John C. Harris (July 14, 1943 – July 3, 2025) was an American horse breeder and businessman who was the owner of Harris Farms and was a onetime president and, until his death, a member of the executive committee of the

California Thoroughbred Breeders Association The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA), founded in 1937, is a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of thoroughbred breeding and racing in California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western Unite ...

. A member of the

California Horse Racing Board The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is an independent agency of the State of California, United States. Established in 1933, The CHRB has authority over the regulation of horse racing and parimutuel betting at licensed California race tracks. ...

(CHRB), he served as chairman of the CHRB for the years 2004, 2005 and 2009, and was a director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Harris was a member of

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

beginning in 1988. He died on July 2, 2025, at the age of 81. Harris Farms, founded in 1937, is one of the United States' leading producers of agricultural products. Harris Ranch Beef Company produces nearly 200 million pounds (90,700,000 kg) of beef and is California's largest

fed cattle Fed cattle refers to cattle leaving a cattle feedlot, after fattening on a concentrated ration, that are ready to be sold to a packing plant for slaughter. Beef cattle are typically sold to packers at about 1,100 pounds, which yields a carcass weig ...

processor. California's leading breeder of

thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered ...

, Harris Farms stood ten stallions in 2010, including Cee's Tizzy, sire of two-time

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

winner

Tiznow Tiznow (foaled March 12, 1997 in California) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2000 and 2001, becoming the only horse to win this race twice. He was the 2000 American Horse of the Year a ...

; Redattore; and Swiss Yodeler.

References

1943 births 2025 deaths Businesspeople from California Farmers from California Ranchers from California Sportspeople from Fresno, California American horse racing industry executives University of California, Davis alumni {{US-horseracing-bio-stub