Noting his commitment to the Thoroughbred and the land, the Thoroughbred Club of America recognized owner-breeder H. Greg Goodman as its Honor Guest at its 95th testimonial dinner Sept. 26 at Keeneland.
Goodman, owner of the 1,400-acre Mt. Brilliant Farm near Lexington, is the breeder of classic winner Creator, grade 1 winners Salty You, Snow Ridge, Cafe Olympus, and Gaming and is a founder and current treasurer of the Fayette Alliance, a land-use advocacy group protecting Central Kentucky farmland.
"Dad has always said he's the luckiest man in the world, and he has worked hard to give back to the horses, the land, and the people who have given our family so much," said Goodman's daughter Mary Jane Goodman Rosenstein. "Dad has been an amazing father to my siblings and me. He shows up. He's always there to talk, to offer advice—whether you ask for it or not (she said with a laugh)—and to love us unconditionally.
"I see that same care in the way he looks after his horses and the land. That sense of responsibility passed from one person to the next is what is what makes this industry so special."
Because illness prevented Goodman from attending the ceremony (he watched on a livestream feed from his home in Houston), three of his four children accepted the award. Mary Jane noted that her father would have noted that many other people in attendance Friday are also worthy of the honor and also would have credited the many workers who keep the Mt. Brilliant operation running.
"I know how honored and humbled he is to receive this honor and be placed on a list with the greatest legends of our industry," said son Bo Goodman. "When thinking about our dad and the things that are important to him, three things come to mind: his family, horses, and land. It is interesting how intertwined these three things are, and how they have built on each other to help him achieve what he has regarding all three."
The Goodman family also includes wife Rebecca, son Hutton, and daughter Hannah Goodman Goodlett.
Mt. Brilliant celebrates history and looks forward. It includes the land where Man o' War once stood and each year it plays host to the Bluegrass International Cup, a polo match that raises money for the Fayette Alliance and the UK Markey Cancer Foundation. Goodman followed his father, Harold, owner of Brazo T Farm in Brookshire, Texas, into Thoroughbred racing and breeding.
Mt. Brilliant is the breeder of 2016 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Creator, who edged Destin by a nose to win the 1 1/2-mile classic. Creator, a son of Tapit —Morena, by Privately Held, was campaigned through his victory in the Arkansas Derby (G1) by WinStar Farm before Bobby Flay joined the ownership team ahead of the Belmont. WinStar (Maverick Racing) landed Creator for $440,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm, Gainesway, agent.
Goodman has raced horses throughout the world, with trainers such as Michael Stidham in North America, Sir Mark Prescott in Europe, and Gai Waterhouse in Australia.
"As he built the farm and his breeding stock, he realized the importance of protecting the horse farms and farmland and worked hard to preserve as much as he could," Waterhouse said in one of the many testimonials gathered in the program for Friday's event. "He loves being in the business and passed that love on to his children, who are also active in the horse business."
Goodman's commitment to the industry and philanthropic efforts have been recognized many times. The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association along with the Equine Land Conservation Resource has honored Goodman with the Robert N. Clay Award in recognition of his conservation efforts. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association-Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders have honored him with the William T. Young Humanitarian Award, and the Thoroughbred Charities of America honored him with its Allaire du Pont Leadership Award. This year Goodman was named a member of The Jockey Club.
Those honors stem from Goodman's willingness to immerse himself in efforts to benefit horse racing and breeding, as well as the community. In accepting the scroll the recognizes the Honor Guest Friday, Hutton Goodman noted his father's willingness to get involved.
"When our dad believes something matters to our farm, to our community, or to this industry, he has never been particularly good at sitting quietly on the sidelines," Hutton said. "One of the things my dad has always understood is that this industry doesn't exist in isolation. It depends on the land, the limestone, the grass, the farms, and the open space around Lexington.
"They're part of what makes this place different from anywhere else in the world. That belief was one of the reasons he, along with Helen Alexander, John Phillips, and Don Robinson, joined together and founded the Fayette Alliance. He understood that growth was inevitable and that Lexington needed to grow to prosper. But he also believed that if we weren't thoughtful about how we grew, we could easily lose something that could never be recreated. Once farmland is developed, it doesn't become farmland again.
"For him, protecting the land has never simply been about preserving the view from a road or keeping Lexington the way it was once upon a time. It's about protecting an extraordinary agricultural resource and an industry that supports generations of families here. It's about recognizing that the farms surrounding the city are not an obstacle to Lexington's future. They are one of the reasons that Lexington has a future unlike any other city."
