Media Advisory: Champion Standardbreds to Receive August Touch of Class Award; Harness drivers Corey Callahan and Frank Milby to be honored with Secretary’s Citations

ANNAPOLIS, MD – A family of champion Standardbred racehorses and breeding stock, owned by Joe Thomson of Winbak Farm in Chesapeake City (Cecil County), will be presented with the Maryland Horse Industry Board’s (MHIB) August Touch of Class Award on Thursday, August 15, during the evening race card at the Casino at Ocean Downs in Berlin.

In addition, two harness racing drivers, Corey Callahan and Frank Milby, both Maryland natives, will receive Secretary Citations, presented by Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, for their 3,000th and 1,500th career wins, respectively.

The four Standardbred Touch of Class honorees are all owned by Winbak Farm and all related in some fashion. They are:

• The broodmare Lady Ashlee Ann and the stallion Bettor’s Delight, who were installed in the Living Harness Horse Hall of Fame on July 7, in Goshen, NY. 
• Betterthancheddar, a son of Lady Ashlee Ann (another Winbak-owned horse) who was named Canadian Champion Pacer in 2013.
• The late Classic Wish, another Winbak Hall of Fame honoree, who is the dam of Bettor’s Delight.

This is the second Touch of Class Award for Winbak, one of the nation’s leading Standardbred farms, which was honored in March 2012 for their champion colt Roll With Joe.

What: Presentation of the Maryland Horse Industry Board’s August Touch of Class Awards
Who: Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, MHIB Chairman Jim Steele, Winbak Farm Owner Joe Thompson, and harness drivers Corey Callahan and Frank Milby
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15.
Where: In the winner’s circle at The Casino at Ocean Downs in Berlin.

MHIB established the Touch of Class Awards in 2011 to honor Maryland horses and people who achieve national and international recognition. The award is made each month and is named after the Maryland-bred mare, Touch of Class, who won two show jumping gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

For more information, contact MHIB Executive Director Ross Peddicord at 410-841-5798 or ross.peddicord@maryland.gov

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