Trudy McCaffery


Trudy V. McCaffery was a Thoroughbred racehorse owner-breeder in California who served on the board of directors of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation, the NTRA Charities, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the Oak Tree Racing Association, and the Thoroughbred Owners of California. She was also a trustee with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
Born Trudy Hanson in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she was the daughter of Minnesota-born Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Melvin "Fritz" Hanson and his wife, Maxine. As a young girl growing up in Calgary, Alberta, she became an accomplished equestrian. As an adult, in addition to participating in the sport of horse racing, she was an avid golfer.
While living in Rancho Santa Fe, California, in 1989 she began a racing partnership with Canadian-born John Toffan. It became one of California's top racing and breeding operations, and in 1997 the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association named them "Owners of the Year". They bred Round Pond, who won the 2006 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Their top runners included:
In addition to her involvement with various California horse racing associations, in 1999 McCaffery founded "Kids to the Cup", a non-profit organization dedicated to developing young racing fans. She was also a member of the board of directors of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation, which raises money to help racetrack backstretch employees, and the board of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities. For her contributions to the Thoroughbred racing industry, she was awarded the 2002 National Thoroughbred Racing Association Commissioners Cup and the 2004 Clay Puett Award by the Racetrack Industry Program.
Sixty-two-year-old McCaffery died at her home on February 12, 2007, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer.