John C. Oxley

Monarchos gave Oxley and his wife, Debby, North American racing's most coveted prize in 2001, the Kentucky Derby. Trainers John and Donna Ward, who handled the Oxley horses for more than 30 years, developed Monarchos, whose Derby time of 1:59.97 is the second-fastest in race history. The Oxley-Ward partnership produced a long list of stakes winners, led by champion female Beautiful Pleasure, a six-time Grade 1 winner who earned $2.7 million in her career. Other top horses campaigned by the Oxleys include Kentucky Oaks winner Gal in a Ruckus, Grade 1 winner and sire Sky Mesa, multiple graded stakes winners Airoforce, Uncaptured, Spring in the Air, Snow Dance and Darling My Darling, as well as Noble Bird, Skyway, Dynamic Sky, Beethoven, Dancinginherdreams and Strong Contender.

In 2016, the Oxleys unveiled another future star in Classic Empire, who won the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes, the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile en route to the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. Classic Empire finished third in his 3-year-old debut, but rebounded to win the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in his final prep for the 2017 Kentucky Derby.

Oxley founded Oxley Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration firm based in his hometown of Tulsa, in 1962. He sold the company in May 2003 and has since started Oxley Resources LLC, a smaller-scale oil and gas exploration and production venture. He is the son of Hall of Fame polo player John T. Oxley, is the former chairman of the U.S. Polo Association and was elected to the Polo Hall of Fame in 2010.