The Jockey Club announced Aug. 31 that Joe Appelbaum and C. Steven Duncker have been elected as stewards. Everett R. Dobson (chair) was reelected. The remaining stewards are William S. Farish Jr. (vice chair), Gary Fenton, Terry Finley, Ian D. Highet (treasurer), Marc Holliday, Bret Jones, William M. Lear Jr. (secretary), David O'Farrell, and Vincent Viola.
The new members elected for admission in 2026 are Carrie Brogden, Michael Dubb, Bob Edwards, Peter J. Fluor, Greg Goodman, Gretchen Jackson, Josh Rubinstein, Mark Taylor, Jonathan Thorne, and Tom Ventura.
Carrie Brogden is the co-founder of Machmer Hall, a Thoroughbred breeding, boarding, consigning, and sales operation based in Paris, Kentucky. Raised on her family's Thoroughbred farm in Warrenton, Virginia, Brogden was active in the pony show circuit before earning a degree in psychology with a minor in biology from James Madison University. In 2001, she and her husband, Craig Brogden, established Machmer Hall alongside her mother, Sandra Fubini, building the farm into a respected commercial breeding program.
Machmer Hall has expanded to encompass more than 250 horses and has earned a reputation for excellence in breeding, pinhooking, and sales preparation, producing horses that have competed successfully at the highest levels of racing throughout the United States and abroad. Horses bred, raised, and/or sold by Machmer Hall include champions and major stakes performers Tepin, Search Results, Flat Out, and Mind Your Biscuits.
Brogden serves on the board of directors of Thoroughbred Charities of America and is a member of the Breeders' Cup.
Michael Dubb is the founder and chief executive officer of The Beechwood Organization, one of New York's leading residential development companies.
A lifelong racing enthusiast, Dubb has become an accomplished owner, campaigning hundreds of Thoroughbreds and earning multiple leading-owner titles at New York Racing Association meets. He has been active in every aspect of the sport, from claiming horses to competing in major stakes races, and he has enjoyed success with horses such as Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl.
Dubb has been on the board of the New York Racing Association since 2008, and he has been a leading advocate for improving the lives of backstretch workers and their families, helping lead housing improvements at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. He is the founder and chair of the Belmont Child Care Association and donated the materials and labor for the construction of Anna House and Faith's House.
Bob Edwards, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder and founder of e5 Racing Thoroughbreds, entered the sport in 2015. Edwards developed a connection to racing through his wife, Kristine, who grew up in Saratoga Springs and worked at the racetrack.
His stable enjoyed early success on the international stage when New Money Honey captured the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, followed by Rushing Fall's victory in the same race in 2017. Rushing Fall went on to win six Grade 1 races and earn the 2020 Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Female. Edwards also co-owned Good Magic, winner of the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and that year's Eclipse Award as Champion Two-Year-Old Male. In addition, he bred and raced multiple Grade 1-winning turf miler Carl Spackler (IRE) and bred Englishman, winner of the 2026 Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes.
Edwards joined the Army Reserve before continuing his studies at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he earned a degree in business. He later earned a master's from Temple University. After graduating, Edwards worked for a pharmaceutical company in Florida before co-founding Boca Pharmacal. Following the sale of the company and a brief retirement, in 2014 he launched e5 Pharma and Mizner Bioscience, pharmaceutical companies focused on human and animal health products.
Edwards was named 2017 National Owner of the Year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. He currently serves on the board of the Belmont Child Care Association.
Peter J. Fluor is a prominent American businessman, oil executive, and Thoroughbred breeder and owner. His family's involvement in racing spans generations through Pasaland Stables, owned by J. Robert Fluor and Charles Weiner. Peter is the co-principal of Speedway Stables, a racing partnership with K.C. Weiner. In the 1960s, Fluor's father, J. Robert Fluor, served as commissioner of racing for the state of California.
Through Speedway Stables, Fluor has campaigned numerous Grade 1 winners and champions, including Corniche, Collected, Roadster, Hard Not to Like, and Cavalieri.
Beyond racing, Fluor has had a distinguished business career, serving as chair and chief executive officer of Texas Crude Energy and as a longtime director of Fluor Corporation.
Greg Goodman is the owner of Mt. Brilliant Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding operation in Central Kentucky. A native of Houston, Texas, Goodman has spent nearly three decades as an owner and breeder, building a program that traces its roots to his family's involvement in the sport through Brazos T Farm in Texas. Mt. Brilliant has developed into an internationally recognized breeding and racing operation, with horses competing in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Goodman has played a leading role in land conservation efforts in the Bluegrass region, including co-founding the Fayette Alliance, an organization dedicated to protecting Central Kentucky's unique agricultural landscape. Goodman also restored the historic Faraway Farm property, preserving an important piece of Thoroughbred history associated with Man o' War and reconnecting portions of the farm's original acreage.
Goodman has served in numerous leadership positions with organizations that support Thoroughbred racing, breeding, education, healthcare, and equine welfare. His recognitions include the Thoroughbred Club of America's 2026 Honor Guest designation and the Thoroughbred Charities of America's Allaire du Pont Leadership Award.
Gretchen Jackson is co-owner of Lael Stables, one of Thoroughbred racing and breeding's most respected family operations. Alongside her husband, Roy Jackson, she developed Lael Stable into a nationally recognized racing and breeding enterprise whose homebreds and runners have earned acclaim on the sport's biggest stages. In 2006, Lael Stables was jointly awarded the Eclipse Award for Outstanding owner, along with Darley Stable.
The Jackson family has bred Thoroughbreds at Lael Farm in Pennsylvania since 1978, producing and campaigning numerous stakes performers. The Jacksons' most celebrated horse was Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner whose courageous battle following a catastrophic injury in the Preakness Stakes captivated the nation and helped elevate awareness of equine welfare and aftercare. Other top horses include She Feels Pretty, Showing Up and Arrest Me Red, all millionaires.
Jackson is a dedicated supporter of organizations that serve Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them. She has served on the boards of the Thoroughbred Charities of America, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and holds a longtime relationship with the Belmont Child Care Association.
Josh Rubinstein is president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. After working at Del Mar during his college years and spending time with ABC Sports, Rubinstein joined Del Mar full time in 1997 and advanced through a series of leadership positions before being named president in 2018. He oversees strategic planning and daily operations and has played a key role in Del Mar's growth, including its successful hosting of multiple Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Beyond his responsibilities at Del Mar, he serves on the Equibase Management Committee and has served as a director and secretary of Thoroughbred Racing Associations. He is also a member of the boards of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the California Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation, and Southern California Off-Track Wagering Association, while also contributing to California's Stabling & Vanning Committee, the Thoroughbred Business League, and other industry initiatives focused on the long-term health of the sport.
In 2022, he received the Thoroughbred Owners of California's Ed Friendly Industry Service Award in recognition of his contributions to Thoroughbred racing and his efforts to strengthen cooperation among racetracks, horsemen, and industry stakeholders.
Mark Taylor is president and chief executive officer of Taylor Made Farm, a Thoroughbred sales, breeding, boarding, and stallion operation based in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
A native of central Kentucky, Taylor grew up on Gainesway Farm. After graduating from Clemson University, Taylor gained experience with Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally in California and worked with Sheikh Mohammed's Dubai racing operation before joining his brothers as a partner in Taylor Made in 1994.
Taylor is a member of the board of directors of Keeneland, has served as president of the Thoroughbred Consignors and Breeders Association, and is a trustee of Breeders' Cup and a director and officer of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association / Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders. Through Taylor Made's Stable Recovery program and School of Horsemanship, he has supported housing, education, and job training opportunities for men and women recovering from substance abuse. He is also on the board of Dynamic Catholic Institute.
Jonathan Thorne is a longtime Thoroughbred owner and breeder whose involvement in New York racing spans decades, beginning on his family's historic Thorndale Farm in Millbrook, New York. A ninth-generation member of the Thorne family to reside on the farm, he grew up immersed in the breeding and raising of Thoroughbreds and developed a lifelong commitment to the sport and to New York's breeding program.
Thorne's career has included hands-on experience at some of the industry's most respected breeding operations, including Eaton Sales and Gainesway Farm in Kentucky, where he further developed his expertise in bloodstock, breeding, and farm management. He later returned to New York to oversee and expand the Thoroughbred operation at Thorndale Farm, an active participant in the state's breeding and commercial marketplace.
Thorne also maintains an active racing stable and has participated in numerous ownership partnerships, principally in New York.
Tom Ventura is president of Ocala Breeders' Sales Company (OBS), founded in 1975. OBS has 1,200 stalls, a one-mile all weather racetrack, and a 5/8-mile dirt training track. OBS Feed and Supply produces OBS Feed at the equine only feed mill delivers throughout the area and operates two full-service retail locations. OBS owns and operates OcalaBetS, which offers intertrack wagering and a cardroom.
Ventura attended the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program and served an internship with The Jockey Club in New York splitting time between the registration offices and Belmont and Saratoga racing departments. Upon graduation, he began his career in the racing office at NYRA, moved to Florida and became general manager of Kinsman Farm with a stint in between as associate coordinator at the UA RTIP. In 1994, he joined OBS as assistant director of sales and became president in 2012.
OBS has been actively involved with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance since its inception. Ventura is a member of North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee and Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers.
Membership in The Jockey Club is by election and offers of membership are made in accordance with the New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. Member candidates are individuals distinguished by their contributions to Thoroughbred breeding and racing who have demonstrated commitment to the Thoroughbred industry consistent with The Jockey Club's mission. Candidates are first nominated by current members and then are considered and elected by the board of stewards. Currently, there are 143 members. The list of members can be found here: bit.ly/tjcmembers.
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