Frank Stronach Honored at Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration

Frank Stronach, the founder and honorary chairman of The Stronach Group and a leading Thoroughbred owner and breeder, accepted the Dinny Phipps Award at the annual Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration held on June 7, 2018, at Bryant Park Grill in New York City.

Earle Mack, an active participant in Thoroughbred racing and breeding for more than 50 years and the creator of the award, presented Stronach with a bronze sculpture created by Odon Wagner Gallery and artist Gary Weisman. The honor is presented annually to an individual or individuals who demonstrate dedication to equine health. The Phipps family received the inaugural award in 2017.

"Dinny was a great person and I'm honored to receive an award that carries his name," Stronach said. "He would only do things that were good for horse racing."

The event was attended by approximately 175 people and took place in advance of the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, to be held on Saturday, June 9.

Phipps, a prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder, served as the chairman of The Jockey Club from February 1983 until he retired in August 2015. He received numerous honors and awards through the years for his dedication and commitment to the Thoroughbred industry. He died on April 6, 2016.

Mack has owned Thoroughbreds since 1963 and has actively supported equine retirement initiatives. A member of The Jockey Club since 2012, he has also served as a board member at various times for the New York Racing Association, the New York State Thoroughbred Racing Capital Investment Fund, and the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Corp. He was chairman of the New York State Racing Commission in the mid-1980s. Mack is also the founder of the Man O' War Project, which is the first university-led research trial to establish manualized guidelines for the application of Equine-Assisted Therapy for treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and to examine the effectiveness of this treatment for veterans.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation''s leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. The foundation has provided $26 million to fund 358 projects at 43 universities since 1983. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.