For 2026, 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 2029.

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

1) Beckie Cantrell (incumbent); 2) Valerie Dailey (incumbent); 3) Brent Fernung (incumbent); 4) Marilyn Campbell and 5) George Russell. 

Each candidate agreed to run and to serve as an FTBOA director. As provided in the Association bylaws, because there are five candidates for five director vacancies, members will not be required to cast ballots and these five candidates will be deemed elected to office upon the presiding officer calling the FTBOA’s annual meeting to order on Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. online.

Current board members Francis Vanlangendonck and Milan Kosanovich end their terms at the start of the annual meeting. 

Following is more information about each candidate.

 

MARILYN CAMPBELL

Marilyn Campbell, along with her late husband Gil, established the 600-acre Stonehedge Farm South in Williston, Fla in 1988. Since then, the farm has been a perennial industry leader. Consistently in the top three producers for more than three decades, the five-time Florida Breeder of the Year (1997, 2013, 2016, 2023 and 2024) ranked second among Florida breeders by earnings in 2025 with $2,352,517 under her Stonehedge LLC banner. Stonehedge LLC ranked seventh on the leading owner list in 2025 with $537,467 in earnings with 99 starts, 14 wins, 14 seconds and 15 thirds.

In 2020, the farm had a banner year with $1,789,857 in earnings, ranking 25th nationally.

Grade 2 winner Ivanavinalot, dam of Songbird, is among the farm’s top Florida-bred stakes winners. Black-type stakes winner Well Defined and Always Sunshine, a dual stakes winner, were added to their list of stakes winners along with millionaires Marlin and Blazing Sword among many others. The farm has approximately 200 head of horses on the property, including Florida stallion Cajun Breeze, a son of Congrats. She owns, in partnership, Florida’s leading sire Khozan.

The Campbells first became involved in the sport in 1982 as co-owners of the Florida-bred stakes winner Shananie. The horse was the first stallion to stand at Stonehedge. 

For decades, Campbell has been supportive of Florida-breds and the Florida program. A former FTBOA board member, Campbell plans to continue her passion for Florida-breds. Perennially, Stonehedge has also been a significant sponsor of many Florida Thoroughbred Charities fundraisers and FTBOA events.

 

GEORGE RUSSELL

A past president of the FTBOA, George Russell was born and raised in South Florida and currently resides with his wife Karen on their Rustlewood Farm in Reddick, Fla.

After visiting Marion County in 1987, the Russells were impressed by the area’s beauty, the slower-paced lifestyle, and the beautifully manicured horse farms. They soon purchased 158 acres on Hwy. 225A and established Rustlewood Farm.

Their initial purchase of four yearling fillies from neighbor Elmer Heubeck yielded Rustlewood’s first stakes winner, All Considered, who took the 1989 I Guarantee It Stakes at Gulfstream Park. By Peace Rules, All Considered would also produce eight winners from 12 starters including Consider Thesource, by Notebook, winner of the 2005 Florida Stallion Stakes My Dear Girl at Calder Race Course.

Rustlewood has also bred, raised, and/or raced stakes-horses All Milady, All in the Book, Blue Pepsi Lodge, Inside Affair as well as multiple Grade 1-winner Chaposa Springs. Other graded-stakes winners include Grade 1-winner You and I, Group 2-winners Distinctly North, El Kabeir, Mach Ride and Grade 2 Best Pal winner Pappacap; Grade 3-winners Boppy O and Prudhoe Bay; and multiple graded stakes-placed Pat N Jack. Pappacap was runner-up in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Russell is the founder and current president of Russell Engineering, Inc. and is a past chairman of the board of the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association. He also currently serves on the Ocala Thoroughbred Racing Association’s board.

Russell has been instrumental in FTBOA’s legislative role, governance and racing program development, is past chair of the charity/social committee, current FTBOA Farmland Preservation Task Force chair, and a strong advocate of Florida Thoroughbred Charities.

 

INCUMBENTS

BECKIE CANTRELL

Beckie Cantrell graduated from the University of Florida in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and she went on to teach school for two years.

She then joined Hugh Dailey at Sun Bank as an agriculture lender trainee. After several years of training and continuing education, Beckie started her own loan portfolio specializing in agriculture and Thoroughbred farm loans, as well as equine lines of credit.

Cantrell worked at Sun Bank/SunTrust Bank for four years, then rejoining Dailey at Community Bank and Trust from 1999 to 2006 as she continued her banking career at Gateway Bank until 2011.

Cantrell retired from banking to concentrate on her Thoroughbred breeding farm and raise her daughter Reece with her husband Kent Cantrell. Kent is an equine veterinarian and a partner in Ocala Equine Hospital.

Since 1998, the couple has pinhooked weanlings to yearlings and bred a few mares each year. All of their foals are registered Florida-breds and Cantrell is hands-on as the caregiver for each foal. She plans each breeding and foals out the mares.

The couple started in the Thoroughbred industry being partners with two good friends, Beth Bayer and Brett Brinkman, and throughout the years have continued a close relationship with Beth Bayer who occasionally partners with them on horses.

Cantrell became a licensed realtor with Showcase Properties of Central Florida. Cantrell is an active board member of many youth organizations including the Southeastern Youth Fair and she has been in service as the president of the Marion County 4-H Foundation.

Top horses the Cantrells have bred include Lindsey’s Wish, Wildcat Wish, Evolution Rocks, and Violent Turbulence. Cantrell serves currently as FTBOA board secretary.

 

VALERIE DAILEY

Valerie Dailey has a long history serving both the agriculture and business markets in central Florida. She has a B.S. in Food and Resource Economics and a Masters in Agricultural Operations Management, both from UF. She led the UF/IFAS College of Agriculture computer teaching labs and was the IT Director for the UF/Health Science Center Vice President’s Office. She also has been the Business Development Director for the Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Council.

Dailey has been a Florida Licensed Realtor with Showcase Properties of Central Florida since 2005, where she specializes in listing and selling commercial and agricultural equine properties. She is the former president of the Ocala/Marion County Realtor Association. She is also on the board of the College of Agricultural, Life Sciences Alumni Board, and the State of Florida 4-H Foundation Board. She utilizes her agricultural background and leadership positions to protect the property rights of breeders in Ocala.

She has been a small breeder since 1985 with multiple stakes winners including part ownership in a Group 1 Coolmore City of Troy Nunthorpe-winner Bacio. Together with husband Hugh and daughter Samantha, she operates a successful thoroughbred breeding farm. She is a member of the Ocala/Marion County CEP and has belonged to the FTBOA for more than 13 years. She is also the past chair of the FTBOA charity committee and current president of FTBOA.

 

BRENT FERNUNG

Involved in the Florida Thoroughbred industry for more than 45 years, Brent Fernung and his wife Crystal owned and operated Journeyman Stud.

Fernung’s career began at Lasater Farm during its heyday in the late 1970’s through 1984. Fernung also served as Franks Farm/Southland Division farm manager and Cloverleaf Farm general manager. In 1989, the Fernungs established Journeyman Bloodstock Services. Fernung purchased Eileen’s Moment (dam of Lil E. Tee) just months before he won the 1992 Kentucky Derby.

As agent for Cloverleaf Farms II, Fernung purchased I’ll Get Along for $130,000 at Keeneland in 2001. Her weanling that year would become 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness-winner Smarty Jones. In 2004, Fernung, as agent, sold I’ll Get Along for $5 million, the highest priced broodmare at public auction that year. In 2006, Fernung, as agent, purchased Congrats as a stallion prospect for Cloverleaf Farms. Congrats went on to be the leading first crop sire in North America in 2010. Journeyman has stood leading sires for many years.

Journeyman stood Wildcat Heir (leading freshman sire, three-time leading juvenile sire, and four-time leading Florida sire) and later 10-time awarded Florida sire Khozan (leading Florida sire six times and leading juvenile sire four times). Journeyman Stud stood Awesome of Course when he was named leading juvenile sire, and Circular Quay and St. Patrick’s Day as leading freshman sires.

Fernung is a past president of the FTBOA. He was named the 2004 Florida Farm Manager of the Year.

 

Annual Meeting

FTBOA Regular Members will receive notice by e-mail with instructions on how to register for the Oct. 23 annual meeting beginning at 10 a.m. online. If you are a current regular member and you have not provided FTBOA with your current email address, please contact FTBOA.

Return to the September 10 issue of Wire to Wire