NEWS
Dell Hancock
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 11:08 AM
DELL HANCOCK
PhotosByZ.com
Claiborne Farm
Dell Hancock has been surrounded by top horses her whole life, growing up and then centering her professional life around Claiborne Farm, the family operation that is synonymous with the Thoroughbred industry in Central Kentucky.
Claiborne has raised more than 60 champions, including eight Horse of the Year honorees, and has been home to a steady stream of leading sires.
Claiborne also has been a prominent owner, and Hancock was in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs on June 12 to greet Blame after his victory in the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1). Claiborne and longtime partner Adele Dilschneider are the owners and breeders of the Arch colt.
Hancock was too young to have personal memories of the racing career of Doubledogdare, a homebred who provided Claiborne’s first stakes win at Keeneland Race Course in 1955. Claiborne reached 23 Keeneland stakes wins in an appropriate manner on April 16 when Haka won the Doubledogdare Stakes (G3).
“It’s wonderful to win any race at Keeneland, but when it’s named for one of our old mares, it’s double special,” Hancock said after the race.
Hancock helps oversee Claiborne’s sales consignments and often serves as the family spokesperson. She is the chairwoman of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and a director of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. She has been actively involved in numerous industry organizations.
Date of birth: December 20, 1952
Birthplace: Lexington
Residence: Paris, Kentucky
Employer: Claiborne Farm
Education: Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia
Family: Single
Career: Working for the family farm; free-lance photographer; owner
Biggest professional achievement: “From Foal to Champion, a book I worked on with Ed Bowen, and my work with the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.”
Biggest personal achievement: “Finishing one-two with my jumpers in a class at Wellington [in Florida].”
Favorite horse: Blame
What book are you currently reading? Something of Value, by Robert Ruark
Outside interests: Riding, tennis, watching sports, art
What advice would you give other women interested in the racing industry? “Always put the horse first.”
Outlook on the industry: “Right now, it is pretty bleak. If we pull together, we can make things a lot better, but it is going to be a lot of work and cooperation.”
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