| Tuesday, January 28, 2025 | Contact: Jamie Haydon 859.224.2750 |
| Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Announces Board Changes | |
Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced today that Kevin Lavin, who had been vice chair, has been named chair, replacing Dell Hancock, and Geoffrey Russell has been named vice chair. In addition, Mandy Pope has been elected to the board of directors, and former board of directors Donald R. Dizney and John C. Oxley have been awarded the position of director emeritus. A native of Louisville, Lavin grew up on Longfield Farm and is the fourth generation of his family to be involved in the horse industry. Lavin’s grandfather was a longtime racing official and racing secretary, his mother served two times on the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, and his father was a racetrack veterinarian, past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, vice chair of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, and a member of The Jockey Club. Lavin is a partner in Sterling Thompson Company and is the Senior Equine Risk Advisor. He founded Lavin Insurance Services in 1997, which specialized in equine insurance. He has served on the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation board since 2010. He has also served on the boards of other industry organizations, including Longfield Farm and Lavin Bloodstock Services, Thoroughbred Club of America, Kentucky Derby Museum, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and the Backside Learning Center. Russell was born in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1982 for a summer internship at Fasig-Tipton Sales. After working at Fasig-Tipton for three years, Russell worked for Elmendorf Farm. He then returned to Fasig-Tipton as vice president of Appraisals and director of Sales Administration. In 1996, Russell joined the Keeneland Association as assistant director of Sales to W. B. Rogers Beasley. In June 2001, he was promoted to director of Sales. He retired in 2021 after 20 years in the role. During his tenure at Keeneland he served as Chairman of Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers twice as well as representing Keeneland on the North American Catalogue Standards Committee. In 2016, he was awarded by Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ the Wild Geese Award. He has been a board member of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation since 2005. Pope purchased a 55-acre farm in 1982 and named it Whisper Hill Farm after one of her favorite show horses, “Blue Whisper.” Over the years, Whisper Hill Farm has grown with an emphasis on quality as a commercial breeding and racing stable. Pope has acquired some of the top broodmare prospects in the industry, such as Havre De Grace and Songbird, 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. Pope is on the board of directors of Variety Wholesalers Inc., a family-owned business of discount stores, and is on the board of directors of the John William Pope Foundation, which is based in North Carolina and provides grants supporting public policy, education, human services, and the arts including organizations such as the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. She is also on the board of trustees for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation's leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. Since 1940, Grayson has provided nearly $42.3 million to underwrite more than 437 projects at 48 universities. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org. | |