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dustry could boast that Florida-bred Affirmed was the last horse to have won the Triple Crown. Owned by Louis Wolfson's Harbor View Farm, Affirmed was foaled, raised and received his early training in Ocala. In 1978, Affirmed swept to victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes to become the 11th Triple Crown winner. The 37-year span between Affirmed and American Pharoah was the longest between Triple Crown winners.
OCALA STUD Ocala Stud is the oldest active Florida Thoroughbred operation and has been a fixture on Shady Road (SW 27th Ave.) for six decades and counting. And the iconic white and green Ocala Stud sign has long been a popular photo op for locals and tourists. Maryland horseman Joe O'Farrell was part of a nine-person syndicate headed by Bruce Campbell that purchased 800 acres of the previous Dickey Stables for $700,000 on Jan. 16, 1956. The first stallion that stood at Ocala Stud was Rough'n Tumble, who became one of the foundation sires of the Florida thoroughbred industry. Ocala Stud bred My Dear Girl, the first Floridabred filly to be named a national champion in 1959, and Roman Brother, the first Florida-bred to be honored as the North American Horse of the Year in 1965. Over the decades, Ocala Stud has been a perennial leading Florida breeder and has bred more than 100 stakes winners. Today, Mike O'Farrell is president and general manager of the O'Farrell family-
owned Ocala Stud. His sons, Joe and David, serve as financial manager and farm manager, respectively, making them the third generation of O'Farrells involved in Ocala Stud.
HORSE SHOWS IN THE SUN Founded in Gainesville in 1982, Horse Shows In The Sun Inc. (HITS) moved to Ocala-based Castro Farms in 1987 and has called Ocala home ever since. In 2001, HITS Inc. bought Post Time Farm on U.S. Highway 27 and moved its operation to the 500-acre facility. Every winter, from mid-January through March, thousands of hunter/jumper competitors descend upon Ocala. The 10-week event is popular with the public as well, with the showgrounds open Wednesdays-Sundays, 8am-5pm. HITS concludes each season with the $1 Million Grand Prix, which draws the best horses and riders from around the world. According to a 2014 Sports Management Research Institute economic impact study, HITS Ocala accounts for $63 million in direct expenditures from participants and spectators. That number generates more than $90 million in total economic benefits to the Ocala/Marion County area.
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