Jockey Club elects eight members

The Jockey Club has elected eight new members, including its first two members from Arab countries, the organization announced Thursday.

The new members are Prince Khalid Abdullah, the Saudi Arabian owner of Juddmonte Farms; John Amerman, owner of Peacefield Farm in California; Ramona Bass, a Texas-based owner and breeder; William T. "Buddy" Bishop, a partner in the Lexington, Ky., law firm Stoll Keenon Ogden; Tracy Farmer, the owner of Shadowlawn Farm in Midway, Ky.; Ian Highet, a partner in the venture capital firm Court Square Capital; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the owner-breeder and Dubai prime minister who races under the banners of Godolphin and Darley; and Walter S. Robertson, the president of Fasig-Tipton sales company.

Members of the Jockey Club serve lifetime terms. With the eight new selections, the group now has 104 members. Khalid Abdullah and Sheikh Mohammed are the organization's first members from Arab countries, according to a Jockey Club spokesman.