Winners, Finalists and Official Sponsors Announced for TOBA National Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 11, 2023

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced today winners, finalists and official sponsors for the 38th annual TOBA National Awards.

The TOBA National Awards will consist of two days of presentations. The National Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Ky. and the National Awards Luncheon which honors breeders from 20 states and Canada will be held on Friday, September 8, 2023 at WinStar Farm.

The finalists for the National Owner of the Year are Peter M. Brant, Godolphin, Hronis Racing, Klaravich Stables, and Winchell Thoroughbreds. The three finalists for the National Breeder of the Year are Godolphin, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC., and Summer Wind Equine.

Other TOBA national award winners include Dreaming of Julia, dam of Malathaat, who has been named as the National Broodmare of the Year; Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds & Woodford Racing who will be presented with the Cot Campbell Partnership of the Year Award; Invaluable, who will be honored as Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, presented by the National HBPA, and Michael Blowen who will be presented with the Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award.

The Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year will go to Satins Angel, owned by Alexa Lee while Greg Goodman will receive the Robert N. Clay Award, which recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.

In addition to the winners announced today, three awards will be announced live at the dinner on Saturday evening. The three awards that will be announced live are the National Owner of the Year, National Breeder of the Year and Small Breeder of the Year.

A complete list of state winners is as follows:

State Breeders of the Year:

Arkansas: John E. Anthony
Arizona: Marvin Fleming
California: Nick Alexander
Canada: Adena Springs and Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Bennett
Florida: Arindel
Indiana: Greg Justice
Iowa: Allen Poindexter
Kentucky: Godolphin
Louisiana: Allied Racing Stables LLC
Maryland: Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman
Minnesota: Lothenbach Stables, Inc.
New Jersey: Christine Connelly
New Mexico: Robert M. and DelRae Driggers
New York: Chester and Mary Broman
North Carolina: Nancy Shuford
Oregon: Lisa Baze
Pennsylvania: Elizabeth M. Merryman
South Carolina: Franklin G. Smith Sr.
Texas: Ronald (posthumously) and Margaret Ellerbee
Virginia: Amy Moore
Washington: John Parker

TOBA National Awards sponsors are Platinum level sponsors Jackson Family Wines and FanDuel. Gold level sponsors The Jockey Club & BloodHorse, NTRA/John Deere/Equine Discounts, Castle & Key Distillery, and WinStar Farm. Silver level sponsors National HBPA, Stoll Keenon Ogden, Godolphin and White Birch Farm.

“We are honored to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the finalists and winners at the 2022 TOBA National Awards,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “They have distinguished themselves in

Thoroughbred racing and breeding and we look forward to a wonderful weekend at WinStar Farm and Fasig-Tipton.”

The emcee of the TOBA National Awards Dinner will be Jesse Ullery of Fasig-Tipton. There will be a silent auction which will open the week of the event and close on Saturday night, as well as a live auction during the awards dinner ceremony.

Tickets are available to the public for both the luncheon and the dinner, with a discounted price for TOBA members. Registration for both events is due by August 30 and available online here: www.toba.org/awards.

The Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association (TOBA), based in Lexington, Ky., was formed in 1961 and is a national trade organization of leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders. TOBA’s mission is to improve the economics, integrity and pleasure of the sport on behalf of Thoroughbred owners and breeders. Projects managed by TOBA include the American Graded Stakes Committee, Claiming Crown, Ownership Seminars, Breeding, Conformation & Pedigree Clinics, US-Bred, TOBA Owners Concierge, OwnerView and the Sales Integrity Program. TOBA provides international representation for U.S. owners and breeders on the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee, International Cataloguing Standards Committee and International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation. Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) is the charitable arm of TOBA. TOBA Media Properties, a subsidiary of TOBA, is the co-owner of BloodHorse LLC. TOBA is represented on the board of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium as founding members.