Owner John C. Oxley to receive Dinny Phipps Award

John C. Oxley, the Thoroughbred owner who campaigned 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, has been selected by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation for its Dinny Phipps Award, created to honor a supporter of Thoroughbred charities.

Oxley, who has donated a percentage of his purse winnings over the years to Thoroughbred charities, created the Oxley Challenge in 2004, in which his own foundation pledged to donate $1 million to Grayson-Jockey Club if the organization raised a matching amount over a four-year period. The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation is the largest of its kind in Thoroughbred racing, funding a number of research projects focused on health and welfare.

The Dinny Phipps Award was created in 2017 by Jockey Club member and horse owner Earle Mack, in memory of Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, who died in 2016. The first award went to the Phipps family, and last year, it was awarded to Frank Stronach, the Thoroughbred owner and breeder and founder of The Stronach Group, a racing company.

“I’m very flattered and humbled to receive this award,” Oxley said in a release. “I’m extremely honored because Dinny Phipps was a great friend, and I think he did more for racing and Grayson than any man in the sport.”