The Thoroughbred Club of America has chosen Arthur B. Hancock III as its 2020 Honor Guest, to be honored at the 89th Testimonial Dinner on a date yet to be determined due to COVID-19. The Thoroughbred Club Testimonial Dinner was inaugurated in 1932, the same year the club was founded, to recognize distinguished contributions of leadership as well as success in the Thoroughbred industry. Previous recipients have included Col. E. R. Bradley, William Woodward, Sr., Ted Bassett, and three generations of Hancock's extended family from Claiborne Farm.
“The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Arthur B. Hancock III as our 2020 Honor Guest,” said the club's president, Katherine LaMonica. “Arthur represents the Thoroughbred industry in its most sincere form, hailing from a family rooted strongly in tradition, while forging his own unique legacy of horsemanship and leadership in our sport.”
Hancock, who owns Stone Farm near Paris, Ky., is a fourth-generation horseman who grew up at Claiborne Farm. He leased 100 acres of his own and began Stone Farm in 1970, which celebrates its 50th year of operation this year and now comprises 2,200 acres. Hancock has bred, raised, sold, and/or raced top horses like Horse of the Year Sunday Silence (Halo), Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway), additional GI Kentucky Derby winners Fusaichi Pegasus (Mr. Prospector) and Gato Del Sol (Cougar II), dual Classic winner Risen Star (Secretariat), and nearly 175 other black-type winners.
Married for 43 years to his wife, Staci, and the father of six childen, Hancock has served on the Kentucky Racing Commission, has been a director of Keeneland Association and Fasig-Tipton Company, and has also been a member of The Jockey Club. He co-founded Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) and is a strong supporter of eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in racing, as well as Thoroughbred aftercare.
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