Robert N. Clay has been selected by the Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Club of America as the 2025 Honor Guest, Club President W. Chapman Hopkins announced today.
"The Thoroughbred Club of America is pleased to name Robert Clay as our 2025 Honor Guest", said Hopkins. "Mr. Clay's impact on the Thoroughbred industry has spanned decades. From managing influential stallions, to owning and breeding multiple graded stakes winners and most recently leading Grandview Equine, Mr. Clay's career exemplifies vision, determination, and enduring influence. As a past president of The Thoroughbred Club, we are especially proud to recognize his lifetime of contributions to the sport." Clay will be honored by the Club at its 94th Testimonial Dinner, which will be held at Keeneland on Saturday, November 15th, 2025.
Robert N. Clay, a native of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, graduated from the College of William and Mary with a business degree and a senior thesis about the economic impact of the Thoroughbred industry. He married his college sweetheart, Blythe Baldwin, in 1968 and attended the University of Kentucky graduate School of Business before enrolling in Naval Officer Candidate School. Following his military service, he attended the Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program.
Upon returning to Kentucky, Robert purchased 100 acres of undeveloped farmland in Woodford County and began turning his dream into reality. At this time, he was also serving as the President of Top Yield Industries, an agricultural fertilizer company, before selling the company to Cargill and immersing himself in the Thoroughbred business full-time.
Three Chimneys offered its first consignment of one at the Keeneland September sale in 1973, a yearling by Bold Tactics. George Navonod went on to win the Charles H. Strub Stakes at Santa Anita (GI).
In the mid-1980's, Clay took the unusual (for that time) approach of limiting the farm's stallion population and establishing a niche for the farm as a boutique, where "The Idea is Excellence" was the governing approach. The farm's number one value: "Honesty without Hesitation."
Clay acquired his first stallion in 1985, champion Slew O' Gold. He was followed soon thereafter by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Other prominent stallions included Kentucky Derby winners Silver Charm, Smarty Jones and Big Brown, Preakness and Belmont winner Point Given, champion two-year olds Capote, Chief's Crown, and Fly So Free, English Derby winner Shahrastani, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Wild Again, War Chant, and champion sires Dynaformer and Rahy.
Three Chimneys commercial consignments included Spain ($5.2m), Love and Pride ($4.9m), Take Charge Lady ($4.2m), Composure ($3.6m), Bright Tiara ($3.0m), and Away ($3.0m).
Clay has bred or raced, individually or in partnership, more than three dozen graded stakes winners, including Kentucky Oaks winner Seaside Attraction, champion Hidden Lake, Eight Belles, and Grade I winners Gorgeous, Storm Trooper, Pompeii, Intense Focus, Ave, and Miss Keller.
By 2016, the farm incorporated approximately 2,100 acres in five divisions, three of which were devoted to mares and foals; one to yearlings; and one which was home to up to 14 world-class stallions.
In 2018, Clay created Grandview Equine, LLC, a partnership to engage in racing and breeding, for which he serves as General Partner. Grandview bred Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Belmont Stakes winner Dornach, and currently campaigns Baeza, third in the 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Grandview has owned and won black-type races with Olympiad, Scalding, Shoplifted, and Invader.
Clay is a past president of the Thoroughbred Club of America. He served as president of the National Thoroughbred Association and was a founding member of the N.T.R.A. He served on the Breeders' Cup Board of Directors as vice-chairman. He served as president of T.O.B.A. and as a trustee of The Blood-Horse magazine. Clay served on the boards of the K.T.A. and the K.T.O.B. He was secretary of the American Horse Council. He is a member of The Jockey Club and a member of the advisory board of directors of the Keeneland Association.
Clay's interest in education includes past service as a trustee of the University of Kentucky, the Gatton School of Business, and the University of Kentucky Healthcare Committee. He currently serves on the board of the Martin School of Public Policy at U.K. He is a former member of the advisory board of the College of William and Mary Entrepreneurship Program. He has served as trustee of Midway College and as chairman of The Lexington School.
He was a board member of Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill for 13 years, where he chaired the Round Table at Shaker Village, bringing Kentucky business leaders together to find solutions for the state's most pressing issues.
He was the founding chairman of the Bluegrass Conservancy. He co-founded and served as chairman of Bluegrass Tomorrow, a regional planning and land management program, and as a board member of the Blue Grass Community Foundation. He is a retired member of the board of directors of PNC Bank N.A., Pittsburgh, on which he served for 23 years.
He co-founded and continues to co-chair the Henry Clay Center, a national effort to promote civil discourse in the ideal of Henry Clay.
In 1995, he received the John W. Galbreath Award, presented annually by the University of Louisville to recognize "exceptional entrepreneurship in the horse industry". In 2008, he was elected to the Bluegrass Business Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Anson W. Taylor, Jr. Award for Leadership in Equine Land Conservation.
Clay enjoys travel, golf, and fishing. He is a member of the United States Senior Golf Association, and past president of the Gulf Stream Golf Club.
The Thoroughbred Club Testimonial Dinner was inaugurated in 1932, the year the Club was founded, to recognize distinguished contributions of leadership as well as success in the Thoroughbred industry. The first recipient was Col. E. R. Bradley, and other winners include William Woodward Sr., three generations of the Hancock family of Claiborne Farm, plus Ted Bassett, Paul Mellon, Alice Chandler, Chris McCarron, and The Honorable Brereton C. Jones. To learn more about The Thoroughbred Club of America, visit online at www.thethoroughbredclub.com.
