BC Has Seat at the Table as Trump Briefs Sports Leaders
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Drew Fleming, president and CEO of Breeders' Cup, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland in 2020
President Donald Trump held a conference call April 4 with major sports leagues and entertainment executives to discuss the 2020 landscape in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought many businesses to a standstill in the United States. The Thoroughbred industry was represented by Drew Fleming, the president and CEO of Breeders' Cup.
"The important thing was Thoroughbred racing had a seat at the table. It was an honor to be included with our peers in the sports industry. I know Sen. Mitch McConnell (a Kentucky Republican) had something to do with it, and it was an honor that President Trump thought we should be represented and considered."
Other participants on the call were:
Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League
Cathy Engelbert, commissioner of the Women's National Basketball Association
Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer
Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League
Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball
Vince McMahon, chairman and CEO of the WWE
Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour
Roger Penske, IndyCar
Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association
Michael Whan, commissioner of the LPGA Tour
Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Fleming said the call lasted about an hour and a half, and President Trump spoke on the importance of sports in the American tradition, the importance of safety, and the importance of the goal of getting things back to normal at some point.
The NBA halted its 2019-20 season March 11. Major League Baseball has suspended its season indefinitely. The NCAA has stopped all spring sports, including the popular men's and women's basketball tournaments. There has been no word on the NFL season that would begin in the fall. Racing has been curtailed in most states, including New York, Maryland, Kentucky, and California.
Breeders' Cup 2019 at Santa Anita Park
"He sees the need, when the time is right, to get back to normal. There was no specific timeline, and no one discussed schedules. They kept it general," Fleming said.
In a press conference afterward President Trump discussed some tax deductions as related to entertainment expenses that would allow some businesses a break, which would encourage a "reinjection of capital into the sectors of the economy that are hurting."