Alumnus profile: James B. Tafel

Despite being a board chairman and CEO of one of the largest business publishing companies… Despite being a board chairman and CEO of one of the largest business publishing companies in the United States, James B. Tafel began achieving worldwide fame after retirement. Tafel graduated from the University of Pittsburgh College of Business in 1950. In retirement, he joined a thoroughbred ownership, Dogwood Stables. Years of hard work finally paid off in May 2007 when his horse, Street Sense, won the 133rd Kentucky Derby.

After graduating from Pitt, Tafel began working as a media manager at Ketchum, McLeod and Grove Advertising. Three years later he moved to Technical Publishing Company to work as a sales representative. In 1967, he was promoted to president and Technical Publishing continued to grow. It eventually merged with Dun ‘ Bradstreet in 1978, in which Tafel served as board chairman and CEO until his retirement in 1983, after which he pursued his horse ownership career.

Tafel’s best horse, Street Sense, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Championship in 2006 and qualified for the 133rd Kentucky Derby. The horse fell to 19th place after the first turn in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, but jockey Calvin Borel helped rally the horse through the pack and take the lead on the final stretch. Not only did Street Sense become the first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Champion ever to win the Kentucky Derby, but he did it in front of a crowd of over 156,000 people – including Queen Elizabeth II of England. “It was the most fantastic experience, and it is really beyond description