Ken and Sarah Ramsey were named National Owner of the Year and National Breeder of the Year Sept. 7 during the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association national awards dinner held at Keeneland in Lexington.
The Indiana-based partnership of Mast Thoroughbreds and Robert Gorham earned honors as National Small Breeder of the Year. The Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse of the Year award, presented to the owner of the ex-Thoroughbred racehorse that has accumulated the most points in competition, went to Nicole Oliynyk's Sea Walker.
The dinner is held each year in Kentucky. It offers TOBA an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of Thoroughbred owners and breeders around the country.
Other awards for 2011 were announced earlier, including Repole Stable, Eastern Region Owner of the Year; the Ramseys, Midwestern Region Owner of the Year; Team Valor International, Southern Region Owner of the Year; and Arnold Zetcher, Western Region Owner of the Year.
Gardiner Farms was named Canadian Breeder of the Year, while National Broodmare of the Year is Oatsee, who is owned by Len Riggio's My Meadowview Farm.
Ken Ramsey, after receiving one of his four awards, talked about his stallion Kitten's Joy. Ramsey thanked breeders for their support of the stallion, but he got Kitten's Joy started by breeding many of his own mares to him.
"We're very proud of Kitten's Joy," Ramsey said. "We feel his best is yet to come. We've been with him all the way since conception, and we'll be with him all the way to the cemetery, because he's not for sale."
Lincoln Collins accepted the National Broodmare of the Year award on behalf of My Meadowview Farm. Collins noted Oatsee has produced three graded stakes winners, two of them grade I winners: Shackleford and Lady Joanne.
"Oatsee is a remarkable mare," Collins said. "She's a treasure. My Meadowview is proud to own Oatsee and grateful to those that made her so successful."
State Breeders of the Year are as follows:
Ken Robinette, Alabama
Triple AAA Ranch (Richard Owens), Arizona
Old English Rancho (Bud and Judy Johnston), California
White Fox Farm (Dewey and Karen White), Georgia
Team Block (David and Patricia Block), Illinois
Robert Gorham and Mast Thoroughbreds, Indiana
Sandra Rasmussen, Iowa
Ralph Lilja, Kansas
Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Kentucky
Allen Peltier, Louisiana
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Maryland
Kenneth Posco, Massachusetts
Curtis Sampson, Minnesota
Bright View Farm (Christine Connelly), New Jersey
Sam E. Stevens, New Mexico
Chester and Mary Broman, New York
Hubert Vester Jr. North Carolina
Debra Quarne, North Dakota
Ryland and Jo Ann Harwood, Oregon
Henry Carroll, South Carolina
Edward P. Evans, Virginia
Michael and Amy Feuerborn, Washington
Jeff and Susan Runco, West Virginia
The national awards dinner, which was hosted by Tom Leach, was sponsored by OCD Pellets, Xpressbet.com, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, AmWest Entertainment, Woodford Reserve, Grey Goose Vodka, John Deere, Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC, Keeneland, Daily Racing Form, and Blood-Horse Publications.