Former California veterinarian Stead joins Churchill Downs Inc.

Churchill Downs Inc. named Dr. Dana Stead as the equine safety and integrity veterinarian for the company.

In this role Stead will provide essential veterinarian support and oversight at all CDI-owned racetracks, including the company’s flagship in Louisville, Ky.

Stead joins CDI’s equine medical director Dr. Will Farmer in fulfilling a core commitment to equine safety at the company’s Thoroughbred and standardbred racetracks across the U.S.

“I look forward to working together with the horsemen and women across all of CDI’s properties and am dedicated to promoting and ensuring the well-being and safety of each of our equine and human athletes,” Stead said.

Stead will report to Farmer, a CDI source told Horse Racing Nation.

Stead brings more than 16 years of experience in equine veterinary medicine and a wealth of industry knowledge to the role. Before joining CDI, he was the owner and operator of a veterinary practice and was the racing veterinarian for multiple California based racetracks, including Santa Anita and Del Mar.

During that time, his responsibilities ranged from conducting pre-race examinations, emergency triage and serving as the racing veterinary supervisor for 25,000 races with over 200,000 starters.

Daily Racing Form reported in December that, in his letter of resignation as the track veterinarian on the Southern California circuit, Stead wrote that a series of incidents in recent years had “taken a heavy toll” and were factors in his decision to resign.

These included a series of fatal injuries that led to the shutdown of Santa Anita in 2019, being a defendant in “frivolous litigation” and watching “my esteemed colleagues be labeled criminals by the profession we serve” and fighting off “an attack by anonymous parties that tried to do the same to me” as factors in his decision to resign, according to DRF.

Stead also has been a member of the Breeders’ Cup veterinary team for 14 of the last 15 runnings. He holds a bachelor of science degree in animal science and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Colorado State University.

“Dr. Stead will be instrumental to CDI’s commitment to equine safety at all of our racetracks, and we look forward to his important contributions as we prepare for the 150th Kentucky Derby,” CDI president and chief operating officer Bill Mudd said.

Stead will begin his new role Monday.