A TRIBUTE TO TED BASSETT

Click above to watch a tribute to Ted Bassett
(Image : KY Forward - Footage : Keeneland)

JAMES E “TED” BASSETT III
Distinguished Citizen Award
Patriot Awards

Ted Bassett began working for the Keeneland Association in 1968, initially as the assistant to Louis Lee Haggin II. In 1969, Bassett became Keeneland’s president, and he served in that capacity until 1986, when he became chairman of the board. In 2003, Bassett became a Keeneland trustee, and he now holds the title of trustee emeritus. The entirety of his Keeneland tenure currently spans 42 years, and coincides with the association’s greatest period of growth.

SERVICE ABOVE SELF AND THE UNBREAKABLE
WILL TO NEVER EVER GIVE UP.

WILLIAM S. FARISH TO RECEIVE ECLIPSE AWARD OF MERIT

William S. Farish
(Painting : David Griffiths)

WILLIAM S. FARISH

William S. Farish will be honoured with the Eclipse Award of Merit for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in Thoroughbred racing, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The Lane’s End Farm head will receive the award at the Eclipse Awards ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 18.

“I am so honored to have been selected for a sport which has given me and my family so much pleasure and enjoyment for the past 35 years,” Farish said. “I am humbled to be chosen to join this list of outstanding people who have received this Award of Merit, many of whom have been longtime friends.”

William S. Farish is currently a steward and vice chairman of The Jockey Club, a director and former chair of the executive committee of the Breeders’ Cup, a member of the board of directors of the Keeneland Association, and a Keeneland trustee. The prominent owner/breeder was also chairman of the board of Churchill Downs from 1992-2001, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of Saint James between 2001-2004.

“Will Farish is deeply involved in every phase of the Thoroughbred Industry,” said Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. “If you follow the life cycle of the Thoroughbred each stage from mating, breeding, raising, registration, sales, training, racing, and then back to the farm for breeding, Will has positively impacted each step along the way. His knowledge, passion and willingness to give his time for the betterment of the industry and the sport have meant so much for the modern Thoroughbred world. We are grateful to have him serve as a trustee of Keeneland, and appreciate his advice and counsel.”

Earlier this summer, the William Stamps Farish Fund donated $1 million to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Farish, a member of the PDJF board, is currently working to help raise more than $10 million to provide a continuous fund for disabled riders.

“The more I explored the situation, the more I realized that a sustaining pool of monies was necessary,” Farish commented. “I feel that everyone who is associated with our sport realizes that a permanent source of funding is needed improve the lives of these disabled riders.”

Born in Houston, Texas, Farish purchased his first Thoroughbred in 1963. He is a two-time recipient of the Eclipse Award as leading breeder and has raced no fewer than 150 stakes winners, including 1972 Preakness Stakes hero Bee Bee Bee.

Summerhill welcomes Keeneland delegation

[L-R Back row] Geoffrey Russell, David Switzer, Dr Stuart Brown, John Greely. Front row [L-R] Adrian Todd & Chauncey MorrisSouth Africa has been privileged to host a high powered delegation from Kentucky for the past 5 days. The 6 guests addressed breeding seminars in Johannesburg and Kwa Zulu Natal, attended a series of meetings with Industry representatives in 3 cities, and experienced first hand our race tracks and stud farms.

On Sunday night the lawns of Hartford House resounded with the beat of war drums as the zulu dancers welcomed the guests to Summerhill Stud, before a 5-course dinner was served on the verandah overlooking the cherry blossom trees and lawns. In addition to Mick and Cheryl Goss and the Summerhill managers, Caroline and Byron from the Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and Dr Alan Bechard and his wife Robyn - breeders of the sensational miler NATIONAL SPIRIT (9 wins and 12 placings from 24 starts and last week’s winner of the richest race on the sand - The Emerald Cup) - were also guests on the night.

“This is by some distance the most high powered United States delegation to visit our shores,” said host Mick Goss. “It was all the more flattering to us as they came off 2 weeks of the biggest thoroughbred auction in the world to be here. Their visit reminds us all just how valuable contact with these people can be and about the opportunities that can flow from mutual cooperation. There is also a window of opportunity here for people to benefit by the information flow that can accrue from this visit.”

The delegation consisted of the following individuals:

Geoffrey G Russell, Director of Sales, Keeneland Association Inc. As reported in the September 6 edition of The Bloodhorse “Now in his tenth season at Keeneland - the last five as director of sales -  Russell has been called a maestro of the sales ring who conducts the proceedings with authority and finesse, tempered always by his awareness of the unique nature of his place in the scheme of things. Russell describes his role during a sale as part fireman, part policeman - who must meet the unique challenge of making sure that seller and buyer both leave the pavilion a satisfied customer - citing the old joke about knowing you have a problem when the buyer starts by saying “You sold me a horse…” instead of “I bought a horse…”

This year’s September sale set a world record for a thoroughbred auction record for gross revenue for the third year in a row with USD399,791,800 exchanging hands.  The average  also grew 3.7%, from USD108,420 to USD112,427. And the median advanced 12.5%, from USD40,000 to USD45,000.  As Geoffrey said “It was a spectacular sale from start to finish. Book one (in the set of the sale’s catalogues) set the tone, and it (the positive momentum) continued all the way through. We had a very deep middle market, which we had anticipated. It was proven yet again that Keeneland truly is a global marketplace.”

David L Switzer, Executive Director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association Inc .  The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association  was established in 1983 with two primary goals. The first was to unite the industry by addressing long-term problems and representing the Thoroughbred industry on a national and international basis. The second was to maintain the highest standards of racing, breeding and training in the Commonwealth.  

Dr Stuart Brown, a partner and leading veterinarian at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute 

John J Greely IV, owner and syndicate manager at Wintergreen Stallion Station in Kentucky.

Adrian Todd, Program Coordinator from the ‘Communicating for Agriculture Exchange Program’.  For more than 20 years the Communicating for Agriculture Exchange Program has specialized in helping young adults gain training experience overseas. Training is offered in many categories including agriculture, horticulture, enology, equine, turf management, apiary and citrus, giving young people the opportunity to learn in many different cultural and training settings. Earlier this year the Keeneland Association, in conjunction with the Communicating for Agriculture International Exchange Program (C.A.E.P.), launched a Keeneland Scholars Program to provide internships abroad for young professionals in the Thoroughbred industry. The program funds visa and travel expenses, allowing scholars to spend up to 12 months living and working in the Thoroughbred industry abroad. Each student receives practical training in a variety of areas, including farm management, general horsemanship, veterinary techniques, racehorse management and training, sales preparation and organization, bloodstock transactions and marketing.

Chauncey Morris, Keeneland sales marketing associate.

Second international sponsor for Goldcircle

Following the Dubai Racing Club’s sponsorship of All Stars Day, Goldcircle has also announced that The Falcon Sprint and Goldfields Sprint for three-year-old males and females respectively will each carry added stakes of R60 000 and be run over 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday 30 September in order to utilise a race sponsorship offered by the USA-based Keeneland Association.

The Keeneland Association will hold a seminar at Turffontein Racecourse on Friday 29 September and has also generously offered a $20 000 grant to be utilised for boosting the prize money of suitable races at the race meeting at Turffontein the next day.

In order to take advantage of the grant, both the Falcon and Goldfields sprints have been moved from 10 October as originally programmed and will be run on Saturday 30 September instead.

The Keeneland Association Falcon Sprint and the Keeneland Association Goldfields Sprint will each carry prize money of R185 000 and nominations for both races will close at 9am on Friday 22 September. Final acceptances will fall due at 10am on Tuesday 26 September.

Two of the minor races originally programmed for the Turffontein meeting on Saturday 30 September – the MR66 Handicap over 1000m (event 5 in the trainers’ brochure) and a Maiden Plate over 1160m (event 9 in the trainers’ brochure) – will now be run on 10 October in order to accommodate the two feature races.

The Falcon and Goldfields are the first feature events for three-year-olds of the season in Johannesburg and provide part of the build-up to the Grade 2 Dingaans and the Steinhoff Fillies Mile at the Steinhoff Summer Cup race meeting on the last Saturday in November.

Keeneland is a combination of a racecourse and a sales company near Lexington in the heart of the famous Kentucky bluegrass region. Keeneland strives to maintain horseracing’s finest traditions and promotes the industry through sales, live racing and simulcast racing. It’s Keeneland Association Contributions Programme has a special interest in projects related to thoroughbred breeding and racing.

“Phumelela is delighted to be hosting the Keeneland Association seminar at Turffontein,” said Robert Garner, general manager marketing and communications at Phumelela. “Keeneland is planning on bringing a team of seven to South Africa, including a breeder, an equine surgeon and an equine internship co-ordinator. The seminar will be aimed at owners, breeders, trainers, racing operators and horseracing writers.”