The Jockey Club, which establishes recommended standards for thoroughbred racing in North America, named Louis Cella one of its five new members on Thursday.
Cella is on the board of directors at Oaklawn Park and is a son of Oaklawn owner Charles Cella, who has overseen the direction of the Hot Springs racetrack since 1968.
Louis Cella, a graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law, is also a board member of Southwestern Enterprises Incorporated and Southern Real Estate and Financial Company.
The Cella family has owned Oaklawn since the track was founded in 1904.
"To have my father be a member and to be a member while he's still active is truly an honor," Cella said. "It's a great club. I had a couple of emails from friends that said congratulations. I said, 'I'm a little bit over my head on this one.' It is such a great honor. It's a truly great organization. For my father and myself and Oaklawn to be represented, it's pretty neat. It's pretty darn neat."
Cella also followed his father earlier this year as a member of the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Association. He said he has been involved with the TRA for much of his adult life, but that he was recently asked to serve in place of Charles Cella.
"He's taken semi-retirement, and because of that, I'm stepping in those shoes," Cella said. "Even though I've been involved over the years, this is sort of an official transition."
Cella said The Jockey Club attempts to establish policies it hopes are at least similar to those used by the numerous groups that govern thoroughbred racing in North America.
"The Jockey Club is the independent policy maker of what is best for racing," Cella said. "It doesn't have as much authority as it does gravitas. They are the leaders of the industry that says, 'This is what we feel as an organization is best for the racing.' Now racing organizations, like in Arkansas, might have a little different view of those policies, but generally, it's always for the betterment of thoroughbreds."
Cella, who lives with his wife Rochelle and their two children in Ladue, Mo., a St. Louis suburb, said he first attended Oaklawn with his father as a 16-year-old. He said that Oaklawn will continue to prioritize horse racing over other gambling options offered by his family's business in Hot Springs.
"Horse racing is our life blood," he said. "That's who we are. We love it. We live it, and we follow everything about it. We are a family-owned business that believes in horse racing. Other folks don't have that luxury. They are corporate-owned, and they have shareholders. That's a huge difference, an absolute huge difference. Because we're family owned, and because we focus on the horse racing aspect of it rather than the gaming aspect of it, that's our motivation and that's where we focus, simple as that."
Also named members of The Jockey Club were Chester Broman, a thoroughbred owner and breeder from Chestertown, N.Y.; Kenny Trout, owner of WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky.; Vinnie Viola, who, along with his wife Teresa Viola, co-own current Kentucky Derby champion Always Dreaming, and is the founder of St. Elias Stables and owns the NHL's Florida Panthers; and Kevin Warsh, owner of Jump Sucker Stable.
Sports on 08/27/2017