Keeneland Magazine - Summer 2020 Issue

LONE STAR LEGACIES

KEENELAND TRACK KITCHEN

XALAPA FARM

RECORD-SETTING SALES

K EENELAND SUMMER 2020

celebrating bluegrass traditions

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Contents SUMMER 2020

SEASON 2020

F EAT U R ES

28 POLISHING A JEWEL

by Lenny Shulman Historic Xalapa Farm gets a show-stopping makeover that honors its past while accommodating a thriving, modern-day Thoroughbred operation.

42

42 LONE STAR LEGACIES

by Edward L. Bowen Texas horsemen in Kentucky continued their influence during the late 20th century.

Part 2 of a series

60 MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR MAGIC

by Judy L. Marchman Keeneland’s record-setting sale toppers electrify the auction scene.

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84

70 NOTHING HALFWAY ABOUT MIDWAY U

by Maryjean Wall Midway University has come a long way since its founding as the Kentucky Female Orphan School.

84 NOT YOUR AVERAGE KITCHEN

by Patti Nickell Keeneland’s Track Kitchen is the place for breakfast, serving up biscuits and gravy, lively conversation, and perhaps a tip or two.

ON OUR COVER American Pharoah Study Oil on board, 12 x 14, by Charles Church Signed, inscribed, dated 2019 verso An internationally renowned painter of horses, landscapes, and country life, Charles Church works from life to capture the moment. With more than 37 commissioned paintings of grade or group 1 winners, as well as hunting and polo scenes, the sell-out exhibition of his work prompted the Prince of Wales to write of Church’s “profound understanding of his subject matter.” His commissions include The Royal Pageant of Horses for Queen Elizabeth II.

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Contents

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D E PA R T M E N T S CONTRIBUTORS 10

•

18 SPOTLIGHT ON The Life’s Work Oral History Project preserves the sport through in-depth interviews with prominent individuals in racing and breeding.

by Milton C. Toby

96 MAKING

A DIFFERENCE The Living Arts and Science Center embraces the concept that art and science education enhances life.

by Jacalyn Carfagno

106 KEENELAND

TEAM PROFILE Front-line employees

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 12

•

NEWS 14

C ASTLETON L YONS

offers a unique opportunity for serious breeders to board their thoroughbreds. Here you will find a state of the art facility with old world charm. Over one thousand acres of lightly grazed lush pasture supported by the best quality soil, so famous for producing great race horses, await your thoroughbred investments.

Horses make a landscape.

Individual detailed oriented attention for horse and client in a top class environment can be found conveniently located within minutes of the Bluegrass Airport, Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, and the world’s best equine hospitals.

Completing our facility is an isolation farm annex settled on approximately one hundred acres, directly across the road on scenic Mt. Horeb Pike.

We would be delighted to hear from you | Please contact PAT HAYES

Inquiries to Pat Hayes: 2469 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 455-9222 Fax (859) 455-8892 www.castletonlyons.com

Contributors

SUMMER 2020

EDWARD L. BOWEN

AMY OWENS

(Lone Star Legacies) is the former president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. He is a former editor-in-chief of BloodHorse and has authored 21 books about Thoroughbred racing and breeding. His latest book is The Lucky Thirteen, about the Triple Crown winners.

JACALYN CARFAGNO (Learning For the Fun of It) is a professional writer and an editor based in Lexington. She has covered the equine industry and written restaurant reviews and commentary for the Lexington Herald-Leader in addition to work for a wide range of clients.

JUDY MARCHMAN (Multimillion-Dollar Magic) is an Austinbased freelance writer and editor and has been published in Keeneland magazine, US-BRED, American Racehorse, and The Horsemen’s Journal among other publications.

She spent 15 years at BloodHorse as a writer and an editor before returning to her home state of Texas.

PATTI NICKELL (Not Your Average Kitchen) is a freelance travel writer whose work has appeared in major newspapers and national magazines. She currently writes travel articles for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

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(Keeneland News/ Connections) is Keeneland Communications Associate.

K EENELAND celebrating bluegrass traditions

The off cial magazine of Keeneland Association, Inc. published by Blood-Horse LLC 821 Corporate Dr., Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 278-2361/FAX (859) 276-4450 KeenelandMagazine.com BloodHorse.com

LENNY SHULMAN (Polishing a Jewel), former features editor of BloodHorse magazine and the author of several books, is working on a collection of his BloodHorse interviews that will be published by University of Kentucky Press in 2021.

MILTON C. TOBY (A Life’s Work Well Told) is an attorney and the author of nine books about Thoroughbred racing. They include Dancer’s Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby, winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, and Taking Shergar: Thoroughbred Racing’s Most Famous Cold Case. Based in Central Kentucky, Toby is president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

MARYJEAN WALL (Nothing Halfway about Midway U) won multiple Eclipse Awards during 35 years as Turf writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In addition to Madam Belle: Sex, Money, and Infuence in a Southern Brothel, she is the author of How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders.

She holds a doctorate from the University of Kentucky.

KEENELAND.COM

Editor: Jacqueline Duke Artists: Catherine Nichols (Art Director), David Young, Claudia Summers Copy Editors: Tom Hall (chief), Rena Baer Visuals Director: Anne M. Eberhardt Creative Services: Jennifer Singleton (Director), Forrest Begley Account Executive: Amanda Ramey Chief Copywriter: Paul Gregory Sales Support: Catherine Johnston CORPORATE OPERATIONS Circulation Accounting Manager: Lauren Glover General Manager: Scott Carling PUBLISHED BY Blood-Horse LLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS James L. Gagliano, Carl Hamilton, Ian D. Highet, Stuart S. Janney III, Dan Metzger, Rosendo Parra, Dr. J. David Richardson

KEENELAND ASSOCIATION, INC. 4201 Versailles Road P.O. Box 1690 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A. 40588-1690 Tel: (859) 254-3412 (800) 456-3412 Keeneland.com © 2020 Keeneland Association, Inc.

To order Keeneland magazine and additional copies, call 1-800-582-5604 TO SUBSCRIBE OR TO SEND A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION to Keeneland magazine, visit BloodHorse.com/KeenelandOffer

president’s message SUMMER 2020

Unimaginable Times Summer. The time for cookouts, reunions,

and sales and racing opportunities be-

swimming pools, camps, weddings, and vacations.

come clearer this summer and fall, our

This is normally down time for the Keeneland

planning is unlike any of our previous 84

team, which would be focusing on completing

years. As you have come to expect from

project lists, organizing run/walks and other ac-

Keeneland and with the technology,

tivities with our community partners, and hosting

creativity, and expertise of our team, we

Keeneland Crafted events. However, given we are

are doing everything humanly possible

in a worldwide pandemic of historic proportion,

to assure the success and safety of this

this summer’s festivities won’t be the same for

fall’s vital racing and sales season. All of

any of us.

our business lines are working through

Since March any semblance of normalcy has disappeared. Quick runs to the grocery now take calculated planning. Visiting and caring for our

BILL THOMASON President and CEO

multiple phases and scenarios to ensure Keeneland is prepared, no matter the state of the world.

Keeneland’s mission is rooted in the safety and integ-

loved ones in need are prohibited. “Zoom” is a

rity of our horses and horsemen. As we grapple with the

verb in nearly every household. With the help

hardships the people who are the essence of our industry

of our grandkids, grandparents have enhanced

are facing, we will not compromise our values with quick

their technological skills to stay in touch while

and irresponsible decisions. We owe it to our horsemen and

kids, pets, and spouses are backdrops for busi-

workers in the stable area who not only are essential but

ness meetings and occasional happy hours.

are heroes. They put themselves at risk for the thousands of

Essential employees — from the stable area to the hospital — report to work each day and

people who rely on our industry and the thousands of you who love our sport.

continue the vital operations necessary for our

I would be remiss if I did not mention the good that has

companies and community. We who are fortu-

prevailed over the past several weeks. I could not be more

nate to work from home do so from basements,

proud of Keeneland’s efforts, which have inspired our com-

kitchen tables, home offces, and patios while

munity and industry. Through the Nourish platforms, Keene-

teaching school to children and grandchildren

land and Keeneland Hospitality, along with our partners,

and breaking up scuffes between siblings. Wel-

provide meals for thousands in need each week. No strings

come to the new normal.

attached. Nourish also provides work opportunities for those

In our new normal at Keeneland, I realize several realities: (1) nothing stops our team; (2)

in the hospitality industry who have been displaced.

Our hearts go out to those of you who have been impacted

we constantly become wiser in our business

by COVID-19. We will forever sing the praises of all essential

practices; (3) our industry and community are

workers who are sacrifcing their safety for our well-being.

counting on us; and (4) there is no looking back, As Keeneland resumes stabling of racehorses

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SUMMER 2020

As I look to the future and a day without face masks, I can’t wait to come across this article and think “those were truly

only forward.

K

KEENELAND.COM

unimaginable times, but look how far we’ve come.” Be well. KM

WE STAND FOR

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Keeneland News COMPILED BY AMY OWENS

SUMMER 2020

COVID-19 FORCES KEENELAND TO CANCEL SPRING MEET

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

H

ealth and safety concerns surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 led Keeneland on March 16 to cancel the 2020 spring meet. Tis marked the frst time since World War II that Keeneland has not held a race meet.

Keeneland, which also canceled its April 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age sale scheduled for April 7, called of the spring meet the day afer a guidance announcement by the Center for Disease Control warned against holding large events and mass gatherings that include “conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies.” Specifcally, the CDC recommended that events attended by 50 people or more should be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks.

“Keeneland’s spring meet is a rite and tradition that touches every aspect of Central Kentucky and beyond, and the decision to cancel racing is agonizing for our staf, our many loyal fans, and our horsemen,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Tomason said. “Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have diligently worked with local, state, and national partners in health and government to ensure our actions are the most responsible we can take.

“We all fnd ourselves in uncharted territory, but nothing is more important to Keeneland than protecting the health and safety of our athletes, stable employees, horsemen, patrons, track employees, and the community at large.”

In early 1943 during World War II, Keeneland was classifed as a “suburban” plant and asked not to operate because of shortages in rubber. From 1943-1945, Keeneland leased the Churchill Downs facilities and conducted spring meets there. No fall meets were held at Keeneland during those years.

Keeneland automatically issued a full

Training continued for horses already on the grounds when the shutdown took effect.

Anyone entering and leaving Keeneland undergoes screening.

The absence of a spring meet marked the frst time since 1943-1945.

refund to patrons who had purchased tickets for the 2020 spring meet. Te track also continues to provide stabling for horses currently on the grounds and works with people caring for them to provide necessary protocols and guidance to create the safest environment possible.

Only essential employees, owners, trainers, veterinarians, blacksmiths, and stable workers are allowed entry.

People seeking access to Keeneland have to stop at a screening checkpoint

to undergo a temperature check and show no symptoms of COVID-19. Tose permitted to enter receive an armband granting access for that day only.

Keeneland’s general ofce, Te Keeneland Shop, and Keeneland Library are closed as is Red Mile, where simulcast wagering is conducted. Tours also ceased.

Te track kitchen remained open to serve stable area employees.

For updates on the situation, visit Keeneland.com/COVID19.

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NOURISH LEXINGTON

“During this time, we all need to and Keeneland Mercantile were take care of each other,” Keeneland donated to Nourish Lexington. Te President and CEO Bill Tomason pledge resulted in a donation of said in mid-March afer the histormore than $20,000 to the program. ic announcement that Keeneland May 6 marked an expansion of would not race in April. “In light of Nourish Lexington with the launch the cancellation of our spring meet, of Nourish the Backstretch, a partKeeneland will focus its attention nership of Keeneland and Blue Grass and energy on idenFarms Charities to tifying ways in which provide weekly meals we can ofer support prepared by Keeneand aid to the Central land Hospitality and Kentucky community distribute groceries and horse industry.” for stable area workers With that mission, at Keeneland and Te Keeneland helped creToroughbred Center. ate Nourish Lexington Proceeds from wagers and Nourish the Backplaced in May through stretch to feed hungry Keeneland Select, people.

Keeneland’s online Nourish Lexington wagering platform, was formed by Foodwill be donated to the Chain, with support from program. the E.E. Murry Family “Nourish Lexington Foundation, Keeneland, provides immediate and VisitLex, as a model access to food to those collaboration to use the who need it most — skills and talents of local from the hardworking chefs, businesses, farms, stable worker who is funders, and nonproft caring for our horses agencies. Other donors to the recently uneminclude Te Lavin Family ployed mother who is Foundation and the Jenhome-schooling her na and Matthew Mitchell Keeneland Hospitality children. Everyone contributed to Nourish Family Foundation. deserves a nutritious Lexington.

Beginning April 8, meal,” Keeneland Vice warm meals prepared by hospiPresident and Chief Marketing Ofcer tality industry workers have been Christa Marrillia said. “Nourish the distributed at sites around Central Backstretch extends the reach of these Kentucky, including FoodChain’s resources, allowing us to highlight our base near West Sixth Brewing, Red stable area community through our Mile and Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

Chaplaincy program and Blue Grass As of May 8, Nourish Lexington Farms Charities.” had prepared and served more than To learn more or to donate to 28,000 meals and employed more Nourish Lexington, visit www. than 24 people who have worked 80 NourishLexington.org. shifs.

For more about Keeneland’s busiProceeds from all online sales in ness operations in April because of April through Te Keeneland Shop COVID-19, see page 106.

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KEENELAND

KEENELAND SUPPORTS NOURISH PROGRAMS TO SERVE COMMUNITY

Keeneland mascot Buckles delivered an Easter basket to a child of a UK HealthCare employee.

Keeneland and UK HealthCare Launch Kids Club Partnership Keeneland and UK HealthCare in February kicked off the Kids Club aspect of their new multiyear partnership announced in the fall of 2019 — now formally recognized as the Keeneland Kids Club in Partnership with UK HealthCare Kentucky Children’s Hospital — with the goal of providing health education to a wider audience.

Underscoring that partnership is the shared commitment to support the communities they serve through education, philanthropy, and community engagement. On April 7, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kids Club mascot Buckles surprised members who are children of UK HealthCare employees with Keeneland Easter basket drops on their doorsteps.

Established in 2012, the Keeneland Kids Club is the offcial Kids Club for Keeneland fans 12 and younger. In addition to learning about Keeneland and the horse industry, its more than 7,000 members participate in annual family fun events — such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Kids Club Family Day at the Races, and Kids Club Holiday Party — that provide opportunities to give back to the Central Kentucky community.

“Since its inception, the Keeneland Kids Club has been an extension of Keeneland’s philanthropic mission,” Keeneland Vice President and Chief Marketing Offcer Christa Marrillia said. “Our partnership with UK HealthCare Kentucky Children’s Hospital offers the Kids Club initiative exciting new avenues for outreach and engagement that will positively impact the entire Central Kentucky community.”

In December at the Keeneland Kids Club Breakfast with Buckles, hosted by Kentucky Children’s Hospital, patients decorated holiday cookies with the mascot. Donations from the breakfast raised more than $3,000 for Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

The Keeneland-UK HealthCare partnership also includes sponsorship of the track’s run/walk program and the First Lady Stakes (G1T) during the fall meet.

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Spotlight On LIFE’S WORK

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A LIFE’S WORK WELL TOLD ORAL HISTORY PROJECT PRESERVES THE SPORT THROUGH IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS IN RACING AND BREEDING

By Milton C. Toby

T KEENELAND

he best ideas ofen come unannounced and unexpected, welcome encounters with serendipity that bring people together for projects they couldn’t accomplish individually. One of those brushes with fate occurred during the January sale at Keeneland in 2019 when Price Bell Jr., Sue Finley, and Christa Marrillia came together in the sales pavilion dining room. It was a fortuitous meeting that set into motion an ambitious efort to preserve Toroughbred racing’s vanishing heritage.

James E. “Ted” Bassett III, a former president and chairman of Keeneland, spoke about his long association with the racetrack and sales company.

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Spotlight On

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Price Bell Jr. promoted the idea of preserving the Thoroughbred industry’s legacy stories. It was the genesis of the Life’s Work project.

‘‘

WHEN I HAVE AN IDEA LIKE THIS ONE, I CAN’T KEEP MYSELF FROM PROMOTING IT UNTIL SOMEONE FINALLY KEENELAND

Bell has a background and personal pedigree rich in that heritage — Hal Price Headley, Alice Chandler, Headley Bell, Mill Ridge Farm, and Nicoma Bloodstock — and he is a tireless supporter and promoter of the sport. When he mentioned his concern that valuable lessons learned by past generations of breeders, trainers, and veterinarians were being lost, he found kindred spirits in Finley, the publisher and CEO of the Toroughbred Daily News, and Marrillia, vice president and chief marketing ofcer at Keeneland.

“Te interesting part,” Marrillia said of the chance encounter, “is that Keeneland has been taking down these stories for decades, with the Keeneland Library and our broadcast team. We’ve been making a concerted efort to preserve the stories, but over the last decade we haven’t been able to do as much as we would have liked. And then Price brought up the idea again. Sue and I just looked at each other, and with Keeneland’s relationship with the Toroughbred Daily News already in place, we knew that there are so many more opportunities now,” she said.

Keeneland already was promoting “Life’s Work,” a collection of short videos featuring individuals with close ties to the Toroughbred industry, so expanding the scope of that endeavor to include more comprehensive interviews with industry leaders made sense. Although the formal name would come later, the “Life’s Work Oral History Project” was born that winter day at Keeneland.

Bell is reluctant to take much credit for the genesis of the oral history project. It’s clear, though, that his passion for sharing racing’s stories was the spark.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

LIFE’S WORK

Christa Marrillia, Keeneland vice president and chief marketing offcer, embraced the project.

SAYS NO.” — PRICE BELL JR.

KEENELAND

“When I have an idea like this one,” he said, “I can’t keep myself from promoting it until someone fnally says no.”

Bell’s comment was not a spur of the moment offering; he appreciates the importance of oral histories. Te Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky has a large archive of interviews related to the horse industry in Kentucky, including several with his grandmother, Mill Ridge Farm founder Alice Chandler. Bell has listened to her interviews, and those from other industry leaders as well.

“Tey’re the legends of our sport,” Bell explained, “and there is strength in their voices.”

Journalist Chris McGrath, who conducted the Life’s Work interviews, talked to Claiborne Farm’s Seth Hancock.

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Spotlight On

KEENELAND

LIFE’S WORK

Stone Farm’s Arthur Hancock III shared stories and insights with McGrath.

Following Bell’s lead, the question for Finley and Marrillia was not what to recommend next. Tey already knew that answer: a new oral history project.

Instead, they needed to fnd a way to make it work, so racing’s legacy stories would be preserved and accessible to future generations. Achieving those goals would not be as easy as it might sound, and the idea of a multi-party collaboration quickly grew out of a series of

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in-depth brainstorming sessions.

“We wanted to do this right,” Marrillia explained. “What can we do with these treasures?”

Keeneland already had an established relationship with the Nunn Center, which has been recording and archiving oral histories since 1973. With its international reputation for collection and preservation, the Nunn Center, they decided, would be the perfect home for the Life’s

Work recordings. Add in the Keeneland Library and Keeneland’s video team, and the group realized it had formed a core.

“It became a common mission,” Marrillia said, “valuable to everyone involved.

Te stars aligned.”

Te project took shape so quickly, though, that Keeneland Library director Becky Ryder was caught of guard.

“With the Breeders’ Cup coming in 2020, we had organization-wide

LOOKING TOWARD TOMORROW Keeneland was founded more than 80 years ago to perpetuate and celebrate the finest traditions of our sport. Today, we remain committed to that mission and steadfast in our resolve that, together, we will emerge stronger tomorrow than ever before.

NOV 6 & 7

Spotlight On LIFE’S WORK

Keeneland Library director Becky Ryder provided resources to ensure the interviews are accessible.

interview sessions that could last several hours; transcribing the entire interviews, with an index by topic; time-stamping

KEENELAND PHOTOS

strategic planning sessions early in 2019,” Ryder said. “Life’s Work was not on the calendar. Ten in April, out of nowhere, we suddenly had an oral history project.

Tere was a very intense period of ‘blitz weeks’ to get the project underway.

“Tis was new to all of us, but everybody brought their A game. Keeneland, the library, the Toroughbred Daily News, and the Nunn Center all could participate in diferent but very meaningful ways. It was a perfect synergy.”

Te interviews required many steps and a lot of work: selecting the frst group of individuals, an informal process with input from Keeneland and the Toroughbred Daily News; scheduling

Rick Nichols talked about the development and enduring infuence of Shadwell Farm.

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the recordings for access, an essential cross-reference tool for researchers; and promoting the oral histories through podcasts with accompanying written narratives.

Behind the scenes the Keeneland Library is primarily responsible for indexing and “authority control” for the interviews. Indexing is a slow and exacting process for matching the written transcripts to the recorded conversations, creating “chapters” by subject and inserting Library of Congress subject tags. Authority control is a process similar to indexing that identifes additional ways to make it easier for future use of the recorded material. Many potential problems with access can be anticipated and resolved through the development of a codifed list of keywords and search terms. Te goal of both indexing and authority control is to give researchers and other interested individuals the tools necessary to search the interviews efciently.

A fnal consideration well beyond the immediate goals of collection and archiving, Ryder added, was ensuring the information would remain accessible to future generations. For preservation purposes, this is a critical issue and probably the one least understood.

“Conventional wisdom is that digital information will last forever,” she explained, “but that’s wrong. It’s one of the greatest threats to preservation efforts.” An analogy to written records — that words don’t vanish from the pages of a book just because that book is sitting on a shelf for a long time — won’t always hold true for digital media. It’s more fragile than people realize, and

Spotlight On

deterioration and changing formats might render supposedly indestructible digital media damaged or obsolete. Te potential problem is clear to anyone who has information stored on a stack of foppy disks and a new laptop without a slot to accept the old media or sofware to read the stored data.

“Keeneland was wise to collaborate with the Nunn Center,” Ryder added, “because they excel at preservation. We can’t aford to be passive stewards of information.”

With the collaborators’ roles defned and the logistics quickly falling into place, only one question remained: Who should conduct the interviews? A plum assignment for any Turf journalist, the job went to Chris McGrath. He also happens to be senior market columnist at Toroughbred Daily News, but the choice was not organizational nepotism.

McGrath was named Racing Writer of the Year on multiple occasions in the United Kingdom and also authored Mr. Darley’s Arabian, a well-received social history of horse racing over three centuries. He was a perfect ft for the role.

“Very dynamic people put together a Life’s Work railroad and Life’s Work steam engine, loaded it up with coal, and then let this idle bystander mount the steps and enjoy the ride,” McGrath said. “Bulbs started lighting up everywhere” afer the project got underway, he added. “One of them, happily for me, was Sue’s immediate certainty that I would love to be involved. She knew that one of my principle professional satisfactions has always been to spend time with the senior horsemen to try to draw out their tales and learn from the lessons they share.”

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PHOTOS BY Z/KEENELAND

LIFE’S WORK

Price, with father Headley Bell, comes from a family with deep ties to the Kentucky Thoroughbred industry.

Te reach of the project was clear from the start, McGrath said in an email. He understood that while he was the person asking the questions, the answers were for generations to come. He also won’t be surprised when critics take issue with his choice of questions.

“All I can tell them [the critics], as a Turf historian myself, is how very frustrating it is to be confned only to written testimonies, of varying quality and reliability, of colorful characters of the past, and how wonderful it would be to hear their voices, see their gestures, read their expressions.

We can now bequeath a living snapshot of some immortal achievers, however poorly directed by my questions.”

Te oral histories are intended as

conversations between friends more than formal interviews, which raises a concern. People seldom speak in grammatically correct, complete sentences, even though their written quotes usually suggest otherwise, courtesy of the transcribers. Te oral histories, however, are unedited as a necessary part of the documentary process.

“Tere is no editing of the recordings,” the library’s Ryder explained. “Tat requirement is part of the Nunn Center’s policy.” Te purpose of the recordings, Ryder said, is to capture a “moment in time.”

Capturing those moments took countless hours of preliminary research by McGrath before he lef England, followed by

two frantic weeks on-site in Kentucky last summer. He had quarters in Keeneland’s artist’s cottage, a “splendidly updated Daniel Boone afair adjacent to Keene Place” that he had little time to enjoy. Evenings were spent reviewing his exhaustive notes on each individual, followed by grueling days of interviews, sometimes one session in the morning and another later in the afernoon.

“Once or twice, I felt a little dazed,” McGrath recalled of the interview schedule. “Phillip Richardson and his Keeneland flm crew, which proved wonderfully obliging and tolerant companions through the fortnight, would always keep a cool head even during those particularly frantic days when we had double sessions.”

KEENELAND

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Tere’s an obvious question for any historian: Which individuals from the past would they like to interview? For McGrath, the answer depends.

“I was enchanted by such a teeming variety of characters while researching Mr. Darley’s Arabian that I could not begin to pick between them: from the 5th Earl of Rosebery, to George Lambton and his wife; from Federico Tesio to Tomas Darley himself; never mind some of the obscure failures like the charming Regency wastrel Henry Mellish.

“But for American readers, I must say that I would have loved the opportunity to coax their very diferent stories out of Horatio Luro and E. P. Taylor, and certainly not just the chapter that con-

Shawnee Farm’s G. Watts Humphrey was among owners and breeders interviewed.

verged on Northern Dancer. I am aware that each would have had to be caught in the right mood, but the beauty of this whole project is that so many people, for the best of reasons, are proving to embrace it.”

Trough April, six of the interviews recorded during summer 2019 had been released of a total of 15 recorded so far: • Seth Hancock, Claiborne Farm • John Phillips, Darby Dan Farm • James E. “Ted” Bassett, Keeneland • Rick Nichols, Shadwell Farm • Gus Koch, Claiborne Farm • Dr. Gary Lavin Each release includes access to the complete interview available online through the Nunn Center website and a podcast on Te Look, archived by the Toroughbred Daily News on its website. Each podcast includes a longform article written by McGrath, with quotes and accompanying video excerpts from the extended and unedited interview.

McGrath’s narratives are compelling, exactly what a reader would expect from an award-winning journalist and racing historian. It’s the video snippets, though, that bring the interviews to life.

It’s not the same as a personal chat with Hancock, Bassett, Phillips, or the others, but it’s the next best thing.

“Strength in their voices,” Price Bell said.

Te Life’s Work Oral History project adds a new dimension to traditional oral histories and makes those voices even stronger. KM (To access the full archives, articles, and videos visit www.keeneland.com/ library.)

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John G. Sikura takes on a daunting yet thrilling challenge in becoming steward of Xalapa Farm.

Polishing a Jewel Historic Xalapa Farm gets a show-stopping makeover that honors its past while accommodating a thriving, modern-day Thoroughbred operation

By Lenny Shulman Photos by David Coyle

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Polishing a Jewel Much of Xalapa’s vast expanses have been uninhabited for more than a century, resulting in superior land quality, according to Sikura.

H

aving developed one Bluegrass property into a world-class Toroughbred breeding and stallion operation, John G. Sikura felt he had yet another great project within him. Enter Xalapa Farm, a fantasyland of spectacular architecture, Old World forests, meandering creeks and streams, breathtaking gardens, and one-of-a-kind horse barns, located a half-dozen miles east of Paris in Bourbon County.

It is a divine union of the driven owner/operator of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms and a masterpiece-in-the-rough begging to be returned to glory. While holding on to much of its natural beauty, Xalapa, nearly two centuries since frst being developed, had fallen into various stages of neglect and disrepair. While many satisfy their midlife crisis with a sleek sports car or a climb up a majestic mountain, Sikura is tackling his through captaining

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In the early 20th century Edward F. Simms turned Xalapa into a showplace, building the impressive Crescent Barn, above, with stone from the farm’s own quarry, and a training track, below.

teams of construction workers at Xalapa in an efort to build the ultimate environment from which to raise the best possible racehorses.

Te project is due for completion this summer, when the Hill ‘n’ Dale stallions will join the broodmares and young horses already encamped there, on what will be christened Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa.

A Toronto native, Sikura, in his early 60s, possesses a tough, street-fghter mentality. As a young man, he followed his dream of playing professional hockey for a season before acknowledging he lacked the requisite size and skill.

He had tagged along afer his father, John Sikura Jr., who had established the original Hill ‘n’ Dale in Ontario before moving the operation to Lexington, and witnessed the commerce of buying and selling

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Polishing a Jewel

Native and imported trees planted during Simms’ tenure give Xalapa its park-like quality.

horses in Kentucky. Te son decided to follow his father’s footsteps into the Toroughbred business. In the early 1990s Sikura prefaced his current project by purchasing another fxer-upper just north of Leestown Road near Lexington, where he built the current Hill ‘n’ Dale.

“When I came here [to the site of Hill ‘n’ Dale], it was leased to various entities, it was in a state of disrepair, and it was next to two prisons on a single-lane road with tobacco farms surrounding it,” Sikura said of the 300-acre property. In the nearly three decades since, he has built a Under Simms’ direction, Mexican laborers built the top-shelf shop at Hill ‘n’ Dale, mixing signature stone walls and wrought-iron gates. unmatched acumen of buying into productive female families with a crafy op- by average price per horse sold. portunism that has seen him bring aboard Known by his peers as one of the smartest leading stallions Curlin and Kitten’s Joy, players in the commercial Toroughbred and hit with others such as Midnight Lute market, Sikura, who with his wife, Angie, and Kantharos. Hill ‘n’ Dale is a perennial has raised sons Jes (18), Jackson (16), and leading consignor at breeding stock auc- Jaden (14), has a restlessness about him, tions and fnished on top of the consignors’ and something clicked inside when, a dozlist at the 2019 Keeneland November sale en years ago, he laid eyes on the 1,400 acres

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of Xalapa (pronounced ha-LAHPah). Call it love at frst sight.

“Someone I knew was working on the farm, and they said I had to come see it,” Sikura remembered. “I told them, ‘I’ve seen lots of farms.’ But they insisted I needed to see this one. And when I did, I was speechless. Tere’s a sense of vibrancy and life energy that’s diferent from any other place I’ve been. Te nature has replenished over decades, and there’s a sense of history to it. I’ve always since had a place in my heart for it because there truly is nothing else like it.”

Sikura followed the action from afar when Xalapa was listed for sale last year. He was looking to expand on a diferent parcel of land on the other side of Lexington, but that deal didn’t work out, so he called real estate agent Tom Biederman on a lark and asked what was going on with Xalapa. Biederman replied, “It’s funny you should ask. I got a call yesterday from the owner who said, ‘I want this place sold.’ ”

A group of Hill ‘n’ Dale weanlings that arrived at Xalapa in late 2019 are growing faster than comparable horses their age, Sikura said.

“The Happy Land”

was considered in the same league as John Madden, Arthur B. Hancock Sr., and Col. Phil Chinn as a commercial breeder.

Under Simms’ direction hundreds of Mexican laborers were brought north to construct the 10-foot stone walls and wrought-iron gateways that still surround Xalapa, and plant the native and imported trees that lend the property its magical quality. Simms also laid in a one-mile training track, and from a quarry on the property from which all the farm’s stone

Sikura inked the deal to buy Xalapa in the summer of 2019. Te history to which Sikura refers began in 1827 when William Tomas Buckner, a Virginian, founded the estate and built the residence that still stands.

Buckner’s son Henry, upon returning from the Mexican War, named the property afer a small town there that loosely translates to “the happy land.” In 1897 Xalapa passed into the hands of Confederate Col. William Erskine Simms, who died a year later. His son Edward F. Simms, born in Paris in 1870 and educated at Yale Law School, apparently occupied the fast lane of his times and blew through his inheritance. With 750 borrowed dollars, he repaired to Texas, where he boomed in the oil and sulphur businesses, becoming co-founder of the Sinclair Oil Co. Simms returned to Bourbon County in 1915, bought out his brother’s stake in Xalapa, and turned the land into a producer of Toroughbreds. In the 1920s Simms Sikura credits the land for the horses’ robustness.

is sourced, he built a magnifcent 31-stall barn of stone, tile, and glass that also had a wide breezeway that served as an indoor track where horses could train during inclement weather.

Simms purchased August Belmont’s entire 1920 yearling crop, which included Man o’ War’s brother My Play, and Chatterton, who would become the leading sire of 1932. On a trip to Europe, Simms bought Ascot Gold Cup winner Prince Palatine, the great-grandsire of Princequillo. Princequillo became America’s leading sire multiple years; broodmare sire of Mill Reef, Fort Marcy, and Secretariat; and ancestor of Zenyatta, John Henry, Seattle Slew, Cigar, and American Pharoah.

As turbulence on Wall Street wreaked havoc with Simms’ fnances, his infuence in the horse world waned, and following his death in 1938, Xalapa passed through his wife’s family for several generations.

Teir granddaughter, Lillie Webb, bred 1991 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

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Left, a mill house sits on the banks of Stoner Creek and features a sculpture of Daniel Boone on its front facade, above.

Above, the log and stone structure with its examples of ďŹ ne craftsmanship (far left) will become the farm ofďŹ ce.

Left, Buckner House is the main residence and dates to 1827.

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Polishing a Jewel winner Suave Dancer, who was born and raised on the farm. Arthur B. “Bull” Hancock Jr. of neighboring Claiborne Farm leased the facility for many years and raised young horses such as Ruffian there. His son Arthur Hancock III followed suit.

Webb’s daughter, Celeste, and her husband, Dr. Emler Neuman, leased the training track from her mother before that portion of the farm was sold to Jim Phelps and Larry Richardson, who operated the training center for a dozen years. Te main portion of the farm was then sold to Mac Crawford, from whom Sikura purchased Xalapa and consolidated three separate parcels into one.

across the road from Hill ‘n’ Dale a decade ago, approached Sikura wanting to buy Hill ‘n’ Dale.

“I told them I didn’t want to sell, but if you come in at this level, you’ll make me sell it,” said Sikura. “I knew that as great as the standards are at Hill ‘n’ Dale, they’d have to be greater at Xalapa, and that it would be time-consuming, expensive, and emotionally taxing to develop that place perfectly. In the end, they agreed to the original stipulations.”

Te sale of Hill ‘n’ Dale, which will take efect at the end of the 2020 breeding season, gave Sikura the fnancial wherewithal to buy adjoining parcels to reconstitute the original Sikura, who is a year away from eligibility as a master Xalapa, while also allowing him to falconer, has converted an old shed on Xalapa into a mew.

Enormous undertaking embark on major construction projBut the totality of the property has nev- event business at Xalapa that would host ects throughout the property. Te famed er been utilized solely for the raising and weddings and corporate retreats. To that training barn is being transitioned into a breeding of Toroughbreds — until now. end, Sikura hired John Carlofis to develop stallion barn. Paddocks and a breeding shed Ironically, that wasn’t Sikura’s original plan the gardens surrounding the residence and have been established around it. Teams of upon buying Xalapa. He was going to em- the log-and-stone building next to it, which Amish crafsmen are constructing seven ploy the land to raise yearlings while keep- will serve as the farm’s office. new barns on the property and refurbishing ing his stallions at Hill ‘n’ Dale. He also But then, the principals of Don Alberto four existing ones plus a number of smaller began drawing up a blueprint to run an Farm, who had purchased the old Vinery shed/barns. Huge felds have been created

Xalapa’s architectural splendor “will never be reproduced in today’s world,” Sikura said.

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Polishing a Jewel by chain-dragging trees, building culverts for draws of running streams, and covering the areas in dirt and new seed. A new foaling barn has been constructed at the Stoney Ridge Road entrance, and a visitors center has been created. Te training track is being brought back to life. New roads and bridges allow passage to new facilities. Invasive honeysuckle and dangerous cherry trees have been removed en masse, profering spectacular views through stands of forest through which deer romp.

“I thought I knew everything there was to do here,” allowed Sikura. “Ten, once you get the main things done, you realize the enormity of the project. Tere’s level two, level three, level six. I’m sure there’s 10 other levels that haven’t occurred to me.”

Look in any direction, though, and it becomes obvious why this restoration is well worth the efort. A spectacular mill house that has a bronze sculpture of Daniel Boone set into a nook high on its facing sits on the bank of Stoner Creek in front of a dam, upon which otters frolic and fsh. A round stone water tower, looking like the corner of a 16th century European castle, rises in front of the residence. Spectacular gardens that once hosted guests arriving by horse and buggy stretch behind a pair of stone lions and a series of stone

benches under magnifcent trees. Ponds and streams ribbon the land at every turn. Words on paper cannot do justice to Xalapa’s beauty.

Xalapa hasn’t escaped the notice of Hollywood location scouts, either. When Toby McGuire frst mounts the star of the show in the flm “Seabiscuit,” the pair romp through Xalapa’s felds, across its dirt paths, and over its bridges, the farm bathed in a backdrop of breathtaking autumnal foliage.

Except perhaps those who run in royal circles, few have laid eyes on this sort of property. While Sikura has embraced the responsibility of restoration, the level of commitment and sheer number of projects have presented hurdles at every turn.

“I want it to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, and the challenge has always been to respect the history of the place, maintain all these great structures, yet turn it into an operational, world-class horse farm,” he said on a spring tour through Xalapa. “To do that, you need Internet service, fencing, barns, roads, new water lines. Un-

til two weeks ago, the tower was the water source for the place. It all came from the creek into the tower and was then dispersed throughout the farm. But the water lines were actually wood husks bound together with wire from 150 years ago. Te ingenuity of the builders was remarkable, but it had to be updated.”

Early results are promising Vistas, gardens, stonework, and edifces aside, the principal purpose of Xalapa will be to raise top horses. And Sikura takes confdence from several factors.

“Look at who surrounds us here,” he noted. “Stone Farm, Claiborne Farm, Siena Farm, Machmer Hall. Horses coming of the land here are winning grade 1 races every weekend because it’s not good land; it’s great land. It’s fresh and fertile. It’s a supreme advantage to go from a 300-acre main farm to 1,300 acres. Tese are grazing animals, and bigger felds raise a better athlete. It gives us so many more tools.

“We brought some weanlings here about

A bridge over Stoner Creek notes the year of its construction. Above, workers build one of seven new barns that will house horses from Hill ‘n’ Dale later this year.

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A wrought-iron fence atop a low stone wall encloses the Xalapa gardens, which once hosted guests arriving by horse and buggy.

three months ago. We weigh and do growth charts on them every month, and we had a nearly 50 percent higher growth rate in the Xalapa horses. Each month we’ve had a minimum of 20 percent higher growth rates on horses we tested here versus other places. It’s a measured, valid fact.

“Te grass grows faster; the horsefies are bigger; the trees are grander. It’s a property that has been largely uninhabited and untouched by human hands for 120 years. It’s been used in parts, but it’s never been consolidated as a horse farm.

“I remember something Arthur Hancock [of nearby Stone Farm] once said, quoting his grandfather, about how you can tell great land by the trees it grows. If that’s true, there’s a lot to this here. Te density and quality and tree strength and circumference of these trees … the land is giving so much.

Tere are felds here that have never had a horse on them. Tis is fresh land that hasn’t been eroded or overgrazed. When horses eat and grow, you have to replace the minerals they take out. We’ve tested everything, and the soil is very robust, mineral-rich, and has great balance.”

Xalapa also provides a perfect setting for mews that house Sikura’s falcons. He is a year away from eligibility as a master falconer and particularly enjoys connecting with nature through the birds.

As the frst blossoms of spring appear, Sikura’s plate isn’t full; it’s overfowing. He

continues running his stallion operation and prepping yearlings for sale at Hill ‘n’ Dale while traveling several times a week cross country to Xalapa. His phone goes of every 10 minutes with comments and questions volleyed his way from construction foremen. A roof leaks in one barn; how does he want to clear the land for a road; materials need to be chosen for fooring.

He plows ahead, seemingly thriving anew with each additional challenge.

“It’s beyond ego saying, ‘Tis is a project I want to do.’ At the time I bought Hill ‘n’ Dale, it was for me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sikura said, driving through a huge feld that will soon be home to broodmares. “It was a grand dame that needed

to be refurbished and brought back to life.

Tis is the same project at a diferent stage of life that is four times as big, is steeped in history, and has on it architectural materials and crafsmanship that doesn’t exist on any other farm I’ve ever been on. Every building, every piece of stone, every design here was something from the Gilded Age, and the scope, the spaces, the materials will never be reproduced in today’s world.

“But then, the practicality of doing it was beyond any kind of normal planning. Every time I drove out here when I was frst considering this, on the way I’d say, ‘I can never do it; I can’t buy this place.’ And then when I’d get here, I’d say, ‘I can never leave this place.’ ” KM

A door on an original barn displays “X” for Xalapa.

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E L I Z A B E T H S TAT I O N FA R M —Developed

in 2000 by professional horse people, this well-maintained 73 acre farm has the optimum in location - just 8 miles from Iron Works - and size. Lovely story and a half 4 bedroom, 3 bath one-owner home featuring vaulted ceilings and hardwood foors. Horse improvements include 2 horse barns with 17 stalls, an equipment/hay barn, 6-horse walker, a 60’ round pen plus 6 paddocks and 5 felds. $40,000 was recently spent on upgrading fencing. Ready to move in and priced to sell!!

CANE RUN ROAD —44 acres idyllically-located just of Iron Works Pike, surrounded by world-renown Glencrest Farm, & sitting on some of the best land in Kentucky, this custom 4,300 SF home, designed by wellknown architects Clyde Carpenter and Scott Guyon and constructed by builder Gene Coppinger, features 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, oak fooring, vaulted ceilings, and a great foor plan. Meticulously maintained and loved by its only owner. A gated stone entrance via a mature tree-lined drive leads you to this special home and a David Rice-built 6 stall barn.

TURN-KEY HORSE FARM—417 acres of prime farmland at the corner of Hwy 627 & Spears Mill Road containing the “magic feld” - named by Arthur Hancock because so many good horses were raised there, including Kentucky Derby winner Gato del Sol. Improved with 4 horse barns with 85 stalls & 6 renovated homes. Established quarantine and boarding business.

With 4 entrances and 8,650’ of frontage, this property is divisible! Tis farm is a great opportunity to acquire a proven farm in the Bluegrass with an income stream.

J U S T I C E R E A L E S TAT E

MILLERSBURG ROAD—Located just 3.3 miles from Paris Bypass, this 25-acre farm ofers a concrete block barn with 7 stalls, tack/feed room and a 12’ asphalt center aisle. Other farm improvements include a loading chute, plank fencing, two felds, one paddock and 4 waterers. Te three bedroom, two bath residence sits back from the road and ofers 2,500 SF with a formal living and dining room, family room with beamed cathedral ceiling and wood-burning freplace, large kitchen, breakfast room, laundry, home ofce, and seasonal porch. In addition, there is a 2 car detached garage. Te gently rolling pastures, wet weather creek, and mature trees add to the ambience of this charming farm. Bill Bell, 859-621-0607

173 ACRES —Located in the heart of the Toroughbred industry and just a half mile of prestigious Paris Pike, Waggoner Farm has a long history of producing exceptional race horses. 2011 Champion Filly ZAZU and 2017 Grade I Winner CUPID are just 2 recent graduates.

An exceptional working horse farm & comprised of 63 stalls in 5 barns. Additional horse improvements include an ofce, equipment sheds, hay barn, automatic walker, and let-down pens. 1,720 SF 1.5 story manager’s home plus a modular. 2 entrances add desirability and function.

NEWTOWN PIKE—Located just 10 miles from the Kentucky Horse Park, the centerpiece of this 17.49 acre farm is its 4,800 SF 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home with covered rear porch and in-ground pool. Horse improvements include an 8-stall barn with ofce, 76’ x 105’ outdoor sand ring, and shop/equipment building. Te farm’s desirability is enhanced by a 1,200 SF single family home with hardwood foors and vaulted ceiling and a 2-story 1,500 SF duplex. Te latter 2 homes are presently being utilized as an ongoing bed and breakfast.

THESE TWO FARMS ADJOIN!

WALNUT SPRINGS FARM - 268 ACRES —

Magnifcent 11,000 SF main residence in a stoneenclosed court yard with pool and pool house. 66 stalls in 7 barns, open equipment shed, shop/equip bldg, 3 employee houses. Tis farm was originally developed by Robert Sterling Clark of Singer Sewing Machines. He chose this land because of its excellent soils, abundant water, and the limestone underneath.

Te adjoining 256 acres is also available for sale by the same owner with 46 stalls in 3 concrete block barns.

2 5 6 A C R E S O N C A S T L E R O C K WAY —

Tis turn-key horse farm produced a $10 million yearling on its excellent land (nearly 80% Maury and Lowell).

46 stalls in 3 concrete block barns, manager’s plus 3 employee houses. A wonderful opportunity to acquire a well-located farm in the immediate area of Gainesway Farm. Adjoining 268 acre horse farm on Muir Station with magnifcent main residence is also available.

CLINTONVILLE ROAD—Absolutely gorgeous stone and log home on 10+ equestrian-friendly acres just outside of Paris. Te home boasts custom fnishes plus a frst foor master with additional frst foor suite. Catwalk on 2nd foor (with an additional bedroom and great room) overlooks dramatic two-story stone freplace. You’ll also fnd a 2-car attached garage plus a 2- car detached garage. Farm improvements include a 6-stall barn with apartment, shaving/hay storage, tack and grain room, and RV storage. Can be sold completely furnished! Mary Sue Walker-Hughes, 859-619-4770

518 East Main Street, Lexington, KY 40508 u ( 859 ) 255-3657 u www.kyhorsefarms.com

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DIAMOND CREEK FARM —From the elegant stone pillared and wrought iron entrance gates fanked by beautifully executed landscaping to the winding road that leads past felds and paddocks with double sided run ins and automatic waterers, Diamond Creek personifes a beautiful horse farm designed by a master horseman. Tis 260 acre horse farm ofers a classic 3-cupola barn with 56 stalls, grain/ tack room, owner’s ofce, client lounge, manager’s ofce, storage rooms plus more! Other improvements include 2 covered 6-horse EquiGyms; brick manager’s house; & stone bridges. Mature landscaping and tremendous soils!

Mary Sue Walker-Hughes, 859-619-4770

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HURRICANE HALL—Hurricane Hall features 381.9 acres of prime farm land located just minutes to the Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland. Te main residence is a circa 1790’s historic home that has been meticulously restored to its original grandeur. Te current owner has transformed Hurricane Hall into a state-of-the-art Toroughbred facility with a 20-stall main barn, 2 story ofce, 2 newer 20 stall barns, stallion barn, one-mile uphill European style gallop and a 1/8 mile covered jogging oval. Mike Morrison, 859-340-0302; Amber Siegelman, 859-948-0068

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277 FAYETTE COUNTY ACRES —Rarely does a farm in this this location become available for sale.

With frontage on Man O War Blvd and Bowman Mill, immediate neighbors include Mill Ridge Farm, Darley Stud and Calumet Farm. Tis property consisting of 277 +/- acres in multiple tracts of land ofers rolling lush felds of prime soil perfect for a world class Toroughbred facility. With 5 barns and a manager/ tenant house, this could suit your entire Toroughbred operation. Mike Morrison, 859-340-0302; Amber Siegelman, 859-948-0068

CENTRAL KENTUCKY’S HORSE FARM PROFESSIONALS A PORTION OF DIAMOND A FARM

“The BesT Turnkey horse Farm on The markeT” Highly developed 523 acre horse farm with immediate neighbors as Coolmore/Ashford and Gainesborough farms.

Te centerpiece of the farm is its ofce/stallion barn complex, situated in a well-landscaped courtyard with brick sidewalks, that is very adaptable to a yearling complex as well. Tere are 5 additional horse barns with 86 stalls. Additional improvements include 2 metal buildings and a large shop plus an exceptional 4960 SF manager’s home with 5 bedrooms and 3 full and 1 half baths (suitable for an owner) and an employee house.

BUYING OR SELLING a farm requires an agent who is truly experienced in the farm market......it’s NEVER so important as during these difcult times.

We’ve been doing this since 1980, and no one understands this market better than the TEAM of JUSTICE REAL ESTATE. Using one of our agents will ensure your transaction will be handled by the most educated, experienced, and qualifed farm experts in Central Kentucky.

Give us a call and let us help you!!!

Let’s face this challenge together with intelligence, compassion, & experience.

Bill G. Bell (859-621-0607) u Mary Sue Walker (859-619-4770) u Marilyn Richardson (859-621-4850) Muffy Lyster (859-229-1804) u Allen Kershaw (859-333-2901) u Mike Morrison (859-340-0302) Amber Siegelman (859-948-0068) u Bill Justice (859-255-3657)

★ PART 2

TEXAS HORSEMEN IN KENTUCKY CONTINUED THEIR INFLUENCE DURING THE LATE 20TH CENTURY

By Edward L. Bowen

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

KIRK SCHLEA/SCHLEA VISUAL ARTS

Clockwise from top left, William S. Farish developed Lane’s End Farm into a major stallion operation and successful commercial breeder; Josephine Abercrombie bred the winners of American and English classic races; Bob McNair had a relatively short but extremely successful tenure as the owner of Stonerside Farm; John T.L. Jones Jr. enjoyed international success at Walmac Farm; Mike Rutherford’s Manchester Farm has played at the top levels of the sport.

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DAVID COYLE

T

William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm has produced generations of top-class racehorses.

exas horsemen established strongholds in Kentucky early in the 20th century, a trend that continued and fourished through the remaining decades. Texans grew increasingly infuential in the realms of breeding, racing, selling, and owning prime Bluegrass acreage. Many have crossed the century boundary to remain prominent today.

Decades of success

Of the current Kentucky Toroughbred farms owned by Texans, Lane’s End Farm and Pin Oak Stud have lengthy histories and records of high achievement. While there

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are many similarities, their origins difer sharply: Lane’s End founder and owner William S. Farish established his Kentucky empire afer already owning a large ranch back in Texas while Pin Oak’s owner,

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Former President George H.W. Bush attended the Derby as Farish’s guest in 2000.

prominence in the sport.

A hands-on horseman, Will was an avid polo player. He developed Huisache Ranch, covering more than 1,200 acres in his native state, and launched into ownership of racehorses with his father-in-law, Bayard Sharp.

Farish won his frst stakes with Kaskaskia, a $9,700 yearling purchase, and he hit national prominence when his Bee Bee Bee upset Riva Ridge in the 1972 Preakness Stakes. Bee Bee Bee had been part of a package purchased from William S. Miller of Chicago.

By the late 1970s Farish had purchased property in Central Kentucky. Te name Lane’s End connoted a plan considerably smaller than the 2,300-acre enterprise it would become. Te growth was ordained and sustained by the development of a full complex of breeding, racing, boarding, and selling, and by a stallion operation that embraced repeated success.

BILL STRAUS

Josephine Abercrombie, was a child when her Texan father purchased property to support his young daughter’s horse interest.

Te Abercrombie and Farish families were remarkable achievers, and both built upon that legacy with long careers of success and service.

Farish was born in Houston in 1939 and grew up in Texas. His grandfather, William S. Farish Sr., had risen to presidency of Humble Oil by the 1920s. An additional role as chairman of Jersey Standard prompted a move to New York City. Farish, whose father was killed in a World War II airplane accident, attended the University of Virginia before launching a varied business career that began in the East but also took him back to Texas as a founder of a Houston bank.

Horse racing had been a part of his heritage. His grandfather had been an owner.

Farish’s grandmother, Libbie Rice Farish, later partnered with his aunt, Martha Gerry, in Lazy F Ranch. By the time Lazy F’s great gelding Forego won three Horse of the Year titles in the 1970s, Will also had achieved

BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON

★

Queen Elizabeth II has stayed at Lane’s End on her several visits to Central Kentucky.

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Equestrian Masterpiece

2788-2886 Frankfort Road

$2,150,000

Equestrian Masterpiece! Complete with 4 barns totaling 49 stalls & 49.5 acres. Includes an outdoor arena & indoor arena, both complete with GGT footing. Irrigation is through 2 water reclamation ponds. The 2 main barns have been recently renovated. There is an 80’ round pen, 11 grass paddocks & 3 felds. The 4 bedroom, 3 bath main house has been totally renovated. There is also a smaller house with separate entrance perfectly suited for guests and/or farm manager.

Extraordinary Equestrian Facility

2314 Iron Works Pike

$8,995,000

Extraordinary opportunity to own one of the best equestrian facilities just 3 miles from the Kentucky Horse Park!

Approximately 145 acres, 4 barns totaling 48 stalls, large utility barn for storage, 400 x 400 fully irrigated grass derby feld, indoor & outdoor arenas featuring the same Prowax footing used in the 2012 London Olympics.

Fantastic manor home featuring 4 bedrooms and 4 full & 2 half bathrooms. A charming 1 bedroom, 1 bath log cabin circa 1800’s serves as a guest cottage. There are also 2 smaller homes on the property.

ABBY JONES

JOHN SCOTT DURBIN

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1999 Richmond Road, Ste. 400, Lexington, KY 40502 t 859.268.0099 | f 859.268.0098 | bgsir.com Each Offce Is Independently Owned and Operated.

DAVID COYLE

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

★ Lane’s End pays tribute with memorials to its infuential horses such as the late stallion Kingmambo.

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Farish’s ways of contributing to and promoting Toroughbred racing have been consistent and numerous. He succeeded his friend Warner Jones as chairman of Churchill Downs and thus a guardian of the exalted Kentucky Derby for a decade. Farish also was vice chairman of Te Jockey Club, chairman of the American Horse Council, and chairman of the Breeders’ Cup executive committee. His son, Bill, has followed suit in similar industry roles as well as in leadership of Lane’s End in recent years.

Racing honors bestowed upon Farish include the Eclipse Award of Merit, Toroughbred Club of America’s honor guest, and installation as a Pillar of the Turf in the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.

Outside racing, he was named by President George W. Bush as the U.S. Ambassador

MCCLASKY

Now 80, Farish has such distinctions as having bred or co-bred more than 300 stakes winners, including three Horse of the Year winners: A.P. Indy, Charismatic, and Mineshaf. No other breeder has accomplished that hat trick since Warren Wright Jr.’s Calumet Farm produced fve in the 1940s (Whirlaway, Twilight Tear, Armed, Citation, and Coaltown).

A.P. Indy was a bellwether horse that illustrated the depth of Farish’s involvement in breeding and racing. He was a Lane’s End product, and at $2.9 million was the highest-priced yearling of his crop. He became the 1992 Horse of the Year for owner Tomonori Tsurumaki and then returned as a stallion to Lane’s End, where he became one of the most important contemporary sires. A.P. Indy, who lived until 31 and passed away in 2020, led the sires list in 2003 and 2006 and sired 89 graded stakes winners.

Incredibly, Farish and Warner L. Jones Jr. eventually consigned a Keeneland yearling that topped A.P. Indy’s sale price by more than $10 million! In 1985, they sold a half brother to Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew for $13.1 million, still a world record for a yearling. Te colt named Seattle Dancer (Nijinsky II—My Charmer, by Poker) was purchased by the famed team of Robert Sangster, forerunner of today’s international enterprise Coolmore/ Ashford.

Farish was co-breeder of the Northern Dancer stallion Danzig in partnership with Marshall Jenny of Pennsylvania. Standing at Claiborne Farm, Danzig sired 202 stakes winners and his son Danehill became the all-time leader in that statistic with 354.

A.P. Indy enjoyed a long tenure as Lane’s End’s most distinguished stallion.

Josephine Abercrombie’s love of horses led to the founding of Pin Oak Stud. She achieved much success in the show ring.

to the Court of St. James. In a unique way of honoring his constituent country of England’s love of horse racing, Farish won the historic Epsom Oaks with his homebred Casual Look in 2003. Tat came nearly 20 years afer Queen Elizabeth II had established a personal connection to the Farishes when Lane’s End for the frst of several times hosted her during a visit to the Bluegrass.

Te queen’s trip that year included presenting the trophy for the frst Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

Achievement and charity James S. Abercrombie performed feats of upward striving unique even by American Dream standards in order to partner with his daughter, Josephine, in owning a Kentucky farm. Born in 1891, he was one of 13 children of a cotton-farming family in Huntsville, Texas, that was forced to move by hard winters and boll weevil infestations. In another Texas town, Richmond, the father found work on a prison farm while young James worked as what was afectionately called a “soda jerk” in a largely bygone era of local drugstores.

Summoning a work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit, James sought out the oil industry and caught on as an unskilled laborer for a drilling rig. Te trifecta of opportunity, willingness, and savvy propelled him, and by 1946 Abercrombie had received $54 million for selling his share in one of his companies.

Now in her 90s, Josephine Abercrombie has little memory of the initial Kentucky land her father purchased in support of his child’s interests in horses. Tat support led to her many years of success showing American

BLOODHORSE LIBRARY

★

KIRK SCHLEA/SCHLEA VISUAL ARTS

Abercrombie leads in homebred Peaks and Valleys after the colt’s victory in the 1995 Woodbine Mile.

Pin Oak has produced more than 100 stakes winners.

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Saddlebreds. Ten, in 1949, father and daughter were part of a partnership that purchased a group of Toroughbred yearlings at auction, and in 1952 they bought more than 1,000 acres and launched Pin Oak Stud in Central Kentucky.

Originally a multipurpose farm that included cattle and tobacco, Pin Oak also established a Toroughbred operation. Early success came via 1953 Astarita Stakes winner Make a Play and 1955 Louisiana Derby winner Roman Patrol.

Josephine Abercrombie followed up on those early successes. Both before and after her father’s death in 1975, she continued breeding stakes winners. Once, within a seven-year period (1976-1982), she achieved a classic double putting her in rarefed company that includes August Belmont, Paul Mellon, and John Galbreath. She bred Elocutionist, winner of the 1976 Preakness Stakes, and Touching Wood, winner of the 1982 English St. Leger. Both were sold in Pin Oak yearling consignments.

Abercrombie developed another farm in the 1980s, replacing the earlier Pin Oak with a nearby property. Distinguished Pin Oak stallions include 1995 juvenile champion Maria’s Mon, who despite dying young is the 19th and most recent stallion to sire more than one Kentucky Derby winner (Monarchos and Super Saver). Abercrombie bred and raised some of the other Pin Oak stallions, including reliable veteran Broken Vow and the young Alternation, already sire of Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress.

More than 100 stakes winners have come from Pin Oak, including Eclipse Award winner Laugh and Be Merry and Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys. Te lady of the manor’s industry awards recognize the range of her knowledge and leadership roles: Toroughbred Club of America’s honor guest; the national breeder of the year award from the Toroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; and a diverse pair of awards from Kentucky Toroughbred Association/Kentucky Toroughbred Owners and Breeders — Te Hardboot Award and William T. Young Humanitarian Award.

★ ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Her contributions to many other causes include establishment and ongoing support of Te Lexington School, highly revered over the years.

Breeding at the top levels A tale of two Texans was a pivotal point in the development of Mike Rutherford’s establishing a longstanding success for historic Manchester Farm in Lexington. In 1974 Texas native Rutherford purchased a yearling flly at the Keeneland September yearling sale as part of his segue from the Quarter Horse world to the Toroughbred world. Te consignor of the Exclusive Native flly was John T.L. Jones Jr., a fellow Texan who operated Walmac Farm in Lexington and also had a lifetime of involvement with both horse breeds.

Rutherford named the flly Native Lovin, and she rewarded him with victories in the Riley Allison Futurity and Land of Enchantment Futurity. She helped cement Rutherford’s interest in Toroughbreds and was buried with honor at his home ranch in Buda, Texas.

It is tempting to see Rutherford’s Texas path as stereotypical: growing up riding horses

Rutherford bred and sold Cara Rafaela, winner of the 1995 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland and later the dam of top stallion Bernardini.

Twilight Ridge was an important broodmare for Manchester Farm.

In 1976 Rutherford purchased Manchester Farm, a visible neighbor of Keeneland. Te property and surrounding acreage had been known as Manchester since the 1800s, and Rutherford’s portion was where the previous owner, Duval Headley, bred Tom Fool, a Hall of Famer and 1953 Horse of the Year.

Rutherford, who added nearly 200 acres to the farm, was more than a good steward.

In 1984 he built a three-story barn with four cupolas. Tis structure is considered the most photographed barn in the Bluegrass and has graced Southern Living magazine, TV commercials, and print advertising for Toyota, Corvette, and Mastercard.

Rutherford perceived that Toroughbred breeding was best addressed at the top

VISITLEX/GENE BURCH

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

at his family’s Austin cattle ranch, showing Quarter Horses while at the University of Texas, then launching into the oil and gas business.

Texas oil tends to create worldliness as well as wealth, leading Rutherford to London and Singapore. Meanwhile, love of horses led to success back home in cutting and halter competitions, years of judging shows, and the racing sector of Quarter Horses. A grasp of the heightened appeals of Toroughbred racing followed. With the revered Pete Heath, a horseman who had infuenced him for years, Rutherford began mining the Keeneland sales.

Tis had led to Native Lovin and was followed by a deeper plunge into the sport.

This Manchester Farm barn, three stories high and with four cupolas, is considered the most photographed such structure in Central Kentucky.

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BLOODHORSE LIBRARY

though McNair largely built his own broodmare band with Adger’s help.

To some degree, a grand immersion in Toroughbred racing was consolation for McNair, whose chief sporting ambition once he had established a highly successful busilevels. In the late 1970s, this philosoness career had been to purchase phy steered breeders toward Northan NFL franchise. Tat was not ern Dancer blood, and four daughters working out, it seemed, so he and that he bought by the sire all became his wife, Janice, plunged into Torstakes winners. oughbred racing and breeding.

The McNairs’ Stonerside Farm sponsored Keeneland’s Somewhat ironically, a moderately Beaumont Stakes from 2000 to 2008.

McNair and Hancock raced priced yearling went on to exceptionStrodes Creek together with Charal importance. Manchester-bred Cara Rafaela lie Whittingham and got a second in the brought $70,000 as a yearling but became a 2004 Kentucky Derby. Ten, McNair and championship contender as a grade 1 winner Hancock bred Fusaichi Pegasus, sold him and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up. for $4 million as a Keeneland yearling, and Cara Rafaela raced for Goncalo Torrealba and watched with immense satisfaction when then was sold as a broodmare to Sheikh Mohe won the 2000 Kentucky Derby for Fusao hammed. She later foaled Preakness Stakes Sekiguchi. winner and champion Bernardini.

McNair was born in Tampa, Florida, but Other good results included selling milgrew up in North Carolina. He attended the lions of dollars of yearlings from the family of University of South Carolina on a basketchampion Twilight Ridge, whom Rutherford ball scholarship before landing in Texas. He purchased afer her racing career. In addition, settled in Houston and founded an energy Rutherford doled out $2.7 million at Saratoga company described by the Houston Chronifor a 1986 yearling Alydar flly. Named Milcle as “the largest privately owned cogeneraliardaire, that flly later foaled Lakeway, who tion company in the world, generating a cawon four grade I stakes as a 3-year-old in pacity of more than 1,000 megawatts in the Rutherford’s colors in 1994.

Northeastern United States.” In 1992 he sold Robert McNair leads his champion flly Rutherford took on leadership roles, serv- Chilukki.

Cogen Technologies for $1.5 billion primaring on the Texas Racing Commission for sevily to Enron but maintained ownership in en years. He was on the Breeders’ Cup board want to have more than 10, and I certainly varied other strong businesses. of directors for many years and took personal don’t want a farm.’ ” Once he shrugged of the conviction pride when Texas’ Lone Star Park successfully Well, the lure of the Toroughbred has never to own a horse farm, McNair added hosted the event’s 2004 running. coaxed many a budding investor and horse two well-storied properties. One was the Rutherford sold much of the farm acreage lover into a bit more than he or she initial- grand house and training center known in in 2016 but continues to operate an entity in ly imagined. McNair’s wife, Janice, had a earlier years as the Greentree property adthe name of Manchester. Te buyer of that lifelong interest in horses, and it was not jacent to the backstretch at Saratoga, and large portion of the farm was Brad Kelley, many years before he had purchased a another was the training barn and house owner of Calumet Farm, thus ensuring con- large tract outside Paris, Kentucky. He also of Hall of Fame trainer Mack Miller at the tinuing historical distinction. had brought in architectural specialists to training complex in Aiken, South Carolina. create a handsomely appointed enclave inStonerside’s racing stable achieved imTrophies and touchdowns cluding a covered bridge. mediate results. Chilukki became the Toroughbred agent John Adger reAlong the meandering Stoner Creek, champion 2-year-old flly of 1999, and members a key moment in his discussions Stonerside Farm was the chosen name, and Congaree earned $3.2 million winning about the horse business with Robert Mc- it sat next to Arthur B. Hancock III’s Stone such races as the Hollywood Gold Cup, Nair. “He said, ‘OK, John; go ahead and Farm. McNair and Hancock formed a po- Wood Memorial, and two runnings of the buy me a couple of mares. But I don’t ever tent team in partnering on some horses al- Cigar Mile. Congaree also fnished third in

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John T. L. Jones Jr. was a cowboy comfortable in that image while his achievements went worldwide with bloodstock connections in Newmarket and Longchamp.

Jones was born in Quanah, Texas, in 1934.

He graduated from Abilene Christian University and later went to work for Walter Merrick.

A titan in the Quarter Horse business, Merrick also became involved with Toroughbreds, in part through adding their genetics into the Quarter Horse bloodlines. Jones was

the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He was a homebred from a female family Adger acquired for McNair while buying the entire broodmare band from Jack Kent Cooke’s Elmendorf Farm.

In 1997 McNair won a bit of classic glory through 25 percent ownership of Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold (Frank Stronach was majority owner).

McNair’s yearning for an NFL franchise never faded, and when he saw an opportunity to return pro football to his adopted Houston, he moved in no uncertain terms.

His Houston Texans felded its frst team in 2002. By 2008 McNair decided to reduce his Toroughbred holdings to a fraction of what he owned. Stonerside had won 72 McNair co-bred 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi graded stakes, a mark of success that Pegasus with Arthur Hancock III. lef Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai eager to buy not only the farm but also most of the horses. Te master of a worldwide Toroughbred enterprise thus took ownership of a pair that stepped into history by winning Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita in 2008: Raven’s Pass won the Classic and Midshipman the Juvenile Colts.

McNair passed away in 2018 after battling cancer. A son, Cal, is now chairman of the Texans.

McNair was elected to Te Jock- Congaree won multiple stakes races for Stonerside. ey Club and was honored for service and achievement by the Toroughbred both manager and trainer for Merrick from industry, and the Chronicle listed a dozen 1966-1970. universities that received grants and scholarJones’ acumen and interests were compatship programs. Te newspaper made special ible with both breeds and all areas of horsereference to establishment of the McNair manship. In the 1970s he became associated Medical Institute and a transformational gif with Marvin Warner of Ohio, along with of $100 million to Baylor College of Medicine Roland de Chambure of France and other in Houston. investors, in establishing Walmac-Warnerton

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on Paris Pike in Lexington. Te name had an historic ring to it. Walmac as a name of the property frst had been used when Robert W. McIlvain founded a Toroughbred farm in 1936. Fittingly, McIlvain was in the oil business in Texas.

Later, when the operation came under Jones’ direction, he tweaked the name to Walmac International. Kerry Cauthen, who worked for Jones and partnered in a sales company division, recalled that Jones had enough confdence in his own grounding in horses that he started prepping yearlings “the Quarter Horse way, and he made a big impact at the Kentucky sales.

Tey were exercised. He had them hand walked, and he developed them into looking like an athlete.” Jones, he said admiringly, had a lot of success “doing things his way.”

All along, Jones remained in the cattle business as well as the horse business, and his J Bar 7 Ranch in Texas was a staple. His ever-present cowboy hat, laconic manner, and homespun humor were inherent in his identity, as was the handsomely tooled Western saddle that decorated his spacious Kentucky ofce.

At Walmac International, Jones established a stallion division that helped extend his impact to Europe. Te climactic race of the European season is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe outside Paris. Jones related to repetitive infuence on that chic and historic event.

Stallions he stood at Walmac International included: • Alleged, twice winner of the Arc, in the tradition of Ribot, whose sire line he furthered; • Miswaki, a sprinting Mr. Prospector stallion whose singular daughter Urban Sea won the Arc and proceeded to foal Epsom Derby winner Galileo and Epsom Derby/Arc winner Sea Te Stars; • Nureyev, sire of Arc winner Peintre Celebre.

Jones was a major breeder, and an additional connection to European classic racing was his being a co-breeder of English One TouSKIP DICKSTEIN PHOTOS

★

International Texan

RUIDOSO DOWNS

BLOODHORSE LIBRARY

AQHA MEDIA

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

JOHN CROFTS

Clockwise from top left, Alleged became an infuential Walmac stallion; Jones and R.D. Hubbard owned All American Derby winner Noconi; Jones co-bred English One Thousand Guineas winner King of Kings.

RON MESAROS

sand Guineas winner King of Kings. An example of his impact at home was as breeder of the Nureyev stallion Unusual Heat, who became a prolifc sire in California and sired Eclipse Award winner Acclamation.

Johnny Jones’ ability to lead and guide within the industry was recognized and appreciated. John Gaines, who developed the Breeders’ Cup, credited Jones for bringing other industry leaders on board to support what became an innovative staple of the sport of racing. Jones later added a personal notch to Breeders’ Cup history as co-breeder of 2003 Sprint winner Cajun Beat.

In addition to serving on the Breeders’ Cup board, Jones was vice chairman of the Kentucky Racing Commission and a director of the Kentucky Toroughbred Association.

Jones operated Walmac International until 2005, when a son, John T. L. Jones III, and partner Robert Trussell, took it on for another prominent chapter. Jones remained director emeritus. Walmac was purchased in 2018 by horseman Gary Broad of California.

John III recalls fondly his father’s expression that he “used every ticket,” as a way of expressing that he tried to live a full life every step of the way. Jones died at 84 in 2018.

Another key memory to his family was John Jr.’s success with the Quarter Horse Ochoa. Te All American Futurity was a pivotal event in Quarter Horse racing, and it beat the Toroughbred game to the frst $1 million purse for a horse race in 1978.

In 2011 Jones was present at New Mexico’s Ruidoso Downs to watch Ochoa win the All American. Te breeder of that winner of the $2.4 running, he also owned Ochoa in partnership. With good friend R.D. Hubbard, Jones also raced hombred Noconi, winner of the 2008 All American Derby.

John III recalled, amid all the high points around the racing world, that victory in the old Southwest made his father most proud.

As Shakespeare’s Polonius advised Laertes: “To thine own self be true.” KM (Editor’s note: Part 3 of Lone Star Legacies will appear in a future issue.)

Clockwise from top left, Jones wore his Texas heritage proudly; Jones and wife, Brenda, display Ochoa’s All American Futurity trophy; Walmac star stallion Nureyev produced top California stallion Unusual Heat.

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BLOODHORSE LIBRARY

Keeneland’s record-setting sale toppers electrify the auction scene ANNE M. EBERHARDT

By Judy L. Marchman

The 1985 sale of Seattle Dancer set off a fevered bidding duel that ended when the Nijinsky II colt set a record yearling price of $13.1 million.

When all was said and done, Sangster and his partners, who included John Magnier of Coolmore and trainer Vincent O’Brien, buying through BBA (En-

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Troughout the 1980s, multimillion-dollar yearling prices at the Keeneland July sale became the norm — ofen it seemed as a result of bidding wars between the powerful camps of Sheikh Mohammed and Robert Sangster and partners. But in 1985, when a handsome half brother to Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew came into the ring and the bidding opened at $1 million, the battle over who would take the Nijinsky II colt home came down to the Sangster group and an American syndicate comprising trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Eugene Klein, and Mel Hatley.

Keeneland’s Geoffrey Russell attributes record auction prices to the right horse, the right kind of buyer, and serendipity.

gland), paid $13.1 million for the horse that would be named Seattle Dancer.

Te price was astonishing even for the day and remains the highest price ever paid at public auction for a Toroughbred yearling.

While the $13.1 million record holds pride of place as part of Keeneland lore, it’s just one of the many sales records in virtually every category that have been witnessed in the ring at Keeneland over the years. And, in some ways, it wasn’t even the most shocking.

Reaching eight figures Achieving the top price for any sale comes down to having the right horse and the right kind of interest from buyers. While buyers seeking weanlings and yearlings rely primarily on conformation and pedigree, buyers of horses

of racing age and broodmares can mull race and produce records. But hitting a record price perhaps requires a little bit of sales magic (and good ol’ competitive spirit). “You have to have the right players in place too,” said Geofrey Russell, Keeneland’s director of sales operations.

From 1942 to 2002, the Keeneland July yearling sale set the standard for the yearling market and saw plenty of frsts. Te frst million-dollar yearling sold in 1976, but it wasn’t nearly as groundbreaking as one might think, said racing historian Edward L. Bowen.

“It was a big step, but it wasn’t particularly unexpected.”

Over the previous 10 years at the July sale, records were being set practically every year. Eventual Kentucky Derby winner Majestic Prince brought

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BLOODHORSE LIBRARY

a world-record $250,000 in 1967, followed the next year by a Sea-Bird flly for a world-record $405,000. Ten in 1970, Majestic Prince’s full brother, the English champion Crowned Prince, sold for another record, $510,000, and three years later, champion Wajima took only two bids — an opening bid of $500,000 and a fnal bid of $600,000 — to set a new record yearling price. Just two years later Elegant Prince, a full brother to Majestic Prince, brought $715,000 to up the world-record standard.

Tus, said Bowen, the top prices were already getting close enough to a million that it was somewhat anticipated. Not surprisingly, that frst seven-fgure yearling in 1976 was the whole package of outstanding individual plus pedigree: a strapping chestnut colt by Secretariat out of Charming Alibi, making him a half brother to champion Dahlia. And he brought out the competition, with at least four diferent syndicates trying to get him.

Consigned by Nelson Bunker Hunt, the yearling brought an opening bid of $500,000 (his reserve) and within 30 seconds, the bidding had reached the $1 million mark. But it didn’t stop there. A Canadian syndicate led by the Burnett brothers’ Blue Meadows Farm ended up in a fnal scrap with a 10-person syndicate headed by William Farish, with the Canadian contingent getting the colt for $1.5 million. Te colt, named Canadian Bound, would end up like many sale-toppers in not living up to the hype. He remained winless in just four starts and sired 106 foals but had no stakes winners.

A mere seven years later, with the bloodstock markets riding high due to an infux of international buyers looking for certain pedigrees — Northern Dancer and his

Canadian Bound, a son of Secretariat, in 1976 became the frst milliondollar sales yearling.

line, in particular — a new level was reached — eight fgures — when Snaaf Dancer was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed for $10.2 million. Te moment was so unexpected that Keeneland didn’t have enough spaces on the bid board to accommodate the total price and the board had to be modifed. It just read “200,000.”

“Keeneland rectifed that issue very promptly,” said Russell with a laugh. He recalled watching the sale from the back ring.

“Te atmosphere was intense. It seemed like everybody in Lexington was there watching it happen.”

Te battle for Snaaf Dancer, son of Northern Dancer out of My Bupers, the dam of champion My Juliet, characterized the intense rivalry between Sheikh Mohammed and the Robert Sangster group, with both camps refusing to yield, until the Sangster group

IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYBODY IN LEXINGTON WAS THERE WATCHING IT HAPPEN.” — GEOFFREY RUSSELL, DIRECTOR OF SALES OPERATIONS, ON THE SALE OF SNAAFI DANCER

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Keeneland’s bid board did not have enough spaces to accommodate Snaaf Dancer’s then-record sale price of $10.2 million in 1983. The board was soon modifed.

From top, bidding duels during the 1980s often involved Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai (right, with brother Sheikh Maktoum) and England’s Robert Sangster and partners John Magnier (bottom left) and Irish trainer Vincent O’Brien.

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realized Sheikh Mohammed was not going to stop.

“I don’t mean to downplay the impact of the $13.1 million record, which was a spectacular record at the time and remains so,” Bowen said, “but the $10.2 million was an absolutely stunning price.”

By the late ’90s, the September sale had begun to gain better horses and the accompanying prestige, leading to the end of the July sale in 2002.

Since Snaafi Dancer and Seattle Dancer, only one yearling at Keeneland has hit eight figures again — Meydan City, a son of Kingmambo, who sold to Sheikh Mohammed for $11.7 million from the Burleson Farms consignment at the 2006 September sale.

The underbidder was, unsurprisingly, John Magnier’s Coolmore, which had evolved out of the Sangster group of the ’80s.

Allure of broodmares Broodmares, from outstanding racemares to proven producers, have long commanded record prices at Keeneland, particularly for parties looking to add certain bloodlines to their breeding operations. Playful Act, an Irish-bred daughter of Sadler’s Wells, holds Keeneland’s broodmare sales record at $10.5 million, a world record at the time.

Consigned to the 2007 November breeding stock sale by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency as part of the dispersal for Sangster’s Swettenham Stud, the group I-winning mare created plenty of interest among international buyers with her pedigree and racing ability. And it was only appropriate that when she came into the ring she should generate a bidding war between the Sheikh Mohammed and Coolmore camps. Sheikh Mohammed, represented by bloodstock manager John Ferguson, emerged victorious.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

“My father would have loved it, absolutely loved it,” Ben Sangster told BloodHorse at the time. “He was a horse trader, and in trading horses, he was always game. He would have thoroughly enjoyed that situation. Tat’s what the whole game’s about.”

Other popular record prices at the November sale have included horses in training, typically fllies as broodmare prospects but colts as well, such as Half Ours, who brought $6.1 million as a 3-year-old in 2006. Purchased

by Aaron Jones, Half Ours (by Unbridled’s Song), went on to win a grade 2 for him and now stands in Louisiana at Clear Creek Stud.

But the current top price for a horse in training rests with Royal Delta. In 2011 she generated excitement as part of the Palides Investments dispersal, when she commanded $8.5 million from Besilu Stables; she would later be named champion 3-year-old flly for that year and go on to earn two more championships for her new owner. “We all remember Royal Delta being sold,” Russell recalled.

“It wasn’t a large dispersal, but she was a queen. It was very exciting to watch.”

Playful Act set a record price for a broodmare, selling for $10.5 million in 2007.

It’s rare for a yearling to arrive at the sales ring with its own fan club like those for the popular horses of racing age and broodmares. But that was the case for Keeneland’s most recent sales record: the 2018 American Pharoah—Leslie’s Lady flly. Later named America’s Joy, she brought $8.2 million from Mandy Pope of Whisper Hill Farm at the 2019 September sale to become the highest-priced yearling flly ever to sell at Keeneland and tie as the fourth highest-priced yearling in the September sale’s history.

Te flly ticked all the right boxes: outstanding conformation, professional demeanor, and pedigree. From the second crop of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, America’s Joy is out of 2016 Broodmare of

MARC MANNING

One outstanding filly

The racehorse Half Ours sold for a record $6.1 million in 2006.

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT JOSEPH DIORIO ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Champion Royal Delta fetched a record $8.5 million for a horse in training in 2011. She would go on to win two more championships for her new connections.

Benjamin Leon of Besilu Stable signed the sales ticket for Royal Delta.

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the Year Leslie’s Lady, making her a half sister to beloved champion Beholder and rising star sires Into Mischief and Mendelssohn, both top racehorses in their own right. Tus the built-in fan base.

“You see it more with fllies that are right of the track,” Russell said of America’s Joy’s fans who waited outside the barn for photos and followed her to the sales ring. “She just exuded so much class. And, of course, that pedigree.”

“Te public just took to her,” said the flly’s breeder, Fred Mitchell, who consigned her in the name of his family’s Clarkland Farm. “Te cameras followed her all the way up to the ring. It was packed in the back walking ring. I’ve never seen anything like it before at a yearling sale.”

Mitchell knew he had a special horse — and

…IT’S DEFINITELY AN EXPERIENCE FORGET...”

— FRED MITCHELL ON THE SALE OF CLARKLAND FARM’S

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

WE’LL NEVER

America’s Joy, a daughter of American Pharoah and top producer Leslie’s Lady, sold for a flly yearling record $8.2 million in 2019.

KEENELAND PHOTO

a potential sale-topper — but never imagined a fnal price like $8.2 million. Watching the sale from the back ring, Mitchell didn’t realize at frst that Pope was one of the bidders. “Te bidding started of slow,” he said. “It took a bit to get to $2 million, then it started climbing. Once we got to $4 million, I turned around and started walking around.

“It’s just something for a small farm to have a sale like that,” he added, the wonder still in his voice.

Pope was indeed bidding on the flly, determined to get her. As she told BloodHorse right afer, “she was the only thing in the sale I really wanted … She has a lot more pedigree than some of [my broodmares].” She was going up against the two perennial heavy hitters, Coolmore and Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin, but outlasted them in a bidding war that lasted six minutes and 10 seconds. While Pope is known for shelling out big bucks for top

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

RECORD-PRICED FILLY

Clarkland Farm’s Fred Mitchell, with the flly his family bred, knew he had a special horse.

Buyer Mandy Pope fended off competition from the top players to secure the flly.

broodmares (and weanlings — she paid a North American record $3.2 million at the 2015 November sale for a War Front—Take Charge Lady flly), this was more than four times what she’d ever spent on a yearling before.

With America’s Joy, Clarkland Farm hit on every consignor’s dream — the

right individual, the right pedigree and the right buyers — to get that proverbial sales home run. And they did it at Keeneland, where they’ve sent horses through the ring for years. “It’s still hard to believe,” Mitchell said, “but it’s defnitely an experience we’ll never forget.” KM

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NOTHING HALFWAY ABOUT MIDWAY Midway University has come a long way since its founding as the Kentucky Female Orphan School

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

By Maryjean Wall

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Midway University encompasses 200 bucolic acres in the midst of prime horse country, an incentive for many students.

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No doubt Peterson would have lauded the recent, profound changes Midway University has embraced to suit the new times.

Co-ed education, expanded online graduate programs, champion sports teams, and the word “university” attached to the name of former Midway College are the new Midway University. Te campus has a diferent aura than 10 years ago. You can feel the vibrancy, sense of hope, and openness. Students such as sophomore Ruby Tevis have felt the changes. “I have seen improvements,” she said. “And in talking to my friends who are upperclassmen, they’ve been very happy with improvements, with adding new programs and new professors.”

Te school continues to occupy 200 of the most serene, bucolic acres in horse country.

Te stone-bridge entrance gives the impression of a horse farm, apropos since the university does have a herd of about 37 horses that belong to its equine studies and competitive riding program. Horses have long been important to Midway University and surrounding farms, where historic breeding operations such as Woodburn contributed in the 1800s to the rise of Kentucky’s horse industry.

Te city of Midway feels like a town because of its small population (1,811), adding

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MIDWAY UNIVERSITY PHOTOS

For students at the forerunner of Midway University, campus life in the early 20th century combined academics with such menial tasks as milking cows and cleaning foors.

Te all-female school expected discipline and decorum, even from its faculty. Instructor Lucy Peterson, who chronicled life at what was then the Kentucky Female Orphan School, sufered a scolding from the school’s superintendent, also a woman. Her ofense: lifing her skirt too high above her shoe tops to keep the hem from touching Midway’s dusty Main Street.

to its charm. Students can walk downtown from campus in just fve minutes. Railroad tracks run neatly through the town’s center, lined by shops and restaurants that also draw patrons from Lexington and beyond.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrif describes these six restaurants as “almost world class,” and few would disagree. “Tere’s a feel that you get from the university, just like you get from the restaurants, that adds to the charm,” he said.

Averting closure Te university’s narrative is notched with all kinds of fascinating twists and turns since

President John P. Marsden, Ph.D., is credited with breathing new life into the school by tackling its debts and transforming it into a 21st century institution of higher learning.

opening its doors in 1849 as the Kentucky Female Orphan School. Te current narrative is equally fascinating. Te school is rebounding and paying of $11 million in debt (plus an additional $3 million borrowed later to make payroll) that John P. Marsden, Ph.D., encountered when he took over as president in 2013. When he arrived from a provost role at Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina, the college had a damaged reputation with enrollment declines and a strapping fnancial burden.

If the university had closed, huge opportunities would have been lost for students and the city. As the city’s second-largest

WHEN THE TIMES ARE

TOUGHEST

Tey wear no capes. Tey have no superpowers. Tey make no headlines. But in times like these – no matter the challenge, regardless of the obstacles, in spite of the personal sacrifces – they care for our horses with a passion that can only be described as heroic.

EMERGE

Tey are the managers, grooms, laborers, trainers and riders. For nearly 145 years, Hagyard has been proud to stand by their side. And we continue to do so today.

THE HEROES

Join us in saluting these heroes whose superhuman eforts ensure the care and well-being of the magnifcent creatures that are so essential to our lives.

H A G Y A R D . C O M

/

8 5 9 . 2 5 5 . 8 7 4 1

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

Tough decisions A most formidable obstacle in the school’s departure down its new path was debt. Marsden said he was aware the school faced fnancial difculties before he took the job; he simply did not realize how deep these problems went. A Students sporting the school colors gather in the university’s amphitheater. few months later, during the summer of 2013, he realized the school would need to borrow to make payroll due to cash fow shortages.

Under Marsden’s direction, the school initiated some radical belt tightening. Layofs began. As well, “a lot of people jumped ship because they thought we were sinking,” he said. “Tere was a lot of turnover.”

He called the layofs the lowest point he experienced. “It was my frst presidency, we’re six months in, and we’re laying of people,” he said. “You never want to have to impact people’s lives like that.”

He says 2015 was the year the school began to turn around. Te school had begun paying of its debt and has reduced its fnancial obligations to about $11 million. Te school has a $30 million endowment, “so our fnancial ratios are pretty good,” Marsden said. Enrollment is up, and the new Midway University was awarded a reafrmation A fnancial campaign helped fund the Tracy Farmer-Don Ball Baseball of its accreditation. Reafrmation means everything to a Stadium and Dick Robinson Field. higher-education institution because without it, students cannot receive fnancial aid. decade. He cites research showing that only 2 percent of high school “We have a lot of need-based students,” said Ellen Gregory, vice seniors want to go to colleges limited to one gender. Given that inforpresident of marketing. First-year daytime undergraduate students mation, Midway opted to change. receive an average of $13,200 in fnancial aid. Tis is applied toward Another factor that played hugely in the turnaround was changtuition costs of $24,500 annually, with residence fees ranging from ing the name of the school from Midway College to Midway Uni$3,200 to $5,400 and dining programs from $3,000 to $4,200. Aca- versity in 2015. Te word “college” is confused with high school in demic and athletic scholarships reduce these costs for a number of some foreign countries, according to Marsden, so this helped clear students. up misconceptions about the curriculum and degrees ofered. Two percent of the undergraduate population is international. As Midway Going co-ed among big changes had also added graduate programs to the curriculum, it was better Marsden identifed the change to co-ed status as the single most named a “university.” important factor in turning around the school’s decline of the past With a new name and no longer restricted to educating only

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MIDWAY UNIVERSITY PHOTOS

employer, with 114 full-timers and 137 part-timers on the payroll, the university is a major contributor of payroll tax.

On the student side, those such as Tevis, who chose the school for its serenity, would have been out of luck. “I wanted the country lifestyle to help me get through the stress of college,” Tevis said. “Tat was what really pushed me over to Midway.”

Upon assuming the presidency, Marsden rolled up his sleeves and went to work. “I will say the turnaround turned out to be a heck of a lot harder than I imagined. I didn’t know it would take so long, be so hard, and at times be so ugly,” he said.

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A great sport horse farm close to the Kentucky Horse Park. There is a wonderful 6 stall barn with large stall and large rear windows, wash rack, tack room, paved center aisle, lacquered wood work and equipment shed on one side. The farm sports 5 paddocks, automatic Varnan waterers, and a 200 x 70 ring. The House features 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, large family room, hardwood floors, and a full unfinished basement. $575,000

A one of a kind legacy farm on Elkhorn Creek. It boasts a wonderful 20 acre tract of land with a charming 100 year-old farm house. The house was completely renovated in 1988 and has 9' ceilings, poplar floors, 2 1/2 baths, huge eat-in kitchen, extra large family room, screened porch, deck and is surrounded by stately old trees. The farm has 2barns; one over-sized, 50 x 100 ft. equipment barn with concrete floors, the other is a tobacco barn that has been converted to a livestock/feed barn. The property has rolling hills and a large pond. $399,000 Additional land with Elkhorn Creek frontage available.

823 Hutchison Road, Paris

12 acres of prime land between Lexington and Paris with easy access off of Paris Pike. The land is gently rolling, has a tobacco barn, and sports great views. $189,000

The inviting Central Kentucky landscape comes right to the school’s doorsteps, which appeals to students such as Ruby Tevis. “I wanted the country lifestyle to help me get through the stress of college,” said Tevis, a member of the equestrian team.

women, Midway’s enrollment went from 239 in spring of 2016 (when the college was for women only) to 643 this past autumn. Tose numbers were for undergraduates attending classes on campus, whether commuting or living in campus residences. Overall the enrollment is 1,700, including online, dual credit, and graduate students.

“He’s made huge strides,” Vandegrif said.

“I think they were looking at possible fnancial insolvency. And now they’re building things, and all their numbers are going up every year.”

Adding men’s athletics proved another big boost for the school. Marsden said the school was going to begin admitting

men for fall classes in 2016 without ofering athletics until 2017. All changed when the president of St. Catharine College in Springfeld contacted Marsden. St. Catharine was facing closure, due to fnancial diffculties, and wondered whether Midway would consider absorbing some of its men’s athletic teams.

Midway rushed to make the changes to accommodate men’s athletics a year ahead of schedule. “In less than 100 days we went from Kentucky’s only female school to fully co-ed with men’s athletic teams, one of which is baseball, and we didn’t have a baseball feld,” Marsden said.

It does now. Te athletics program benefted from a fnancial campaign launched to build a baseball stadium, a feld house, and enhancements to some campus buildings.

MARK MAHAN

Importance of athletics

Going co-ed has boosted Midway’s attendance, with undergraduate enrollment going to 643 last fall from 239 in the spring of 2016 when the school was for women only.

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Athletics are a big part of the Midway University experience. As of this past autumn, the school had 24 athletic teams, including two equestrian teams. More than 500 students are athletes competing in two athletic conferences. Te women’s golf team has won conference championships in four

HANNAH WAROWAY

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY PHOTO

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

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5434 Paris Pike

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179 Bradley Lane, Lexington

The ideal farm in a very private setting, yet on the edge of urban service area. The 6.67 acre land is zoned R1-C, higher density residential infill with 8,000 SF minimum lot size. The house is a remodeled brick ranch with hardwood floors over a finished walk-out basement. During the kitchen remodel all walls were removed making for an open great room. There is a second full kitchen in the basement. All appliances remain with the house. The gently rolling land has a tobacco barn, detached garage and equipment shed. It would be an ideal sport horse farm with treed boundaries for privacy. $375,000

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

MIDWAY POLICY CHANGES DUE TO VIRUS

Hunter Field House, named for school trustee Janet Green Hunter, goes up.

met with some industry representatives in 2014, and they were candid with us: Tey didn’t want to hire our students because all they wanted to do was ride.

And that’s not what all of the industry is about. So, we revamped the curriculum and made it a lot more hands-on with a business and science foundation.”

Today’s program has approximately 120 students — about half from out of state — and 37 horses, including Toroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and warmbloods. Midway felds two riding teams — hunt seat and Western — that

HANNAH WAROWAY

successive years. Te men’s baseball team was conference champion in 2017.

Te famed equine program also is doing well afer some adjustments.

Te original program, started in 1978, ofered a degree in equine ofce administration. Today, Midway ofers a program in equine rehabilitation as well as courses that help make its graduates more employable.

“When I frst came here there was a lot of emphasis on riding horses and less on curriculum and how to manage a horse and manage a farm,” Marsden said. “We

A

s it has done throughout its history, Midway University continues to adjust to challenges it faces. Due to the COVID-19 virus, the university made adjustments to assist current and incoming students. When the virus forced residential students to leave campus, the university transitioned from face-to-face to online instruction.

For incoming students, the school announced it would be test-optional for fall 2020 to assist students who were impacted by the closing of ACT/SAT testing sites.

Additionally, the university is freezing its tuition rates for all student populations for the coming academic year. Lastly, the university will honor merit aid offers to previously admitted students from fall 2019 if there are students who wish to transfer closer to home in response to the virus.

MARK MAHAN

The school’s equine program has expanded to offer a curriculum in equine rehabilitation as well as classes to make graduates more employable.

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K IS FOR KEENELAND ALPHABET BOOK By: Rebecca Faires and Illustrated by Caleb Faires

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MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

CHARLES BERTRAM/LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER PHOTOS

REVIVAL MOVEMENT INTERTWINED WITH MIDWAY U’S FOUNDING

O

vercoming challenges is intertwined with Midway University’s story.

Indeed, it faced a big one right from the start: In 1847, the school received a state charter but did not have the money it needed to build a school.

James Ware Parish Sr., an elder in the Midway Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church, worked hard to persuade his many infuential friends to donate. Parish and the orphan school’s founder, Dr. Lewis Letig Pinkerton, pastor of this church, were both eager to open such a school because they were caught up in a zeal for social justice and reform. These ideals continued to thrive nearly 50 years following a millennial movement of camp meetings that had swept through Kentucky and other states at the beginning of the century. Pinkerton, born in 1812, wasn’t alive for the original revivals yet was greatly infuenced by the preaching of religious leaders who emerged from that era.

He took his greatest inspiration from Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone, leaders whose preaching styles both were formed in the movement.

Stone had been an organizer at the Cane Ridge Meeting House revival in Bourbon County. For nearly a week in 1801, some 20,000 people had wept and prayed and spoken in tongues and even fainted in religious ecstasy at this, the greatest of all camp meetings held in the United States. The enduring infuence of Cane Ridge and its link

compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Each team has 30 to 35 riders.

Te hunt seat team under coach Heath Gunnison ranks consistently among the region’s best, and this year the Western team, under new coach Conner Smith, won the regional championship for the frst time in 12 years. Several Midway students were to par-

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The revival at Cane Ridge Meeting House in Bourbon County played a role in Midway University’s founding. to the orphan school cannot be overstated.

Pinkerton’s church at Midway even invited Stone and Campbell to preach in later years as guests at the church.

When the Kentucky Female Orphan School fnally opened in 1849, 16 students and one teacher assembled for classes. The orphan school was never intended to be an orphanage. Pinkerton and Parish envisioned it as a school to educate young women so they, in turn, could teach others in public schools.

School life was disciplined and diffcult, although the girls reportedly grew fond of their demanding campus life. The school required students to help cook, serve in the dining hall, wash dishes, clean the foors, wash bed linen, and milk the cows. Most of these girls must have realized the school offered them the best chance they could hope for, because young women had few options except to “teach, marry, or be an old maid,” as instructor Lucy Peterson wrote in 1905.

“The girls’ rooms in Pinkerton Hall were not lighted by lamps,” she wrote. “Each room was given two candles on Monday and they must last the room for a week.” Gasoline

ticipate in the Western national just before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Te program uses three facilities, the original being the Keeneland Equine Center, known as the Keeneland Barn, built in the mid-1980s. Te program also has indoor and outdoor arenas, lab and classroom space, and

Reform movement preachers such as Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone later preached at the school founder’s Midway church. lamps were added in 1906 but not in the residence halls. Lamps were placed only in the study halls and dining room.

No doubt the young women told ghost stories on nights when they huddled together for warmth in their dark, unheated rooms.

Still other stories involving the orphan

plenty of pasture for the horses. All told, the Midway program encompasses 150 acres.

Midway graduates and current students work in a variety of equine positions, including for major farms such as WinStar, Ashford Stud, Lane’s End, and Tree Chimneys.

Tey also have jobs at the major veterinary clinics and groups such as the American

Association of Equine Practitioners. Some graduates go to vet school, including the premier College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University.

Vandegrif credits a lot of Midway U’s newfound success to Marsden’s determination and vision. “He’s just a very intelligent, measured, and generally nice person,” the

mayor said. “To me, it comes down to leadership. Everything’s about leadership.”

Te mayor also talked about improved town-and-gown relationships with the university. “About a decade ago I never saw much outreach from the university to the city,” he said. Vandegrif meets frequently with Marsden, “We go over what’s going on

JACK MORRIS

MIDWAY UNIVERSITY

school were quite real, such as the caper involving the stolen church organ. This story, like the founders of the school, harkened to the Cane Ridge revival and the “new lights,” or progressives, who came away from the meeting desiring church reform. They found themselves in confict with those who feared change. The use of musical instruments in church services became a lightning rod between the two groups.

Some congregants at Midway Christian were shocked to discover a melodeon installed in 1860 for their Sunday services.

Pinkerton brought the small organ in to the church partly because the singing among the congregants was so deplorable that it would “scare even the rats from worship,” the pastor lamented. But he was a progressive. Not all congregants in his church were happy to see a musical instrument in their midst. They regarded the melodeon as

encased in glass inside the campus library.

The inestimable Peterson wrote how the name Kentucky Female Orphan School served the institution well until, she fgured, the 1920s when the trustees began seriously considering a change. The problem with the word “orphan,” by the time of the 1920s, she wrote, was people confused it with an orphanage. The trustees mailed letters to alumnae From 1849 until 2016, Midway University permitted only and friends of the school women students. inquiring how they would an “instrument of Satan.” react to a name change.

A church elder named Adam Hibler “Some declared the change unthinkable belonged to that group. He was determined because the school had made a nationwide to see the melodeon removed and decided name for itself,” she wrote. But those in favor to act. One night he led his slave, Reuben, to also pointed out that using “Kentucky” made the church to steal the offending instrument. the school sound like a state institution and Hibler sent Reuben through a window, orthe use of “female” was obsolete. Among dered him to lift the small melodeon, and to names suggested were Woodford County hand it to Hibler standing outside. Accounts Collegiate Institute, Fincastle School for differ on the melodeon’s fate.

Girls, Pinkerton College, College-on-the-Hill, A website titled “History of the RestoHalf-way College, Midway School for Girls, ration Movement” tells how Hibler hid the and Pinkerton-Parrish School. melodeon in his barn, where he’d also stored Change occurred slowly. The school did a souvenir of the Cane Ridge Meeting House, not change its name until 1942. The female removed years previously. orphan school became Midway Junior ColA pamphlet distributed by Midway lege combined with Pinkerton High School.

University tells a slightly different story, What did not change was the demographic: reporting that the melodeon was found years These remained girls’ schools. The change later, not in Hibler’s barn but inside a private to co-ed education at the undergraduate home in Versailles. level on campus took place only four years Wherever it was residing, the little meloago in 2016. In modern times the school deon was rescued from hiding. It was given maintains only a loose connection with the to the school, where it continues to reside, Midway Christian Church.

A melodeon that once was played at Sunday services at Midway Christian Church is now displayed in the school’s library.

in the town and at the university and how we can work together. It’s been great.”

Marsden said of the turnaround: “It is a tremendous feeling, and I didn’t do it alone.”

Surely our historical arbiter, Miss Lucy Peterson, would agree that it was time to change and that Midway University handled the change well. KM

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NOT YOUR KEENELAND’S TRACK KITCHEN IS THE PLACE FOR BREAKFAST, SERVING UP BISCUITS AND GRAVY, LIVELY CONVERSATION, AND PERHAPS A TIP OR TWO

By Patti Nickell

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KEENELAND/PHOTOS BY Z

AVERAGE KITCHEN

Photos of famous horses that have won at Keeneland adorn one of the track kitchen’s walls.

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NOT YOUR

W When people think of Keeneland, they think of smartly dressed men and women roaming lush, manicured grounds, bourbon in hand, admiring million-dollar Toroughbreds. It could be thought of as a sort of equine Camelot.

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

AVERAGE KITCHEN

Track kitchen customers can count on breakfast staples at reasonable prices.

Most of those patrons understand they will probably never stand in the winner’s circle or raise a hand to bid on a colt by a Triple Crown winner at the sales pavilion.

But there is one place at Keeneland that is a crossroads where people from all aspects of the horse industry and life come together to enjoy each other’s company and good food. And it serves as a community gathering spot where they can check the news on the bulletin board or celebrate a special occasion with friends or co-workers in an adjoining room that accommodates group events.

Near the stables on the backside of the track, a single-story building houses the Keeneland track kitchen, which for 84 years has been feeding patrons who are hungry not only for a bountiful Southern breakfast but also for a chance to mingle with the horse set.

At 7:30 a.m. on a frosty January morning,

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NOT YOUR AVERAGE KITCHEN

‘‘

THE TRACK KITCHEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

the track kitchen hummed with activity.

Te aroma of fresh-brewed cofee and the sound of chatter flled the room, the walls of which are lined with matted photographs of Keeneland’s raison d’etre. Tey hang side by side — Strike the Gold, Swale, Spectacular Bid, Riva Ridge, Risen Star, Alydar — at the very least, stakes winners; in many

Keeneland executive chef Marc Therrien checks in with kitchen staff Renay Beagle, left, and Beth Palmer.

ONE OF KEENELAND’S MOST WELCOMING SPOTS”

— JAMES E. “TED” BASSETT,

cases, Derby champions. Visitors entering the track kitchen are greeted by a photo gallery wall honoring Hall of Fame trainers such as Woody Stephens, Shug McGaughey, John Veitch, Mack Miller, Ben Jones and LeRoy Jolley, who have graced Keeneland through the years.

A man in a business suit sporting a $50 haircut and perfectly manicured nails chats amiably with a man in jeans and mud-caked boots whose hair looks as if it were styled by the wind and whose nails

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KEENELAND

RETIRED KEENELAND CHAIRMAN

The track kitchen is the perfect setting to review the day’s race entries and perhaps get a tip.

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A track kitchen has served Keeneland nearly since its inception in 1936. This photo dates from 1939.

KEENELAND

are rimmed with dirt.

A wizened exercise rider, weighing no more than a supermodel, digs into a breakfast ft for a lumberjack. At a window table, a group sits in jovial companionship debating the odds on the flly in the fourth at Gulfstream, while at a corner table a solitary man pores over a Daily Racing Form.

Damon Runyon couldn’t have created a more vivid scene.

In reality, though, there might not be any other place in America quite like Keeneland’s track kitchen. It’s alleged to be the only racetrack kitchen in America that’s been reviewed by restaurant critics, and a New York Times reporter once recommended it as one of four essential places to eat in the Bluegrass.

Southern Living magazine placed the track kitchen on its list of the South’s best breakfast spots right alongside New Orleans’ iconic Brennan’s restaurant. Author Patricia Schultz — in her book, 1,000 Tings to do Before You Die — gave it a mention as a place to go for “grits and gossip.”

Not bad for a spot where the décor — aside from those Toroughbred portraits — is cheery but utilitarian and where a $10 bill will get you a bountiful breakfast and change back. Te daily menu is a mix of classic fare and new and healthy choices such as the popular breakfast burritos, a variety of salads, and yogurt and fruit parfaits.

Local writer Herb Sparrow, in an article on the track kitchen for a 1979 issue of Keeneland magazine, wrote that “on an ordinary race day morning sitting at these tables will be multimillionaires and grooms,

KEENELAND

AVERAGE KITCHEN

Then as now customers enjoyed a hearty breakfast at a reasonable price.

and sometimes you can’t tell the diference.”

Te clientele here consists of Toroughbred owners, trainers, jockeys, and stable employees rubbing elbows over early morning cofee before heading to the barn or the track or the executive boardroom.

However, the track kitchen enjoys a much broader fan base than just those in the equine world. It’s a favorite meeting spot for a cross section of the general public. Firefghters mingle with freelance writers, tourists get tips from trainers, and contractors

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

get a glimpse of celebrities.

Some of those celebs include regulars such as former governors John Y. Brown Jr. and Brereton Jones and trainers Nick Zito, Bob Bafert, and D. Wayne Lukas. Te non-horse types who have found their way to the track kitchen include actors Meryl Streep and John Forsythe and evangelist Pat Robertson.

Like television’s iconic bar “Cheers,” this is a place where most everybody knows your name.

Tey certainly know James E. “Ted” Bassett’s. When the tall, elegant, silver-haired Bassett was president and then chairman of Keeneland, he began every morning with a cup of hot tea and conversation at the track kitchen.

Center, James E. “Ted” Bassett III retired from the helm at Keeneland many years ago but still is a regular at breakfast with friends at the track kitchen.

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SRAH JANE SANDERS PHOTOS

Clockwise from top left, popular items include biscuits and gravy; eggs and country ham; scrambled eggs with all the fxings; and French toast.

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

People from all walks of life can count on a warm welcome at the track kitchen.

He still does. Retired afer 33 years at Keeneland, the 98-year-old Bassett, who has squired both Queen Elizabeth II and Elizabeth Taylor around the track, still enjoys his early morning ritual at the track kitchen. Unlike most who opt for the cholesterol-laden eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, the trim, dapper Bassett is usually more virtuous, according to Phyllis Keene, track kitchen manager.

“Most days he orders cereal with bananas and raisins and a glass of V8 juice,” she said, “but occasionally, he will cheat and have a sausage omelet.”

It’s to be expected that everyone knows Bassett’s name, but what’s remarkable is he seems to know the names of not only every trainer, jockey, groom, and stable worker

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NOT YOUR all the way down the equine chain but also those of their children and grandchildren.

“Te track kitchen has always been one of Keeneland’s most welcoming spots,” Bassett said, adding that “it has been a gathering place for the whole range of owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, media, and the general public.”

One family that regularly gathers at the track kitchen is that of Walter “Wally” Wallace II, Keeneland’s director of maintenance. Wallace; his wife, Kim; their 4-year old daughter, Elizabeth; and when they aren’t in school, his sons, Troy, 9, and Cannon, 7, have a standing date for lunch every Wednesday.

“We started this weekly tradition during the races and the sales as a way for me to see them during our busiest times,” he said.

“Now, we do it year-round.”

While Wallace likes the convenience of having a place to eat in his own backyard, his wife and daughter love it for its personal feel.

“When the ladies in the kitchen see Elizabeth, they always greet her by name and say, ‘It must be Wednesday,’ ” he said.

While the track kitchen is open for lunch, it’s breakfast that is the big draw. Keene says that during race meets and sales, they will make 600 biscuits and 10 gallons of gravy to serve with 30 dozen eggs and 15 pounds of cofee for the 1,000 breakfasts they prepare daily.

“Te rest of the year, those fgures go down to 125 biscuits, three to four gallons

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of gravy, and 15 dozen eggs for 100 breakfasts,” she said.

Te track kitchen’s breakfasts haven’t changed much over the years, and that’s just fne with Keene.

“When people come here, it’s like they’re stepping back in time to what they’ve always known,” she said. “Tat familiarity is what they want.”

Familiarity and a genuine slice of Americana. KM

ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

AVERAGE KITCHEN

Phyllis Keene manages the kitchen.

Maria Costobel assembles “to-go” food orders served during the COVID-19 quarantine.

ESSENTIAL SERVICE

ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

S

ince the frst cases of COVID-19, were reported in January, the world has not been quite the same.

Keeneland is no exception. Forced with canceling its spring meet and April sale, it has had to adapt to a new normal.

At the Keeneland track kitchen, life goes on, although on a considerably diminished scale. While the general public is prohibited from entering the grounds and there is no local service of any kind, those essential workers who live and work here year-round still must be fed.

On Easter Sunday the track kitchen teamed with the Keeneland Chaplaincy program to prepare more than 200 complimentary Easter meals for the men and women who work on the backside.

“We continue to provide three meals a day to essential Keeneland employees still working and backside personnel who live in dorms on the grounds,” said Phyllis Keene, track kitchen manager.

She added that with the barns having less than half their normal occupancy, the kitchen is providing one-quarter of its usual fare. Still, they initially had diffculty ordering staples such as bread and eggs but have now worked out a schedule with the local suppliers that provide not only food products but paper goods and dry goods, as well.

“We give our suppliers our order several times a week and have had no trouble with deliveries,” said Keene.

While normally offering only breakfast and lunch, the track kitchen is operating on extended hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily with Keene handling the morning and early afternoon shift and her assistant, Rick Richardson, covering the late afternoon and early evening shift.

Suppliers deliver food and other provisions several times a week.

Marc Therrien, managing director and executive chef of Keeneland Hospitality, has overseen food service efforts during the pandemic. They include the addition of carryout meals.

That means those confned to the Keeneland campus can get not only breakfast but a hot lunch and dinner.

“We provide a hot lunch buffet with two different entrees — chicken or beef — and a choice of four vegetables made from scratch every day, as well as a daily soup,” said Keene.

“They can also order hamburgers, fsh,

and French fries from the grill, and while our daily special is now a three-times-aweek special, it’s still available,” she said.

Those specials are eagerly anticipated.

Just ask Marc Therrien, managing director and executive chef of Keeneland Hospitality, who oversees the track kitchen.

“I like to go for lunch on Thursday because it’s taco day,” he said.

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Making a Difference

LEARNING for the

FUN OF IT The Living Arts and Science Center embraces the concept that art and science education enhances life

By Jacalyn Carfagno | Photos by Mark Mahan

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Esme Arnett paints a geode that is part of the center’s collection.

Art classes and exhibitions are popular offerings.

Cpation

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Discovery educator Heather Donlan often takes Speedy, the LASC’s native Kentucky corn snake, along on visits to schools.

“He’s the most laid-back snake,” she said.

Michelangela is a female common musk turtle, a native Kentucky species. Donlan says her “enthusiastic temperament” makes her a favorite among visitors.

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L

ori Halligan spun her computer monitor around to show a visitor the full-screen, color-coded spreadsheet detailing the Living Arts and Science Center’s activities.

“It’s a big puzzle,” said Halligan, the LASC executive director. “It’s almost hard to explain what we do because we do so many things.”

Tose things range from the traditional — fun programs for children that incorporate learning and encourage artistic expression — to adult cooking classes and exhibits in the center’s four galleries. Tere are also shows in Lexington’s only planetarium. Plus, its programs travel to schools and libraries in 54 Kentucky counties with hands-on arts and sciences experiences and mobile planetarium shows.

A walk through the center afrms the dimensions of Halligan’s complex puzzle. Tere are 16 species of live animals (among them

hissing cockroaches; a bearded dragon named Sunny; the LASC’s pet corn snake, Speedy; and axolotls Axl and Rose), classes in progress (“bats are our friends,” an instructor tells a noisy group of kids in the Discovery classroom), and art exhibits aimed at both children and adults.

On quieter days a class might contain 20 or 30 kids, but when schools are on break, the numbers climb to 80 to 100; and in the summer the center is flled with 100 to 120 kids on any given day. “Te energy in the building is completely diferent when we have kids around,” said Halligan, who joined the LASC in May 2019.

Tat energy and activity would no doubt be gratifying to the thoughtful women who in the 1960s began

The Expedition Odyssey, Exploring Extreme Habitats, teaches kids about environments, ranging from polar regions and deserts to the deep sea and outer space and the diverse life forms in each.

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Making a Difference LEARNING FOR THE FUN OF IT

Lori Halligan, the executive director, takes pride in the breadth and variety of the center’s programs.

discussing providing more opportunities for Lexington children to experience and appreciate art. By 1964 their vision had expanded to creating an arts and science center, and Junior League of Lexington had adopted the project. Te league spent four years doing research, including bringing in national experts, before launching the Living Arts and Science Center in 1968. Te LASC started with a full-time executive director and an assistant recruited from an

arts institution in Kansas City, Missouri, working from donated ofce space with $25,325 and 49 volunteers from the league.

By 1970, afer a stint in the Loudon House, the LASC found its permanent home in the Kinkead House at what is now the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fourth Street. Tere, with room to spread out, the LASC hosted exhibitions (14 in the frst two years); had a lending library where kids, their teachers, and parents could fnd not only story books but also works on art history and education; ofered activities for kids; put on plays; and provided reference works. A collection of 300 mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and minerals acquired from the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History was available for loan to schools and libraries. Classes included puppetry, architecture, art in nature, and birds, which, according to an early history of the center “incorporated natural history studies with related creative projects.”

Among the visiting artists in the early years were Eric Carle, whose 1969 Te Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the best-selling children’s books in history, and Nell Cox, a New York flm and television director whose credits include episodes of “American Playhouse,” “M*A*S*H,” “Lou Grant,” and “Te Waltons.”

Attendance in the start-up year at a temporary home was an impressive 24,750. Lexington, it seemed, had been ready to embrace the cross-fertilization of arts and sciences.

Much has changed in the ensuing half century. Now there are parking lots, so it isn’t necessary to ask visitors to avoid parking on the lawn “if the ground is sof,” as the LASC did in a February 1971 newsletter.

Frequent exhibits showcase the talents of local and national artists. Right, Esme Arnett and brother Beau explore their artistic sides.

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Making a Difference

ABOUT THE LIVING ARTS AND SCIENCES CENTER

LEARNING FOR THE FUN OF IT

Tese days there are 3-D printing and computer simulations, cooperative work with NASA, and a joint experiment with ExoLab to compare how plants grow on Earth and in space. Tanks to a 2016 addition, the center has even more space, a planetarium, a commercial kitchen, and a modern kiln in the clay studio. Te staf has grown to 14 full-time with The center opened the Keeneland Clay Studio 20 to 30 visiting teachers and in its 2016 addition. a few college interns every semester. And in the 2018-19 year almost experiences. Tey’re not here to empty the 80,000 people engaged in LASC activities. trash cans.” A marketing intern pumped Interns, Halligan said, “help our out- up the social media presence while an arts reach and help our budget, but we also administration major got hands-on experithink it’s really important that they get good ence planning and hanging a gallery show.

362 North Martin Luther King Blvd.

(859) 352-5222 https://lasclex.org

L

LIVING ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER

ASC is free and open daily Monday through Friday.

Annual memberships range from $35 to $1,000 with benefts including discounts on classes, workshops, planetarium shows for guests, and other acitivities.

Friday evening shows in the Farish Planetarium at 6 and 7 p.m. cost $4 per person.

Discovery Nights, family hands-on explorations of rotating topics, are the frstThursday of each month. Suggested donation $2 per person.

Discovery Saturdays are the last Saturday of each month with family workshops, planetarium shows, and art and science exhibitions. $5 per person.

Classes for children 3-18 are held after school and whenever public schools are not in session, including summer camps.

Half days are typically $95 a week and $30 for single days with fnancial aid available.

Adult classes are offered in ceramics, knitting, and painting (including digital), priced at about $25 to $30 per session.

One-night cooking classes, $35, have included lessons on bacon jam, handmade tagliatelle, and spanakopita.

Discovery education director Angela Carbone works with students from the nearby Lexington Traditional Magnet School in the pottery studio.

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Angela Carbone enjoys time at the potter’s wheel.

Graduate students from U.K.’s Martin School of Public Policy and Administration carried out what Halligan called “a deep dive on strategic planning,” looking at operations from customer, internal process, and stafng standpoints, and at balance sheets to develop a scorecard to guide the organization going forward, while a Gatton school economics class analyzed the center’s audiences to identify opportunities to ofer services to a wider swath of the community.

Learning remains the heart and mission of the Living Arts and Science Center. Te concept that the powerful combination of art and science education enhances life for children, adults, and the communities they inhabit has

The Farish Planetarium is a favorite for classroom visits. It offers about 350 celestial shows from larger planetariums plus some developed specifcally for Central Kentucky.

Providing health and human services during this time of uncertainty to the frontline horsemen and their families working in Central Kentucky’s Thoroughbred industry.

Please l send tax-deductible contribution to:

Blue Grass Farms Charities

2339 Sandersville Road • Lexington, Kentucky 40511 501(c)(3) Non-proft Organization

www.bgfcky.org KEENELAND.COM

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Making a Difference LEARNING FOR THE FUN OF IT

NEIGHBORHOOD ANCHOR

G

eorge B. Kinkead and his new wife, Elizabeth, built a Greek Revival-style house on a large plot in Lexington’sThird Ward not long after they married in 1846. It was called a townhouse although the location, at what is now the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fourth Street, was then on the outskirts of the city.

The house remained in the family until 1981 when Kinkead heirs donated it to the Living Arts and Science Center, which had been operating there since 1970.

Kinkead, an attorney, was prominent and successful but not necessarily popular. Among his clients were Abraham and MaryTodd Lincoln, and he was adamantly anti-slavery and pro-Union during the CivilWar.The tribute published by the local bar association after his death in 1877 referred to Kinkead’s “earnest but unpopular opinions on the slavery question.”

After the CivilWar, Kinkead built housing for freed blacks in an area near the family home, creating what was known as Kinkeadtown.

After George Kinkead’s death, his widow lived another quarter century, until 1904. An obituary described her as a woman “of great intellectual attainments and great strength of character.”

It seems almost as if Elizabeth Kinkead could have been one of the visionary women who founded the Living Arts and Science Center.

Like the Kinkeads, the Living Arts and Science Center has always been involved in the neighborhood, providing an anchor in the East End and reaching out to children and families living nearby. From its very beginnings, the LASC has offered free activities and scholarships to provide access to its programming.

About a decade ago the LASC had grown so successful that it was turning away school groups because there wasn’t enough room in the Kinkead House. Leadership began considering the need for new and more space and

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Built in 1846, the Kinkead House became the center’s home in 1970.

chose to stay in the neighborhood, expanding and renewing its historic home.The director at that time, Heather Lyons, recruited Harriet Dupree Bradley to chair a capital campaign to build a modern addition, furnish it, and rehab the Kinkead House.They set a goal of $5 million, a huge amount in Lexington nonproft fundraising.

The country was in the throes of the Great Recession and there were skeptics.

“We went to one person who was very down on it. He said, ‘There’s no money in this town for that sort of thing,’ ” Bradley told the Herald-Leader in 2013. But the Paul and Lucille C. Little Foundation (Lucille Little was one of the founders of the LASC) committed to a $1 million matching grant in 2011, and things kept rolling from

there. The William Stamps Farish Foundation also contributed $1 million, and University of Kentucky athletics booster Joe Craft added $500,000. Other signifcant gifts came from the Mt. Brilliant Family Foundation, the William R. Kenan CharitableTrust, andTom and Susie Bell. By late 2013 the ImagineThis! Campaign had raised $4.2 million and was ready to break ground the following spring.

In March 2016, LASC opened the lightflled, award-winning 11,000-square-foot modern addition — designed by de Leon and Primmer ArchitectureWorkshop of Louisville — and a renovated Kinkead house. For the frst time that year, LASC had enough space to host its annual fundraiser, H’Art Full of Fun, in its own home.

The center’s 2016 addition allowed for more programming.

LIVING ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER

remained the same. In 1970 kids learned about natural history through studying birds and used their creative energy to portray them. In 2020 kids simulate the “Great British Baking Show” in the new kitchen, learning about the science of baking cupcakes and the art of decorating them; this spring adults experienced the art and science of making bacon jam with Keeneland executive chef Marc Terrien.

When planning was underway for the addition, an early priority was to include a permanent, fxed planetarium. Te mobile version that had been used was very popular but small, could only be entered by crawling through an entry, and had to be set up and taken down all the time. With help from a $1 million gif from Te William Stamps Farish Fund (although based in Houston, the fund has strong local ties through the Farish family’s Lane’s End Farm in Versailles) the Farish Planetarium became a reality. It’s a favorite for classroom visits, with about 350 celestial shows from larger planetariums to draw on, plus some developed for Central Kentucky by coordinator Dany Waller, a NASA Solar System Ambassador who’s pursuing a graduate degree in physics from Johns Hopkins University. Recently, for an adult Valentine’s date night, Waller developed “a tour of our sky around here, what constellations you can see,” with talk about the mythology, both Greek and Native American, around them.

“We were STEAM before STEAM was ever a thing,” Halligan said, referring to the now popular acronym for schools that combine science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

John Kirkland and his family loved the surround experience of watching a nature show in the planetarium, but it’s the joy his daughter, Lucy Anna, takes in her classes at LASC that makes it a treasure. “It’s more than just a day care situation; it’s a natural learning situation and a creative outlet,” he said.

Keeneland executive chef Marc Therrien (back, center) led adult students in a class about making bacon jam this spring.

Now 6, Lucy Anna has been attending programs at LASC for about three years, learning from experienced artists and teachers like Sonja Brooks and Anna Fedorchuk. Coming home from Fedorchuk’s classes, including a couple on Egyptian and Japanese culture, Kirkland said his daughter is always “very excited and wants to tell us what she’s learned.”

Among the topics Lucy Anna has explored with Brooks are diferent animals, sewing, and using and reusing paper.

Brooks, Kirkland said, “brings a depth of wisdom and a calmness, which is really great to share with young kids who can be sort of frantic.”

More than a half century ago a group of visionary women saw the opportunity to channel that frantic energy into experiential learning, wherever it might take both teacher and student.

For Halligan, that constantly evolving exploration is exciting: “I love that the energy in the building is constantly changing.” KM

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FRONT-LINE EMPLOYEES

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he COVID-19 outbreak forced Keeneland to alter its business operations swifly to protect employees, horsemen, and others: Te 2020 spring meet and April sale were canceled, the track’s grounds were closed to the public, and CDC protocol guidelines were immediately implemented.

Outside Maintenance Keeneland’s 1,000-acre-plus campus continues to receive the same meticulous attention from the Outside Maintenance team, overseen by Director Wally Wallace, which is mowing, trimming, doing daily maintenance, and answering horsemen’s needs.

Security When Keeneland closed to the public, Security monitored all trafc, coming and going, through two main checkpoints. Additionally, Security Director Phil Gardner and his team worked longer shifs and expanded duties to ensure the Keeneland property is monitored 24/7.

While many of Keeneland’s full-time staf began working from home in mid-March, a core group has remained on campus to continue essential operations.

KEENELAND

Administrative Services Te Administrative Services team, led by Director Don Slaughter, keeps mail fowing, accepts deliveries, and scans invoices to enable others to work from home.

Following the closure, Director Justin Frakes and the Building Services team cleaned and sanitized 275,000 square feet of surface area in facilities throughout Keeneland. Te team also donated 14,000 pairs of rubber gloves to the Kentucky governor’s ofce and 4,000 to Nourish Lexington.

Keeneland Hospitality and Track Kitchen Keeneland Hospitality and the track kitchen shifed from feeding race-day crowds to providing for those in need.

Keeneland Hospitality and Executive Chef Marc Terrien prepared thousands of meals to support Nourish Lexington and Nourish the Backstretch (see page 16 for more information), many of which feed kids from Fayette County Public Schools.

Te track kitchen and its manager, Phyllis Keene, extended hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) to support employees who might not be able to go of site for food. Meals are prepared to go (no inside dining allowed). On Easter,

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Building Services

Top, Keeneland’s executive chef, Marc Therrien, helps deliver food to support Nourish Lexington. Above, Keeneland Security monitors all traffc entering and leaving the track.

the track kitchen and Keeneland Chaplaincy prepared more than 200 complimentary meals for backside workers.

Information Technology With COVID-19 looming in late winter, Vice President and Chief Information Offcer Brad Lovell and the IT team collaborated with ofce staf to ensure work-fromhome capabilities and quickly provided support and resources once closure became a reality. Tey then focused on IT security and daily problem solving for employees working remotely.

Stabling and Racetrack Maintenance Te care and training of horses at Keeneland and Te Toroughbred Center never stopped. At Keeneland, approximately 600 horses were stabled primarily on Rice Road, and more than 800 horses were at TTC. Keeneland Stable Manager Wayne Mogge and TTC Stall Manager David Dunning coordinate logistics with trainers to ensure social distancing and to provide for essential services such as feed deliveries, muck removal, and veterinarian visits.

With horses training every morning, the Track Maintenance crew continues to condition the racing surfaces daily for maximum equine and human safety. Suspension of racing has allowed Director of Racing Surfaces Jim Pendergest and his team to prepare the turf course for fall racing by aerating the grass and seeding earlier to take advantage of the prime spring growing season.

Te Keeneland family appreciates the eforts of these front-line teams that have worked tirelessly to create a safe environment on the grounds. We also thank their families, who have made the ultimate sacrifce by sharing their loved ones with Keeneland. KM