Actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek was named Tuesday, July 15, by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a state commission overseeing horse racing.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Bo Derek to the California Horse Racing Board on Tuesday, reports the Associated Press. The 51-year-old actress was appointed to fill one of two vacant posts on the California Horse Racing Board.

The actress seems the right person for this job, as she has lobbied Congress for the past five years to ban the slaughter of horses, reports the AP, serving as spokeswoman for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. She is also owner of the pet care product company Bless the Beasts.

Horses appear to be one of her great passions, considering the title of her 2002 autobiography is “Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses.”

Bo Derek’s first board meeting will be Thursday at the Del Mar racetrack, per the AP. The seven-member racing board includes Jerry Moss, the co-founder of A&M Records and prominent horse owner; and writer and TV producer David Israel, whose credits include “The Untouchables” and “Midnight Caller.”

The racing board supervises horse racing and parimutuel wagering at racetracks in California, enforces laws and regulations, and sanctions violators.

Bo Derek is best known for films such as “10,” which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for new star of the year in 1980.