The National Steeplechase Association elected five members to the Board of Directors at its annual meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at NSA headquarters in Fair Hill, Md.
The Board of Directors comprises 15 members, and five are elected each year to three-year terms. Two current directors, NSA President Guy J. Torsilieri and Vice President Doug Fout, were elected to new terms. Joining the Board of Directors are owners Sean Clancy, Thomas J. Collins, and Jeffrey L. LeHew.
Here are the newly elected directors in alphabetical order.
Sean Clancy is a former champion jockey (1998), an Eclipse Award-winning writer (2009), and co-owner and co-publisher of The Saratoga Special and thisishorseracing.com with his brother, Joe. He is the principal of Sean Clancy Bloodstock and Riverdee Stable, a partnership that currently races Grade 2 winner Gibralfaro. He was responsible for the purchases of Hall of Fame member Good Night Shirt and Grand National (Gr. 1) winner Mr. Hot Stuff, among others.
Thomas J. Collins is the founder and chairman of Collins Engineers, a nation-wide, diversified consulting engineering company based in Chicago, that provides design and analysis services coupled with field inspection services to the transportation, marine, construction, and land-development industries. He and his wife, Roxanne, race as Ballybristol Farm and campaign, among others, 2019 timber champion Andi’amu.
Douglas Fout, a second-generation professional steeplechase horseman, has been the NSA’s vice president since 2009. He was a steeplechase jockey in the 1970s and 1980s before transitioning to training. Perennially among the sport’s top-10 trainers, he trained Hirapour to the 2004 Eclipse Award as North America’s champion steeplechase horse. He also serves as president and clerk of course for the Middleburg Spring Races.
Jeffrey L. LeHew is the president of Via Satellite Inc., a diversified communications company that, among other services, provides satellite television and internet service in most of Virginia, and parts of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He served as an adviser to the NSA’s Promotion and Growth Committee in selecting a provider for high-definition video coverage of race meets. He is a director of the Virginia Gold Cup Association and a current Joint Master of FoxHounds for the Blue Ridge Hunt He and his family race as Shannon Hill Farm.
Guy J. Torsilieri has been president of the National Steeplechase Association since 2009 and also is the long-serving chairman of the Far Hills Race Meeting in New Jersey. Under his guidance, Far Hills has become the largest NSA race meet by purse distribution and inaugurated pari-mutuel wagering in 2018. He and his family own and operate Torsilieri Inc., a diversified landscaping and production-services company best known for selecting, delivering, and installing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree each year.