May 4- Shannon Arvin, CEO and President, Keeneland with Jim Goodman, Director of Wagering Development, Keeneland
LEXINGTON, KY – The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, May 4, at the Mane on Main, Chase Bank building on Main St. The program’s guest speaker was Shannon Arvin, CEO and President, Keeneland with Jim Goodman, Director of Wagering Development, Keeneland.
This meeting was also be on Zoom. For the Zoom link please email, [email protected].
If you would like to have lunch, please contact [email protected] to reserve your meal.
The week between the close of Keeneland’s spring meet and the rapidly approaching first Saturday in May is magical in Kentucky as thoughts turn to the Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest horse race, run continuously since 1875.
This week Rotary Club of Lexington continues its own long-standing Derby tradition by welcoming to the podium Keeneland Association President and Chief Executive Officer, Shannon Bishop Arvin. She is joined today by Jim Goodman, Keeneland’s Director of Wagering Development and, perhaps more importantly for our purposes, a noted handicapper.
Arvin is the eighth president of Keeneland Association and the first woman named to the position. She began practicing law in 2002 at the Lexington firm Stoll Keenon Ogden (SKO), where she represented Thoroughbred owners and industry organizations in Kentucky and around the world. As an SKO partner, in 2008 she began serving as corporate counsel to Keeneland, and she has been secretary and advisory member of Keeneland’s board of directors since 2015. 
Arvin serves on the board of directors of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Foundation and Stock Yards Bancorp, and is the Chairman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. She is a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and The Lexington School. She became a member of The Jockey Club in 2019 and a trustee of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation in 2021.
Jim has been with Keeneland in various capacities since 2005. Prior to that he served nearly thirty years with the Kentucky State Parks system. As reported on the National Thoroughbred Association webpage, a regular Keeneland attendee said of Jim: “He makes you feel like you’re the only customer that needs to be catered to, and he does it for everyone…I’ve never wanted to go back to a place as much as I do Keeneland, and he’s the main reason.”
Keeneland is unique in the racing industry. It began operations in 1936 and somehow manages to remain true to its motto of “racing as it was meant to be” while at the same time relentlessly pursuing change and improvement for the betterment of the industry, the horses and the fans. Only at Keeneland are world-class racing and industry-leading sales united under one mission-driven entity. Profits from those endeavors are returned to the industry and the community through initiatives in the areas of racing purses, global market development, safety initiatives and thoroughbred aftercare, fan development and the local community. Keeneland has donated millions to local charities and to health and educational programs.
Welcome, Shannon and Jim!
