Reaping the Rewards

He and I developed a strong and lasting friendship and have had a few nice winners and a lot of fun together.”

As a gif that keeps on giving, the Tapit fllies bred, raced, and then retained by Winchell for his broodmare band happen to match up well with Gun Runner. And that has meant perpetuating the racetrack triumphs enjoyed by the Winchell operation. Winchell sent his Tapit mare Just Wicked to Gun Runner and named the resultant flly Wicked Halo. Wicked Halo won the Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga in 2021 and the Prioress Stakes and the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (at Keeneland) in 2022, all grade 2 afairs. She has banked $870,200 to date.

Simplify, a daughter of Pulpit, produced Optionality, a multiple stakes-winning flly by Gun Runner, for Winchell. And his broodmare Simple Surprise, who is by the modest stallion Cowboy Cal, was sent to Gun Runner and produced Gunite. In addition to winning the Hopeful in 2021, Gunite returned in 2022 to take the Amsterdam at Saratoga and the Perryville at Keeneland, and is already a millionaire. It is no secret now that Gun Runner improves the vast majority of mares that are sent his way and that Winchell has yet another avenue along which to produce and race talented runners.

Winchell’s discipline is such that he refuses to allow his success to infuence the size of his broodmare band or racing stable. In fact, he jokes he only really needs fve racehorses, if he could only fgure out which fve to keep. As trial and error necessarily plays a role, as does attrition through injury, the stable still can swell to about 50 when the 2-year-olds make it to the races in spring/summer. With the Tapits and Gun Runners fueling the way, the quality of Winchell’s homebreds is getting better and better. He augments these with sales purchases. the January 2022 horses of all ages sale, Keeneland sold a Gun Runner season donated by Winchell and partners to beneft Western Kentucky tornado victims. Te season sold for $130,000.) If the price isn’t right Winchell is happy enough to race them himself.

Te broodmare population at Corinthia has remained steady at between 25 and 30; although with an eye toward supplying Epicenter, Winchell added fve mare purchases this past November. “We have more stallions to support, and we try to give them as much chance at success as we can when launching their stallion careers,” Winchell said. “Te farm operation exists to support the stallions.” As Cauthen alluded, more than half of Winchell’s broodmares were sent to Gun Runner his frst year at stud, an unusual gamble that has paid of.

“Our purchase program doesn’t come from a philosophy of needing ‘X’ number of horses but rather on what we end up fnding,” said Winchell. “If we happen to fnd fve at the sale that we like, great. If we fnd 10, great. We’re keeping a few more homebreds than we used to because the product today is better.”

Typically, Winchell will ofer about 10 yearlings at auction per year while keeping a like number to race. Some of the better stock has come to market recently because the team thinks it is important to bring outstanding-looking progeny of Gun Runner to the public’s attention. (At

Another gambling venture that has paid of both for Winchell and the Toroughbred industry in Kentucky is the proliferation of his primary business in the Bluegrass State. Winchell owns and manages a string of 35 small casinos around Nevada, many of which are branded as Jackpot Joanie’s, in honor of his mother, Joan. Since Kentucky legalized Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines that use past races as a slot machine-like gambling vehicle, Winchell has expanded to Kentucky under the Mint Gaming Hall banner. He now operates the casino at Kentucky Downs, a racetrack in southern Kentucky owned by Winchell and partners. Additional Mint Gaming Halls