’t wait for opening day!”
First post time for a 10-race program on opening day, Wednesday, Dec. 26, is at 11:30 a.m. For additional information regarding Santa Anita’s upcoming Winter Meet, please visit www.santaanita.com/live-racing or call (626) 574-RACE.