Phipps to resign Jockey Club chairmanship after 32 years

Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps, who has served as the chairman of The Jockey Club

for the past 32 years, announced Monday that he will resign his chairmanship,

effective August 8. The Jockey Club's board of stewards will meet on that day,

following the annual meeting of the membership.

Phipps, 74, a prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder, was elected to

membership in The Jockey Club on October 16, 1965. He became chairman February

10, 1983. His tenure as chairman is the longest in the history of the

organization, which was created in 1894. August Belmont served for approximately

30 years (January 24, 1895 until December 10, 1924).

"The Jockey Club has undergone many changes over the past 30 years and we

have built a solid foundation that will help grow and sustain Thoroughbred

breeding and racing in the years ahead," Phipps said. "Due to some ongoing

health issues, I feel like this is a good time to pass the baton and I want to

express my gratitude to the members and the employees of The Jockey Club for

their dedication to this sport over the past three decades."

Under Phipps' leadership, the organization has earned widespread recognition

as an industry leader in the areas of medication reform, equine welfare, data

collection and dissemination, technology and marketing of the sport.

Among The Jockey Club's accomplishments since 1983:

In recent years, The Jockey Club has also created, funded or supported

wide-ranging industry initiatives such as the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, the

Equine Injury Database, the Racing Surfaces & Testing Lab, OwnerView, the

Thoroughbred Incentive Program, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium,

the Racing Officials Accreditation Program, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance,

and America's Best Racing, and it has underwritten television programming for

racing telecasts on the NBC and FOX networks.

Under the chairmanship of Phipps, The Jockey Club also hosts the Round Table

Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, the Welfare and Safety of the

Racehorse Summit, and the Thoroughbred Owner Conference. Last week in New York

City, it co-hosted the 2015 Pan American Conference, attended by more than 300

industry representatives from 27 countries.

The Jockey Club board of stewards currently includes Phipps, Stuart S. Janney

III (vice chairman), Ian D. Highet (secretary-treasurer), Craig Fravel, John C.

Harris, William M. Lear Jr., Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr., Stella Thayer, and Peter

Willmott.

A nominating committee will recommend candidates to succeed Phipps as

chairman. The committee consists of three members of The Jockey Club: Fravel

(committee chair), Willmott, and D.G. Van Clief Jr.

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