| Friday, October 14, 2022 | Contact: Shannon Kelly (212) 521-5327 |
| Fashionable Fillies Luncheon to be held in Lexington | |
The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation announced today that it will be hosting the Fashionable Fillies Luncheon Lexington at Jeff Ruby’s on November 2, 2022, as part of the Breeders’ Cup Festival Week. The media partner for the event is TOPSINLEX. The luncheon will honor The Jockey Club members and Safety Net trustees Helen Alexander and Shannon Arvin and will offer cocktails and Jackson Family wines, food stations and passed hors d'oeuvres with Kentucky favorites, and the opportunity to shop from local vendors such as Boulevard Home, AJ’s Clothing, and Breeders’ Cup Milliner Christine A. Moore. Live music will be provided by Throwdown Thursday, which consists of five professional Kentucky-based musicians who perform in different Bluegrass bands that tour across the country. For nearly two decades, Alexander managed the Thoroughbred division of King Ranch Farm in Lexington, Ky. King Ranch had success in racing and was annually among the leading consignors of yearlings. At her Middlebrook Farm, Alexander is an owner, breeder, and consignor. Notable horses she has owned, bred, or co-bred include two-time Eclipse champion Covfefe and Grade 1 winners Arch, Aldiza, Acoma, and Bayern, a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. Alexander is a past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. She has been a board member of Keeneland Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Breeders’ Cup, Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Foundation, and chair of the Graded Stakes Committee. Alexander has been a member of The Jockey Club since 1986 and served as a steward from April 2000 until August 2004. She has been a trustee of the Safety Net since 2008. Arvin is the eighth president of Keeneland Association and the first woman named to the position. She began practicing law in 2002 at the Lexington firm Stoll Keenon Ogden (SKO), where she represented Thoroughbred owners and industry organizations in Kentucky and around the world. As an SKO partner, in 2008 she began serving as corporate counsel to Keeneland, and she has been secretary and advisory member of Keeneland’s board of directors since 2015. Arvin serves on the board of directors of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Foundation and Stock Yards Bancorp, and is the chairman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. She is a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and The Lexington School. She became a member of The Jockey Club in 2019 and a trustee of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation in 2021. “Helen and Shannon are exceptionally active members of the racing community, and they are well-respected leaders in our sport in Kentucky and across the nation,” said Shannon Kelly, executive director for the foundation. “Their contributions have helped to improve racing and the lives of many in the industry, and they are well-deserving to be honored at the Fashionable Fillies Luncheon Lexington.” All proceeds from the event will be earmarked by the foundation to benefit the backstretch community in Kentucky, and local chaplains’ and horsemen’s organizations will help ensure the funds are distributed to those most in need. “The Fashionable Fillies Luncheon has been one of the Safety Net’s most successful fundraisers in Saratoga and California,” said Kelly. “We are very excited to bring this luncheon to Lexington to help support the backstretch community in Kentucky.” Tickets ($150) and sponsorship opportunities are available at tinyurl.com/FFBC22. The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation is a charitable trust that provides, on a confidential basis, financial relief to needy members of the Thoroughbred industry and their families. Recipients of the Safety Net Foundation’s support represent virtually every facet of the Thoroughbred industry, from jockeys, trainers, exercise riders, and grooms to office personnel and other employees of racetracks, racing organizations, and breeding farms. Assistance can come in any number of forms, including financial aid, medication, surgical and hospital costs, therapeutic equipment, voice-recognition computers for quadriplegics, and wheelchair-accessible vans. Since 1985, The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation has provided more than $16 million in assistance. | |