Gordon Ramsey, Who Helped Launch Massachusetts Breeding Progam, Dies

Gordon P. Ramsey, a breeder and owner in Massachusetts and Georgia who was instrumental in lobbying to secure legislation and funding to create and support the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association (MTBA) program in the early 1980s, died peacefully at his home in Georgia Apr. 21 after having suffered a stroke last month. He was 84.

Ramsey, a Boston attorney, had served as the MTBA's first executive director. He and his wife of 40 years, Linda, operated Chabboquasset Farm in Massachusetts and Georgia, racing their homebreds at Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park and at tracks along the East Coast and in the Midwest for many years.

During the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, the Ramseys hosted equestrian teams at their farm in Palmetto, Georgia, from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Gordon is survived by his wife and four children, including the former Suffolk Downs marketing director John Ramsey. He also leaves four step-children and 14 grandchildren.

A funeral and celebration of his well-lived life will be held Saturday, April 29, at 1 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Newnan, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Sacred Journey Hospice Foundation, 138 Peach Drive, McDonough, GA 30253.