On August 29, the Jockey Club announced its newly elected managers and members.
The new directors are Gary Fenton, David O’Farrell, Everrett R. Dobson, and Vincent Viola. William S. Farish Jr. (vice president) was re-elected. The remaining directors are Stuart S. Janney III (president), Ian D. Highet (treasurer), William M. Lear (secretary), Barbara Banke, Louis A. Cella, Terry Finley, and R. Alex Rankin.
The new members are Joseph Appelbaum, John Ballantyne, PhD, Rick Gold, Marshall Gramm, MV Magnier, Jon Miller, Garrett O’Rourke and Jessica Steinbrenner.
- In 2002, Appelbaum co-founded Off The Hook LLC, a horse racing, horse sales and breeding operation that has produced numerous winners, including Breeders’ Cup and Eclipse Award winners Informed Decision and Spun To Run. Appelbaum is the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge champion.
Appelbaum recently completed two terms (six years) as president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and also served as president of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Appelbaum has served on the boards of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association of America. As chairman of the New York Horsemen’s Injury Compensation Fund, he has been instrumental in improving safety conditions for horses and backroom staff.
In addition to his equestrian accomplishments, Appelbaum played football at Yale University and coached college football. Appelbaum served as president of Kids Interest Development Services Inc. and co-founded Oasis Children’s Services LLC, which provides educational programs for children.
- Ballantyne was born in New Zealand and currently splits his time between Fargo, North Dakota and Key West, Florida. He is the owner of NBS Stable. His passion for horse racing began with a lucky bet on the 1986 Melbourne Cup. Ballantyne’s ownership journey began with Standardbreds and then expanded to Thoroughbreds through NBS Stable and partnerships with West Point Thoroughbreds, Centennial Farms and others.
Ballantyne is a major research supporter at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation as well as other equine-related charities including the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, Old Friends and Bison Strides (hippotherapy). Ballantyne co-founded the successful biotechnology company Aldevron, headquartered in Fargo.
- Gold is a semi-retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur and founder and/or CEO of five semiconductor startups. He races and breeds thoroughbreds in California, Australia, and New Zealand, and has ridden more than 20 winners. Gold has served on the boards of Thoroughbred Owners of California (where he chairs the Integrity and Safety Committee), the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, and the HISA Horsemen’s Advisory Group. His commitment to promoting integrity in the sport was recognized with the 2024 TOC Chairman’s Award.
- In 2016, Gramm co-founded Ten Strike Racing, a horse racing partnership with over 530 wins, including 35 races. He is a professor in the Department of Economics at Rhodes College and has published more than a dozen academic papers related to horse racing. As a horse player, Gramm won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and has qualified for the National Horse Players’ Championship every year for the past decade. Gramm is a member of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the Thoroughbred Charitable Foundation of America. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rice University and a PhD in Economics from Texas A&M University.
- Magnier represents his family’s interests in Coolmore Stud, a leading international Thoroughbred breeder and owner with farms in Ireland, Australia and the United States (Ashford Stud). Champion stallions standing at Ashford include Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify. MV Magnier is actively involved in the purchase of high quality stallions and the management of racehorses, contributing to Coolmore’s continued success and influence on the racing scene worldwide.
- Miller, president of Acquisitions and Partnerships at NBC Sports, played a key role in leading the company’s efforts to televise and stream top Thoroughbred horse racing events such as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Breeders’ Cup and Royal Ascot.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Miller is actively involved in giving back to his community. Miller serves on the advisory board for the Tom Coughlin Jay Foundation and the NYC Chapter of the March Dimes Sports Division, and previously served on the board of directors for the NY/NJ Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
- O’Rourke is the general manager of Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms USA in Lexington, Kentucky, and has overseen the development of numerous champion horses including Arrogate. O’Rourke was named Farm Manager of the Year in 2001 by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club, serves on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and is an honorary director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Born in Ireland, O’Rourke moved to the United States in 1986 and has been with Juddmonte Farms since November 1992. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin, Ireland.
- Steinbrenner has been president of Kinsman Farm since 2007. She also breeds and races horses at Bach Stables. Kinsman Farm in Ocala, Florida, has been in the Steinbrenner family since 1969. There have been many Grade 1 winners throughout Kinsman’s history, including Dream Supreme, Majestic Warrior, Bellamy Road and Sweet Symphony.
Steinbrenner began riding at the age of five, which led to a lifelong love of horses. She attended Sweet Briar College, where she competed on the equestrian team. She served on the Florida Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association from 2006 to 2016. Throughout her career, Jessica has supported many Thoroughbred activities, such as Thoroughbred retirement and post-retirement care, as well as care for riders and workhorses.
Steinbrenner is a general partner/vice chairman of the New York Yankees. She is the author of two children’s books, “My Messy Room” and “My Sleepy Room.” She served as executive producer on the 2018 live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” as well as the 2021 film “Fear of Rain.”
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If you have any questions, please contact the organization that compiled this press release.
