The Jockey Club announced Thursday the election of eight new members: Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, John Amerman, Ramona Bass, William T. "Buddy" Bishop III, Tracy Farmer, Ian Highet, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and Walter S. Robertson.Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, also a member of the English Jockey Club, owns Juddmonte Farms, which consists of three farms in the United States and six farms in England and Ireland. Juddmonte is the only four-time winner of the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding breeder and a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner.Amerman is a former chairman and CEO of Mattel and owns Peacefield Farm in Temecula, Calif. He is an officer and trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and also serves on the boards of the California Horse Racing Board, Winners Foundation and Tranquility Farm. Bass, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, is co-chairman of the Ft. Worth Zoological Association and, with her husband Lee, established the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation in 1993 to support non-profit organizations that provide important services to people, primarily within the state of Texas. Bishop is a partner in the Lexington, Ky., law firm Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC. He serves as a trustee of Keeneland Association Inc. and on the boards of several Thoroughbred businesses, including Claiborne Farms, Darley Stud Management LLC, Godolphin Racing Inc., Juddmonte Farms Inc. and Mill Ridge Farm Ltd.Farmer owns Shadowlawn Farm in Midway, Ky., and serves on the boards of Breeders' Cup Ltd. and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.Highet is a partner at Court Square Capital, a venture capital unit of Citigroup, and has assisted The Jockey Club in a number of initiatives in recent years. Highet is a Thoroughbred owner who races in partnership under the name Tic Stables. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. He established the Godolphin and Darley breeding and racing operations in the United States, Dubai, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Australia, as well as Darley Flying Start, a two-year program in which students live and work at prominent Thoroughbred operations around the globe while learning about every aspect of the Thoroughbred industry.
Robertson is president of Fasig-Tipton and serves on the board of the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation. He is a former chairman of the Kentucky Horse Park Commission and served on TOBA's Sales Integrity Task Force."We are pleased to welcome such a distinguished and diverse group of individuals as members of The Jockey Club," said Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club. "Each has a passion and commitment to the betterment of the Thoroughbred industry, and we look forward to their support of and involvement with the many initiatives of The Jockey Club and its family of companies."