Greg Avioli | Letter To The Editor: Remembering Two Sons Of Arkansas Who Made A Difference | Atlanta, GA
About 27 years ago, the late John R. Gaines put his considerable reputation and clout behind the creation of a new league office for Thoroughbred racing, the National Thoroughbred Association, intended to create a structure on par with the NFL, MLB and PGA TOUR — a strong league office with shared economics, pooled-media rights and sponsorship sales, and a commissioner with the authority to make decisions deemed to be in the collective best interest of the sport and its stakeholders. Life, politics and U.S. horse racing being what they are, that plan didn’t exactly turn out like Mr. Gaines and others intended.
But, the NTA did lead to the formation of the NTRA, whose political efforts in Washington, D.C., have since delivered literally billions of dollars of benefits to the racing industry primarily through preserving legal online wagering for racing (ADW) and various forms of tax relief for both horseplayers and Thoroughbred owners and breeders.
Like many successful endeavors, the NTRA’s Washington, D.C., efforts had humble beginnings that, in this case, can largely be traced to two close friends and fellow sons of Arkansas. One of them was Bob Brooks, longtime chief of staff for moderate Louisiana Republican Rep. Jim McCrery, who was the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee that controls all tax legislation. The second friend was Greg Means, co-founder of the Alpine Group, the D.C.-based lobbying firm that represented the NTRA for over two decades. Greg was himself a former chief of staff in the office of Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Eckart.
It was a true pleasure observing these two graduates of the University of Arkansas, both from modest upbringings, work their political magic in our nation’s capital. Both men loved politics, golf, and all things Arkansas, and both had a genuine passion for horse racing. In fact, Bob was an owner, a partner in dozens of horses primarily racing in Arkansas and Louisiana. During my time at the NTRA, I had the pleasure of attending the races with the two of them several times, including the Preakness, a favorite for both given its proximity to the U.S. Capitol.
They both combined intricate knowledge of how Washington works with a down-home demeanor that earned them the good will and respect of members of Congress and their staffs on both sides of the aisle.
Through their combined efforts, on behalf of the NTRA they shepherded through a landmark bill authored by Rep. McCrery (but really by Bob) in 2004 that eliminated the crippling 30 percent withholding tax on all international pari-mutuel wagers on U.S. races. It was the first of many legislative successes for Thoroughbred racing that Bob and Greg teamed up on over the next decade. Shortly after Congressman McCreery left office in 2009, Bob joined Greg as a partner at the Alpine Group. Together they helped the industry maintain accelerated depreciation schedules on the purchase of racehorses to the benefit of owners and breeders and they also helped convince the U.S. Treasury Department to modernize withholding rules reduce onerous reporting requirements on horse players.
Sadly, over the past twelve months racing has lost both of these good friends and extraordinary advocates too soon to premature deaths. As well eulogized by Alan Foreman in the TDN, Greg Means died unexpectedly in February of 2023 at 62. Barely a year later, Bob Brooks died earlier this month at the age of 61.
At Bob’s funeral last weekend in Fort Smith, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin delivered a powerful eulogy emphasizing Bob’s rare combination of intelligence, kindness, people skills, attitude and work ethic, traits shared by his good friend and colleague Greg. The sport of Thoroughbred racing was fortunate to know them both.
–Greg Avioli, Atlanta, Ga.
Greg Avioli is an attorney in Atlanta, Ga., and previously worked in the horseracing industry including assisting in the formation of the NTRA and managing the NTRA’s legislative advocacy programs.
This piece was originally written and published on PaulickReport.com!
