Strub, 74, Resigns Post; Keller to Replace Him

Bob Strub resigned Thursday as chief executive officer of the Santa Anita Operating Co. and is being succeeded by Stephen F. Keller.

Strub, 74, will remain as chairman and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Turf Club, which conducts racing at the Arcadia track as a subsidiary of Santa Anita Operating. Strub also will continue as chairman of Santa Anita Operating.

“It was my recommendation this morning that I resign,” Strub said. “Steve Keller is well-qualified and well-suited to succeed me.”

Since last August, Strub has known that he has Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is incurable, but his illness apparently was not related to the change.

“Steve Keller joined Santa Anita Operating a year and a half ago with the idea of training to succeed Bob,” said Alexander W. Ingle, who is a vice president and secretary-treasurer of both Santa Anita companies. “We have done the same thing with younger people in other areas of the company.”

Keller, 54, is an attorney with a background in investment banking. He has been president and chief operating officer of Santa Anita Operating since July, 1991.

Strub, whose father headed the partnership that started Santa Anita in 1934, resigned as president of Los Angeles Turf Club in 1989, when he was succeeded by Cliff Goodrich. In a recent interview, Strub said that his family owns about 5% of the stock in the company, which is more than any individual stockholder.

Ingle said that Strub’s salary, which reportedly is $400,000 a year, will not be affected by Thursday’s change.

“Most of Bob’s salary is related to the Los Angeles Turf Club and there’s been no change in his status there,” Ingle said.