TCA Honor Guest Speech: Gov. Brereton C. Jones

Below is the entire speech Gov. Brereton C. Jones planned to deliver Sept. 27 at the 88th Honor Guest dinner of The Thoroughbred Club of America

Thank you very, very much. This is a very special night for our family and our entire Airdrie Stud team. I couldn't be more grateful to the leadership and members of the Thoroughbred Club of America for this great honor. Thank you.

Of course, the worst kept secret in the room is that I would never have been able to stand before you this evening without the endless support of so many incredible people. My friends in this business are of the lifelong variety, and it is their love and counsel that have helped make my career in Thoroughbred racing arguably successful ... and inarguably wonderful.  So many of you are here tonight, and I am so proud to be able to share this evening with friends like our long-time general manager Tim Thornton, our general manager Ben Henley, Mark Cunningham our farm manager, Bruce Manley our maintenance manager and our office manager Niki Robb. Between them, they've spent nearly 150 years working alongside me at Airdrie Stud. They've been there for good days. They've been there for bad days. But they've always been there. These are the best teammates a person can have.

Many of our Airdrie family members are in attendance tonight, but there have been innumerable men and women over these last 50 years who have literally dedicated their lives to the unending work that goes into raising racehorses at Airdrie Stud. Think about that for a moment: They've dedicated their lives to helping our farm raise horses the right way. I stand here humbled, and forever grateful, of their incredible commitment.

It's impossible for me to accept this honor without thinking of, and thanking, my father. Of all the gifts that Bartow Jones gave me, it was his limitless belief in the unstoppable power of positive thinking that has been behind every success I've ever enjoyed. If you believe you can, then you can. I'll say that again: If you believe you can, then you can. My father taught me that lesson in Point Pleasant, W.Va., and it has been his voice and that message that have gotten me through every new beginning and every patch of adversity I've ever encountered in my life. If I've had success, it's because Bartow Jones taught me to believe in myself. No gift could ever be more valuable.

And my final thank you, of course, goes to my family. My life. To Libby Jones. To Lucy Jones. To Bret Jones. To Tyler, B, Jack, and Thomas Jones. No one could ever be prouder of their family than I am, or more grateful for the impossible joy you've brought me. Thank you, Libby, for giving me this wonderful life.  

I have been very fortunate to sit in this audience many times over the years, and I have had the privilege to hear some of the great thinkers and doers of their time speak brilliantly about the current issues of our industry. For those of you that know me well, you know that my following of the day-to-day news in racing is not what it once was, though I can promise you, my love of the Thoroughbred racehorse is stronger than ever.

That said, the message I will leave you with this evening will not be about medication, legislation, or land conservation. It will not be about takeout and it will not be about the use of the whip. These are issues that are undoubtedly critical and their resolutions, or lack thereof, will go a long way in deciding the future of Thoroughbred racing. But it is not my time to speak on them individually.

What I feel a great obligation to leave you with tonight is another lesson I've learned, and been reminded of many, many times throughout my life. It is that when we all work together, there is absolutely no limit to what we can accomplish. When we work together, there is absolutely no limit to what we can accomplish. So many of the obstacles that stand in front of progress in our industry can be overcome. I promise you this. 

But I can also promise you we will continually fall short of the success we desire if we refuse to work together. Be it horse racing, politics, or marriage, greatness only comes with a willingness to put differences aside and work towards the greater good. The day we stop villainizing those that stand on the other side of an issue, and instead, sit down and work with our opposition to come up with common sense solutions, that is the day that we begin to write a new and better future for our great sport.  

We must believe in ourselves. We must work together. And we must never stop being grateful for how impossibly blessed we are to live out all the joys and friendships that horse racing has brought us. I can promise you, I never will.

Thank you everyone for this great honor.