Churchill Downs Inc. Monday announced that Elizabeth Harris has been named
vice president of communications for the company. Harris will assume her new
role on August 20. Harris replaces Kevin Flanery who was recently named
president of Churchill Downs Racetrack and will report to Robert L. Evans, the
company’s president and chief executive officer.
Harris has been the executive director of Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA)
since 2004. TCA, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky, raises approximately $2
million annually that is distributed to other charitable organizations involved
in Thoroughbred rescue, retirement and retraining programs as well as to
research, education, jockey and backstretch programs and therapeutic riding
programs.
Prior to TCA, Harris owned and operated a successful real estate firm in Long
Island, New York, for 11 years.
“Liz has a real passion for horses and Thoroughbred racing and has a long
list of significant accomplishments in different businesses,” Evans said. “She
is exactly the kind of person with the type of background we want as part of our
corporate team. I have personally observed the outstanding work that Liz has
done as the leader of the TCA organization, and I am confident she will make a
similarly great contribution to Churchill Downs Inc.”
“I am very proud of what TCA has accomplished over the 10 years that I have
served on its board of directors and over the past five years as the
organization’s executive director, so leaving is certainly bittersweet,” Harris
said. “However, the opportunity to work with the outstanding team Mr. Evans has
assembled at Churchill Downs Inc. was one that I could not pass up. It is an
excellent way for me to carry forth my love of horses and expand my involvement
in and impact on Thoroughbred racing.”
Harris is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickenson University, where she received
bachelor of science degrees in both marketing and economics, and of Fordham
University where she received her masters of business administration.
A 15-year resident of Midway, Kentucky, Harris has been active in a variety
of community activities including LexArts, the Secretariat Foundation, the
Kentucky Horse Park Foundation and the Lexington Philharmonic Guild. Harris
currently serves on the board of Horse Aid Live and is a member of the
Thoroughbred Club of America.