After absences as members on the board due to term limits, Fred Brei of Reddick and Milan Kosanovich of Ocala will return to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association board of directors while Bobby Jones of Reddick, Francis Vanlangendonck of Morriston and Dr. Fred Yutani of Ocala all remain on the board for second terms. Each will serve a three-year term that will run until October 2023.
Leaving the board because of term limits as outlined in the FTBOA by-laws were Barry Berkelhammer and Greg Wheeler, both from Ocala. Wheeler will, however, remain on the board ex officio as a past president of the Association. Both were commended for their strong commitment and service to the Association and industry.
Phil Matthews, DVM, was elected as the president of the Association at the board meeting that followed the Oct. 23 annual member meeting. He said he was grateful to be elected president by his fellow board members and welcomed the new board members.
“I am pleased that the board has entrusted me once again with the office of president of the FTBOA,” Matthews said. “We are in the midst of challenging times with the closure of Calder and obviously the uncertainty created for sales and racing by the pandemic. To take on these challenges we have an engaged board, a very capable executive committee, a terrific CEO in Lonny Powell and a wonderful staff at our FTBOA offices.”
The board also named the executive committee for 2020-21 with Matthews as president while Valerie Dailey was named first vice president. Brent Fernung was named second vice president and George Russell will serve as treasurer. Joseph O'Farrell III has been elected as secretary.
Also an FTBOA board past president, Matthews came to Ocala in 1981 as an associate veterinarian at Peterson and Smith Equine Hospital. He became a partner in that practice in 1984 and his veterinary affiliations include the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He has served on several committees for the AAEP and is a past member of the board of directors.
Dr. Matthews has been a speaker and instructor at various veterinary venues around the country and internationally and with his wife Karen own Cedar Grove Farm in Ocala.
Brei established Reddick-based Jacks or Better Farm in 1997 with his wife Jane. He bought his first broodmare in 1972 and was actively involved in the Illinois breeding and racing industries before moving to Marion County. The Breis primarily breed to race on the 88-acre Jacks or Better Farm and enjoyed quick success. Midas Eyes, the Florida-bred champion sprinter of 2004, marked the first Florida-bred champion for the Breis. The Breis have also swept the Florida Sire Stakes three times with Jackson Bend, Awesome Feather and Fort Loudon. Awesome Feather also won the 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and an Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old filly that year.
Jones has been a mainstay in the thoroughbred community in Ocala for more than 30 years and has served some 25 years with the Florida Farm Managers. He served as president for more than a decade and has served as chairman of the board for the last nine years. Jones is currently the owner and manager of Bobby Jones Equine, LLC, a 36-acre thoroughbred farm where he keeps broodmares for breeding in the thoroughbred commercial market. He also conducts sales preparation and consigns thoroughbreds of all ages at public auction. He offers boarding, foaling, breeding, breaking, training, and rehabilitations, which are enhanced by the swimming facilities located on the farm.
A retired Pennsylvania steel executive, Kosanovich got involved with thoroughbreds more than 30 years ago while purchasing his first broodmare as a graduate school business project. Kosanovich owns a 40-acre farm in Ocala and eight mares. A highlight came in 2009 when broodmare, Go Donna Go produced Grade 1 performers, Macho Again, winner of more than $1.8 million, and Be Fair.
That year, his Florida-breds won more than $1.6 million, comprised of 16 starters with 18 wins, 27 seconds and 21 thirds (four stakes winners). His success led him to be honored with the FTBOA Needles Award, bestowed annually to an outstanding small breeding operation in Florida.
Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck, along with their sons Arthur and Andrew, base their Summerfield Sales Agency in Morriston, Fla. Summerfield is located on 80 acres where the Vanlangendoncks offer boarding, sales prep, bloodstock consulting, pedigree analysis, mating recommendations, evaluations, appraisals, sales recommendations and pinhooking partnerships.
Francis and his team annually attend all major yearling and mixed auctions, conducted at Ocala Breeders' Sales, Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland in Florida, Kentucky and New York. They are habitually among the leading consignors in North America with nearly $12.6 million in sales in 2018 and among leading overall consignors with more than $15.1 million in sales.
Among the sale highlights of 2018 was a colt by Curlin that sold for $1.8 million at the Keeneland September Sale.
Dr. Yutani was born in California, raised in Detroit and attended high school in California. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Southern California and graduated from the George Washington University Medical School. He did his post graduate training at the Cleveland Clinic and served two years as a doctor in the United States Army. He is married to Sara Lynn whom he met in Washington DC.
Yutani and his wife came to Ocala and Marion County in 1972 drawn by the climate and horses. They have been breeders or co-breeders of stakes horses such as My Nichole, who won the Desert Vixen Stakes and was the dam of Three Ring, multiple stakes-winning Daisies and Nites, stakes-winner Right This Way, Group 3-placed Oh Mambo Girl and Stoneyer, the 2-year-old and 3-year-old imported horse of the year in Puerto Rico. Horses trained and resold include Imawildandcrazyguy, who was fourth in the 2007 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Able Buck, who was second in the Withers (G2).
Other FTBOA board members include T. Paul Bulmahn, Marilyn Campbell, Nick de Meric, Laurine Fuller-Vargas and Richard Kent.
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