Today’s economy has hurt both businesses and charities. Many businesses, individuals and foundations who were strong supporters of charitable organizations are unable or unwilling to continue to do so. at least at previous levels.

Gale S. Brophy, however, shines through this season as an
astute entrepreneur as well as a philanthropic leader. In fact she
received the palm Beach 2008 Entrepreneurial and Philanthropy
Award from Black Tie International in November. Gale’s passion
and energy are unsurpassed in everything she does. She has
become an icon of elite new York and palm Beach society.
Gale divides her time between her home in Palm Beach,
apartment in Manhattan, her estate and two horse farms in the
Catskill mountains of upstate New York while running a thriving
thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business that is in the
process of going global. In between home and business, she also
manages to find time for her charities while enjoying a full
social calendar.

As the owner and manager of one of the leading thoroughbred
breeding operations in New York state, and enjoying the win of
the Kentucky Derby with Strike the Gold in 1991, Gale’s
reputation in the industry garners the utmost respect from her
peers. She is a regular guest at the Kentucky Derby and Royal
Ascot each year, and of High Highness Sheikh Mohammad Al Bin
Makhtoum, the ruler of Dubai at the Dubai World Cup, the
richest horse race in the world. The internationally renowned
horse racing corporation GSB Racing and Breeding, has been
breeding, training and racing thoroughbreds since the early 1980’s
when Gale launched her first farm in Palm Beach Polo and
Country Club.

Gale used her expertise and extensive knowledge of horses to
establish her first horse farm, “Runaway South”, which was one
of the largest facilities in the area. Originally involved in show
jumping and polo, Gale quickly fell in love with the “Sport of
Kings”. Thirty-six Red was the first thoroughbred acquisition of
Runaway South. He was broke and trained by one of Gale’s polo
players, Rob Walton, and went on to earn more than $1 million in
the late 80’s and early 90’s. Gale soon determined that there was a
critical need for a state-of-the-art C.E.M. quarantine facility in the
region. She set one up at Runaway South, which at that time was
one of only two such operations in South Florida.

Gale sold Runaway South in 2001 and redirected her interests
toward investing in the New York thoroughbred racing program
and establishing a New York breeding facility. The generous
Breeder’s Awards and Stallion Awards incentive programs
offered by New York Racing Authority (NYRA- www.nyra.com )
opened a wonderful opportunity to run her business out of her
1000 acre family estate in the Catskills. “I saw a tremendous
opportunity for money to fall from the skies with the residual
awards from a horse without feeding it, owning it or taking care
of it! Now even through tough economic times the NYRA program
has stayed strong and will get even stronger with the advent
of VLT’s (video lottery terminals) coming online at Aqueduct and
across the state.” Four years ago she expanded GSB Racing &
Breeding by purchasing a nearby farm with more than 250 acres.
Today her thorough understanding of promoting and marketing
her businesses has made her operations worth millions of dollars.
And she’s not slowing down. GSB racing & Breeding is
currently expanding in two areas: Horse Racing Partnerships
and Stallion Operations. Gale’s plan for the Horse Racing
Partnerships is to drastically increase GSB’s presence at
thoroughbred race tracks by using her expertise to acquire
winning horses at good market values due to today’s prices.
As she was overheard saying recently, “I really want to win the
Kentucky Derby again. Other than the birth of my son, that was
the biggest thrill in my life! This is the perfect market to acquire
great horses and, hopefully, find winners.”

With increased emphasis on racing Gale is looking forward to
not just attending The World Cup in Dubai, but racing in it.
According to the Dubai World Cup official program she has been
named the U.S. link to the A.E. for horse breeding and racing.
Obviously Gale Brophy has strong relationships with everyone
connected to the thoroughbred horse racing
industry there.

Now is also the perfect time to expand GSB breeding operations
to include stallions. Again, current market prices, increased
incentives from NYRA, the fact that New York has a huge void
of quality stallions, plus GSB has one of the top three thoroughbred
farms in the state, and Gale’s stellar reputation all provide
for the perfect opportunity for positive growth. There is no doubt
that Gale S. Brophy knows horses, expertly reads the market,
and is always ahead of the curve in business.

However, Gale’s true passion is her charity work. Even though
she is most comfortable in her cowboy hat and blue jeans while
driving her truck, she shines in ball gowns for black tie affairs.
From New York to Palm Beach she is known for devoting her
efforts and boundless energy to helping others. Her list of
charitable achievements is quite long from founding and chairing
the Red Cross Polo Luncheon from 1991 to 1999 to founding and
chairing the ADT Championship gala at Mar-a-Lao Club in Palm
Beach from 2004 to 2008. She has been honored at multiple
events and has received numerous awards for her philanthropy
for raising millions of dollars for charities. According to Gale,
“I strongly believe in giving back and that what is freely given to
others comes back one-hundred-fold. God has truly blessed me
with such abundance and success and there is always great need
in our community. And I get so much joy from helping others!”