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GELFENSTEIN FARM
horses with Eddie Woods and Nick de Meric at the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. “The emphasis will be on breeding and racing,” said Gelfenstein. “This year, I realized I wanted to have a little piece of all facets of the equine industry. We’ll have a select number of horses for sale, but the emphasis will be on racing.” HARAS DE SANTA MARIA ARARAS
Julio Bozano recognized Ocala’s value as a great place to raise a horse nearly 30 years ago. Haras de Santa Maria Araras has been a fixture on the Marion County landscape placing its indelible imprint as a Thoroughbred breeder and owner. A leading breeder in Argentina and Brazil for more than 30 years, Bozano purchased the farm in Ocala in 1986, said Dr. Ignacio Leon, Haras de Santa Maria Araras’ farm manager. “He visited a mare he had in Ocala and loved the area,”
BURNS PHOTO
It’s a dream come true for Ivan Rodriguez Gelfenstein, who purchased a 68-acre parcel of land that was formerly part of Leprechaun Farm in February 2013, and is in the process of pursuing his passion by turning his vision into reality. “Now that I’ve realized my dream, I’m expecting more,” said Gelfenstein, whose interest in horses was encouraged from an early age by his aunt in his native Chile. “This is the start of a dream.” And as Gelfenstein grew older, he began to follow Thoroughbred racing more closely in his mid-to-late teens while living in Venezuela. It was through the encouragement of two close friends that his interest continued to flourish, inspiring a life-long passion that has evolved into its current state. “I bought my first horse at age 24, Asadon,” Gelfenstein said. “I bought more and more horses, and would go to the other farms in Venezuela who had thoroughbreds. I loved to go there to see the broodmares and horses.” However, it was while in Venezuela that Gelfenstein first heard of Ocala and it was Marion County’s allure that compelled him to direct his energies toward realizing a dream he thought was unattainable, to become the owner of a Thoroughbred farm. Gelfenstein Farm employs state-of-the-art technology, with cameras installed throughout the facility, so every facet of the operation can be monitored closely. The 5/8mile dirt training track has a teletimer, providing accurate and timely information to clients and the training operation. Owners have the ability to access video of their horses training and information about their horses on a 24 hour basis. The farm has been renovated and refurbished. The track was rebuilt, from the base up. There are three barns with 72 stalls, and a quarantine barn with an additional 14 stalls. A solid staff that includes Vidal Martinez, general manager and Juan Arnaldo Pacanins, chief operating officer, help make Gelfenstein Farm run seamlessly. “We spent a year-and-a-half remodeling the farm after we purchased it,” Gelfenstein said. “ Gelfenstein Farm also has a Euro-Gym, round pens and a pool that is salt water and sand filtered. There are 22 well-maintained paddocks of various sizes. They have a small broodmare band, and there are weanlings and yearlings in addition to the horses in training at the facility. An emphasis on data, statistical information, bloodlines and analyzing a horse’s gait, are among the variables that Gelfenstein routinely employs in identifying a horse’s potential. Gelfenstein Farm not only has horses in training that will go to the racetrack, but has a select number of horses that will be consigned to the sales. They had
said Leon, who has been passionate about horses from a young age. “I have four brothers and they also have horses. My older brother is a bloodstock agent, and sold Bayakoa, Paseana, Ibero and several other horses to Ron McAnally.” Bozano has a substantial breeding operation in Argentina, composed of 135 broodmares and two stallions, Campanologist and Heliostatic. The horseman also owns shares in two of the top stallions in Argentina, Orpen and Pure Prize, said Leon. “In Brazil, he has 205 mares and the stallions Put It Back, the leader the last two years; Wild Event, leader the three previous years; Adriano, whose first crop is racing and is the leading 2-year-old sire and Cisne Branco, a new stallion bred by Haras Santa Maria de Araras,” said Leon. Good Baba, a two-time Horse of the Year in Hong Kong; Palladio, a Grade 1 winner and the Sovereign Award winning 3-Year-Old Male; Wallenda, a (G1) winning millionaire and graded-stakes winners D’Hallevant; Hold Me Back; Pommes Frites, Quite a Bride, Strong Contender and Simmard are among the Haras Santa Maria de Araras graduates. ■
Florida-bred millionaire Palladio is an example of one of the many highquality horses bred by the farm.
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