Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Mystery disease claims thousands in Central America

Schwarzenegger puts Bo Derek on racing board

California governor appoints '10' actress and animal rights activist

Image: Bo DereckAP
Bo Derek arrives at the 134th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on May 3.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek on Tuesday to a state commission overseeing horse racing.

Derek, 51, was appointed to fill one of two vacant posts on the California Horse Racing Board, a position requires confirmation by the state Senate and pays $100 per diem.

Derek is a horse lover who has lobbied Congress for the past five years to ban the slaughter of the animals. She also owns the pet care products company Bless the Beasts, which sells such items as dog shampoos, conditioner and fur polish.

She also wrote the book “Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses.” Her Web site said the autobiography links her life lessons with her understanding of horses.

Her first board meeting will be Thursday at the Del Mar racetrack. She joins Jerry Moss, the co-founder of A&M Records and a prominent horse owner, on the board.

Also appointed was writer and TV producer David Israel, whose credits include “The Untouchables” and “Midnight Caller.” As a former syndicated sports columnist, Israel covered the Triple Crown victories of Seattle Slew and Affirmed in the 1970s.

The seven-member racing board supervises horse racing and parimutuel wagering at racetracks in California, enforces laws and regulations, and sanctions violators.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
Image: John Velazquez rides Animal Kingdom to victory during the 137th Kentucky Derby
AP
'All Others' a strong favorite?

The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.

Image: 2011 Breeders' Cup World Championships - Day 2
Getty Images
Breeders' Cup returns to NBC

It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

INTERACTIVE
AFFIRMED ALYDAR CAUTHEN VALASQUEZ
Timeline: The Kentucky Derby
The defining moments in more than a century of the Run for the Roses.
Slideshow
Image: Allison Baver
  Derby celebs
Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby.

more photos

INTERACTIVE
SECRETARIAT TURCOTTE
Triple Crown winners
The horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year.