Seven new members were elected to the Jockey Club of America, which include Gary Fenton, Eric Gustavson, Bret Jones, Jane Lyon, Michael Mulvihill, David O'Rourke and Mandy Pope, the organization said in a release early Thursday morning.
Fenton has been the managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing, a racing syndicate based in California, since 2005, and he is on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and has been chairman since 2021.
Over the last 17 years, Gustavson has overseen Spendthrift's growth as it acquired, raced and launched the stallion career of Into Mischief, North America's reigning four-time Champion General Sire, and the first sire to sire back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners.
Jones is the President of Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky. He has served on the Breeders' Cup board of directors since 2011 and was recently named to the board of directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Lyon is the owner of Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, which encompasses more than 1,000 acres and is home to more than 40 broodmares. The broodmare band has featured the dams of four Horse of the Year honorees.
Mulvihill serves as president, Insights and Analytics, for FOX Corporation. He played a key role in the launch of The New York Racing Association's (NYRA) America's Day at the Races broadcasts on Fox Sports networks and in FOX's acquisition of TV rights to the Belmont Stakes.
O'Rourke was named CEO and president of NYRA in 2019. He joined NYRA as director of Financial Planning in 2008 before becoming vice president for Corporate Development in 2010. In 2013, he was appointed chief revenue officer and senior vice president.
Since she purchased it in 1982, Pope's Whisper Hill Farm has acquired some of the top broodmare prospects in the industry, and is realizing returns on that investment through their progeny at the racetrack and sales. Whisper Hill Farm has become one of the premier organizations in the industry with successes at breeding, buying, selling and racing.
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