Owners, Breeders to be Honored at TOBA Dinner

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Achievements of Thoroughbred owners in the four major North American racing regions and breeders in 22 states and Canada will be honored at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's 29th annual National Awards Dinner.



It will be held Friday, Sept. 5 at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington and will be streamed live at bloodhorse.com (link to be available day of event).



The following regional owners will be honored:

Eastern Region Owner of the Year: Phipps Stable

Midwestern Region Owner of the Year: Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey

Southern Region Owner of the Year: Willis D. Horton

Western Region Owner of the Year: Gary and Mary West



A National Owner of the Year will be selected from these regional owners, with the recipient of the award to be announced will be revealed at the dinner.



The state and Canadian breeders of the year are:

Arizona: Richard Owens

California: Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams

Canada: Sam-Son Farm

Florida: Gil & Marilyn Campbell

Illinois: Darrell and Sadie Brommer

Indiana: Deann and Greg Baer

Iowa: William Hobbs

Kansas: Lance and Valerie Gabriel

Kentucky: Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey

Louisiana: Glen C. Warren

Maryland: Robert E. Meyerhoff

Michigan: Jerry and Lisa Campbell

Minnesota: Richard Bremer and Cheryl Sprick

New Jersey: Quiet Winter Farm

New Mexico: Mike Carson and Bill Carson

New York: Patricia S. Purdy

North Carolina: Elizabeth H. Muirhead

North Dakota: Leigh Backhaus

Oregon: George Hurliman

South Carolina: Franklin G. Smith

Texas: Sam Stevens and Sammy Stevens

Virginia: Estate of Edward P. Evans

Washington: Keith and Jan Swagerty



TOBA's National Breeder and National Small Breeder of the Year will be selected from the above list of breeders and will be announced at the event.



TOBA will also honor Helen Alexander with the new Robert N. Clay Award. The purpose of this award is to enhance awareness and promote education among horsemen regarding the impact of land loss on the equine community. In partnership with the Equine Land Conservation Resource, this award recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.



Additionally, TOBA will honor Take Charge Lady as the National Broodmare of the Year. This award offers catalog designation from the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee.



Owned by Katie Ruppel, successful competitive eventer Houdini will be named the Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse of the Year. This award is presented to the owner of the ex-Thoroughbred racehorse that has excelled in sport horse competitions as tracked by the United States Equestrian Federation.



National Awards Dinner sponsors include H.E. Sutton Forwarding Company, Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC, Jackson Family Wines, Woodford Reserve, Zoetis, John Deere, Flair Nasal Strips, Daily Racing Form, OwnerView.com Thoroughbred Owner Conference, and Blood-Horse Publications. Tickets for the National Awards Dinner may be purchased at www.toba.org.