Dale Romans, the Kentucky native who has served on the board of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association for more than 30 years, has been elected president of the organization, taking a position that has been held by trainer Rick Hiles for 24 years.
Romans, who resides in Louisville, is the longest continuously serving member of the Kentucky HBPA, and he has spent most of the past two decades as the organization’s vice president. John Hancock was elected to fill the vice president vacancy created by Roman’s election, along with Travis Foley, filling a seat vacated by the death last year of vice president Frank L. Jones Jr.
The election of Romans completes a transition at the top of the HBPA that began at the end of 2022 when longtime executive director Marty Maline retired after 46 years at the organization. Hiles, the outgoing president, just completed his eighth three-year term as president. He will remain a board member.
“My goal, starting immediately, is to build on the foundation Rick Hiles and the previous Kentucky HBPA boards established,” Romans said. “I’ve got a bunch of ideas, but the first thing I’m going to do is listen to the horsemen.”
The Kentucky racing circuit has skyrocketed to year-round prominence over the past 10 years due to the impact of purse subsidies generated by gambling devices that Kentucky law limits to racetrack owners. Purses in the state have more than doubled over the past 10 years.
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At the same time, Churchill Downs Inc. has come to dominate the state’s year-round racing circuit after buying both Turfway Park and Ellis Park in order to capitalize on the casino licenses that come with the tracks’ racing licenses. The Kentucky legislature consecrated the arrangement in 2021 when it explicitly legalized the devices following a successful court challenge.
“After a lot of hard work in conjunction with our racetracks and lawmakers, Kentucky is now the No. 1 racing circuit in America and the gold standard,” Romans said. “That’s not the end point but an ongoing challenge to find new ways to improve and grow to benefit racehorse owners and trainers, which in turn benefits the entire industry.”
Romans, who has lived in the vicinity of Churchill Downs his entire life, is the son of the late trainer Jerry Romans Sr., and he assisted in his father’s operation as a teenager. He took out his own trainer’s license at the age of 18. One of his longtime clients was Frank Jones Jr.
Though his operation remains small in comparison to those of supertrainers, Romans was voted the Eclipse Award for champion trainer in 2012, when his Little Mike won the Breeders’ Cup Turf and his horses won 125 races from 763 starts, with total purse earnings of $11.8 million.
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