Several members have recently left the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s board of directors, exits that parallel allegations that leadership dissension and financial struggles are plaguing the non-profit organization.

It is believed at least six directors have left the TRF board in the past few months, including one that was forced off by board vote, with some former and current board members questioning the direction of the group that admits to operating in the red the last two years.

Among the directors that recently left are Peter Bradley, Kip Elser, John Hettinger, Nadia Sanan-Briggs, and John Stuart, though some departed for personal reasons unrelated to TRF issues. Patricia Lenihan also confirmed she was the member dismissed from the board, but she declined to discuss the particulars.

Long-time executive director Diana Pikulski and TRF president Johnathan Miller acknowledged recent bottom-line fiscals are in the negative, including a deficit of $665,346 at the close of 2005, according to public filings. (Final numbers for 2006 won’t be available until the federal filing deadline in May, but Miller said pre-audit figures indicated another deficit, though less than recorded in 2005