Louisiana’s racing commission hired an executive director that partially owns race horses. (Canva image)
The Board of Ethics told the state’s new racing commission executive director that his racehorses can continue to compete in Louisiana, at least until he needs a new license in 2026.
Stephen Landry became the Louisiana Racing Commission’s top staff member in March after Gov. Jeff Landry appointed new members to the board. Stephen Landry, who is not related to the governor, owns a third of two racehorses and half of another.
The commission is responsible for regulating horse racing and betting in Louisiana. It issues licenses to racetracks, training centers, off-site horse betting operations and horse owners such as Stephen Landry.
Commissioners can also suspend and withdraw ownership licenses it previously granted.
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The ethics board said state law is “silent” on whether Landry can own racehorses while serving as the commission’s executive director. State employees are prohibited from doing business with the agencies where they work, however.
Under that logic, the ethics board said Landry would not be able to apply for a license to be a racehorse owner while serving as the racing commission’s executive director.
“Applying for a license is a transaction under the agency’s supervision or jurisdiction,” ethics board attorney Mallory Guillot wrote in a draft of the advisory opinion members approved. “Therefore, Mr. Landry is prohibited by [state law] from applying for a license from the Louisiana Racing Commission.”
Dane Ciolino, an attorney who represented Landry before the ethics board, said his client is pleased with the board’s decision. Landry doesn’t need a new racehorse license until 2026 and should be able to continue in his job.
“He had a license before he took the job,” Ciolino said in a phone interview last week. “It would cause problems if he had to get a license.”
Landry did not return phone calls made to this government office for comment.
Landry proactively sought the ethics board’s opinion about his horse ownership after the Paulick Report, a horse racing news outlet, raised concerns about him taking the commission director’s job.
“How’s he supposed to investigate and recommend to his commissioners potential changes to the state’s breeders’ incentive program objectively?” editor-in-chief Natalie Voss wrote about Landry in a June commentary on the Paulick Report. “What’s he going to do if he’s alerted [a co-owner of his horse] has a possible rule violation being investigated by the staff? How would he deal with an appeal of a disqualification coming from one of his active (or recent) ownership partners?”
“The Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules expressly prohibit this, both for employees of a commission (like the executive director) or for employees under the executive director,” Voss added.
Yet the racing commission’s chairman, Ed Koehl, told Landry he took the executive director’s job that he could own horses without any fear of conflict, Ciolino said in a letter to the ethics board.
The commission, and not the executive director, votes on whether to grant or withdraw an ownership license.
Under a new law approved earlier this year, all 13 of the state racing commissioners who decide on ownership licensing can own racehorses that compete in Louisiana. Previously, only three of the 13 commissioners were allowed to own racehorses.
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