For 2025, there are five director vacancies on the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association board of directors to be filled for three-year terms running until October 2028 and one director vacancy to fill a term left vacant by Colin Brennan. This term ends October 2027. The board waited for the election process versus appointing a member to the board position.

 

Pursuant to the Association’s bylaws, the current board of directors nominated the following six candidates for these vacancies: 

1) Jerry Campbell (incumbent); 2) Nick de Meric; 3) Christine Jones; 4) Mary Lightner (incumbent); 5) Phil Matthews, DVM; 5) and 6) Jean White, DVM. White’s term ends October 2027. All others end October 2028.

 

Each candidate agreed to run and to serve as an FTBOA director. As provided in the Association bylaws, because there are only six candidates for six director vacancies, members will not be required to cast ballots, and these six candidates will be deemed elected to office upon the presiding officer calling the FTBOA’s annual meeting to order on Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. online.

Current board members Joe O’ Farrell, Marilyn Campbell, and Mike Hall end their terms at the start of the annual meeting. 

Following is more information about each candidate.

 

Jerry D. Campbell

A veteran banker and longtime Thoroughbred owner/breeder, Campbell is the chairman of the bank holding company, New South Bancorp, Inc. in Tampa and was founder/has served as COB of HomeBancorp, Inc., and COB at Republic Bancorp since 1986.

Campbell taught finance, banking and investment courses at Wayne State University. He has a B.S. degree in liberal arts from Central Michigan University, a M.B.A. degree from Wayne State University and The University of Michigan where he later served 10 years on the Dean’s visiting committee for the business school. Campbell has served on the Board of Trustees for Central Michigan University. Campbell was Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993. Campbell previously served as a director, president/CEO of Magna Entertainment, Inc.

Campbell has been breeding and racing Thoroughbred horses for more than 55 years. He currently owns 35 Thoroughbreds, including racehorses, mares and foals. All of the breeding is in Florida. His trainer is Kathleen O’Connell.

Among the horses raced by Jerry are stakes winners Crash Pad, Diamond Gate, Mont Ridge, Post It, Proud Ridge, Sea Legs, Terko Bates, Axe of Courage, I Match Too, This Cats on Fire, Wave Pool, Charlies Fire and Valley Loot. The latter, a daughter of Demaloot Demashoot, was named Michigan’s Horse of the Year and top 3-year-old filly in 2007.

He roughly has two dozen racehorses at Tampa Bay Downs and launched Team Equest, a Florida-based syndicate-initiative designed to attract new owners to racing via a fractional ownership plan in 2014. He races under Volar Corporation and Campbell Stables plus he owned Florida-bred Indy Lyon, a winner on Florida Cup Day.

 

Nick de Meric

De Meric grew up in England, showing ponies as a youngster and graduating to three-day eventing and point to pointing when he turned sixteen. After graduating from Bradfield College, he worked as a journalist in London for the Field Magazine, before studying Rural Estate Management at Cirencester Agricultural College in Gloucestershire. After this he did stints with English trainers R. C. Sturdy, Brian Swift and Roger Stack before moving to Australia and working for the legendary trainer Tommy Smith. Later he became interested by North American racing and sales, and in the early 1980s worked for Clay Camp, Lee Eaton, and Fred Seitz before settling in Ocala by way of Louisiana, where he met his future wife Jaqui.

He and Jaqui rode for a number of farms in the Ocala area before marrying in 1983. Nick and Jaqui had their first consignment of 2-year-olds that year and the fledgling business quickly grew into a major 2-year-old training operation. Their graduates include You and I, Chaposa Springs, Smokin’ Frolic, Wallenda, Forty One Carats, Ask The Moon, Capo Bastone, Currency Swap, Materiality, Annals of Time, War Story, Practical Joke and Separationofpowers. Nick has also served on the board of OBS since 2001.

In 1992 they bought Eclipse Training Center adjacent to their Manuden Farm, now an accredited facility totaling 240 acres. Both their kids, Ali, now a member of the Rice clan and Tris, who with his wife Valery have become crucial partners in the operation, have children of their own and are full-time trainers in their own right.

 

Christine Jones

Jones’ passion for Thoroughbreds began in childhood, assisting her father – a prominent Canadian owner and breeder. She spent countless hours at racetracks and was privileged to be stabled alongside Secretariat during his final victory at Canadian International. These experiences with exceptional athletes ignited her dedication to Thoroughbreds and taught her the critical importance of pedigree analysis for breeding excellence.

After moving to Florida, tragedy struck when Christine’s husband, General Manager of Marablue Farm, passed away, leaving her a single mother with two young sons. The farm owner quickly recognized her exceptional skills with stallions, mares, and staff, promoting her to General Manager.

Under Jones’ leadership, Marablue Farm transformed from a small private operation to an outstanding commercial enterprise. She expanded the roster from Proud Birdie to include exceptional stallions like Tactical Advantage and Songandaprayer, growing the operation from 50 horses to nearly 700.

Today, as director of stallion services at Pleasant Acres Stallions, Jones selects and campaigns premier stallion bloodlines for Florida breeders. She handles mare pairings, breeding appointments, The Jockey Club reports and works directly with stallion owners and syndicates. Her dedication to expanding Florida’s Thoroughbred industry includes mentoring first-time breeders and securing top-quality bloodlines.

Jones’ groundbreaking industry recognition includes being the first female recipient of the Florida Farm Manager of the Year Award in 1998 – a nomination from her peers in the then male-dominated industry. Most recently, she received the prestigious 2024 Godolphin Thoroughbred Industry Employee Managerial Award, cementing her reputation as one of the industry’s most respected professionals.

 

Phil Matthews, DVM

Past FTBOA board president, Dr. Phil Matthews was a practicing equine veterinarian in Marion County for more than 42 years, coming 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 Practitioner. 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. Dr. Matthews has also been involved in the Thoroughbred industry in several other capacities having purchased his first Thoroughbred in 1983. As the owner of Cedar Grove Farm in Ocala, and a Florida Thoroughbred breeder, Matthews has had the good fortune of raising several stakes winners, including recent Pegasus Stakes winner Mr. Jordan and has been involved in all facets of the industry including sales and racing. He still breeds mares. 

Matthews previously served on the FTBOA board and was on the Executive, Governance and Marketing/Communications committees. He has remained active in the Association currently serving on the Farmland Task Force.

 

Jean White, DVM

White became involved in the Thoroughbred industry at a young age working at Fair Hill Training Center as a groom and exercise rider. She was a veterinary tech at Delaware Park while earning her B.S. in Animal Science at the University of Delaware. She attended the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. After completing an internship at Ocala Equine Hospital, she joined the practice as an associate veterinarian in July 2000. Her practice spans reproduction, neonatal and foal care, sales, and training horses.

Dr. White runs a full-care farm which handles foaling, breeding, sales preparation and rehabilitation of racehorses. She also has a newly formed non-profit, Jean’s Haven Inc., for broodmares and racehorses that cannot be rehabbed for athletic second careers. Jean enjoys traveling to see live music, spending time with her family, her pets, and watching her son, Dylan, play golf and march in the West Port high school band.

She is a member of American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

 

Annual Meeting

FTBOA Regular Members received notice by e-mail with instructions on how to register for the Oct. 24 annual meeting. If you are a regular member and you have not provided FTBOA with your current email address, please contact FTBOA.

 

Return to the October 9 issue of Wire to Wire