Past Honor Guests' Information 2023 - 2012

2023 Honor Guest-Richard Mandella

2023 Honor Guest -
Richard Mandella

 

2023 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring Richard Mandella

 
Richard Mandella has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2023 Honor Guest, Club President Charlie Boden announced today. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is delighted to name Richard Mandella as its 2023 Honor Guest", said Boden. “Richard is a shining example of what past generations traditionally thought of when they considered what a great trainer is - a real “throwback” who has never had more than 40 horses in his barn.  He is steadfast in his care of the animal with a long view of what that animal could accomplish if given the time to flourish.  His care for the horses in his barn is matched by his support of the people who he employs to take such good care of them. He is a consummate professional in every aspect of his trade evidenced by his exemplary integrity record and his body of work as is shown by the great horses he has had his hands on.  His unheralded service to the industry by his continued support of entities devoted to the welfare of the horse is also exemplary. A Hall of Fame inductee in 2001 and the trainer of 9 Breeders’ Cup winners to date, his acceptance of our honor fills a frame on our wall which will make every member of The Thoroughbred Club of America proud.”   
 
Mr. Mandella will be honored by the Club at its 92nd Testimonial Dinner, which will be held at Keeneland on Friday, November 17th, 2023.
 
Richard Mandella’s journey to the Thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame began in Beaumont, California, a rural outpost to the east of Los Angeles where his father, Gene Mandella, was the go-to farrier for a number of local farms. Gene’s son, born Nov. 5, 1950, was naturally drawn to the equine world, juggling high school and hard work at the Three Rings Ranch of George and Connie Ring just long enough to discover he could make some kind of career out of his emerging talent with temperamental Thoroughbreds.
 
Early on, Mandella found a kindred spirit in V.J. “Lefty” Nickerson, a New York-based trainer who hired the young Californian as an assistant. When Nickerson returned to the East in the spring of 1973, he left Mandella in charge of a few horses at Santa Anita. Mandella responded by saddling Elmendorf Farm’s classy Big Spruce to win the prestigious San Luis Rey Stakes by 10 lengths, leaving turf champion Cougar II in his wake.
By the end of 1974, Mandella was training privately for breeder Roger Braugh. Two years later, at the urging of Dr. Buck Wynne, Jr., Mandella went public. In 1977, he broke through with graded stakes victories by the California-breds Bad n’ Big and Now Pending. By 1981 his stable earnings topped the million-dollar mark. The momentum was undeniable.
 
Even in a training colony that included Charlie Whittingham, Bobby Frankel, Wayne Lukas, and Ron McAnally, Mandella was making his presence felt. Owners such as Maxwell Gluck, Marty Wygod, John C. Mabee, R.D. Hubbard, Jonabell Farm, and Herman Sarkowsky were early Mandella adopters, later to be joined by Gerald J. Ford, Claiborne Farm, Alain and Pierre Wertheimer, Rick Porter, Ramona Bass, Burt Bacharach, and B. Wayne Hughes. Such owners brought with them future major winners and champions including Kotashaan, Beholder, Phone Chatter, Gentlemen, Halfbridled, Pleasantly Perfect, and Omaha Beach.
 
The first trainer on the Thoroughbred Club’s list of Honor Guests is James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, cited in 1955 for his work with the likes of Gallant Fox, Omaha, and Nashua, as well as living up to his nickname. Mandella is the 10th trainer so honored, along with Whittingham, Lukas, Preston Burch, Horatio Luro, Woody Stephens, Alec Head, MacKenzie Miller, and Shug McGaughey, who was the Honor Guest in 2013.
 
Unique in the record of Mandella is sending out both dead heat winners of a Grade 1 Stakes, which he accomplished with Beautiful Melody and Reluctant Guest in the 1990 Beverly Hills Handicap. Other extraordinary accomplishments by Mandella include winning four Breeders' Cup races on a single program and guiding one horse (Beholder) through four championship seasons.
 
The trainer attained Hall of Fame status in 2001, some noting with surprise that he made it to the hallowed walls in Saratoga Springs without winning a Kentucky Derby, a Preakness, or a Belmont Stakes. Mandella already had answered by taking a sweeping array of major stakes from coast to coast, including such historic prizes as the Metropolitan Handicap, Haskell Invitational, Early Times Turf Classic, Donn Handicap, Ballerina Stakes, Oaklawn Handicap, and the Pimlico Special, while back home in California he was winning an amazing six straight million-dollar races annually based in the state – two versions each of the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic – between 1996 and 1998. Inspired by his induction, Mandella has gone on to win a Dubai World Cup and add to his current total of nine Breeders’ Cup victories.
 
Mandella also brings to his role as 2023’s Honor Guest a reputation as a passionate advocate for the sport that has given him so much. His time as the long-serving chairman of the Necropsy Committee of the California Horse Racing Board has led to enlightening discoveries in equine injuries. He is a director of the Oak Tree Racing Association, which operated a charitable meeting in California for four decades. He is a steady supporter of organizations like CARMA, which funds Thoroughbred retirement and retraining, and the Gregson Foundation, a leading source of college scholarships for the children of backstretch workers.
 
Mandella and his wife, Randi, have passed on their commitment to racing to the next generation. Their son, Gary Mandella, is his father’s chief assistant and a stakes-winning trainer in his own right, while their daughter, Andrea Birkman, previously served as director of development and donor relations for New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and currently owns a home furnishings boutique in Lexington, Ky.
 
“I can’t express how proud I am to receive this honor,” Mandella said. “I would like to thank the owners who have allowed me to train their horses and the great people that I’ve had working for me through all the years. I especially want to thank my family for allowing me to devote the time to do something I truly love.
 
“As for the horses,” Mandella added, “it’s no real secret. The faster the better. And I’ve found the better they are, the more they’re able to understand my training.”
 
 
For 92 years, The Thoroughbred Club of America Annual Testimonial Dinner has honored persons who have rendered distinguished service to the sport of Thoroughbred racing. To learn more about The Thoroughbred Club of America, visit us online at www.thethoroughbredclub.com. For tickets to the November 17th Testimonial Dinner, please call (859) 254-4282.

2022 Honor Guest-Edward L. Bowen


 

2022 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring Edward L. Bowen

 
Edward L. Bowen has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2022 Honor Guest, Club President Tony Lacy announced today. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is delighted to name Edward Bowen as its 2022 Honor Guest", said Lacy. "Ed is respected worldwide for his integrity, talent and love of racing, and his wide-ranging contributions to the horse industry cannot be overstated. He has been the steward of such cornerstone institutions as the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and BloodHorse, an Eclipse Award-winning journalist, prolific author and guardian of the important history of our great sport. We congratulate Ed and thank him for his lifelong commitment to the betterment of racing."
 
Mr. Bowen will be honored by the Club at its 91st Testimonial Dinner, which will be held at Keeneland on Friday, March 31st, 2023. Designation as the 2022 award recipient reflects postponements of the annual event caused by the COVID pandemic.
 
Bowen, a racing journalist and historian for some 60 years, is a former editor-in-chief of The Blood-Horse magazine and the author of 22 books on horse racing. He also served 24 years as President of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, traditionally the leading source of funding for veterinary research specifically to promote horse health and soundness.
 
Bowen was born on Dec. 23, 1942, in Welch, West Virginia. His family moved to South Florida, and he grew up in Fort Lauderdale. He developed an early interest in horse racing, influenced by horseback riding, reading the Black Stallion books by Walter Farley, and watching locally televised stakes races from Hialeah and Gulfstream Park. Bowen spent post-high school and college summers working for the local Sun-Sentinel newspaper, on the broodmare crew at Ocala Stud in Florida, and as a hot walker and groom at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. In 1963, he secured a writing job at The Blood-Horse in Lexington and transferred from the University of Florida to the University of Kentucky.
 
From 1968-70, he was editor of the monthly Canadian Horse magazine in Toronto, Ontario, then returned to Lexington to become managing editor of The Blood-Horse. In January of 1987, he succeeded his mentor, Kent Hollingsworth, as editor-in-chief. Bowen held that post for five years, was transferred to senior editor in 1992, and left the publication in 1993. He was hired as president of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation in 1994.
 
During his 24 years with Grayson, Bowen felt fortunate to work for such industry leaders as John Hettinger and Dell Hancock, chairmen of the Foundation, plus active and dedicated boards of directors. From 1994 until his retirement at the end of 2018, Bowen's role included support of the board's raising sufficient funds to provide $22 million for research projects. That total was significant in raising to $32.1 million, which was provided to 45 universities to fund 412 projects since 1983. The Foundation supports research for all horses, not only Thoroughbreds.
 
Both during and after his employment at The Blood-Horse, Bowen has been active in writing books commissioned by that firm as well as other publishers. In addition to authoring 22 racing books, he has contributed chapters, forewords, or prefaces for 17 additional volumes on Thoroughbreds and two books on natural attractions open to the public.
 
In addition to The Blood-Horse and Canadian Horse, Bowen's work has been published in the following periodicals: Southern Living, Toronto Star, Bloodstock Breeders' Review (Annual, England), Thoroughbred Times, Lexington Herald-Leader, Sun-Sentinel (South Florida), Courses & Elevage (France), Futurity (Japan), and Jockey Club (Argentina).
 
Bowen has won the following writing awards: Eclipse Award (magazine division), National Turf Writers Association's Walter Haight Award, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Charles Engelhard Award, Pimlico's Old Hilltop Award, ForeWord Magazine's Gold Level designation (Sports Category), and the Ocala-Marion County Chamber of Commerce Journalism Award.
 
Bowen, a Kentucky Colonel, is a Past-President of the Thoroughbred Club of America and a former board member of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. He is currently a trustee of the National Museum of Racing, for which he has served for some 35 years as chairman of its Hall of Fame Nominating Committee and is also chairman of its Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor Selection Committee.
 
Bowen served six years in the United States Army Reserve and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He and his wife, Ruthie, live in Versailles, Ky., and are parents of a son, George. Bowen also is the father of daughters Jennifer Schafhauser (Eric) and Tracy Bowen and of granddaughters Emily Schafhauser and Julia Schafhauser.
 
 
For 91 years, The Thoroughbred Club of America Annual Testimonial Dinner has honored persons who have rendered distinguished service to the sport of Thoroughbred racing. To learn more about The Thoroughbred Club of America, visit us online at www.thethoroughbredclub.com. For tickets to the October 1st Testimonial Dinner, please call (859) 254-4282.
2022 Honor Guest Dinner Program
PROGRAM VIDEO

 

2021 Honor Guest Helen C. Alexander


 

2021 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring Helen C. Alexander

 
Helen Alexander has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2021 Honor Guest, Club President Tony Lacy announced today. Ms. Alexander will be honored by the Club at its 90th Testimonial Dinner. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Helen C. Alexander as our 2021 Honor Guest", said Lacy. “Helen’s lifelong passion for Thoroughbred racing and breeding, born in her family’s legacy and stoked in charting her own successful path, is guided by her dedication to service and excellence. Her commitment to improving the breed, championing integrity and tirelessly working to better the sport has made her a respected industry leader, horsewoman and friend." The 90th Testimonial Dinner will be held at Keeneland on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Designation as the 2021 award reflects postponements of the annual event caused by the COVID pandemic.
 
Named for her grandmother, Helen Campbell Kleberg, Helen C. Alexander comes from a long line of women with a strong sense of independence, adventure, and the outdoors, as well as a great love of horses. Her early years were spent in Pennsylvania riding and foxhunting with her siblings under the watchful eye of their mother, Helen Kleberg Groves. 
 
Deeply rooted with lessons learned at the ancestral home King Ranch, Ms. Alexander experienced first hand the importance of strong breeding, as well as being a good steward of the land. The first grandchild of Robert J. Kleberg, Jr., she was fortunate to spend time with him as he shared his theories about breeding, the importance of pedigree and helped her to develop a keen eye for the good conformation necessary to breed champion racehorses. 
 
For nearly two decades, Ms. Alexander managed the Thoroughbred division of King Ranch in Lexington, Kentucky. In addition to great racing success, King Ranch Farm was annually among the leading consignors of yearlings.
 
Ms. Alexander has continued this pattern of success as an Owner, Breeder, and sales-topping consignor at her Middlebrook Farm. Notable horses she has owned, bred, or co-bred include Champions Althea, Yamanin Paradise, Diapason, and two-time Eclipse Champion Covfefe, as well as Grade 1 winners Arch, Aldiza, Acoma, and Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner Bayern. Consistently, her Middlebrook yearlings, now included in the Gainesway consignments, ranked among those with the highest percentage of stakes horses sold at auction.
 
Throughout her notable career, Ms. Alexander has devoted years of service to the Thoroughbred industry. She has served as a steward of The Jockey Club and a trustee of the Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation, past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. She has been a key board member of Keeneland Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Breeders’ Cup, Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, the Gluck Equine Research Foundation at the University of Kentucky, and Chair of the Graded Stakes Committee.
 
As Chair of the Bluegrass Land Conservancy, Ms. Alexander has been a leader in conserving more than 30,000 acres of Central Kentucky land. She was also involved in gaining official designation of eighteen miles of Old Frankfort Pike as a National Scenic Byway. Ms. Alexander thus continues her grandfather’s tradition of conservation, with a great respect for nature, the land, and water. In her current role as Chair of the Kleberg Foundation, Ms. Alexander pursues the support of wildlife and habitat conservation, medical and scientific research, veterinary research as well as improving the quality of life in South Texas communities through various local organizations.

 

2020 Honor Guest-Arthur B. Hancock, III


 

2020 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring Arthur B. Hancock, III

 
Arthur B. Hancock III has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2020 Honor Guest, Club President Katherine LaMonica announced today. Mr. Hancock will be honored by the Club at its 89th Testimonial Dinner. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Arthur B. Hancock III as our 2020 Honor Guest", said LaMonica. “Arthur represents the Thoroughbred industry in its most sincere form, hailing from a family rooted strongly in tradition, while forging his own unique legacy of horsemanship and leadership in our sport.” Mr. Hancock will be honored by the Club at its 89th Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Monday evening, May 2, 2022.
 
Arthur B. Hancock III is the owner of Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He has made his mark breeding, racing, and selling Thoroughbreds, as well as putting his personal stamp on the development of Stone Farm and its ongoing success. A fourth-generation horseman, Hancock grew up on historic Claiborne Farm. As a young man, he worked a year at the racetrack for Hall of Fame Trainer Eddie Neloy and returned to Claiborne to work as the assistant broodmare and yearling manager under the tutelage of his father. In 1970, Hancock leased 100 acres and launched Stone Farm. Today, the farm comprises 2,200 acres and has been in operation for fifty years.
 
As a market breeder, Hancock bred, raised and sold Belmont Stakes and Preakness winner Risen Star and Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus. For farm clients, Hancock raised and sold two Horse of the Year honorees, Sunday Silence (1989) and Bricks and Mortar (2019). As an owner, Hancock campaigned Sunday Silence, Gato Del Sol, Goodbye Halo, Menifee, Strodes Creek, Harlan and a cast of others to win the Kentucky Derby twice, the Kentucky Oaks, the Preakness Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and other notable Grade 1 races. In Europe, Stone Farm-raised standouts have included Classic colt Hawaiian Sound, Champion Filly Rainbow View, and Champion Juvenile Colt Air Force Blue. Stone Farm has produced nearly 180 stakes winners, including the winners of more than 75 graded stakes. In addition, Stone Farm was home to two-time Leading Sire Halo, who was the sire of Champion Sunday Silence, himself a pivotal international stallion.
 
In his capacity as an industry leader, Hancock has served on the Kentucky Racing Commission, as a director of Keeneland Association and Fasig-Tipton Company, and as a member of The Jockey Club. Especially visible has been Hancock’s leadership in fostering integrity in racing. He is a cofounder and outspoken supporter of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA), a growing force dedicated to eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in racing. He is an active supporter of Thoroughbred aftercare, and living by example, he relocated homebred Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol back to Stone Farm from Germany at the conclusion of his stallion career.
 
Hancock is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was co-captain of the swim team and won the Southeastern Conference in the 100-yard free style. In addition, Hancock is an accomplished songwriter and musician. He has produced several collections of original music, and performers the caliber of Willie Nelson and Ray Price have covered his songs.
 
Hancock and wife Staci have been married for 43 years and have raised six children. They currently have two grandchildren.
 
The Thoroughbred Club Testimonial Dinner was inaugurated in 1932, the year the Club was founded, to recognize distinguished contributions of leadership as well as success in the Thoroughbred industry. The first recipient was Col. E. R. Bradley, and other winners include William Woodward Sr., three generations of the Hancock family of Claiborne Farm, plus Ted Bassett, Shug McGaughey, Alice Chandler, Chris McCarron, and The Honorable Brereton C. Jones. To learn more about The Thoroughbred Club of America, visit us online at www.thethoroughbredclub.com. 
 2020 Honor Guest Dinner Program
Click to download the evening's program

 

Program Video

2019 Honor Guest -The Honorable Brereton C. Jones

2019 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring The Honorable Brereton C. Jones

 
The Honorable Brereton C. Jones has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2019 Honor Guest, Club President Katherine LaMonica announced today. Mr. Jones will be honored by the Club at its 88th Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Friday evening, September 27th. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Brereton C. Jones as our 2019 Honor Guest," said LaMonica. ”Governor Jones’ commitment and success in the Thoroughbred industry, along with the state of Kentucky, make him a deserving recipient of the Honor Guest award.”
 
Brereton C. Jones was born June 27, 1939, and raised in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the son of Bartow and Nedra Jones.
 
A successful student athlete with a straight-A average in high school, Jones attended the University of Virginia on a football scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and returned home to West Virginia. Upon establishing residency in Huntington and showing a keen sense for business, within three years was a successful developer of residential and commercial properties. Wanting to contribute to his home state, Jones decided to run for public office and became a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Two years later, he was chosen as the youngest Minority Leader in state history.
 
In the early 1970s, after marrying Elizabeth (Libby) Lloyd of Midway, in Woodford County, Jones moved to Kentucky, where he and Libby established Airdrie Stud as a thriving thoroughbred operation of international renown. The Joneses have two children: Lucy, and Bret, who is married to Tyler Bell Jones; along with three grandchildren: “B”, Jack and Thomas who are their pride and joy.
 
Brereton Jones made political history by being elected Governor of Kentucky from 1991-1995 and Lt. Governor from 1987-1991 both by the largest margins in state history. When he took office, the state expenditures were exceeding the budget by nearly $400 million. The tax refund checks had to be held the first two years or they would have bounced. When he left office, he left the largest surplus in Kentucky history, over $300 million.  
 
Brereton Jones is a founding member of the Breeders’ Cup and KEEP (Kentucky Equine Education Project) and currently serves as a Member of the Jockey Club. In 2008 Jones was the recipient of the Warner L. Jones Horseman of the Year Award for outstanding service to the Thoroughbred industry. He was also instrumental in the formation of the KBIF (Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund), which uses sales tax from Kentucky stallions as breeders’ awards to all types of Kentucky bred horses including thoroughbreds, quarter horses, and pleasure horses.
 
Brereton and Libby Jones’ Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky stands 9 stallions including the successful and fashionable young sires Cairo Prince, Creative Cause and Collected. To date, Airdrie has bred over 150 stakes winners and earners of nearly $100,000,000 – an honor roll that includes more than 20 Grade 1 winners. Jones is consistently among the leading breeders in the country. 
 
Arguably, Mr. Jones’ greatest racing exploits came when teaming up with trainer Larry Jones to win the 2015 Kentucky Oaks with Lovely Maria, the 2012 Kentucky Oaks with Believe You Can and the 2008 Kentucky Oaks with Proud Spell, who would also win the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga and earn an Eclipse Award for the Outstanding Three-Year-Old filly in America. 
 
The Thoroughbred Club Testimonial Dinner was inaugurated in 1932, the year the club was founded, to recognize distinguished contributions of leadership as well as success in the Thoroughbred industry. The first recipient was Col. E. R. Bradley, and other winners include William Woodward Sr., three generations of the Hancock family of Claiborne Farm, plus Ted Bassett, Shug McGaughey, Alice Chandler, Chris McCarron, and Josephine Abercrombie.

2018 Honor Guest - Josephine Abercrombie


 

2018 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring Josephine Abercrombie


Josephine Abercrombie has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2018 Honor Guest, Club President W. Gray Lyster IV announced today. Ms. Abercrombie will be honored by the Club at its 87th Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Friday evening, September 28th. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Josephine Abercrombie as our 2018 Honor Guest," said Lyster. "Her accomplishments as an Owner, Breeder, and Farm Operator, as well as her lifetime support for the entire industry, make her an obvious selection as the Thoroughbred Club of America’s Honor Guest."

Horses have always been a part of Josephine Abercrombie’s life. An accomplished rider in her youth, she was very active and competed successfully in the Saddlebred world. In 1949, she made her first foray into the Thoroughbred business when she purchased a group of sales yearlings in a partnership that included her father, Houston oilman J. S. Abercrombie. Three years later, she and her father acquired 1,348 acres in Woodford County, Kentucky and named it Pin Oak. The original Pin Oak raised Simmental cattle, grew tobacco, asparagus and other crops, and began the business of raising Thoroughbreds. Success came quickly to Pin Oak’s budding racing stable with MAKE A PLAY winning the Astarita S. in 1953, followed by a win in the 1955 Louisiana Derby with ROMAN PATROL. Other major winners for Pin Oak in the early years were ELOCUTIONIST, TOUCHING WOOD, TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, COOL, and GREASE.

In the 1980s, Ms. Abercrombie focused on establishing a successful operation to provide bloodstock for her passion, Thoroughbred racing. She designed and developed a new farm on U.S. 60, near the original property. The new Pin Oak was a labor of love, transforming a 750-acre hunting preserve into an efficient, functional Thoroughbred nursery from the ground up. Every aspect was carefully considered and dedicated to raising good horses – planting grass and trees, building roads and fences, constructing barns and residences.

A prominent feature of the new farm included standing a select group of quality stallions, which has included prominent sires SKY CLASSIC, PEAKS AND VALLEYS, MARIA’S MON and BROKEN VOW. Recent additions to the roster include exciting young sire homebred ALTERNATION.
Ms. Abercrombie’s dedication to her horses has been justly rewarded. Pin Oak’s LAUGH AND BE MERRY earned the Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Female and future stallion SKY CLASSIC garnered the Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Horse for Sam-Son Farm before being recruited for the Pin Oak stallion roster. Other champions were PEAKS AND VALLEYS, who earned Canada’s Sovereign Award as Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old Colt, and HASTEN TO ADD collected the Sovereign as Champion Grass Horse. Over the years, Ms. Abercrombie and Pin Oak Stud have been honored by its peers with several prominent awards – in 1995 as the national Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA); in 2005 she received the Hardboot Award presented by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTA/KTOB), and in 2012 she was again honored, this time with the William T. Young Humanitarian Award, also presented by KTA/KTOB.

The relentless pursuit of assembling a top-notch broodmare band continues daily and has resulted in numerous quality runners since its inception. To date, over 100 stakes winners have been produced or campaigned by Pin Oak, including multiple champion-siring BROKEN VOW, a homebred G2 stakes winner who anchors the stallion roster. Other Grade 1 stakes include MISSED THE STORM, CONFESSIONAL, SEE HOW SHE RUNS and CHANGEINTHEWEATHER. Additional top performers from the Pin Oak program include such Graded stakes-winners and top earners as current Pin Oak stallion ALTERNATION, BEDANKEN, BROWNIE POINTS (dam of 2018 multiple Graded stakes-winning homebred SYNCHRONY), CRYPTOGRAPH, EUPHONY, GOLD MEDAL DANCER, and OVERHEARD, plus $500,000-plus earner ALTERNATE (dam of ALTERNATION).
 

2018 Honor Guest Dinner Program
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2017 Honor Guest - G. Watts Humphrey, Jr.

 
2017 Thoroughbred Club of America Testimonial Dinner
Honoring G. Watts Humphrey Jr.
 

G. Watts Humphrey Jr. has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2017 Honor Guest, Club President W. Gray Lyster IV announced today. Humphrey will be honored by the Club at its 86th Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Friday evening, September 29th. "The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name G. Watts Humphrey Jr. as our 2017 Honor Guest," said Lyster. "His lifetime accomplishments as an owner and breeder, as well as his support and love for the industry, are something to be honored and celebrated."

G. Watts Humphrey Jr. was born in Cleveland, Ohio in June of 1944. He is the grandson of George M. Humphrey, a prominent Thoroughbred owner who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. While earning his Bachelor's Degree from Yale University, Humphrey spent his summers working at his Aunt Pansy Poe’s Shawnee Farm. After graduation he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for three and a half years where he earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant-Infantry Company Commander. While enlisted in the Marines, Humphrey earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Navy Commendation Medal, and three Purple Hearts. From 1970 to 1972, Humphrey returned to education where he earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard University. After graduation Humphrey returned to Shawnee Farm, which he purchased after his aunt’s death in 1979.

Humphrey’s Thoroughbred industry affiliations include The Jockey Club, American Horse Council, and National Thoroughbred Racing Association. He is Chairman of the Board for Churchill Downs, Inc., and serves on the Executive Committee for the Keeneland Association, Inc. Humphrey has also served as Vice Chairman and Chairman for the Blood-Horse, Inc., along with serving as Treasurer, Vice President, Chairman, Director for the Board of Members and Trustees for Breeders’ Cup, Ltd.

Humphrey is President of GWH Holdings, Inc., Chairman of the International Plastics Equipment Group and The Conair Group, and Director of Smithfield Trust Company. He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer for Centria and The Techs, along with Executive positions in the National Steel Corporation, all based out of Pittsburg, PA. Humphrey served as a Trustee for Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, Vice Chairman and Trustee for Shaker Village of Peasant Hill, Director of Wausau Paper Corp, and Trustee of the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, Humphrey has served as Director for the Pittsburgh Symphony Society, and held the positions of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and Director for the Federal Reserve Bank-Fourth District in Cleveland, Ohio.

As a Thoroughbred owner and partner in the St. Louis Cardinals MLB team, G. Watts Humphrey Jr. achieved a sports double in October 2011 when he earned the leading Thoroughbred owner title at the prestigious Keeneland Race Course Fall Meet one day after watching the Cardinals win the World Series. Humphrey raises Thoroughbreds on his 1,000-acre Shawnee Farm near Harrodsburg, Kentucky. He typically has more than 50 racehorses at the track, divided between his daughter and son-in-law, Vicki and Phil Oliver, and his longtime trainer George “Rusty” Arnold II. Humphrey’s racing stable focuses on fillies that will be channeled back to his breeding operation. Top runners include Grade 1 winners, Clear Mandate, Centre Court, and Personal Diary as well as multiple graded stakes winners Frivolous, Rey de Café, She’s Not Here, and Communique.

Humphrey married Sally Hastings Schriber in July of 1966. They have three children: Susan H. Keller, Victoria H. Oliver and G. Watts Humphrey, III. The Humphreys have the distinction of each having bred a classic winner. Mrs. Humphrey is the breeder of 1980 Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk, and Humphrey is the breeder of 1985 Belmont Stakes winner Crème Fraiche in partnership with an aunt, Mrs. Pamela Firman.



 2017 Honor Guest Dinner Program
Click to download the evening's program

 

2016 Honor Guest - Christopher J. McCarron


2016 Honor Guest Scroll

Born on March 27,1955, in the Dorchester area of Boston, Chris followed his brother Gregg in becoming a jockey. His early tutelage was under Odie Clelland, who decades earlier had provided similar training to Eddie Arcaro. Chris started as a hotwalker in the summer of 1971 and after graduation from high school got his schooling as a rider at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH and then at Laurel and Bowie Race Courses in Maryland.

Chris’s first race was on January 24,1974, and he won on his 10th mount, Erezev, in early February. He remained on the Maryland circuit for four years, during which he won the Eclipse Award for apprentice jockey in 1974 and led all jockeys in number of wins in both 1974 and 1975. His 546 wins in 1974 set a record for a single year which stood for 15 years.

Chris moved to the tough Southern California circuit and quickly proved successful even in a jockey colony with such stars as Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay. He eventually won 25 Southern California meeting titles for most wins. In 1980, he led the nation in wins for a third time, and he led all jockeys in money won in 1980, 1981, 1984, and 1991. In addition to his successes in California, Chris compiled a symmetrical record in the Triple Crown, winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes twice each, with Alysheba, Go for Gin, Pine Bluff, Danzig Connection, and Touch Gold.

Alysheba, Horse of the Year in 1988, was one of 28 champions Chris rode to major victories, and the others included additional Horse of the Year honorees Lady’s Secret, Sunday Silence, Tiznow, Criminal Type, and the beloved John Henry. Chris’s record in the Breeders’ Cup was similarly spectacular, as he won nine of the climactic events. Five of his Breeders’ Cup wins came in the Classic, on Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Alphabet Soup, and Tiznow (twice).

Chris was the first jockey to amass $200 million in purse earnings, and when he retired in 2002 he was still the all-time leader with $263,985,905. He won 7,141 races from 34,240 mounts, for a robust 20.8%. The victories included more than a thousand stakes, of which approximately half were graded.

The many honors Chris received included election to the Hall of Fame in 1989, another Eclipse Award for jockeys, George Woolf and Mike Venezia Memorial Awards, an ESPY, two City of Hope Victor Awards, and five Seagram Seven Crowns of Sports Awards. He was the first full time professional rider to be elected to The Jockey Club, and he is a member of its Thoroughbred Safety Committee. He was co-founder with Tim Conway and Judy McCarron of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund.

Chris’s outgoing and articulate style are suited for on-camera commentary, and he has done racing coverage for ABC, NBC, ESPN, and TVG. He also was race designer for the movie Seabiscuit, in which he portrayed Charlie Kurtsinger, rider of War Admiral. Upon retirement, he had been tapped by Frank Stronach to extend his reach into track management, and Chris had stints as general manager of Santa Anita and as vice president of Industry Relationships for Stronach’s vast racing and entertainment enterprise.

However, Chris had a personal goal, to develop a jockey school, and he was not only the inspiration but the architect of the North American Riding Academy. The Academy immediately became affiliated with Bluegrass Community Technical College, and the curriculum offers a pathway to various other horsemanship jobs in the industry, in addition to race riding. McCarron has retired as head of NARA, having sent out two dozen graduates to win more than 3,400 races and nearly $60 million in purses through mid-2016.

In honor of his lengthy career demonstrating the highest levels of talent in competition, his integrity, concern for the horse, and dedication to the best interests of the sport of Thoroughbred racing, the Thoroughbred Club of America, assembled at Keeneland Race Course on this 25th day of September in the year 2016, hereby presents this testimonial scroll to Chris McCarron and welcomes him as an honorary lifetime member.

2015 Honor Guest - Tom Durkin


2015 Honor Guest Press Release

Tom Durkin has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2015 Honored Guest, Club President Shannon Arvin announced today. Durkin will be honored by the Club at its 84th Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Tuesday evening, September 29th.

"Every racing fan knows Tom's iconic voice and historic calls," said Arvin. "His contagious excitement for the game and his character have greatly enhanced the racing experience for forty-three years, and we look forward to honoring his career and contributions."

A native of Chicago, Durkin studied drama at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. In 1971, he was hired as a race caller at Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred races at county fairs in Wisconsin, which he did each summer through 1975. The following year he was employed by the Daily Racing Form as a call taker responsible for documenting the comments and statistics used in the official charts of the races at Cahokia Downs and Thistledown Racecourse. Later, Durkin went on to work as a race caller at Florida Downs, Miles Park, Quad City, Balmoral Park, Hialeah Park, Meadowlands, and Gulfstream Park. In 1990 Durkin was hired to call races at the New York Racing Association's Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. Durkin has called races at more than 50 tracks in six countries.

Tom Durkin is one of horse racing's most identifiable voices. He served as the chief TV voice for the Breeders' Cup, from its inception through 2005. He was a longtime broadcaster on NBC as part of the network's sportscasting crew for horse races, providing analysis, commentary and features in addition to the descriptions of races. His work at NBC included coverage of the Triple Crown for a number of years.

Durkin retired in 2014 and, in recognition of his career-long dedication, he was awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit in January 2015. At the Eclipse Awards, he recalled the names of horses that made up his most memorable calls, names such as Tiznow, Cigar, Personal Ensign, Winning Colors, Lady's Secret, Rachel Alexandra, Curlin, Rags To Riches, Fourstardave, Wise Dan, Easy Goer, Sunday Silence, Real Quiet, Victory Gallop and Alysheba. (Click horse names to relive Tom Durkin's famous calls). 

Despite his retirement from race calling, Durkin has continued to serve the industry, as master of ceremonies of various events, including the Hall of Fame inductions, the OwnerView Thoroughbred Owners' Conference, and the Pan American Racing Conference.

For over 84 years, The Thoroughbred Club of America Annual Testimonial Dinner has honored persons who have rendered distinguished service to the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

2014 Honor Guests - Dr. Larry R. Bramlage, Dr. Edward Hagyard Fallon, &. Dr. A. Gary Lavin


2014 Honor Guest Press Release

Three veterinarians, Dr. Larry R. Bramlage, Dr. Edward H. Fallon and Dr. A. Gary Lavin have been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as Honored Guests, Club President Happy Broadbent announced today. All three will be honored by the Club at its 83rd Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Sunday evening, September 28th.

"These distinguished honorees are legends in equine veterinary medicine," said Broadbent. "Through their respective accomplishments as a surgeon, reproductive specialist, and racetrack veterinarian, these three pioneers have all improved the welfare of the Thoroughbred. Particularly in a year when the world has focused on how Thoroughbreds are treated, we look forward to honoring these three remarkable men and telling the story of the best in veterinary care."

Dr. Larry Bramlage has distinguished himself as a teacher, researcher, and leader within his profession but is best known as an orthopedic surgeon. He is the most highly sought veterinarian for countless owners and trainers whenever orthopedic problems need diagnosis or surgery.

Among his best known cases was repairing Personal Ensign's fracture which had appeared to be career-ending. After surgery, Personal Ensign returned to continue her unbeaten career, culminating in a dramatic victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

A native of Kansas, Dr. Bramlage graduated from Kansas State University and taught at The Ohio State University before moving to Lexington in 1989 to join Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where he became a partner in 1992.

Dr. Fallon represents the fourth generation of a family of veterinarians whose connection to Kentucky dates from 1875, when a Scottish-educated veterinarian named Edward Thomas Hagyard was called to Kentucky to consult on a valuable Shorthorn bull. An equine practice grew from that visit.

Third-generation Charles Edward Hagyard was joined in the practice in 1940 by Arthur Davidson and William McGee, which completed the team that for decades was known as Hagyard-Davidson-McGee (now Hagyard Equine Medical Institute).

Dr. Ed Fallon is the son of Dr. Charles Hagyard's sister. He graduated from Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1956, and his son Luke Hagyard Fallon, a fifth generation equine veterinarian, graduated from Cornell in 1996.

In taking his turn of stewardship of the revered old firm, Dr. Ed Fallon was instrumental in bringing about an era of increased efficiency in broodmare management. He utilized and promoted such scientific developments as ovarian palpation to determine pregnancy in mares and use of artificial lighting to stimulate estrous cycles.

Dr. Lavin is the son of well-known racing secretary Allan Lavin and grew up in the sport. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary college in 1962 and for many years was a practitioner and surgeon on the race track. The many honors he received reflect the quality of care he gave to clients and their horses. They include his alma mater's Bellwether Medal for Distinguished Leadership, status as a Distinguished Life Member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and designation as a Distinguished Practitioner of the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners.

Further indication of the respect he has earned within his profession was the AAEP's establishment of the Lavin Cup for Equine Welfare in 1996.

Dr. Lavin has given his time and leadership to many roles, having been president of the AAEP and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, as well as steward of The Jockey Club, trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, The Breeders' Cup, and presently as director of Keeneland and as vice chairman of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Lavin and his family operate Longfield Farm in Goshen, Ky. Lavin's wife, Betsy, serves on the Kentucky Racing Commission, and their sons are involved in bloodstock agency and equine insurance.

2013 Honor Guest - Mr. Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey III


2013 Honor Guest Scroll

Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. “ Shug” McGaughey III has been selected as the Thoroughbred Club of America Honored Guest. He will be honored by the Club at its 82nd Testimonial Dinner at Keeneland Race Course on Sunday evening, September 29th.

“The Testimonial Dinner was established in 1932 and the distinguished individuals honored by the Thoroughbred Club of America include a number of training legends such as Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, Horatio Luro, Woody Stephens, Charlie Whittingham, Mack Miller and D. Wayne Lukas. Shug McGaughey is one of the greatest trainers of our time, and he deserves to join the distinguished group of horsemen selected for this honor,” Broadbent said.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, McGaughey started training at Keeneland in 1979. After working for some notable stables, McGaughey was named trainer for the Phipps Stable in New York in 1985. Just three years later, he won the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer of 1988, and in 2004 was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.

McGaughey has conditioned four Hall of Fame horses -- Personal Ensign, Easy Goer, Inside Information and the newly-inducted Lure. His other champions include Heavenly Prize, Queena, Rhythm, Smuggler, Storm Flag Flying and Vanlandingham.

In total, McGaughey has won nine Breeders’ Cup races, tied for second on the all-time list behind D. Wayne Lukas. Highlighting his Breeders’ Cup resume is one of the most thrilling finishes in history: Personal Ensign’s dramatic rally to nip Lukas’ filly Winning Colors by a nose in the 1988 Distaff at Churchill Downs, to retire undefeated in 13 starts. In 2013, McGaughey earned his first Kentucky Derby win with Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable’s homebred Orb. McGaughey had previously finished second in the 1989 Kentucky Derby with Easy Goer, who went on to give him his first Triple Crown race victory in that year’s Belmont Stakes.To date, McGaughey ranks as the 10th all-time leading trainer with nearly $120 million in earnings, and after more than 8,000 starts, he is approaching the 1,800-win milestone.

2013 Kentucky Derby Winner - Orb



Photo Courtesy of Bill Straus

2012 Honor Guest - Ms. Penny Chenery

On September 30, 2012, The Thoroughbred Club recognized Ms. Penny Chenery as the recepient of the 2012 Honor Guest.