FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 30, 2024

TOBA

Winners to be Honored at TOBA National Awards

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced today the state breeders of the year, Broodmare of the Year, Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, Robert N. Clay Conservation Award, Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year, and Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award winner for the 39th annual TOBA National Awards.

2023 State and Canadian Breeders of the Year are:

  • Arizona Breeder of the Year – Fleming Thoroughbred Farm LLC (Marvin and Gerald Fleming)
  • Arkansas Breeder of the Year – McDowell Farms (Bill McDowell)
  • California Breeder of the Year – Richard Barton Enterprises (Richard Barton)
  • Canada Breeder of the Year – Adena Springs
  • Canada Small Breeder of the Year – Sean Fitzhenry
  • Florida Breeder of the Year – Stonehedge, LLC (Marilyn Campbell)
  • Indiana Breeder of the Year – Justice Farms, Inc. (Greg Justice)
  • Iowa Breeder of the Year – Poindexter Thoroughbreds, LLC (Allen Poindexter)
  • Kentucky Breeder of the Year – Godolphin
  • Louisiana Breeder of the Year – Thomas M. Galvin
  • Maryland Breeder of the Year – Dance Forth Farm (Tom and Chris Bowman)
  • New Jersey Breeder of the Year – Bright View Farm (Christine Connelly) and Greg Kilka
  • New Mexico Breeder of the Year – Fred A. Alexander
  • New York Breeder of the Year – Barry K. Schwartz
  • North Carolina Breeder of the Year – Art Bauer
  • Oregon Breeder of the Year – Connie Erickson
  • Pennsylvania Breeder of the Year – Forgotten Land Investments Inc. and Black Diamond Equine (Christian Black)
  • South Carolina Breeder of the Year – Franklin G. Smith Sr.
  • Texas Breeder of the Year – Carolyn R. Barnett
  • Virginia Breeder of the Year – Ann Mudge Backer
  • Washington Breeder of the Year – Sheridan Jones and Ken W. Miles

Dance Card has been named National Broodmare of the Year.

Time for Trouble will be honored as Claiming Crown Horse of the Year.

The Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year will go to A Lil Evil.

The Robert N. Clay Conservation Award is awarded to Castle Rock Farm, co-owned by Peter Giangiulio and Barbara Geraghty. The award recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.

Frank Taylor, founder of Stable Recovery, will be honored with the Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award.

“TOBA is honored to recognize the outstanding achievements of the state breeders, three remarkable horses and two individuals who have given unselfishly back to our sport,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “We look forward to a special weekend of celebrating the very best of Thoroughbred racing.”

The National Awards Luncheon to honor the winning breeders will be held on Friday, September 6, 2024 at the Thoroughbred Club of America, followed by the National Awards Dinner on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at Fasig-Tipton.

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 22 and available online at www.toba.org/awards.

The Thoroughbred Owners and 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.