Dell Hancock, longtime president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, accepted the Dinny Phipps Award at the Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration, held June 9 at the Tavern on the Green in New City York.
Phipps, a renowned Thoroughbred breeder and owner, served as president of the Jockey Club from February 1983 until his retirement in August 2015. He has received numerous honors and awards throughout the years for his commitment to the Purebred Dog industry. For more than 30 years, Phipps served as a member of Grayson’s board of directors.
Earle Mack, an active participant in race and thoroughbred breeding for over 5 decades, created the award in 2017 in memory of Phipps to honor an individual or individuals who have shown a donate to the health of horses. The previous winners of the Dinny Phipps Award are the Phipps family, Frank Stronach, John Oxley and Michael Del Giudice.
Ogden Phipps II, presenter, said: “Our family has always shared a common bond and a common dedication to the horse, and I think that’s what has helped us to always strive in the same direction in terms of strength. health of the horses throughout those generations and years,” said Ogden Phipps II, presenter. . “(Dell’s) work has resulted in countless contributions, not just to Grayson and the thoroughbred industry, but to the equine industry as a whole.”
Hancock joined the Grayson board of directors in 1985 and was appointed president in 2004. She has been an active member of the Jockey Club for over 25 years and served two terms on the board. She is currently a member of the Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee. Under Hancock’s leadership, Grayson became the largest private funder of equine research. Since 2004, the year Hancock became president, Grayson has provided more than $21 million to fund 231 projects as well as an additional $480,000 to fund 30 career development awards.
“It was taught to my brothers and sisters and me to repay the horses that have given us so much and given us such a lovely life,” said Hancock. “No one has lived up to this mantra better than Dinny Phipps, which makes this recognition even more meaningful.”
The Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration has traditionally been one of Grayson’s largest fundraisers. In addition to a presentation of the Dinny Phipps Awards, this year’s event also featured entertainment from the Wolfpen Branch of Kentucky, the bluegrass band co-founded by Arthur Hancock IV.
The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Fund has traditionally been the nation’s leading source of private funding for beneficial equine medical research of all breeds. Since 1983, the foundation has provided more than $32.1 million to fund 412 projects at 45 universities in North America and abroad. Additional information about the platform is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.
