Michael Wellman

Michael Willman, a former publicity director who worked at Santa Anita Park for nearly two decades, has sued the racetrack, its ownership, and several management executives, alleging that he was fired in March 2024 under the pretext of using inappropriate language when making an off-color joke to a subordinate, but that the "real reason" he was terminated was for refusing to participate in a purported cover-up of alleged mismanagement following a series of highly publicized horse fatalities that occurred at Santa Anita in 2019. According to the civil complaint filed...