Everett Dobson, Walker Hancock, Gray Lyster Named to Keeneland Board

By Amy Gregory —-

LEXINGTON, KY (Sept. 26, 2018) – Cheyenne Stables’ Everett Dobson, Claiborne Farm President S. Walker Hancock Jr. and Ashview Farm Co-General Manager W. Gray Lyster IV have been named to Keeneland’s Advisory Board of Directors.

Dobson, Hancock and Lyster will begin their service at the Advisory Board meeting on Oct. 11. The Keeneland Board, which meets semi-annually during the track’s April and October race meets, represents a cross section of leaders in the Thoroughbred industry and Central Kentucky community.

“Everett, Walker and Gray each bring valuable talent and perspective to the Keeneland Board,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “They will be wonderful assets and we thank them for serving.”

Everett Dobson

A native of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, Everett Dobson races under the name Cheyenne Stables and owns Candy Meadows Farm near Lexington, where he has some 30 broodmares. He serves on The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards and as a Breeders’ Cup Director. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the American Graded Stakes Committee. Dobson is CEO of Dobson Technologies and its subsidiaries, which focus on operating a 3,000-mile fiber optic network and a managed IT business serving enterprise customers throughout Oklahoma and North Texas. He also is minority owner of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

S. Walker Hancock Jr.

Walker Hancock succeeded his father, Seth, as President of Claiborne Farm in 2014, becoming the the fourth generation of his family to run the storied farm near Paris, Kentucky, since it was established in 1910. He has spent his entire life in the Thoroughbred industry, working with yearlings and serving as a veterinary technician during the breeding season at Claiborne, and working on the race track with trainer Al Stall Jr. Hancock is a Director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Breeders’ Cup, and is a member of The Jockey Club and the American Graded Stakes Committee.

W. Gray Lyster IV

Gray Lyster is Co-General Manager of his family’s Ashview Farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Lyster participates in every aspect of the Thoroughbred business, from owner and breeder to farm operator, agent and sales consignor. He co-bred 2015 champion sprinter Runhappy. Lyster currently serves as President of the Thoroughbred Club of America.

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For more than 80 years, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. The world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house, Keeneland conducts four sales a year, in January, April, September and November, and its sales graduates dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2015 and will hold the event again in 2020. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a private, for-profit corporation that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses and millions of dollars donated in support of horse industry initiatives and charitable contributions for education, research and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. To learn more, visit Keeneland.com.