The Mark Thurman Endowed Scholarship in Racing has been established thanks to a generous donation from CHRIMS to honor Mark Thurman's contributions to the horse racing industry upon his retirement as CEO.
Thurman's list of accomplishments is long and robust. He began his racing industry career during the infancy of off-track wagering as the pari-mutuel auditor for California's fair circuit race tracks.
His audit reports utilized a spreadsheet program designed specifically to perform the pari-mutuel audit; this program replaced the use of calculators, columnar pads, and typewriters previously utilized by auditors. CHRIMS was "born" in 1989 when Mark began the development of the first database application focused on the collection of pari-mutuel data and related distributions.
The application was revolutionary and eventually provided a means for regulators and California racing stakeholders to access daily and historical pari-mutuel data, distributions and settlements via the web.
Over the years, CHRIMS has continued to embrace enhancements in technology to meet the myriad of challenges related to the evolution of pari-mutuel wagering and has expanded its services to include many tracks outside California.