Winbak Farm, a sprawling 3,000-acre Standardbred horse farm located south of Chesapeake City, will be recognized by the World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore March 6 for its international business accomplishments.
It’s the first time any firm in Cecil County has won the Maryland International Business Leadership Award in the 17 years that WTCI has been giving out the honor.
“We’re extremely excited about this,” said Eddie Resende, director of Strategic Planning & Business Development at the World Trade Center Institute.
Winbak Farm and its owners, Joe and JoAnn Thomson, are one of seven winners that will be showcased at the event. Winbak was chosen from over 100 nominations this year for its local and international accomplishments, Resende said.
Gov. Martin O’Malley will present the award at a ceremony in the American Visionary Arts Museum near the Inner Harbor.
“It’s a surprise, and it makes me proud of our operation here,” Thomson said, giving credit to his crew at Winbak.
“The award is great, but the real work done at the farm is outstanding,” Thomson said. “We’ve had three ‘Horses of the Year’ in 2002, 2003 and 2009 and ‘Pacer of the Year.’”
The farm, which is involved in breeding, foaling, yearling sales and standing stallions, has bred horses that have earned more than $224 million and won more than 23,352 harness races since 1998.
In recent years, Thomson has focused more on developing his international business, which is what he is being honored for March 6.
Thomson loves Cecil County for its weather, its horses and its beautiful countryside, but he says he has seen other states be more supportive of the Standardbred industry that he has devoted his life too.
“That’s why we made the decision to go outside Maryland to develop our business in recent years,” Thomson said. “We had to go somewhere other than our own back yard.”
“It’s a shame Maryland doesn’t do more to help Standardbred racing,” he said.
Thomson breeds 100 mares in Canada and has horse operations in New York, Ontario and Delaware, in addition to Maryland.
About 30 to 40 percent of his yearling sales are done internationally and more than 50 percent of the semen sales are international.
“Some countries buy the semen frozen and others want us to ship the stallion to them,” he said.
Winbak has done business with Italy, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Siberia, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, China and Canada.
The farm also engages in international exchanges with farm management and veterinary medicine.
“Joe is a unique combination of prudence and aggression,” said Thomas Grossman, owner of Blue Chip Farms in New York, a Standardbred farm who has done business with Thomson for years.
“He is a great partner who is quick to share the good and the credit, but also quick to admit when wrong and adjust the plan,” Grossman said. “He is a piece of true bedrock in a quickly changing business climate and makes all of us around him better.”