Sporting art on view at Hall of Fame

The Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum held an opening reception for Cross Gate Gallery's Exhibition of Sporting Art on Thursday evening.

The reception was sponsored by 302 Polo. The exhibition features the work of nearly 40 artists who are part of the roster of the Lexington, Ky.-based art gallery and will be on display through March 28.

Most of the pieces in the exhibition are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum.

"Those artists are in our stable," said Greg Ladd, Cross Gate founder of the art gallery. "They're artists that we've selected over the last 35 years, and they are artists that we like. We try to have the best quality that we can have. They're all good painters."

From the standpoint of the selection of the artwork, Cross Gate tried to bring as much flat racing or racing-oriented pictures to the exhibit, but other disciplines are represented as well, Ladd said.

"There are three or four places that are recognized as the places to go on the East Coast if you're in the Thoroughbred business, with Aiken being one of them," Ladd said. "Mack Miller (Hall of Fame Thoroughbred trainer) is a good friend, and his family has their home in Lexington (Ky.). I know he always wintered down here. It's the place to come, especially during the City's 175th anniversary celebration. We're thrilled to be here."

The roster of artists featured in the exhibition are well known to the sporting art community.

"The exhibit from Cross Gate Gallery has exceeded my expectations," said Lisa Hall, City of Aiken Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and Hall of Fame and Museum program supervisor. "The quality of the paintings that they brought down from Lexington is amazing, and I would encourage everyone to come out and see this one-of-a-kind art show."

Contact Ben Baugh at bbaugh@aikenstandard.com.