Columbus, OH — USTA Racetrack Operations and Licensing Manager Michele Kopiec was elected Secretary of the U.S. Trotting Association’s Board of Directors at their annual meeting on Saturday (March 12).

USTA Racetrack Operations and Licensing Manager Michele Kopiec was elected Secretary of the U.S. Trotting Association’s Board of Directors. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

Kopiec replaces Sally Stauffer who served as secretary since 2017 and recently retired from the USTA.

Introduced to harness racing by her father, Ed, who worked on Delvin Miller’s farm in the 1960s, Kopiec charted a course toward becoming a veterinarian when she attended Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pa., graduating in 1998 with a B.S. in Large Animal Science, pre-vet.

During college, Kopiec worked for Whitehorse Farm taking care of broodmares, did foal watch, and prepped yearlings for major sales. She also worked for a short time with Thoroughbred trainer Don Reeder.

While still in school, beginning in the spring of 1995 and through graduation, she started working for Boots Dunn at the Meadows and on his farm in Cochranton, Pa., traveling the Pennsylvania fair circuit.

In the fall of 1999, Kopiec joined the USTA as a member services representative.

“When I came to the USTA, my original goal was to establish residency in Ohio and then apply for vet school at The Ohio State University,” said Kopiec. “But I liked working at the USTA so much that I decided not to pursue the additional education. And it’s a decision that I’m really glad that I made.”

She also worked for Anne Doolin at Scioto Downs as a publicity intern in the early 2000s.

Two decades ago, Kopiec joined the racetrack support team at the USTA and since has been promoted to her current Racetrack Operations and Licensing Manager position in 2018. In addition, she also is an alternate board member for Racing Officials Accreditation Program and serves on the education and steering committees.

Away from work, she has four horses, three Standardbreds and a Thoroughbred. One Standardbred, Cortney’s Comet, now 28, was one of the horses she took care of for Dunn.

“My original plan was to race him, but when I had my daughter Paige that didn’t happen, although I did show him a few times at the Standardbred Pleasure Horse of Ohio shows,” said Kopiec. “When my daughter was about 10 years old, she started to ride him but he didn’t really like it, so he was semi-retired until we decided to use him to teach Paige to drive.”

Kopiec’s daughter is currently a freshman at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, studying chemistry and is also a member of the school’s Equestrian Team. Growing up, Paige was a 4-H member for 13 years, showing horses, poultry and special interest projects. During that time, Michele served as a 4-H organizational advisor in Madison County.