Dale Romans
President
[email protected]

Dale Romans — Romans is the longest-serving member of the Kentucky HBPA board, joining not long after he began training in 1986. Much of his tenure was spent as the trainers’ vice president until taking over as president at the end of 2024.

The lifelong Louisvillian started coming to Churchill Downs’ backside as a kid with his father (the late owner-trainer Jerry Romans) and ultimately became the iconic track’s all-time win leader during the 2017 fall meet. At that time, he took the Churchill title from his idol, Hall of Famer Bill Mott, then was surpassed 2 1/2 years later by another Hall of Famer in Steve Asmussen.

Romans was voted the 2012 Eclipse Award winner as North America’s outstanding trainer, the same year he was honored by the Turf Publicists of America as recipient of the Big Sport of Turdom. He won the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford and Breeders’ Cup races with Tapitsfly (2009), Court Vision (2011) and Little Mike (2012). With Keen Ice winning Saratoga’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes, Romans became the only trainer to beat Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015.

His first Eclipse champion came in 2004 with the standout turf horse, Kitten’s Joy, who went on to become a prominent stallion. But Romans’ most important influence might be his activism on behalf of horses and horsemen, including championing the immigrant workforce. Though he admits he doesn’t completely understand exactly how it works, Romans has been a leader in horsemen embracing social media as a means to promote the sport and bring fans behind the scenes through video, daleromansracing.com and other platforms.

A graduate of Louisville’s Butler High School, Romans took out his trainer’s license at age 18, promptly going 0 for 52 before saddling his first winner in 1987 in a $3,500 claiming race at Latonia (now Turfway) with his $1,500 purchase Miss Mindy. From that inauspicious start, Romans went on to have one of the most successful stables in the country, including winning 14 trainer titles at Churchill Downs as well as multiple titles at Keeneland and Turfway Park.

Romans keeps Churchill Downs as his main base, with a division at Saratoga in the summer and splitting his operation between Gulfstream Park in Florida and Louisville’s Trackside Training Center in the winter. Romans is a member of the Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park racing committees and a long-time board member of the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund.

Travis Foley Jr.
1st Vice President
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Travis Foley is a a third-generation horseman from one of Louisville’s most prominent racetrack families. He serves as assistant to his father, trainer Greg Foley, including putting partnerships together designed not only to grow the stable but introduce horse ownership to a younger generation. Travis Foley, grandson of the late owner-trainer-breeder Dravo Foley and nephew of trainer Vickie Foley, puts an emphasis on bridging the gap between trainer and ownership groups with technology and communication, including social media. Foley graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Kentucky in 2009, and an MBA from the University of Louisville in 2008. He went on to work in the retail and financial sectors before joining the family business. Travis attended South Oldham County High School, where he was an outstanding basketball player.

John Hancock
2nd Vice President
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John Hancock’s training career officially began in 1991, but he literally was raised on the Ellis Park backside in his hometown of Henderson. Nicknamed the Mayor or Godfather of the Ellis backstretch (as well as “Big John”), Hancock is the third-generation owner-trainer stabled in Barn 4, spanning well over a half-century, and now is the patriarch of a racing family in its fifth generation with his grandson, Matt, a  horse owner and assistant. John’s brother, Jack, also is a trainer, as is his niece Dana Hancock. John Hancock races extensively at all five Kentucky racetracks as well as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

While Hancock has a sizable stable, he’s considered a champion for the little outfits that help fill out any racing card. Hancock has developed a reputation for paying negligible prices for horses who prove to be runners. That includes Youalmosthadme, his $12,000 yearling purchase that Hancock sold after she won her 2023 racing debut at Keeneland and has since won multiple stakes and more than $660,000. Other horses he has bought and sold are Grade 3 winner Cocked and Loaded and UAE Oaks runner-up Midnight Chica. Hancock is a member of Ellis Park’s horsemen’s committee and has been active in creating ways to make the backstretch more accessible to the public as a means of developing fans.

William (Buff) Bradley
Owner
[email protected]

Buff Bradley retired as a trainer in the summer of 2021 but remains heavily involved in horse racing as an owner, breeder and other capacities. His position as Associate of Sales Development for the Keeneland Association keeps Bradley in touch with owners and trainers across the country, allowing him to bring to the board their issues and concerns and different perspectives.

Braley began training in 1993, stabling primarily at Churchill Downs while racing at all five Kentucky tracks. He trained and developed two-time Eclipse Award champion Groupie Doll, as well as the popular millionaire Brass Hat, both bred and owned in partnership with his late father, Fred (a veteran horseman, lawyer, businessman and state senator), and longtime family friend and partner Carl Hurst. The partnership also bred and raced Grade 2 winner The Player, who suffered life-threatening injuries in a race and whose arduous but inspiring comeback to survival was chronicled by Buff on The Players’ widely popular Facebook page.

Buff Bradley also trained Churchill Downs’ two-time Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic winner Divisidero. He won the Ellis Park training title four times.

Bradley lives in Lexington after growing up and living for years on the Indian Ridge Farm founded by his dad in Franklin County.

Casey Klein
Owner

Casey Klein is the third generation involved in one of Louisville and Kentucky’s preeminent breed-to-race families. His father, Richard, formed what today operates as Klein Racing with his parents, the late Bertram and Elaine Klein, who were prominent Louisville philanthropists. Casey attended Centre College, where he was a standout baseball player and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance. After completing his Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Michigan, Casey returned to Kentucky and made the transition into working full-time in the equine industry in 2020. Casey is particularly interested in using his education in sports analytics to help those in thoroughbred racing.

From an early age, Casey enjoyed the racing and breeding side of thoroughbreds, learning the industry and ownership — along with inheriting the passion — from his father and grandparents. Now living in Lexington, Casey works for Ingordo Bloodstock in Business Development, Bloodstock and Management of Belladonna Racing. He remains an integral part of Klein Racing and the Klein Family Foundation, which supports numerous thoroughbred organizations in Kentucky. The Klein Family Foundation was one one of two initial contributors (WinStar Farm the other) to fund the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs.

Richard Klein had scaled back on his racing interests and contemplated getting out of the industry until his children became involved in the family operation. (In addition to Casey, Richard and Beth Klein’s daughter, Chelsea, is a veterinarian surgeon with Kentucky Equine Hospital in Simpsonville.) The family campaigns 5-for-7 $1.6 million-earner Brilliant Berti, arguably America’s best 3-year-old turf male of 2024 and whose name honors the family patriarch.

Mark C. Bacon
Owner
[email protected]

Mark Bacon was born and raised in Louisville, growing up around horses and continuing his passion in the Thoroughbred industry as an owner and breeder. He’s best known for campaigning in partnership with Dana Wells the 12-time winner and $1.95 million-earner Silver Max, whose seven graded stakes included upsetting two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile. Silver Max, a $20,000 yearling, was trained by Dale Romans, the men’s friendship dating to before they were in high school — just a couple of kids hanging around the track.

Bacon, a University of Louisville graduate, has worked for Brown-Forman Corporation for much of his adult life. He’s currently Global Managing Director, Jack Daniel’s Family of Brands. In his prior role with Brown-Forman, Bacon’s strategic leadership helped steward an extended period of remarkable double-digit growth for Woodford Reserve. In addition, Bacon was instrumental in the brand becoming the presenting sponsor as well as the “official Bourbon” of the Kentucky Derby. In 2021, Bacon’s role was expanded to include the company’s founding brand, Old Forester, which has enjoyed tremendous success and growth over the past several years.

Bacon’s comments when running for the board several years ago continue to ring true.  Bacon pledged to “work on your behalf to make sure there is fair and equitable allotment of both on and off-track wagering to horsemen along with support and benefits up to the standard deserved. Horse racing must remain the most integral part of the business and we will stand up to preserve and grow the programs in place which benefit all those represented by the KHBPA. There must also be clear and concise rules in place for therapeutic race day medication to protect our horsemen. It is imperative to provide a reasonable approach in this matter which does not result in fines or suspensions when no wrongdoing has taken place. It is a critical time for racing in Kentucky and there is tremendous pressure to make sure the industry endures and stays competitive in our Commonwealth.”

Rick Hiles
Trainer
[email protected]

Rick Hiles, a trainer and horse owner for parts of five decades, has been an officer or director of the Kentucky HBPA for more than 30 years, recently completely a sixth term as president. Hiles is a former president of the National HBPA, during which tenure he initiated the move of the national offices to Kentucky. The Air Force veteran served as vice chair of the Kentucky Health and Welfare Fund for 18 years and was a long-time member of Equine Drug Council that advises the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on medication and testing issues.

Hiles’ more than 665 victories and $13.28 million in purse earnings include graded-stakes winners San Dare, Midway Magistrate and Foolish Intent and 10 wins with his standout starter-allowance horse, Sugar Cube. Hiles is stabled most of the year at Churchill Downs, moving over to the nearby Trackside Training Center for the winter.

Kentucky HBPA Executive Director Alex Foley praised Hiles’ “unwavering service and leadership. His tenure spanned years of significant change in the industry, during which he worked tirelessly to support Kentucky’s racing community. Rick has been an exceptional leader and advocate for horsemen, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication to our industry.”

Jordan Blair
Trainer

Louisville-based Jordan Blair is a native of Lexington, Ky., graduating from the University of Kentucky with a business degree. His passion for horse racing came from his mother, Debbie Blair, a former executive at the Breeders’ Cup. 

Blair knew he wanted a career in the racing industry after attending the first Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in 1988 and watching 1987 Kentucky Derby winner Alysheba capture the Classic in the dark. He started out on broodmare farms and in sales before working on fellow Tates Creek High School graduate Kenny McPeek’s farm and eventually becoming an assistant trainer. 

It was with McPeek’s horses at the Breeders’ Cup in California when he met his wife, former jockey Jordan Springer. (For the record: “She kept her last name to defuse the confusion of two Jordan Blairs,” Blair said. Asked if they just call each other Blair and Springer, he said, “No, no. Just a lot of Jordans.”) 

Blair took out his trainer’s license in 2013 after eight years as an assistant. He understands the difficulties of trying to build a stable from scratch, because he did that, including trying to grow through the increasingly challenging claiming game. Blair’s mid-sized stable (about 30 horses) enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 with career highs of 27 wins and $1.48 million through Nov. 30, the first time he has surpassed $1 million in purses. Blair’s stable winters at Churchill Downs’ Trackside Training Center and Oaklawn Park in Arkansas while based at Churchill Downs the erst of the year. 

Phil Bauer
Trainer

Phil Bauer is lifelong Louisvillian, 2003 graduate of St. Xavier High School and private trainer for Rigney Racing since 2013. While now playing at a high level, Bauer fell in love with racing watching the cheap claimers bred and raced by his paternal grandparents, who had a farm in Peewee Valley.

Bauer started his racing career as a hotwalker for Steve Margolis before taking a job as a groom for Kenny McPeek at Saratoga. He worked his way up to foreman and assistant before Richard Rigney offered Bauer a private training position in 2013.

Bauer’s leading horses include Grade 1 LaTroienne winner Played Hard and multiple stakes-winners Xigera and Buchu, as well as Kentucky Jockey Club runner-up Jonathan’s Way. His first graded-stakes winner was Channel Marker in the 2015 Jaipur (then a G3). Bauer trained Indiana-sired Horse of the Year Fireball Baby. He was the groom for Grade 1-winner Dream Empress, the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up, and as assistant trainer worked with millionaire Grade 1 winner Noble’s Promise, in whom Rigney was a partner.

“There needs to be a voice,” Bauer says. “Whether it’s heard or not, it’s important to have one as far as the horsemen. I feel the last few years a lot of it has fallen on deaf ears. You throw a rock in a pond, there’s a ripple effect. It’s not just where the rock lands in the water; it continues out from there. I’ve witnessed that the last few years: tracks closing their doors, people getting out of the game. A lot of stuff has been done on knee-jerk reaction, and I don’t think that’s the best longterm outlook.”

Bret Calhoun
Trainer

The Louisville-based Bret Calhoun brings to the Kentucky HBPA board the vast experience of racing all over the country and training all level of horses from inexpensive claimers to Grade 1 winners. He is a long-time member of the Louisiana HBPA and previously served on the HBPA board in Texas.

The Dallas native grew up in nearby Grand Prairie, Texas. During his college years at Texas Tech, he began owning and racing horses in partnership with his parents, William (Buddy) and Betty.  Calhoun worked in advertising sales after college but continued to help his parents train and race their horses before beginning his own stable in 1994. His growing training operation got a further boost with the opening of Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie in 1997.

By any metic, Calhoun rates among the top trainers in the country. His 3,709 victories through Nov. 30, 2024, rank 21st all-time in North America while his $110.8 million in purse earnings rank 27th. He won the Turf Sprint (Chamberlain Bridge) and Filly & Mare Sprint (Dubai Majesty) in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs.

Calhoun has won at least 100 races each of the past 22 years. Other top horses include Louisiana Derby winner By My Standard, multiple graded-stakes winner Mr. Money, millionaire Mr. Wireless and Grade 1 winner Finley’sluckycharm. The trainer’s main base is Churchill Downs for most of the year (including racing at Keeneland and Ellis Park) and the Fair Grounds in the winter. He also races extensively at Delta, Downs Evangeline Downs, Remington Park and Oaklawn Park. Calhoun resides primarily in Louisville and New Orleans with his wife, Sara.

William Morey
1st Trainer Alternate

The son of a trainer, Bill Morey grew up around the racetrack in California, serving as his dad’s assistant trainer through high school and while earning a BA in Economics from San Jose State University. The younger Morey took out his trainer’s license in 2001, racing in both Northern and Southern California before moving his operation to Kentucky at the end of 2019. Through Nov. 30, 2024, Morey had 1,897 career wins and more than $36.97 million in purse earnings.

An owner and trainer, Morey served five years on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, helping in business matters between horsemen and track management. His stable won between 115 and 153 races every year between 2007 and 2010. In 2018 he won a graded stakes apiece with Ollie’s Candy and Coniah. Since reconfiguring his stable with the move to the Kentucky, Morey captured Turfway Park’s 2021 Holiday meet trainer’s title, won six stakes with Marissa’s Lady and taking four stakes and a second in Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Alysheba with Visitant. He also won the 2023 $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint and 2024 Turfway Prevue with Vote No.

Morey’s stable now is based year-round at Turfway Park and The Thoroughbred Center. Morey and wife Elizabeth own a small farm in Lexington, with six horses, five dogs, two cats and a pig.