Board of Directors
The Edwin J. Gregson Foundation has been in existence for since 1998, and in each of those years, and has increased its funding and its support for scholarships and other important programs. During the past year, the Foundation made a commitment to increase industry involvement by expanding its Board of Directors to include non-trainer members who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for backstretch workers and their family members. We are pleased to introduce the members of our Board and we are grateful for their time and efforts.
JENINE SAHADI
President
President of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation and past President of California Thoroughbred Trainers. Jenine has headed the Gregson Foundation since July 2001, finds it a highly worthwhile cause, and has been particularly motivated by its role in providing financial educational help for children of stable area workers.
Since obtaining her trainer's license in 1993, Jenine achieved several significant firsts. She became the first female trainer to win a Breeders' Cup race, with Lit de Justice in the 1996 Sprint. She is the only female trainer to win two Breeders' Cup races, repeating in the Sprint in 1997 with Elmhurst. She became the first female trainer to win the Santa Anita Derby with The Deputy in 2000.
Daughter of prominent California thoroughbred horse breeders Fred and Helen Sahadi, Jenine graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism/communications and worked for seven years in the marketing and publicity departments at Hollywood Park before turning to the backstretch. Jenine retired as a thoroughbred trainer in 2011.
EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE
Director Emeritus
This Hall of Fame jockey has made the transition from riding star to bloodstock agent. Learning about pedigrees and attending sales, he remains in touch with the sport buying and consulting, as well as being a minor owner and breeder.
The jockey characterized as having ice water flowing through his veins retired on January 13, 2003, after riding 6,384 winners, eleventh on the all-time list from 39,201 mounts for purse earnings of $195,801,624. He won the Kentucky Derby in consecutive years aboard Gato del Sol for Eddie Gregson in 1982 and Sunny's Halo for David Cross, Jr., in 1983. He also won the 1988 Preakness and Belmont stakes with Risen Star and the 1992 Belmont with A.P. Indy en route to Horse of the Year honors. He has won seven Breeders' Cup races: with A.P. Indy, Princess Rooney, Hollywood Wildcat, Pleasant Stage, Thirty Slews, Cardmania, and Prized.
Born into a Louisiana racing family, he rode quarter horses and mixed breeds at 10 before turning to Thoroughbreds. He broke his maiden at Evangeline Downs in 1968 and went on to riding titles at Fair Grounds, Keeneland, Arlington Park, and Churchill Downs before moving west in 1979. He continued with titles at Santa Anita, Oak Tree, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1993. He is also a recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award and of an Espy Award and is a member of both the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
GAIL GREGSON
Gail Gregson, wife of the late Eddie Gregson, has been a member of the Foundation named in his memory for seventeen years. Ms. Gregson, born in San Francisco, is a lifelong horsewoman. Her involvement with the racing industry began in Middleburg, Va., where she broke yearlings and developed an interest in bloodlines, while working in pedigree research. Gregson returned to California at the suggestion of a friend, Bill Perry. "Bill helped me to get a job galloping horses for John Canty and that's where I met Eddie." The couple married that year and, in 1970, had twin daughters, Brooke and Esme. Gregson remained active with racing after marriage through her rehabilitation program and re-training of ex racehorses for hunters, jumpers, and other venues. She has also served two terms on the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Board and has been a member of the California Thoroughbred Foundation for the past 15 years.
"I am very proud to serve on this Board and be a part of Eddie's vision, which was to provide support and encouragement for backstretch workers and their children to have better lives. We hope to accomplish this with an ongoing scholarship program, funded by events such as the Eddie Gregson annual fundraising dinner. This would not be possible without the tireless efforts of Jenine Sahadi, Angie Carmona, and the rest of the Board."
ED HALPERN
Halpern is former Executive Director and General Counsel of the California Thoroughbred Trainers association, a position he described as a perfect amalgamation of his backgrounds in law, business, and horse racing. A Los Angeles native, he spent much of his youth around horses at a ranch in Canoga Park, riding in local shows and going to the races. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in finance in 1964 and earned a degree in law from Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley in 1967. Upon graduation, he worked for a public poverty law entity. He then entered private practice in 1971 in Santa Monica, practicing law and starting a real estate development and management company.
During the 1970's, he became involved with harness horses at Hollywood Park and bred, raised, and broke standardbreds at his home in Malibu. In 1989, he took out his thoroughbred trainer's license. An owner and breeder, he remains active in the thoroughbred industry serving on the Board of the Gregson Foundation.
JILL BAFFERT
Jill joined the Gregson Foundation Board of Directors in December 2017. She is a former television news anchor and reporter in Louisville, KY, where she covered racing at Churchill Downs. Since moving to California, she has been active in racing through her husband's stable and has owned several graded stakes winners, including Maybellene, Contested, Misremembered, and Du Jour.
Jill also serves on the board of Old Friends, Operation Walk L.A., and the Kentucky Derby Museum Board of Directors. She is a founding member of the I Am Horse Racing initiative, which serves to bring awareness and give a voice to the thousands of women and men who work in the horse racing industry.
SARAH KELLY
""My husband, Jon Kelly, and I got into the sport of racing in 1997," says Sarah. "We started out with two fillies and our trainer was Eddie Gregson. Eddie became a wonderful mentor and friend to us in the thoroughbred business. We now have horses in Kentucky, California, Ireland, and Australia, with runners at a variety of tracks.
""We have totally enjoyed our involvement in racing and the friendships that we have made. One of our greatest pleasures, however, is seeing our broodmares and foals in the fields at our farm in Rancho Santa Fe.
"I enjoy serving on the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation, and I am hopeful that our Board will be able to help many children of backstretch workers reach their educational goals."
F. JACK LIEBAU, JR.
Chief Financial Officer
Liebau has been a thoroughbred owner and breeder for more than 30 years. He is a former volunteer on the Administrative Committee of the CTT Backstretch Employees' Cash Balance Pension Plan, overseeing California's pension plan for stable area workers, and is a former director on the NTRA-PAC Board.
Jack is currently Chairman of Myers Industries, and has also served on the boards of Pep Boys, Herley Industries, and Media General. He was former President and CEO of Roundwood Asset in New York and Liebau Asset Management in Pasadena, California. A graduate of Phillips Academy (Andover) and Stanford University, he worked in The White House Press Office of George H.W. Bush.
Liebau, his wife, Carol, and their twin children live in New Canaan, CT.
PATRICIA GREGSON MILLINGTON
Director Emeritus
"Although I am not involved in horse racing, my one qualification for being on the Board would be as Eddie's sister," says Millington. "We were both raised with Thoroughbred horses on The Conejo Ranch, which was Eddie's inspiration to continue this passion as his life's focus.
"I ran a ranch in Idaho for 35 years, kept mares in foal, and once raised a colt for Eddie that he took to the track. 'Dante's Inferno' won his first race. I am honored to have served on the Board that helped Eddie's dream come true of education for the backstretch employees."
JAY PRIVMAN
Jay Privman has been the national correspondent for Daily Racing Form since October 1998. He is the author of the books "Breeders' Cup: Thoroughbred Racing's Championship Day" and “Del Mar at 75,” and has won numerous writing honors for coverage of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, and Breeders’ Cup, as well as the Walter Haight Award for career achievement from the National Turf Writers Association and the prestigious Charles W. Englehard Award from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders. He also has done television work for NBC Sports Network and ESPN, and hosts a Saturday-morning radio show in Southern California, among many other industry endeavors.
Privman says, “The first Derby I covered, in 1982, was won by Eddie Gregson with Gato Del Sol. I thought highly of Eddie, and the Gregson Foundation has lived up to the ideals he espoused. It has helped so many deserving backstretch families enhance their lives in a truly meaningful way, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Privman lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with his wife Anne Warner.
ANDREW RICHARDS
A life-long fan and current horse owner, Andrew is the Founder and CEO of Swander Pace Capital. Established in 1996, the firm is based in San Francisco and New Jersey and focuses on buyouts in the consumer products industry. Currently, he is also the Chairman of Bragg Live Food Products and the Voortman Cookie Company. Andrew received an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB cum laude in Fine Arts from Harvard University. He is an Advisory Board member of the National Museum of Racing and a Trustee of the Newark Museum.
SAMANTHA SIEGEL
Samantha has owned horses with her parents, Jan and Mace, since 1984. She currently manages the family-built racing operation of approximately 70 horses that runs under Jay Em Ess Stable.
Eddie Gregson trained many winners for Jan, including Ardiente, winner of the 1979 Del Mar Handicap. The family campaigned many stakes horses, including champion 2-year-old Declan's Moon and Grade I stakes winners Stormy but Valid, Urbane, I Believe in You, I Ain't Bluffing, Rail Trip, and By the Moon. They also own 2007 Strub stakes winner Arson Squad.
In the past, Samantha has served on the board of the California Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (CHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). She is currently a board member of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and California Retirement Management Account (CARMA).
BILL STRAUSS
Strauss, the newest board member, is a long-time owner best known recently for his top-class runner Hot Rod Charlie, whom he owns in partnership. Hot Rod Charlie has won $5.6 million during a career that has seen him win the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at 3 and Grade 2 Lukas Classic at 4. He also was runner-up at 2 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and at 3 was second in races as the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes and third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
Strauss was also co-owner of the multiple Grade 1-winning filly Turbulent Descent, who won the Hollywood Starlet at 2 and the Santa Anita Oaks and Test at 3. In addition, he campaigned two-time Breeders' Cup winner Mizdirection, who successfully took down the boys in the Turf Sprint.
Strauss is a serial entrepreneur whose businesses have included the wildly successful Shari's Berries and Pro Flowers. He and his brother, Jeffrey, own the highly acclaimed Pamplemousse Grille in Solana Beach, across the street from Del Mar racetrack.