Outgoing Kentucky State Senator Damon Thayer has been named the recipient of the 2024 Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award by the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners (KTO), which will be presented on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Kentucky Derby Museum, the organization said via a release Thursday morning.
The KTO's Warner Jones award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the track's resurgence in the late 1980s. Jones was the inaugural award winner in 1988, six years before his death.
Thayer, who announced last December that he was not running for re-election, has advocated for the horse racing, breeding and overall equine industries throughout his time in the state senate, representing his home county of Scott, Grant and parts of Fayette and Kenton.
“It's a great honor to win an award named for Warner Jones, who was a legendary horseman and had the respect of so many people from various facets of the industry,” Thayer said. “To be on the list of those who have been honored with the award is a real privilege to me. Next to my two adult children, Daniel and Katie, horse racing is my first love. I'm just an old 4-H horse-club kid. To be honored by this group and to be considered a horseman is pretty special.”
The cost to attend the event is $150 per person, with cocktails at 6 p.m. ET and dinner at 7 p.m. ET. The deadline for reservations is Nov. 14. For more information, call Marlene Meyer at (502) 458-5820 or email nanainky@att.net.
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