A “Celebration of the Horse,” a fund-raising event presented by Cincinnati-based Great American Insurance for the benefit of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, will be held Friday, October 26, 2012, at the Keene Barn at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

The evening will include cocktails, a buffet dinner, entertainment and a live auction. Among the auction items will be tickets to the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York and the Indy 500 in Indianapolis. An original piece of artwork commemorating the occasion, produced by renowned equine cartoonist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq, will also be auctioned.

Country music singer Arthur Hancock IV, proprietor of Willie’s Locally Known in Lexington, will provide entertainment during the cocktail hour; there will also be dancing to the music of Superfecta. Superfecta is a professional musical ensemble that combines a variety of styles into an exciting and entertaining combination of sight and sound. The band expertly covers music ranging from jazz standards, fusion jazz, and ’60s Motown to ’70s funk, ’80s dance, current top 40, and more.

Tickets are $150.

“As the 2012 racing season draws to a close, it is a good time to reflect on equine health and all that our foundation does to improve it through important research,” said Edward L. Bowen, president of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. “We are grateful to Great American Insurance and Keeneland for their respective roles in this worthwhile evening.”

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Nancy Kelly, the vice president of development for Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, at (212) 521-5305 or nkelly@jockeyclub.com. You can also click here for an invitation.

Great American Insurance’s Property and Casualty Group is made up of more than 25 companies and divisions that offer targeted commercial coverage for specialized industries. The Annuity and Supplemental Insurance Group markets traditional fixed, indexed and variable annuities and various forms of supplemental insurance.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation’s leading source of private funding for equine medical research. Since 1983, it has provided approximately $19 million for 287 projects at 40 universities. Additional information is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.