Dell Hancock, who has been instrumental in the acquisition of significant funds for vital equine research as current chairman of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and as president of its predecessor Grayson Foundation, has received the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 2014 George Stubbs Award. 

Named for the late artist and educator George Stubbs, the award recognizes a non-veterinarian who has contributed substantially to equine veterinary medicine through leadership, product development, public service, public policy development, volunteerism, advocacy, research or education. Hancock accepted the award during the Dec. 9 President’s Luncheon at the AAEP’s 60^th Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Based in Lexington, Ky., Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation was formed in 1989 when the Grayson Foundation and The Jockey Club Research Foundation, both of which were funding equine research, merged. Under Hancock’s chairmanship since 2005 and in an era of constrained state and university budgets, the foundation has raised more than $9 million to support university research into a wide range of relevant and topical equine maladies. In 2014, the foundation underwrote 19 specific projects for $1,003,580. 

A third-generation member of the family that owns venerable Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., Hancock exemplifies the motto “always put the horse first.” In addition to her duties with Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Hancock is a member and former steward of The Jockey Club and serves on its Thoroughbred Safety Committee, which reviews every facet of equine health and recommends actions the industry can take to improve the health and safety of Thoroughbreds. 

Additionally, Hancock serves on the advisory council of the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation and is a past president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, former trustee for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and former member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. 

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry. 

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