Thoroughbred Owners of California Names Seven Directors Elected Without Ballot, Saving $18,000

The Thoroughbred Owners of California declared seven candidates elected without a ballot after nominations for the 2026 ballot closed on March 1, a move announced to membership in a letter from President and CEO Bill Nader that will bring a newly constituted board to the organization on July 1, 2026. Because there were exactly seven candidates for seven open seats, TOC followed its bylaws and procedures to forgo a contested election, an action that cut roughly $18,000 from expected election expenses.

Nominations closed March 1 and the board notification to members came March 4; the timing means owners and interested stakeholders will see the new directors formally seated at the July 1 installment of the 2026-27 board. The organization framed the action as procedural and consistent with its governance rules; the immediate operational consequence is a direct cost avoidance in this election cycle equivalent to the estimated $18,000 in printing, mailing and administrative expenses the contest would have required.

TOC’s 2026-27 board will include a slate of continuing members named in the organization’s membership notice and related reporting: Joe Ciaglia, Mark Glatt, Ty Green, Ryan Hanson, Stephanie Hronis, Bob Liewald, Andy Mathis and Samantha Siegel will serve alongside the seven newly declared directors when the board is seated July 1. Bill Nader’s letter to membership served as the vehicle for the announcement and notified owners that the slate process produced an uncontested outcome under current TOC rules.

The board change sits within a recent pattern of appointments and replacements: earlier this year the board unanimously appointed John G. Sikura to fill the vacant seat of long-serving director Nick Alexander, with TOC ratification procedures invoked in January. Sikura, president of Hill ’n’ Dale Farms in Lexington, Ky., leads the operation that relocated to the 1,500-acre Xalapa farm in 2022 and stands stallions including Curlin. Nick Alexander served on the TOC board since 2013, was chairman from 2016-2021, founded Nick Alexander Imports in Los Angeles and operates a ranch in Santa Ynez; he was among the top five California breeders by earnings in 2025 and bred and owns Grazen, the leading California-based stakes sire in 2023-2025.

That earlier pattern also included the Aug. 4, 2025 appointment of Darren Filkins to fill a vacancy created by the passing of John Harris; Filkins is CEO of Harris Farms, Inc., was raised in Bakersfield, studied Agribusiness at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo where he played football, and has deep ties to California agriculture and equine work through family and community programs such as 4H and FFA.

For owners and industry partners, the uncontested slate removes the immediate administrative burden and cost of an election while shifting attention to governance priorities when the full 2026-27 board meets July 1. TOC describes its mission as representing, advancing and protecting owners’ interests in legislative, administrative and business matters, and the composition and alignment of the seated board will determine how that mandate is executed through the 2026-27 season.