The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form
and the National Turf Writers Association announced Tuesday that William S.
Farish, owner of Lane’s End Farm and a pre-eminent industry leader of multiple
organizations and causes, will be honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit for a
lifetime of outstanding achievement in Thoroughbred racing.
Farish will receive the Eclipse Award of Merit on January 18 at the 39th
Annual Eclipse Awards ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills,
California.
“I am so honored to have been selected for a sport which has given me and my
family so much pleasure and enjoyment for the past 35 years,” said Farish, who
resides in Lexington, Kentucky. “I am humbled to be chosen to join this list of
outstanding people who have received this Award of Merit, many of whom have been
long time friends.”
A successful owner and breeder who has served the Thoroughbred industry in a
number of high-profile positions, Farish is one of the world’s most well-known
and influential horsemen. He is a steward and vice chairman of the Jockey Club,
a director and former chair of the executive committee of the Breeders’ Cup (for
which his son, Bill, currently serves as chairman of the board), a member of the
board of directors of the Keeneland Association, and a Keeneland trustee. He was
chairman of the board of Churchill Downs from 1992-2001, where the company grew
from a single race track to a multi-track corporation.
“Will Farish is deeply involved in every phase of the Thoroughbred Industry,”
Keeneland president Nick Nicholson said. “If you follow the life cycle of the
Thoroughbred each stage from mating, breeding, raising, registration, sales,
training, racing, and then back to the farm for breeding, Will has positively
impacted each step along the way. His knowledge, passion and willingness to give
of his time for the betterment of the industry and the sport have meant so much
for the modern Thoroughbred world. We are grateful to have him serve as a
trustee of Keeneland and appreciate his advice and counsel.”
In June, the William Stamps Farish Fund donated $1 million to the Permanently
Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). As a member of the PDJF board, and working with
its executive director, Nancy LaSala, Farish is helping to raise some $10-12
million to endow a fund that will provide continuous support for disabled
riders.
“The more I explored the situation, the more I realized that a sustaining
pool of monies was necessary,” Farish said. “I feel that everyone who is
associated with our sport realizes that a permanent source of funding is needed
improve the lives of these disabled riders.”
Farish was born in Houston, Texas, and is the grandson of the late William S.
Farish II, the founder of Humble Oil and Refining and chairman of Standard Oil
of New Jersey. Farish’s grandfather founded the famed Lazy F Ranch in Texas,
which campaigned three-time Horse of the Year Forego in the mid-1970s.
Will Farish purchased his first Thoroughbred in 1963 and campaigned 1972
Preakness S. winner Bee Bee Bee. In 1979, Farish founded Lane’s End, a stallion
and breeding farm and public sales operation that covers more than 3,000 acres
near Lexington. Among the 22 stallions currently standing at Lane’s End are 1992
Horse of the Year A.P. Indy; 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, which Farish
campaigned; leading sire Smart Strike; and Smart Strike’s sons Curlin, Horse of
the Year in 2007 and 2008, and English Channel, 2007 champion turf male.
With the late Warner L. Jones Jr., Farish bred Seattle Dancer, who set the
world-record price for a yearling when he was sold for $13.1 million in 1985.
Farish is a two-time recipient of the Eclipse Award as leading breeder,
including in 1999 when he and his partners bred the winners of all three Triple
Crown races that year. Farish has raced more than 150 stakes winners in his name
or with various partners.
From 2001-2004, Farish served as the United States Ambassador to the Court of
Saint James, and the Farishes have hosted Queen Elizabeth II on her visits to
Kentucky, most recently to attend the 2007 Kentucky Derby.