A Time of Transition

Abstract

After Coca-Cola’s NCAA sponsorship, CBS ended its contract with HCI. Bull Run brought in Gordon Whitener as Host’s replacement, and Host resigned as CEO in 2003. No longer involved in operating the company he had founded, Host agreed to serve as Kentucky’s secretary of commerce in Governor Ernie Fletcher’s cabinet. In that role, Host promoted business development in the commonwealth and enhanced Kentucky’s branding with the new slogan “Unbridled Spirit” and a new logo. Host created the Kentucky Sports Authority to bring athletic events to the Bluegrass, and he was intimately involved in two of its key projects: building a new arena in Louisville, and bringing the World Equestrian Games to Kentucky. Host convinced Pearse Lyons to pay $10 million to make his company, Alltech, the title sponsor of the World Equestrian Games. Host lobbied the legislature to fund needed improvements to the Kentucky Horse Park and worked closely with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and its president, Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein of Jordan, on logistics. The 2010 games were a resounding success.