Wendy Davis from the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona has been elected president of the Turf Publicists of America (TPA) for 2021 and 2022 She succeeds Keeneland's Amy Gregory in the top spot.

Najja Thompson from the New York Thoroughbred Breeders has been re-elected as a vice president, and because of a tie in the voting, both Claire Crawford from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Kevin Kerstein from Churchill Downs Racetrack have been elected vice presidents for the first time. Each will serve two-year terms in 2021 and 2022.

Davis, Thompson, Crawford and Kerstein join the leadership vice presidents Tom LaMarra, Erin Shea and Amy Zimmerman, along with secretary-treasurer Dave Zenner, each of whom was elected to a two-year term in late 2019.

LaMarra serves as the Communications Director for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Managing Editor of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association website and Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships. Shea is the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Zimmerman is Senior Vice President and Executive Producer for Santa Anita. Zenner is a freelance publicist and racing official.

The new slate of officers was installed immediately.

The TPA, founded in 1951, is comprised of approximately 130 Thoroughbred racing publicists and marketing executives at racetracks throughout North America with the shared goal of promoting the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Each year at the Global Symposium on Racing, the TPA organizes the Mark Kaufman Workshop on a topic relevant to publicists and marketers, awards the Big Sport of Turfdom to recognize an individual or individuals who enhanced the sport of Thoroughbred racing through their cooperation with the media and racetrack personnel.

Edited release