Meet California's new horse-racing supremo

Published on Wednesday 16 July 2008 22:04

SHE was the blonde bombshell who famously portrayed the perfect woman in the 1979 hit film 10.

Bo Derek, who shot to fame as the on-screen love interest of Dudley Moore in the movie, has now been appointed by Californian governor and fellow Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger to the board of a state commission to licence and supervise horse-racing.

The former Playboy model and Golden Globe-nominated actress, now 51, is a renowned animal rights activist and horse lover who has lobbied the US Congress for five years to ban the slaughter of horses.

Schwarzenegger hopes Derek will be able to use her Hollywood profile to raise the profile of responsible racing in California.

Her experience as author of the book Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses and ownership of pet care company Bless the Beasts – which sells such items as dog shampoos, conditioner and fur polish – should stand her in good stead when it comes to governing California's 2 billion racing industry and controlling a budget of roughly 5 million.

Bruce Friedrich, vice-president of People's Ethical Treatment of Animals, said he hoped Derek's celebrity status would raise public awareness of horse-racing, which he claimed caused the deaths of two animals every day.

Derek, a registered Republican, was previously the special envoy of the US secretary of state on wildlife trafficking and has served on the board of WildAid and the Galapagos Conservancy in Ecuador.

The California horse-racing board also licenses trainers, jockeys and horse owners, as well as supervising horse-racing and betting. Derek's first board meeting will be held today at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in southern California, although the post still needs to be ratified by the state Senate.

A spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger said: "Bo Derek applied online and went through the same application process as other candidates.

"I believe she is an acquaintance of the governor but I would not characterise that as a close personal friendship."