NEWS
Stella Thayer
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 2:51 PM
STELLA THAYER
Tampa Bay Downs
Stella Thayer’s first experiences with racing came as an outsider. In her childhood, Thayer and her family visited the racetrack in Oldsmar, Florida, but children were not allowed inside the gates. She told a community newspaper in 2006 that she would stand on a car in the parking lot to watch the races.
Thayer has broken down several barriers in racing and in her legal career. She was the first female law clerk in the federal judiciary in Florida and the first female president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. A graduate of Hollins College and Columbia University Law School, Thayer is an attorney and shareholder in the Florida law firm Macfarlane Ferguson and McMullen.
In 1986, Thayer and her brother, Howell Ferguson, assumed ownership of Tampa Bay Downs, the track that did not welcome her as a child. She is also an owner and breeder.
As Tampa Bay’s president and treasurer, Thayer oversaw the installation of a seven-furlong turf course in 1997. Two years later, she was elected as the first female president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations. Thayer remains a director of the TRA and of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau.
In 2005, Thayer became the first female president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. A museum trustee since 1994, Thayer had served as an executive vice president before she succeeded John von Stade as president.
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida
Residence: Thonotosassa, Florida
Title: President, treasurer
Company: Tampa Bay Downs
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Hollins College in Virginia; Bachelor of Laws, Columbia University Law School
Family: Married, one child
Career: Acquired Tampa Bay Downs with her brother, Howell Ferguson, in 1986; chairwoman, director of Reflectone, a manufacturer of full-flight simulators, ’92-’97; former chairwoman and current member of board of trustees, Tampa General Hospital Foundation; attorney and shareholder of law firm Macfarlane Ferguson and McMullen; president and treasurer of Tampa Bay Downs; president and trustee, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame; member, Jockey Club
Awards: Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Committee of 100, hall of fame award, 1987; executive woman of the year, Network of Executive Women, ’88; co-recipient of top management award, Sales and Marketing Executives of Tampa, ’89
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