Chief Veterinarian and Director of Racing

As Director of Racing, Dr. Alexandra Lightbown is responsible for coordinating the regulation of the state’s horseracing industry and implementing Chapters 128A and 128C.

She has over 26 years of experience in horseracing, with 23 of those years in a regulatory position.  Dr. Lightbown most recently held the position of Chief Veterinarian and Operations Manager for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.  In this role, she was responsible for implementing a series of regulatory reforms put in place by the Gaming Commissioners.

Prior to this role, for three years she was the Acting Director of Racing and Chief Veterinarian for the Massachusetts State Racing Commission and for the Massachusetts Department of Professional Licensure.  This included being responsible for the field operations at the state’s  racetracks, overseeing auditors, licensing, the drug testing laboratory, test barn, and stewards/judges.  Dr. Lightbown began her regulatory career with the Massachusetts State Racing Commission as Chief Veterinarian, overseeing the health and welfare of the state’s racing animals.

Dr. Lightbown’s first job at a racetrack was in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a veterinary assistant. After completing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, she worked in a private practice at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, MA for about a year, and next at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH for two years.

Dr. Lightbown earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Colorado State University, after spending her first two years of college at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.