Our Team

William F. Paynter

William has most recently been the President of Greenwood Capital Group as a co lead independent sponsor in the investment banking field seeking small to middle market companies to acquire and grow. William led a capital raise for Universal Medical Supply prior to the

William F. Paynter

William has most recently been the President of Greenwood Capital Group as a co lead independent sponsor in the investment banking field seeking small to middle market companies to acquire and grow. William led a capital raise for Universal Medical Supply prior to the pandemic and led its efforts to open a factory to help combat the global shortage of PPE domestically manufactured. During the course of this endeavor, he established very deep relationships with other Industry leaders and healthcare distribution executives, government officials, and positioned the company to enter into contract manufacturing agreements while limiting the capital spend in an asset light model with increased EBITDA margins.
His ability to sit down face to face with other industry leaders that are family owned businesses is unparalleled and he has a unique skill set to empathize and understand the seller's dilemma and challenges that a private owned business has on a day to day basis due to his experience at UMS and at Tier3 Technologies a 15 year old global family business that he operated with his father.
They own Oak Hill Farm in Versailles, KY and are active Thoroughbred enthusiasts where he runs Ocean Reef Racing a thoroughbred syndicate which is a Multiple Graded Stakes Winner in its first two years since inception.
William has held several strategic roles over the years in Leadership, Global Business Development, and has led the Global Go To Market Strategy for distribution of the ESP Software Platform. His ability to identify & develop strategic long term elationships in many global theatres has been key in the Product Development, Distribution, and Sales function Globally. Prior to this role he led the team focused on Systems Integrator & Gov. SLED Contracts in the US. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of South Carolina, and a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. Former board work includes Metro United Way, Gilda's Club of Kentuckiana, and is a supporter of MD Anderson Center in Houston, TX

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Luther “Ted” Griffith, Jr.

Ted’s background has been entrepreneurial minded and he brings with him a breadth of skills, ranging from financial modeling, marketing, operations, fundraising, and process management.

Luther “Ted” Griffith, Jr.

Ted's background has been entrepreneurial minded and he brings with him a breadth of skills, ranging from financial modeling, marketing, operations, fundraising, and process management.
Most recently Ted cofounded Eco Terra in 2016 which is dedicated to protecting land, restoring natural resources, and financing alternative energy solutions. He raised capital from high net worth individuals and small business owners and worked with their advisors to grow referrals and repeat business. Ted recently realized his investment in a sale of the company in the fall of 2021. Prior to Eco Terra Ted functioned as a Partner at Old Ivy Capital Partners which was a principal investor in real estate opportunities (~ $100MM under management). He drove the development of financial models for various transactions and assisted with deal due diligence.
Other previous experiences include working for Gallery Capital Management, an alternative investment management fund, where he developed and implemented the company’s brand strategy in order to grow awareness in the investor community and initiated conversations with prospective investors. He honed his skill set of brand strategy and management along with his marketing skills. Ted also co founded Direct Hits Publishing, while a graduate student. DHP is a boutique education publishing company focused on transforming course/class notes into books. He oversaw all aspects of day to day operations including sales, business development, account management, brand messaging and positioning, as well as vendor selection and management.
Ted and his wife Rachel reside in Atlanta, Georgia where he has been actively involved in The Teach On Project since 2014 and was also previously on the Alumni Board of Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management. He enjoys squash, golf, and is an avid supporter of Atlanta United FC.

 

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Charlie O'Connor

Horses and the horse industry have been a guiding force in Charlie O’Connor’s life. He grew up in the Curragh, Ireland where he started riding at the age of 8. He then started exercise riding for local trainers such as Con Collins, Liam Brown and Paddy Prendergast at the age of 15.

Charlie O'Connor

Horses and the horse industry have been a guiding force in Charlie O’Connor’s life. He grew up in the Curragh, Ireland where he started riding at the age of 8. He then started exercise riding for local trainers such as Con Collins, Liam Brown and Paddy Prendergast at the age of 15. He attended Multifarham Agricultural College for two years. He was then taken on by Coolmore Stud at age 20. He worked at the farm in Ireland with the horses and shuttling stallions to Austraila. He then took time away from the horse industry to explore his other love, the restaurant/bar industry. He opened a fine dining restaurant with his sister in the west of Ireland and then a restaurant/pub with her in Dungarven, Ireland. Ultimately, his love for the horse industry brought him to Coolmore America in 2000 to work in their sales office. He has served as the Director of Sales there since 2012 .He has also enjoyed being both a breeder and owner of thoroughbred race horses. He has served on the board of the Thoroughbred Club of America for a two year term. He has also been on the board of the Markey Cancer Association Golf Classic for 10 years. He is happily married to his wife, Debbie, since 2005. They have two sons together, Jack age 9 and Max age 8. Two years ago he got back to his other passion and opened The Amsden Bourbon Bar in Versailles with some very good friends.

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Brendan Walsh, Trainer

Brendan Walsh’s career earnings now approach $40 million with 553 wins through June 4, 2023. He won the 2019 UAE Derby (G2) with Plus Que Parfait – who became Walsh’s first Kentucky Derby (G1) starter (and finished eighth) – as well as 2017 Illinois Derby (G3) with Multiplier, who

Brendan Walsh

Brendan Walsh’s career earnings now approach $40 million with 553 wins through June 4, 2023. He won the 2019 UAE Derby (G2) with Plus Que Parfait – who became Walsh’s first Kentucky Derby (G1) starter (and finished eighth) – as well as 2017 Illinois Derby (G3) with Multiplier, who became Walsh’s first Triple Crown race starter (unplaced in 2017 Preakness and Belmont). Some of his early successes include two horses who won stakes at Santa Anita on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Santa Anita; the first was Cary Street, who he claimed for $10,000 in February 2013 and won the 2014 s Vegas Marathon (G2), and the second was Scuba, who won the 2016 Marathon.

Brendan was raised on a small farm in Ireland that included mostly sheep and dairy cows, but he learned to ride on his childhood pony. He honed his horsemanship at the Irish National Stud and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Kildangan Stud, which led to working as an exercise rider and stable foreman for Sheikh Mohammed’s racing division in Dubai and at Arlington Park in Chicago. He then worked for 3½ years for Mark Wallace in Newmarket, England before becoming an assistant to fellow Irishman Eddie Kenneally in 2007 to learn the U.S. training style prior and obtaining his trainer license in 2011. Brendan currently resides in Louisville, KY and sends his horses all over the country.

Walsh's other top runners include multiple graded stakes winners Scuba, Proctor's Ledge, and Honorable Duty. In 2019, Walsh sent Derby-hopeful Plus Que Parfait to Dubai to compete in the UAE Derby, and the ridgling responded willingly to win the $2.5 million race and earn a place in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. One of several trainers for the global powerhouse Godolphin Stable, Walsh earned his first Grade 1 win when Godolphin homebred Maxfield won the 2019 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. Maxfield added a second Grade 1 win in 2021, when Walsh set new career highs for wins with 81. The following year, Walsh set a new personal best in purse earnings with more than $8.6 million while winning three Grade 1 races in 2022.

Walsh added a marquee win in May 2023 when he sent out Godolphin's Pretty Mischievous to a victory in the $1.25-million Longines Kentucky Oaks, his first win in the most important U.S. race for 3-year-old fillies.

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Wesley Ward, Trainer

Ward grew up in the horse racing industry, being the son of trainer Dennis Ward. In 1984, Wesley Ward was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey following a season in which he won riding championships at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and the Meadowlands Racetrack and rode 335 winners.

Wesley Ward

Ward grew up in the horse racing industry, being the son of trainer Dennis Ward. In 1984, Wesley Ward was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey following a season in which he won riding championships at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and the Meadowlands Racetrack and rode 335 winners. He went on to compete at racetracks in Italy, Malaysia, and Singapore before his battles with weight gain led to retirement in 1989. Ward is based in Lexington, KY and mainly trains at Keeneland, but has winter bases in Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida and Turfway Park in Erlanger, KY. He regularly ships a string of horses to Royal Ascot in England and to the prestigious Saratoga meet in upstate New York.

Ward, first as an assistant to his father before going out on his own in 1991, earned his first stakes win as a trainer in 1994 at Hollywood Park, winning the Cinema Handicap. He races at Gulfstream Park in Florida during the winter months and has 3 children: Riley Ward, Denae Ward, and Jackson Ward.

On June 16, 2009, Ward became the first U.S.-based conditioner to ship a horse to England and win a stakes race at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. Strike the Tiger, a 2-year-old gelding co-bred and co-owned by Ward, shocked the meet by taking the Windsor Castle Stakes at odds of 33-1. The following day, Ward sent out a 2-year-old filly named Jealous Again to claim an even bigger Ascot victory. She took the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes by a comfortable five lengths.

However, Ward also suffered setbacks at that Ascot meeting; 4-year-old Cannonball was sixth in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes, and juveniles Yogaroo (Norfolk Stakes-G2), Aegean (Albany Stakes-G3) and Honor in Peace (Chesham Stakes) were also-rans in their events. But Cannonball was wheeled back on four days' rest, almost unheard of in American racing circles, and ran second in the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr. 1).

In 2013, Ward scored a further Royal Ascot success when No Nay Never won the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, and a first European Group 1 win when the same horse won the Prix Morny at Deauville in August.

In 2014, Ward scored his fourth Royal Ascot victory with Hootenanny in the Windsor Castle stakes, racing with over 23 other horses and winning by four lengths. Ward scored his first victory at a Breeders Cup with Hootenanny in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and, one day later, scored his second victory with Judy the Beauty in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

2015 brought a fifth Royal Ascot success when Ryan Moore rode Acapulco to win the Queen Mary Stakes, giving Ward his second victory in that race. In 2015, Wesley Ward was inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Hall of Fame.

At the 2017 Royal Ascot meeting, Ward trainee Con Te Partiro took the Sandringham Handicap at odds of 20-1 ridden by Jamie Spencer.

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Peter Eurton, Trainer

Peter Eurton has trained Thoroughbred racehorses since 1989, primarily in Southern California, with resulting winners of nearly 500 races and $20 million. Eurton picked up his first Breeders’ Cup win with Champagne Room in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 5, 2016.

Peter Eurton

Peter Eurton has trained Thoroughbred racehorses since 1989, primarily in Southern California, with resulting winners of nearly 500 races and $20 million. Eurton picked up his first Breeders' Cup win with Champagne Room in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 5, 2016. He added a second Breeders' Cup victory to his tally when Storm the Court upset the TVG Juvenile at odds of 45-1 in 2019.

Notable horses trained by Eurton include Grade 1-winner Weemissfrankie and Grade 2-winners Madame Cactus and My Gi Gi. He also trained Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes-winner Dance With Fate, who became his first Kentucky Derby runner. Dance With Fate finished sixth of 19 in the 2014 Kentucky Derby after a poor trip.

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Keith Desormeux, Trainer

J. Keith Desormeaux (born c. 1967) is a horse trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Desormeaux was born in Maurice, Louisiana – part of Louisiana’s Cajun region. His brother is Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.

 

Keith Desormeux

J. Keith Desormeaux (born c. 1967) is a horse trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Desormeaux was born in Maurice, Louisiana – part of Louisiana's Cajun region. His brother is Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Keith Desormeaux originally wanted to become a veterinarian, but instead completed a degree in animal science at Louisiana Tech University after he decided to become a horse trainer. He began his training career in the 1980s in Maryland, first working with other trainers such as Charlie Hadry, and then opening his own training stable in 1991, though he had raced horses under his own name as early as 1988. He originally came to Maryland on his summer break from college while exercising racehorses after his brother Kent had been very successful in Maryland and encouraged Keith to join him there to work. Keith Desormeaux later moved to Texas and trained at Lone Star Park until 1997, when he moved to California.

Desormeaux struggled throughout his career to team up with owners able to purchase the highest-quality horses. His break came when he met Matt Bryan, an oilman who owned Big Chief Racing Stables. Desormeaux finally came to national attention in 2013 when he won the Risen Star Stakes with Bryan's horse, I've Struck a Nerve – a 135–1 longshot and the biggest upset in the history of the race. Desormeaux stated at the time, "I can sit here and tell you I'm a good trainer, but I can't make a slow horse fast. When you've got a little bit of money behind the horse’s power, you can see what happens." It was his first graded stakes win.

On August 21, 2014, Dexormeaux passed the 500 win mark and, that same year, teamed up with brother Kent to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Texas Red. Comparing the work of his jockey brother Kent to his own work as a horse trainer, Desormeaux said, "His job is over and done in two minutes. Mine takes two years."

In 2015, Desormeaux began sending out horses who challenged Nyquist, the 2015 American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. In the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he sent out two horses, Swipe and Exaggerator, who finished second and fourth to Nyquist.

In 2016, Exaggerator won the Santa Anita Derby and had also challenged Nyquist again two more times, including in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, where he finished second, each time closing his rival by an ever-narrower margin until finally defeating Nyquist at the 2016 Preakness Stakes.

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Graham Motion, Trainer

H. Graham Motion (born, in Cambridge, England) is an American horse trainer, notable for his work with 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and entry Better Talk Now. Motion started out training

Graham Motion, Trainer

H. Graham Motion (born, in Cambridge, England) is an American horse trainer, notable for his work with 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and entry Better Talk Now. Motion started out training and winning with his own Thoroughbred horses at age 29, and his first win was with Bounding Daisy in March 1993 at Laurel Park Racecourse. Graham's father worked as a bloodstock agent. He worked for Johnathan Shepard as an assistant trainer from 1985 through 1990. He then worked as an assistant under trainer Bernie Bond in 1991, then assumed Bond's stable when the trainer retired after 1992. Motion now lives in Fair Hill, Maryland.

Motion finished in the top ten of all Maryland conditioners nine times, including seven straight years from 1995 through 2001. He led all trainers with five stakes wins in the 2008 Pimlico spring meet. He won his 1,000th race at Laurel Park Racecourse on November 6, 2006. In 1997 he finished with a career-best 150 races won. In 2008, Motion finished in the top twelve trainers in earnings nationally with over $6,900,000.

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Leonard Powell, Trainer

Leonard Powell was born in Deauville, Normandy, France on September 12, 1976 and has since made a name for himself as one of the steadiest trainers on the Southern California circuit. He currently resides in West Hollywood, California with his wife Mathilde and three daughters,

Leonard Powell

Leonard Powell was born in Deauville, Normandy, France on September 12, 1976 and has since made a name for himself as one of the steadiest trainers on the Southern California circuit. He currently resides in West Hollywood, California with his wife Mathidle and three daughters, but Powell grew up with horses on his family’s 200-acre Normandy stud farm – le Haras du Lieu des Champs – and rode as an amateur jockey on both the flat and over the jumps. His father was an American journalist who ran the family farm and taught Powell and his brothers the horse business and the value of hard work.

Powell’s brother Freddy is currently the head of bloodstock acquisitions at Arqana, the French auction house, his brother Richard now runs the family stud farm, and his stepbrother, Arnaud Delacour, is a notable trainer in the eastern US.

Powell holds a degree in business management from the University of Caen Normandy, but his list of teachers is an international Who’s Who that includes Richard Mandella, Neil Drysdale, John Shirreffs, John Gosden, John Hawkes, Peter Snowden, and Michael Kent, who he says taught him three things: “Observe, pay attention to the details, and shut up.”

His racetrack odyssey started in the United States, but also went on to England, Australia, and Singapore. His climb since hanging out his training shingle in 2005 has been mostly upward, culminating in his best year yet in 2019 when he won 26 races and more than $900,000 in purses. To this point, most racing folks know him – and pay him tribute – for his exceptional work with the grand campaigner Soi Phet, the Giant’s Causeway horse Niagara Causeway, a graded stakes winner who went on to a stud career in Kentucky, and stakes winners Beach View and Fatale Bere, both graded stakes winners at Del Mar.

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