Foundation Commits $1.16 Million to Equine Research

The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has approved a budget of $1,160,556 to fund equine research in 2016. The budget will fund 11 new projects, eight second-year projects, and two Career Development Awards to encourage young scientists. The 2016 funding brings the foundation's totals since 1983 to 335 projects at 42 universities for an aggregate of $23.3 million.

"Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we again are able to provide well over $1 million to fund the top projects among those that our Research Advisory Committee recommended to the board," said Edward L. Bowen, president of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

The 11 new projects address an important range of issues, including dorsal displacement of the soft palate, the importance of latency in outbreaks of Equine Herpes Virus-1, foal pneumonia, prevention of strangles, training and surface factors in preventing injury, and underlying mechanisms of disease. The eight projects entering a second year of research include other aspects of pneumonia and EHV-1, plus laminitis, colic, and placentitis.

Details on the new projects are available on the following link: http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/resources/newprojects.pdf.

The Career Development Awards program was initiated in 2006 with the first Storm Cat Award. This was named for the famous stallion that stood at Overbrook Farm, the family farm of foundation board member Lucy Young Hamilton. Mrs. Hamilton personally underwrites the $15,000 stipends to assist in specific research by young candidates for career paths in equine research. The 2015 Storm Cat Career Development winner is Dr. Elaine Norton of the University of Minnesota.

Last year, the family of the late Elaine Klein inaugurated another Career Development Award in memory of the distinguished equestrienne. The Klein Family Foundation is based in Louisville, Ky. The recipient of the second $15,000 Elaine Klein Career Development Award, in 2016, is Dr. Amanda Zeigler of North Carolina State University.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is a leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.