Bob Beck reappointed to third term as Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Chair

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear recently reappointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Bob Beck, Jr., to a third term as Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Chair. His term runs from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017. Beck was originally appointed and has served as chair since 2008.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is an independent agency of state government tasked with regulating horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing and related activities within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The KHRC is a leader in both the safety and integrity of the sport as well as the welfare of the horse.

Bob Beck is a transactional lawyer based in Stites & Harbison’s Lexington office. He has represented both domestic and foreign clients in the purchase, sale or syndication of bloodstock valued at more than $700 million. Beck also regularly provides corporate and financing legal counsel to equine industry participants, including banks, horse farms, trainers and organizers of multiple ownership arrangements for racing and breeding syndicates. Beck also assists manufacturing and service businesses and financial institutions with general corporate law, commercial lending and mergers and acquisitions advice and transactions. In addition to his transaction practice, Beck is a mediator and arbitrator concentrating on transactional matters, equine and commercial projects and disputes. He is also a member of the American Arbitration Association mediation and arbitration panel.

Beck’s civic and community involvement has included memberships on the Board of Advisors of Vanderbilt Law School, Board of Directors of the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, the Lexington Philharmonic, the Fayette County Bar Association and the Lexington Arts and Cultural Council, which he previously served as president. He is a founder, member of the Board of Directors and former president of the American College of Equine Attorneys. He served as the Planning Committee Chair for the University of Kentucky Equine Law Seminar for five years and has been a member of the committee for over 20 years.