Keeneland Magazine Fall 2020 Issue

SPENDTHRIFT FARM

BREEDERS’ CUP LEADERS

NOURISH LEXINGTON

KENTUCKY PROUD

K EENELAND FALL 2020

celebrating bluegrass traditions

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KEENELAND.COM

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Contents Contents FALL 2020

FALL 2020

F EAT U R ES

40 RETURN TO GLORY

by Lenny Shulman Under B. Wayne Hughes, Spendthrift Farm has regained its stature among storied Bluegrass breeding establishments.

56 NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

by Cynthia Grisolia Keeneland, horse industry adapt to pandemic times.

66 SECURE AT THE TOP

by Tom Pedulla These Breeders’ Cup leaders demonstrate their dominance year after year.

76 MORE THAN A LABEL

by Vickie Mitchell Kentucky Proud has raised the profi le of “locally grown.”

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92 LONE STAR LEGACIES

by Edward L. Bowen The Texas-Kentucky connection remains a powerful force in racing and breeding.

Part 3 of a series

110 FOR THE GOOD OF THE HORSE

by Glenye Cain Oakford Veterinary pioneer Edward Hagyard Fallon made invaluable contributions to his fi eld and community.

ON OUR COVER Saddling Area, Keeneland, Breeders’ Cup 2020 Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 by Peter Howell Peter Howell discovered racing at an early age and initially chose to pursue a racing career.

His knowledge of horses and racing helped the Welshman when he later made the switch to full-time painting in the 1960s. He lives in Devon when he is not traveling to racetracks and stables all over the world.

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Contents FALL 2020

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130

28

D E PA R T M E N T S PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 12 • CONTRIBUTORS 14

28 SPOTLIGHT ON Drew Fleming navigates Breeders’ Cup Ltd. as president and CEO during challenging times.

by Jarrett Van Meter

122 MAKING A DIFFERENCE Nourish Lexington helps feed people in need while also supporting food industry workers.

by Rena Baer

130 TEAM PROFILE Keeneland broadcast services team

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• NEWS 16 • CONNECTIONS 24

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 worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

K EENELAND celebrating bluegrass traditions

The offi 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

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

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KEENELAND.COM

president’s message FALL 2020

In Tribute Astonishingly, this marks my 32nd

sales to the fall meet in October and

column for Keeneland magazine and is the next-

our second Breeders’ Cup World

to-last installment of my remarkable journey.

Championships in November — will

While announcing my retirement in July proved

be different and will present chal-

to be as difficult as expected, the support, well

lenges along the way. Having con-

wishes, and appreciation have been humbling.

fidence in plans and protocols has

My job as president and CEO of one the world’s

never been more difficult because

most respected organizations has been a dream

our environment is continuously

come true, and I will truly cherish these last few

changing. Keeneland is nimble and

months at the helm of our beloved Keeneland.

prepared to pivot when necessary,

I have spoken about Keeneland’s outstanding

and you can count on your health

BILL THOMASON President and CEO

team often in these columns and have shared the

and safety being our priority before

ultimate dedication to our mission. Undoubtedly,

you step on our grounds. Historic

this incomparable team has made fulfilling my

alliances have created unity in our industry, and we are

duties in this organization simple. I can only hope

making certain Keeneland will be the economic engine it is

my next career and the “team” I work with will

expected to be.

make my job so easy. So far, it is shaping up quite

In addition to the ever-changing landscape, our Keene-

nicely. My new team enjoys making ice cream in

land family will look different this fall, and I am not refer-

the middle of the day, taking walks, and talking

ring to face masks. As we continue to mourn with those of

about how flowers grow. They demand naps at

you who have been impacted by COVID-19, we also grieve

least once or twice before dinner, and the work

the loss of significant colleagues in an exceptionally difficult

attire is always casual. How fortunate am I to be

year. Unfortunately, the Keeneland team has not been

retiring from the career of a lifetime for another

invulnerable.

career of a lifetime? It’s time to be a full-time

In May our longtime friend and Keeneland auctioneer

Pappy as my brood has grown, and they obviously

Cris Caldwell passed away after a short battle with pancre-

need me to oversee their many daily assignments.

atic cancer. His last Keeneland auction was this year’s Jan-

As we transition leadership and head into the

uary sale. Cris was a force of a man known for his charisma

fall amid a continuing global pandemic, I assure

and character, and he will be sorely missed on the stand.

you that Keeneland has never been in more ca-

More recently we lost Katherine McKee, Keeneland’s former

pable hands. Shannon Arvin has a pedigree that

manager of horsemen hospitality and later director of racing

makes her a natural successor to Keeneland’s

administration. Katherine battled advanced melanoma for

ultimate position, and her integrity, intelligence,

nearly three years, which was a surprise to many because

composure, and authenticity complete her

her continued optimism and fighting spirit never wavered.

unique qualifications. Her leadership will serve

She was truly an inspiration. We consider being part of Cris

Keeneland well into the future, beginning with

and Katherine’s lives an honor and a privilege.

our important fall ahead.

Let’s be honest: Nothing about this fall is going

In this world of uncertainty and distractions, we must stop to remember and cherish the important things in life.

to be normal. Each milestone of our impressive

Celebrate and treasure each and every day. Stay safe and

fall lineup — from the September and November

stay well. KM

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KEENELAND.COM

40 YEARS OF

COMMITMENT For decades, Lane’s End has stood at the top of the Thoroughbred industry. A fifteen-time leading stud farm, we’ve weathered ups and downs, always standing steadfast in support of our breeders and our partners. We look forward to continuing to share that success over our next 40 years together.

ACCELERATE | CANDY RIDE (ARG) | CATALINA CRUISER | CITY OF LIGHT | CONNECT GAME WINNER | HONOR A. P. | HONOR CODE | LEMON DROP KID | LIAM’S MAP | MINESHAFT MR SPEAKER | NOBLE MISSION (GB) | QUALITY ROAD | THE FACTOR | TONALIST TWIRLING CANDY | UNIFIED | UNION RAGS | WEST COAST

Contributors FALL 2020

RENA BAER

AMY OWENS

(Providing Nourishment) is a writer and an editor whose work frequently appears in Keeneland magazine and several other Lexington-based and national publications.

(Keeneland News/ Connections) is Keeneland Communications Associate.

EDWARD L. BOWEN (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.

CYNTHIA GRISOLIA (Not Business as Usual) is a freelance writer and the media relations manager at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, Kentucky.

VICKIE MITCHELL (More Than a Label) writes for regional and national publications as well as for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. She lives and works in Lexington.

GLENYE CAIN OAKFORD (For the Good of the Horse) is a professional writer and multimedia producer and serves as senior content editor for US Equestrian.

The author of The Home Run Horse, she won the 2012 Eclipse Award for audio/ multimedia work.

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TOM PEDULLA (Secure at the Top) is a freelance writer who has covered every Triple Crown race since 1998 and every Breedersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cup from 1998 through 2015. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today among other major outlets.

He co-authored Against the Odds: Riding for My Life, the autobiography of Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey.

LENNY SHULMAN (Return to Glory) is a senior correspondent for BloodHorse magazine and is the author of Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory (Triumph Books) and Ride of Their Lives: The Trials and Turmoil of Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Jockeys.

JARRETT VAN METER (Ready for the Challenge) is a writer originally from Lexington. His work has appeared in such publications as the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Nashville Tennessean, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and the Lexington HeraldLeader. He is the author of a nonfiction book about Kentucky high school basketball titled How Sweet It Is.

If you’re looking for the ‘big horse’ this September, make sure you buy a ‘runner’ ... a Gun Runner that is ...

6-Time Grade 1 winner of $15,988,500.

859.873.7053 | www.threechimneys.com LGB, LLC 2020

Keeneland News COMPILED BY AMY OWENS

FALL 2020

KEENELAND PRESIDENT AND CEO BILL THOMASON TO RETIRE; SHANNON ARVIN NAMED SUCCESSOR eeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason on July 2 announced he will retire at the end of 2020 after a decade with Keeneland Association, including eight years at the helm of the global racing and sales company. Keeneland trustees named Shannon Bishop Arvin, who as a partner with Stoll Keenon Ogden (SKO) has served as corporate counsel to Keeneland since 2008 and as secretary and advisory member of Keeneland’s Bill Thomason became the seventh A Lexington native, Shannon Arvin has deep ties to the Board of Directors since Keeneland president and CEO in 2012.

Central Kentucky community and the horse industry.

2015, as his successor.

Arvin will serve as the The trustees unanimously appointed Arvin. incoming president-elect beginning Sept. 1 and will of“Bill notified us last year of his wish to spend more time with his ficially transition to president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2021. family and his plans for retirement,” Keeneland trustee Seth Hancock She becomes Keeneland’s eighth president and the first said. “We are grateful to have had ample time to thoughtfully select his woman to serve in that position. She also will serve successor. We have all known Shannon for years as interim head of sales while a through her service to Keeneland and numerous search is conducted this fall for a boards in the racing industry. We approached new vice president of sales.

KEENELAND ASSOCIATION her to see if there was an interest on her part, PRESIDENTS “It has been the honor of a and I am happy to say there was. lifetime to be part of the KeeneHal Price Headley..........................1935-1951 “Our wide-ranging discussions with her that Guy Huguelet .................................1951-1955 land family,” Thomason said. “I Louis Lee Haggin II .......................1956-1970 followed confirmed our initial judgment: Shanfeel privileged to work alongside James E. “Ted” Bassett III............1970-1986 non’s leadership, professionalism, the respect she people who share a commitment William C. “Bill” Greely................1986-2000 has earned within the horse industry, her intito always put the best interest Nick Nicholson...............................2000-2012 mate knowledge of Keeneland’s core businesses, of the horse first and to exceed Bill Thomason ................................2012-2020 and her vision for Keeneland’s future made her our customer’s expectations.

Shannon Arvin......................................2021the clear choice to become the next president.”

Keeneland was founded upon Through her work with SKO’s Lexington office, these principles, which continue where she has practiced since 2002, Arvin has represented Thoroughbred to guide our operations to this day. Shannon’s life and owners and prominent industry organizations in Kentucky and around the work experiences intertwine with that philosophy, and world. She also serves on the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine ReI look forward to her leadership of Keeneland for years search Foundation board of directors and is a member of The Jockey Club. to come.”

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COADY PHOTOGRAPHY; KEENELAND

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LGB, LLC 2020

Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa

Keeneland News PRAISE FOR BILL THOMASON

“

Bill Thomason has led Keeneland with passion and integrity and with a commitment to its customers and a devotion to the Keeneland team. People who care as much as Bill are what makes Keeneland so incredibly special. He leaves a tremendous legacy of service to Keeneland, the horse industry, and the community, and his accomplishments have indelibly shaped the future of our sport.”

— KEENELAND TRUSTEE EVERETT DOBSON

“

I’ve never met anyone who has more love for Keeneland or more respect for its traditions than Bill Thomason. He has demonstrated both qualities in everything he has done as president, and we take this opportunity to thank him for serving Keeneland so well.”

— KEENELAND TRUSTEE BILL LEAR

“

We have been fortunate to work alongside Shannon Bishop Arvin and witness her expertise firsthand. We welcome her appointment and look forward to her shaping the next era for Keeneland, and we thank Bill Thomason for his years of steady leadership, support, and guidance.”

— NATIONAL THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT AND CEO ALEX WALDROP

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She additionally has years of service with a number of Central Kentucky organizations.

Arvin also has a unique perspective of Keeneland’s rich history and what the iconic track means to horsemen, fans, and Central Kentucky. Her grandfather W.T. “Bish” Bishop was the first general manager of Keeneland when the track opened in 1936. Her father, the late William T. “Buddy” Bishop III, grew up at Keeneland, living in an apartment next to the clubhouse. Buddy Bishop’s lifelong service to Keeneland included positions as director, secretary, trustee, and counsel. He was also a partner at SKO and worked with his daughter at the firm until his passing in 2008.

Arvin graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a B.A. in political science, international studies, with high honors. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2002.

She and her husband, Will, have two daughters, Bishop and McCutchen.

“I have a deep love and passion for Keeneland, and it is a tremendous honor to lead this organization and work alongside this amazing team,” Arvin said. “By building on the foundation laid by Bill Thomason and those who came before him, and with a continued focus on integrity, innovation, and safety, we will further the mission of Keeneland and ensure the future of this sport.”

THOMASON’S LEGACY IS ADVANCEMENT AND INNOVATION passionate leader in the area of equine safety and welfare, Bill Thomason navigated Keeneland through a decade of substantial growth and change in the Thoroughbred industry while he served in leadership positions for numerous industry organizations. Among the notable events for Keeneland during his tenure: • Leading Keeneland through numerous operational and logistical challenges because of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, which caused the historic cancellation of the 2020 spring meet and creation of the summer meet.

• Successfully hosting the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championship, which generated a nearly $70 million economic impact for Lexington. Thomason negotiated the event’s return to Keeneland in 2020.

• Setting attendance and handle records, highlighted

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by the more than $25 million wagered on last year’s Toyota Blue Grass Day and the more than $160 million wagered during the 2019 fall meet.

• Elevating purses of the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) and Toyota Blue Grass (G2) to $1 million apiece.

• Becoming a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, which is working to create and implement significant safety, medication, operational, and integrity guidelines to ensure the well-being of horses and jockeys and increase transparency and accountability.

• Expanding Keeneland’s global outreach, which resulted in gross sales of more than $627 million last year.

• Launching the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring, the first online sales auction in North America.

• Undertaking a multimillion-dollar renovation of the barn area better to showcase offerings at auctions.

“

Keeneland and the Thoroughbred industry have been very fortunate to have Bill Thomason as President and CEO of Keeneland for the past eight years.

Under Bill’s leadership, Keeneland implemented numerous significant initiatives that will leave a lasting positive impact on the Thoroughbred business, including Keeneland’s hosting of the groundbreaking 2015 Breeders’ Cup and being a co-founder of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition. It has been a real pleasure to work closely with Bill, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”

— BREEDERS’ CUP PRESIDENT AND CEO DREW FLEMING

The Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Versatile Yearling Sale

Expanded Bidding Options Keeneland has expanded its bidding opportunities delivering a world-class experience no matter your location. Bid over the phone or visit the Keeneland Sales Portal online for real-time bidding and live video from the sales. We've also added walking inspection videos and consignor comments throughout the online catalog to allow buyers to virtually evaluate horses. Customers can also trust Keeneland to provide the highest standards in health and safety for a FRQ GHQW RQ VLWH ELGGLQJ H[SHULHQFH

ONLINE Access and bid on the auction in real-time through our new online bidding service

BY PHONE Expanded phone bidding will be available to buyers throughout the sale

ON-SITE Additional bidding locations will be available to buyers on-site to allow for proper social distancing

LE ARN MORE AT

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER.KEENELAND.COM

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Keeneland News HISTORIC SUMMER MEET HANDLES $63 MILLION hanks to outstanding racing and the enthusiastic support of fans who watched and wagered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Keeneland’s unprecedented five-day summer meet from July 8-12 generated all-sources handle of more than $63 million.

For the 10-race Toyota Blue Grass Day card on July 11, the All-Stakes Pick Five was a record $1,395,051, and the single-day all-sources handle of $23,834,972 was the second highest in track history.

“Horsemen and fans alike highly anticipated the summer meet, and their expectations were exceeded by the breathtaking level of racing we enjoyed here this week,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “I can’t express how much we missed our fans at Keeneland, and we thank them for their strong support from afar. This pandemic created a number of operational and logistical challenges for us to make this season a reality. I am so proud of the collaboration between state and local health officials, our horsemen, our corporate partners, and our Keeneland team, all of whom worked tirelessly to create a safe environment on track and deliver such incredible racing.”

The summer meet, the first in Keeneland history, accommodated a portion of the 16-day spring meet that Keeneland canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Keeneland Conducts First Online Sale

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Bruce Lunsford’s homebred Art Collector won the Toyota Blue Grass by 3½ lengths over the filly Swiss Skydiver and earned 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Because of strict health and safety protocols, the season was conducted without fans, who watched and wagered remotely via the track’s Keeneland at Home Presented by Central Bank campaign that included enhanced online racing coverage and complimentary digital programs available on Keeneland.com.

Keeneland permitted a limited number of owners to be at the track on the day their horses raced.

Toyota Blue Grass Day featured six of the season’s 10 graded stakes anchored by the $600,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) and $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), respective preps for the Kentucky Derby Presented

by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1), along with the $350,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley (G1) and $250,000 Madison (G1).

Highlights included: • Art Collector roaring past the filly Swiss Skydiver

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to win the Toyota Blue Grass.

• West Coast-based Speech taking the Central Bank Ashland.

• Rushing Fall winning the Coolmore Jenny Wiley for the second consecutive year and earning her fifth Keeneland stakes, a total that trails only the record seven owned

by Wise Dan. • Guarana fighting back to win the Madison to give trainer Chad Brown his 100th grade 1 victory.

The day before, 2019 Preakness (G1) winner War of Will won the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) to become a grade 1 winner on turf and dirt.

Three owners had two wins each to tie for leading honors: Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Larry Best’s OXO Equine, and Kirk Wycoff ’s Three Diamonds Farm.

Wesley Ward and Ian Wilkes each had five wins to tie for leading trainer honors. Tyler Gaffalione won seven races to lead jockeys.

Trapezium, a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Honorable Duty, sold for $327,000 to St. Elias Stables to top Keeneland’s inaugural June Select Horses of Racing Age Sale, the first stand-alone online auction held June 23 via the new Keeneland Digital Sales Ring platform. The sale grossed $829,500 for 12 horses, for an average of $69,125 and a median of $32,750.

Consigned by Juddmonte Farms, Trapezium is a 3-year-old filly by Hard Spun whose second dam, Toussaud, produced Belmont (G1) winner and sire Empire Maker and Group 1 winner and sire Chester House. Trapezium, cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect, will be trained by Todd Pletcher.

“Trapezium comes from one of (Juddmonte’s) elite families,” Juddmonte Farms General Manager Garrett O’Rourke said. “I wasn’t sure in this format buyers would recognize her value. I was wrong. Our phone began ringing very early on; people were paying attention, doing their homework, and she sold accordingly.

“The online sale format was well received and embraced by buyers,” O’Rourke added. “There were some growing pains with registering to bid, etc., but buyers adapted quickly. It was productive and went very smoothly — to be able to pull together buyers and players and turn the sale around in such a short time. We needed to move some horses, and it was a big help to us.”

“The successful launch of the Digital Sales Ring marks a milestone in Keeneland’s storied auction history because it enables us to deliver another high-quality sales option to our clients,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Bob Elliston said. “This sale met the needs of the market by providing buyers, as tracks reopen around the country, the opportunity to purchase proven, ready-made racehorses from top-flight consignors.”

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Keeneland News Stuart E. Brown II Is New Equine Safety Director

CHANDLER, WISE DAN AMONG KEENELAND CONNECTIONS IN 2020 HALL OF FAME CLASS

Internationally respected veterinarian Dr. Stuart E. Brown II, who spent nearly 30 years at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, has joined Keeneland full time as Equine Safety Director.

“Dr. Stuart Brown is uniquely talented for the position of Equine Safety Director and to be a leader in enhancing safety practices at Keeneland and throughout racing,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said.

“During his career, his knowledge and expertise have been sought by horsemen Stuart Brown around the world and by top industry and veterinary organizations alike. Stuart’s addition to the Keeneland team further deepens our commitment to the safety and welfare of horse and rider, and his position provides a platform that will benefit the entire horse industry.”

As equine safety director, Brown will lead the effort to develop, communicate, and enforce safety and integrity policies for both racing and sales operations; review all racing-related accidents with the goal of prevention; assess relevant equine health and safety research; and proactively communicate best practices to the racing community and public.

His duties will encompass Keeneland and The Thoroughbred Center.

Born and raised in Central Kentucky, Brown completed his undergraduate work at Transylvania University and earned his doctor of veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University. Throughout his career, he has mentored many veterinarians and served on numerous equine industry leadership positions.

amed Kentucky horsewoman Alice Headley Chandler, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, trainer Mark Casse, jockey Darrel McHargue, and noted racing official Keene Daingerfield are among the 2020 inductees in the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame with Keeneland connections. Concerns related to COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the August induction ceremony. This year’s class will be inducted next year alongside the class of 2021.

Chandler, who founded Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington in 1962, is a selection in the category of Pillars of the Turf, which recognizes people “who have made extraordinary contributions to Thoroughbred racing in a leadership or pioneering capacity at the highest national level” and includes her father, Hal Price Headley.

She grew up at Keeneland, where her father was the track’s first president from 1936-1951 and was a guiding force in its development.

Following his death in 1962, Chandler inherited 286 acres near Keeneland and four broodmares and established Mill Ridge. She developed the farm into a leading breeding and sales operation, grounded by her father’s philosophy of making the horse the priority.

Chandler bred 1968 Epsom Derby winner Sir Ivor, a son of Sir Gaylord whose dam, Attica, was one of the mares she had received from her father. Mill Ridge sold Sir Ivor at the 1966 Keeneland July yearling sale for $42,000 to Raymond Guest. The colt’s achievements boosted Keeneland’s reputation as an international auction house and helped Mill Ridge develop international clientele.

Chandler also held numerous industry leadership positions and continued her father’s service to Keeneland. She was a member of the track’s board of directors for 23 years.

“Her true dedication is Keeneland because it was her father’s dedication,” Headley Bell, Chandler’s son and Mill Ridge managing partner, said. “She loves Keeneland.”

Morton Fink’s Wise Dan, who won a record seven stakes among his 10 starts at Keeneland, was based at the track with trainer Charlie LoPresti. The son of Wiseman’s Ferry made four starts in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1T),

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MARK MAHAN COADY PHOTOGRAPHY

Wise Dan won seven stakes at Keeneland.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

KEENELAND PHOTO

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Mark Casse

Alice Chandler

winning in 2012 and 2014. He won Keeneland’s Maker’s 46 Mile (G1T) (now the Maker’s Mark Mile) in 2013-2014.

Wise Dan also captured three graded all-weather stakes at the track: 2010 Phoenix (G3), 2011 Fayette (G2), and 2012 Ben Ali (G3).

He set a 1⅛-mile track record in the Ben Ali. In April 1979 at Keeneland, Casse gained his first training victory with Joe’s Coming and now has 116 Keeneland victories through summer.

A regular at Keeneland racing and sales, he has three leading trainer titles and 10 grade 1 victories. In 2019, Keeneland-based War of Will won the Preakness Stakes (G1) and most recently captured the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1T) at the Keeneland summer meet.

McHargue, an Eclipse Award-winning rider, won six Keeneland stakes, led by the 1975 Blue Grass (G1) on eventual Preakness winner Master Derby. He won 23 races at the track, 10 of which came during the 1976 spring meet.

Daingerfield, who died in 1993, was a racing official known for integrity, dignity, and expertise. After retiring as state steward in Kentucky, he served as a Keeneland steward until 1989.

Connections FALL 2020

1 | MEET GOES ON

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Keeneland mourns the July 27 passing of our beloved colleague Katherine McKee, who worked at Keeneland for 15 years, most recently as director of racing administration. A memorial fund has been established for the benefit of her children.

More information is at keeneland.com/mckee.

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4 | PONY POWER

5| TOP JOCK

6| JOB WELL DONE

Keeneland’s mask mandate extended to all racetrack personnel, owners, jockeys, outriders, and others on hand for the July race meet. For the outrider ponies it was business as usual, despite the summer weather and absence of fans.

Tyler Gaffalione won seven races to lead jockeys at the summer meet. His victories included the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1T) on War of Will, Shakertown (G2T) on Leinster, and TVG Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) on Zulu Alpha.

Well-known auctioneer Cris Caldwell (right, with brother Scott) died May 15 of pancreatic cancer. He joined the auction team in 1975 under his late father, Tom Caldwell, and went on to sell hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of

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DAVID COYLE

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Sales of the 2020 Maker’s Mark commemorative bottle benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Five of the top active stakes-winning riders at Keeneland — Julien Leparoux, Robby Albarado, John Velazquez, Javier Castellano, and Mike Smith — along with Maker’s Mark Managing Director Rob Samuels and Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason signed each bottle. A limited quantity went on sale around Kentucky in early July.

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY

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3 | GOOD CAUSE

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COURTESY OF THE MCKEE FAMILY

2 | KATHERINE MCKEE

JOSEPH REY AU

Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason had no trouble social distancing during the July race meet, which limited attendance to close connections of the runners. In all, the summer meet featured 10 graded stakes worth $2,575,000.

horses during a 45-year tenure that concluded with the 2020 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. His Keeneland highlights include the sale of Playful Act for $10.5 million at the 2007 November breeding stock sale and Meydan City, who sold for $11.7 million at the 2006 September yearling sale.

Creative, chef-driven menus, the freshest local ingredients, and exceptional hospitality come together for an unmatched Lexington dining experience.

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RESERVATIONS

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CANE RUN ROAD —44 acres idyllically-located just off 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 flooring, vaulted ceilings, and a great floor 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.

DIAMOND CREEK FARM —Designed by a master horseman, this 260-acre horse farm boasts stone pillared and wrought iron entrance gates, beautiful landscaping, double sided run ins, auto waterers, and a classic 3-cupola barn with 56 stalls, grain/tack room, owner’s office, client lounge, manager’s office, storage rooms plus more! Other improvements include 2 covered 6-horse EquiGyms; brick manager’s house; & stone bridges. Tremendous soils!

HISTORIC ROSEMONT FARM—Rosemont Farm has everything one needs to make their mark in the Bluegrass!

Location-world-renown Paris Pike, frontage on 2 major roads, restored circa 1830’s main residence with exquisite wood work and containing 6,670 SF of gracious living area; 5 barns with 74 stalls including mare, yearling, and training barns; 5 auxiliary residences; mature tree-lined driveways; multiple equipment/storage buildings; and proven producer of Stakes winners on excellent soils. May divide with a minimum of 250.

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

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 office, 76’ x 105’ outdoor sand ring, and shop/equipment building. The farm’s desirability is enhanced by a 1,200 SF single family home with hardwood floors and vaulted ceiling and a 2-story 1,500 SF duplex. The latter 2 homes are presently being utilized as an ongoing bed and breakfast.

MILLERSBURG ROAD—Located just 3.3 miles from Paris Bypass, this 25-acre farm offers 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 fields, one paddock and 4 waterers. The three bedroom, two bath residence sits back from the road and offers 2,500 SF with a formal living and dining room, family room with beamed cathedral ceiling and wood-burning fireplace, large kitchen, breakfast room, laundry, home office, and seasonal porch. In addition, there is a 2 car detached garage. The gently rolling pastures, wet weather creek, and mature trees add to the ambience of this charming farm.

A PORTION OF DIAMOND A FARM —Highly developed 523 acre horse farm with immediate neighbors as Coolmore/Ashford and Gainesborough farms. The centerpiece of the farm is its office/stallion barn complex that is very adaptable to a yearling complex. There are 5 additional horse barns with 86 stalls, 2 metal buildings, large shop plus a very nice 4,900 SF manager’s home (suitable for an owner) and an employee house. Frontage on 3 roads and exceptionally well-built and maintained.

Absolutely the best turn-key horse farm on the market.

THESE TWO FARMS ADJOIN!

OLD FRANKFORT PIKE & MIDWAY ROAD— Breathtaking makeover of this exquisite 6,300 SF French Country home on one of the most desirable corners in Central KY and on 1.8 lush acres. You’ll absolutely love the first floor master suite with luxurious bath, 2 walk-in closets & adjacent office. The gourmet kitchen is to die for. The finishes, fireplaces, & hickory floors are very special. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms & 2 baths. The lower level boasts a large rec room with bar; cigar/bourbon room; bedroom with a magnificent slate bath; sitting/trophy room; and half bath.

WALNUT SPRINGS FARM - 268 ACRES — Magnificent 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. This 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.

The 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 — This 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 magnificent main residence is also available.

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

STRODES CREEK STUD —Beautiful 582 acre Thoroughbred facility situated on Strodes Creek and accessed via a long, tree-lined drive. This highlydeveloped horse farm is in one of the world’s most productive Thoroughbred regions while offering one of the most aesthetically-pleasing settings anywhere.

Horse improvements include 115 stalls in 7 barns.

Guest plus employee housing and 3 shop/maintenance building. Beautiful land!

106 KIDDS MILL—Woodford County farm with rich soils and breathtaking views is being offered as a whole - 173.89 acres with a 1.5 story, 4 bedroom, 3 bath house, 40’ x 60’ Morton equipment building, run-in shed, 4 plank fencing, automatic waterers and frontage on Clear Creek or 141.242 acres with beautiful building sites, run-in shed, plank fencing, automatic waterers and frontage on Clear Creek. Located within 15 minutes of Keeneland and Lexington Airport.

173 ACRES —Located in the heart of the Thoroughbred industry and just a half mile off 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 office, 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.

CENTRAL KENTUCKY’S HORSE FARM PROFESSIONALS

FORDS MILL —”Idyllic and captivating” perfectly describe this completely renovated modern farmhouse ranch - from the stacked-stone pillars supporting the expansive porch to the custom kitchen flanked by fireplace focal living room - it’s perfection. Master and guest suites are spacious and perfectly appointed. This 6.83 acre equestrian property boasts a three stall barn with tack room and guest quarters/she shed, paddocks, and automatic waterers. Maximum privacy and serenity with views of rolling hills and green pastures through the tree-lined front yard. You must see this VERY special property!

DELANEY FERRY—A rare find minutes from Keeneland,

TURN-KEY HORSE FARM—417 acres of prime

Lexington and Versailles this 75 acre horse farm offers a 6 stall concrete block barn with room for 5 more stalls, run-in shed, 4 board plank fencing, automatic waterers, woods and creek frontage on Clear Creek. The 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath brick residence features, 3 geothermal HVAC units, hardwood & tile floors, 1st floor master suite & 1st floor guest suite, custom cabinetry, 2 story family room, free standing wood stove and ventless gas fireplace, office, laundry room, and 2 car attached garage.

farmland at the corner of Hwy 627 & Spears Mill Road containing the “magic field” - 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! This farm is a great opportunity to acquire a proven farm in the Bluegrass with an income stream.

THESE TWO FARMS ADJOIN!

A UNIQUE AND WELL-LOCATED 40 ACRE HORSE FARM—The home of Broadview Builders, noted builders in our area for decades, featuring a 2-bedroom, 1-bath brick home with a 2-car attached garage; a 1,755 SF office constructed in the mid-1800’s and expanded and renovated in 1983. Horse improvements include an 11-stall concrete block barn plus a 4-stall runin shed. The owner created a 2,700 SF lofted apartment from a former tobacco barn; it’s dramatic and unique.

The lower level serves as a garage, shop, and storage area.

86 WOODFORD COUNTY ACRES —Rarely does a horse farm of this size and location come on the market!! In the immediate area of Lane’s End, Willow Springs, and Chanteclair farms, this farm is improved with a 19-stall barn built in 2009. Excellent soils and tree-lined driveways all add to its desirability. Located on quaint Aiken Road.

120 WOODFORD COUNTY ACRES—At the corner of Midway and Aiken Roads, this portion of Ashley House Farm is directly across Midway Road from internationally-renowned Lane’s End farm and across Aiken Road from Governor B. C. Jones’ historic farm.

You’ll discover two horse barns with a total of 30 stalls on some of the best land Central Kentucky (or the world) has to offer.

Bill G. Bell (859-621-0607) X Mary Sue Walker (859-619-4770) X Marilyn Richardson (859-621-4850) Muffy Lyster (859-229-1804) X Allen Kershaw (859-333-2901) X Bill Justice (859-255-3657)

Spotlight On DREW FLEMING

READY for the CHALLENGE NEW BREEDERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CUP CHIEF DREW FLEMING STEERS EVENT DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES

By Jarrett Van Meter | Photos By Anne M. Eberhardt

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Spotlight On DREW FLEMING

T

hree and a half minutes into the 1986 cult classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the eponymous protagonist throws open his bedroom curtains, gazes up at the periwinkle blue sky, and wonders aloud, “How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like today?”

Swap the overlaid “Love Missile F1-11” track for a trumpeted “Call to Post” and the striped bathrobe for a sport coat, and find sixth-grader Drew Fleming living the every boy’s dream first immortalized by Matthew Broderick on the big screen in 1986. Invited by his best friend, Gatewood Bell, Fleming blew off school for a perfect October day at Keeneland. Though waiting until middle school to first experience Keeneland might be late by Kentucky standards, the indoctrination would serve as the origin of his long ascent to his current position as CEO of the Breeders’ Cup. “I’m embarrassed to say it, it’s probably a sin to grow up in Lexington and not be able to visit Keeneland until I was in sixth grade,” said Fleming, decades later. “We’d obviously grown up going to Kentucky Derby parties, but it was really in sixth grade, actually seeing those animals for the first time, that I was just enamored. Another good friend of mine, Price Bell, always says, ‘You’ll always remember when a horse breathes on you.’

To be up close and personal with those amazing creatures, it changed my life.”

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Drew Fleming has worked closely on Breeders’ Cup preparations with Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason, right.

Fleming was tapped as the new CEO of the Breeders’ Cup in November 2019 just ahead of an unforeseen and momentous junction in 2020: the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host his first championships in his hometown and the COVID-19 pandemic. But whether it’s a late introduction to Keeneland or trying to put on a global showcase under unprecedented circumstances, Fleming has emerged from every step along his unique trajectory prepared and enthusiastic for what’s next.

He grew up in Lexington, but his family was not connected to the Thoroughbred world. His father is a tax lawyer and

his mother an elementary school teacher.

Through friends like Bell, whose family owned and operated Jonabell Farm, Fleming received the majority of his early exposure to the industry. He spent his summer breaks in high school mowing at Wimbledon Farm and loved it, soaking up as much knowledge as he could from farm manager Brian O’Rourke. As his interest grew, so too did his unexcused absence tally from Henry Clay High School.

“I think our teachers quickly realized that if Keeneland was running in the spring or the fall and we were wearing a nice dress shirt to school that morning, it was likely

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“Ran the fastest ever electronically-timed six furlongs in the history of racing at Del Mar ... the fastest son of sire of sires, Pulpit.” —Alan Porter

LORD NELSON

FIRST YEARLINGS AT KEE SEPT

Spotlight On DREW FLEMING

Fleming and Breeders’ Cup COO John Keitt work closely with their colleagues to develop different possible scenarios under which the 2020 event might unfold.

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that we would not be there that afternoon,” said Fleming.

A good student whom Bell — now the president of Cromwell Bloodstock and a Breeders’ Cup board member — recalls as having an “old soul,” Fleming attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia, leading Lexington-to-Lexington caravans every October and April throughout his undergraduate years to be at Keeneland. He returned home to attend University of Kentucky’s law school and, upon graduation, accepted a job at a national law firm focusing on corporate transactions. Only several months into Fleming’s nascent law career and before he married his wife, Tiffany, Bell had come to him with an opportunity to get his first real taste of the horse industry.

“Gatewood called me and said he was interested in purchasing a horse,” recalled Fleming. “I said I would love to be involved in it and took several months’ paychecks and purchased a horse with him, I think much to my father’s chagrin.”

The ownership group for the purchase of Nina Fever consisted of Fleming, Bell, NFL player Wes Welker along with Bell’s brother-in-law, Bret Jones, and Wesley Ward.

“I didn’t have to ask him twice. I asked a bunch of other buddies and nobody really went for it, but he did and it was fun and lucky,” said Bell. “That was the first horse I had ever purchased with my own money, so he probably just didn’t want me to go under alone.”

A year later Nina Fever was slated to run in her first Keeneland race. Fleming took his parents, invited his friends, and made a day out of the occasion. The anticipation mounted, the race went off, and Nina Fever won. To this day Fleming ranks the afternoon among the best days of his life.

“It was pretty surreal,” said Bell. “I grew up here going to Keeneland. I had purchased a few inexpensive horses with Wesley Ward before. We didn’t really have any expectations; it was just five good buddies in on a little filly together, so it was fun just having a day out. We couldn’t really believe we had a runner at Keeneland, and then she won by eight or 10 (lengths). She looked like she was pretty nice, and it was just like ‘holy cow that

was fun. Let’s keep doing that.’ The coolest racetrack in the town you grew up in and all your friends are there; it was just fun sharing that with lifelong friends. We didn’t go into it wanting anything else.”

Fleming had switched law firms to focus more on equine-related work at Stoll Keenon Ogden, handling transactions for both domestic and international owners, including stallion syndications, racing partnerships, and the sale and purchase of farms.

He was taken under the wing of Bobby Watt, who oversaw the firm’s Breeders’ Cup legal work. Watt was winding down his career, and he groomed Fleming to take over his work. Fleming was still in the role of

TO BE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THOSE AMAZING CREATURES, IT CHANGED MY LIFE.” — DREW FLEMING, OF HORSES

outside legal counsel to the Breeders’ Cup in 2015 when the organization brought the championships to Lexington for the first time.

“It was a resounding success, and the cherry on top was having American Pharoah capture the Grand Slam of racing,”

said Fleming. “To see American Pharoah make the turn and come to the finish line at Keeneland with the crowd roaring on a beautiful day, that is my favorite Breeders’ Cup memory to date. It was truly magical.”

Two months later Fleming received an invitation from Craig Fravel, then the CEO of the Breeders’ Cup and with whom he had built a relationship through his legal work for Breeders’ Cup, to join him for a Christmas lunch. They met at Malone’s, and Fleming could tell there was something on his friend’s mind. They exchanged pleasantries as he tried to feel Fravel out.

“It turned into a surprise job offer,” said Fleming. “Craig never promised that I

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Spotlight On DREW FLEMING

Zoom meetings and conference calls have become the norm for Fleming and his staff.

would be the CEO of the Breeders’ Cup, but what he did promise was that he would mentor me and give me the Harvard education of horse racing.”

Fleming asked for time to think about the offer, and Fravel obliged, only to invite him to meet again the following evening for drinks at Dudley’s.

“So the press was on,” Fleming said with a laugh. “The reason it resonated so much with me was because Craig said, ‘I was in your shoes when I was a lawyer in my 30s and was presented a great opportunity to go work for Del Mar, so I am presenting you a similar opportunity.’ ” Fravel had identified Fleming as a rising star of the Thoroughbred industry’s next generation early in their working relationship.

Once Fleming accepted the job as the Breeders’ Cup senior vice president, Fravel took him along to attend every meeting, which is

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how he himself had learned the ins and outs of the racing business at Del Mar. “Drew has had a really good background from his legal practice from dealing with the breeder community and negotiating a lot of deals with respect to stallions and farm acquisitions, so he knew a lot of the players,” said Fravel, now the CEO of racing operations for the Stronach Group. “He is a very personable, outgoing guy and has a great history in Lexington. When I started at Del Mar in 1990, I had eight years of legal practice under my belt, and I thought that Drew could bring those legal skills to bear at the Breeders’ Cup and could hopefully evolve to kind of learning like I did on the job about the racing side of the equation and ultimately be in a position someday to take over.”

Soon after Fleming joined the Breeders’ Cup team, COO Bob Elliston accepted a position with Keeneland. Ahead of the 2016

Fleming’s legal background and horse industry clientele helped prepare him for his tenure at the Breeders’ Cup.

Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, Fleming was suddenly asked to shoulder new responsibilities.

“Bob was presented with a wonderful opportunity to work with Keeneland and obviously couldn’t pass that up, and I kind of lucked into a bigger role than initially anticipated,” said Fleming.

Elliston’s move lent even more serendipity to the decision to add Fleming to the team a few months prior.

“There’s no doubt that was a baptism by fire because Bob had been involved in a great number of things,” said Fravel of Fleming’s summer of 2016. “It was a great opportunity for him [Elliston] to go, but somebody had to move right in. It was fortuitous that Drew was there and ready to jump in and pitch in.”

Thus, when Fravel stepped down as CEO in late 2019 to move to Stronach, Fleming was ready.

We are taking this time to have real conversations with our clients and helping develop a steadier path forward.

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Spotlight On DREW FLEMING

COVID-19 prevented Fleming from attending the Royal Ascot races this year, but he nevertheless enjoyed the televised version.

I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO WORK UNDER CRAIG.” — DREW FLEMING, OF MENTOR CRAIG FRAVEL

Thomason and Fleming meet at Keeneland often to discuss Breeders’ Cup details.

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When he got the official nod to replace his mentor, the changeover was seamless.

“I was very fortunate to work under Craig,” said Fleming. “Craig mentored me and would take me to every meeting. We were involved, as it was very much a team atmosphere. So, it was a natural transition with everything he had done for me. Not a lot has changed.

I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a great board.

They are tremendously supportive, very insightful, and we built a very strong Breeders’ Cup team.”

Like everyone else, Fleming was forced to make adjustments in how he conducts business amid COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. The CEO position calls for frequent travel, but he has been forced to conduct almost all of the meetings that would normally take place in person around the country from his home office. Though he still dresses formally for each work day, his Zoom calls have not been without hiccups. On a recent call with Keeneland’s executive team, Fleming’s 5-year-old son, Hootie, wandered into the home office wearing only underwear.

“He was in the background, and it was fun seeing the expressions from Bill Thomason, Vince Gabbert, Bob Elliston, and Christa [Marrillia],” Fleming recalled with a laugh.

While the Breeders’ Cup is considering a number of possible scenarios for the event in November as the organization continues to gather new information, Fleming thinks with the team he has in place and a welcoming host city behind him, the event will be a success no matter the circumstances. Decades after serving as the de facto conduit between his best friend and the world of Thoroughbred racing, Gatewood Bell believes there is no better person for the job, especially amid unprecedented times.

“You’ve got to be smart,” Bell said of the role.

“You’ve got to have good people skills. He’s trying to get everybody to work together, and it’s not always easy in any organization, but we’ve got a lot of big personalities and a lot of smart people in this industry.

Being able to balance all of that and really be able to still do what’s right, it’s not easy.” KM

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GRASSY SPRINGS ROAD _ $ WRS QRWFK KRUVH RSHUDWLRQ RQ :RRGIRUG &RXQW\ DFUHV ZLWK VWDOOV LQ EDUQV SDGGRFNV Ã&#x20AC; HOGV KRUVH ZDONLQJ ULQJ VI PDLQ UHVLGHQFH VI RIÃ&#x20AC; FH DQG WZR HPSOR\HH KRPHV ² DOO LQ H[FHOOHQW FRQGLWLRQ $5,900,000 Cathy Davis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 859.806.9444 SYCAMORE VALLEY | Remarkably well-located Fayette Co. farm offered IRU WKH Ã&#x20AC; UVW WLPH LQ JHQHUDWLRQV DFUHV DORQJ 9HUVDLOOHV 5RDG ZLWK D ORYHO\ PDLQ UHVLGHQFH DQG EULFN WHQDQW KRPH 7UHPHQGRXV SRVVLELOLWLHV ERWK QRZ DQG LQ WKH IXWXUH $4,450,000 Zach Davis - 859.576.8195 GOLDEN CHANCE FARM _ 7KH PDJ QLÃ&#x20AC; FHQW DQG KLVWRULF *ROGHQ &KDQFH )DUP LV WKH LGHDO RSSRUWXQLW\ WR HVWDEOLVK ² RU JURZ ² \RXU SUHVHQFH LQ WKH %OXHJUDVV 0HDVXULQJ DQ DSS[ DFUHV WKH IDUP·V VRLOV KDYH SURGXFHG VXFK HVWHHPHG DOXPQL DV -RKQ +HQU\ 'XVW &RPPDQGHU .HQWXFN\ 'HUE\ ZLQQHU 0DVWHU 'HUE\ DQG 5XQ 'XVW\ 5XQ $3,725,000 Zach Davis - 859.576.8195 WILSHIRE FARM _ 7KLV DFUH IDUP GLUHFWO\ DGMRLQV &ODLERUQH DQG 5RVHFUHVW DQG KDV EHHQ HQWLUHO\ UH GHYHORSHG RYHU WKH SDVW IRXU \HDUV 7ZHQW\ WZR VWDOOV LQ WZR EDUQV DUH FRPSOHPHQWHG E\ D FRYHUHG ZDONHU GHVLJQHG E\ WKH 8 RI .< 'HSW RI (QJLQHHULQJ PDQDJHU·V UHVLGHQFH UHPRGHOHG E\ %$&. &RQVWUXFWLRQ DQG VT IW HTXLSPHQW EXLOGLQJ (YHU\ GHWDLO SXUSRVHO\ FRQVLGHUHG $2,750,000 Zach Davis - 859.576.8195

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VERSAILLES ROAD _ $ SURGXF OASIS STABLES _ 2QH RI WKH ILQHVW RUSSELL CAVE RD. _ DFUH WLYH IDUP RQO\ PLOHV IURP DQG PRVW FRPSOHWH VSRUW KRUVH IDFLOLWLHV )D\HWWH &R IDUP ZLWK VL[ ILHOGV .HHQHODQG RQ 9HUVDLOOHV 5RDG RQ WKH PDUNHW ZLWK VWDOOV LQ WKUHH IRXU SDGGRFNV KLVWRULF PDLQ ZLWK DFUHV VWDOOV LQGRRU EDUQV D 5LVRKRUVH ULQJ JUDVV DUHQD UHVLGHQFH 6XUURXQGHG E\ SUHPLHU DUHQD KLVWRULF PDLQ UHVLGHQFH DQG RZQHU·V UHVLGHQFH DQG PDQDJHU·V 7KRURXJKEUHG QXUVHULHV EXW RQO\ WZR HPSOR\HH KRPHV KRPH DOO RQ DFUHV RQO\ PLQXWHV IURP PLQXWHV IURP EXVWOLQJ :HOO PDLQWDLQHG WKH .HQWXFN\ +RUVH 3DUN 'RZQWRZQ /H[LQJWRQ $2,900,000 $2,770,000 $2,399,000

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Stallions such as Malibu Moon have contributed to Spendthrift Farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standing.

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Return to

glory Under B. Wayne Hughes, Spendthrift Farm has regained its stature among Central Kentuckyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storied breeding establishments

By Lenny Shulman Photos by Kirk Schlea

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CHAD B. HARMON

S

tand just east of the old residence, on a manicured lawn bordered by a low stone wall, and let your imagination turn back time. Listen closely, and perhaps you can hear the clinking of ice cubes against glass and the merriment of high-society laughter. You can inhale the aroma of fine horses and see them paraded in view of the partygoers, engendering high commerce. Here is where Leslie Combs II conducted his business of selling Thoroughbreds in an air of entrepreneurial splendor and high entertainment, making Spendthrift Farm, along with Claiborne and Calumet, one of the three great Bluegrass-area Thoroughbred stations of the mid-20th century.

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Another entrepreneur in the grand manner of Combs, B. Wayne Hughes, bought the historic property in 2004. Under Hughes, the 1860s-era edifice has been seamlessly extended, keeping the original architectural charm while serving as a modern utilitarian office. Its farthest wing now touches out to the grounds of Combs’ party site.

Horses are sold today with less showmanship than in Combs’ era, and, in fact, the original Spendthrift had lost the wind in its sails due to financial overreaching even before Combs left the scene. But Hughes, since taking the helm, has been busy disproving F. Scott Fitzgerald’s claim that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Under Hughes’ direction, Spendthrift is once again thriving. Its stallion roster boasts both quality and quantity; Hughes’

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Left, trainer Richard Mandella, jockey Gary Stevens, and owner B. Wayne Hughes celebrate Beholder’s 2016 Breeders’ Cup Distaff victory. Above, the Spendthrift manor house now serves as the farm office.

racing stable is producing bloodstock to bolster Spendthrift’s broodmare side; and capital outlay has modernized the farm while keeping its glorious history intact.

Hughes was part of the great Dust Bowl migration from his native Oklahoma to California. There, he changed attics and basements forever, co-founding the Public Storage company in 1972 and virtually creating an industry. Between Public Storage and various real estate investments, Hughes became a billionaire and has long maintained a Thoroughbred racing stable, fulfilling a passion started when his father took him to the races as a youngster. Hughes also began breeding runners, notably getting the A.P. Indy colt Malibu Moon, whose race career was cut short by injury but who would circle back to become a valuable cog for Hughes years later.

Hughes’ racing fortunes improved when he teamed up

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The stone eagles atop the gates symbolize the power of the Spendthrift name. Right, under Hughes the breeding program has expanded to 100 Spendthrift-owned mares.

Bottom right, general manager Ned Toffey

with California trainer Richard Mandella.

He raced Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old male Action This Day and also owned one of the greatest racemares in history in the multiple champion Beholder, today in residence at Spendthrift as a broodmare.

Hughes’ flair for the unconventional and dramatic was in full evidence in 2003, when he brought legendary film director Steven Spielberg in as a partner on Kentucky Derby participant (and fourth-place finisher) Atswhatimtalknbout. There has been no bigger backstretch buzz than when Hughes and Spielberg toured the barn area on Derby Day, with dozens of reporters in tow trying to pick up a nugget or two of Hollywood glamour.

Hughes wasn’t seeking to establish a major stallion operation when he began looking at

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property to buy early this century. In fact, he wasn’t thinking about owning a commercial entity at all. Having grown up in the country, Hughes wanted to acquire a rural piece of land so that his grandchildren would be able to visit and share some of what he had experienced in childhood. Well-acquainted with Lexington through his involvement with Thoroughbreds, Hughes decided to look within its environs for the proper space.

Hughes had been a client of Three Chimneys Farm, and he enlisted Ned Toffey, then a Three Chimneys manager, to help with the search.

“We looked at a number of properties that were nice farms, but they were just farms,” remembered Toffey. “One day he told me he’d found a farm. ‘You may have heard of it. It’s Spendthrift.’ I think when he saw Spendthrift, he saw it as a special place where there was an

MACK HUGHES

opportunity to buy it reasonably, restore it, and put his own mark on it.â&#x20AC;?

SKEETS MEADORS

Above, Leslie Combs II developed Spendthrift Farm into a Thoroughbred powerhouse starting in the 1950s, wooing clients such as Elizabeth Arden Graham and securing stallions such as Nashua, left, for a then-record sum.

Below, the Spendthrift stallion roster included Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed during the tenure of Brownell Combs.

Storied address Buying a farm that happened to be Spendthrift was akin to buying a baseball field that happened to be Yankee Stadium. Combs had purchased the original 127 acres on Iron Works Pike north of Lexington in 1937. As an homage to his great-grandfather, Daniel Swigert, Combs named the farm Spendthrift after the 1879 Belmont Stakes winner whom Swigert had sold to James R. Keene.

Swigert was a successful owner/breeder who raced 1877 Kentucky Derby winner BadenBaden and bred Kentucky Derby victors Hindoo (1881), Apollo (1882), and Ben Ali (1886).

Combsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; grandfather, Leslie Combs Jr., was a career diplomat who bred a dozen stakes winners, including 1938 champion 2-year-

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old male El Chico. Combs’ father managed Elmendorf Farm.

Leslie Combs II built Spendthrift to nearly 6,000 acres, attracting a roster of partners and clients that read like a who’s who of the Thoroughbred industry: Elizabeth Arden Graham, George Widener, Harry Guggenheim, James Cox Brady, Marshall Field, Louis Wolfson, Mr. and Mrs. John Olin, Mrs. Norman Woolworth, along with many others. Combs was a brilliant businessman with one eye toward incorporating advances like soil analysis and the latest in feed nutrition; and the other eye toward selling techniques such as making sure his cocktail party guests saw Spendthrift’s yearling crop in the best possible light on the eve of their selling dates.

It worked. For 16 consecutive years, encompassing all of the 1950s and the first half of the ’60s, Combs’ yearlings topped the Keeneland summer sales in average price. His yearlings averaged six times the national yearling average during that stretch. He sold the first $100,000 yearling at auction, the first $200,000 yearling, and set subsequent records of $510,000 (Crowned Prince), $625,000 (Kentucky Gold), and $715,000 (Elegant Prince).

Combs’ proficiency as a salesman carried well beyond yearlings. He is credited with forming the first modern stallion syndicate in North America (Arthur B. Hancock Sr. had put together small groups in the 1920s and 1930s to purchase Sir Gallahad III and Blenheim II and bring them to Claiborne Farm) when he put 10 partners together on established stallion Beau Pere in 1947. Combs was not dissuaded when Beau

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A sculpture of Nashua attests to his importance during the Combs era. Today’s Spendthrift is home to 24 stallions, including foundation stallion Malibu Moon, below.

Pere died before covering a single mare for the new syndicate. He put together subsequent syndicates for Alibhai, Ardan, Royal Charger, My Babu, and several others.

He raised $1,251,200 to buy, via sealed bid, Horse of the Year and multiple champion Nashua from the estate of William Woodward Jr. in 1955, establishing the first million-dollar syndicate.

Brownell Combs II followed his father into the pilot’s seat at Spendthrift in 1974, securing the syndications of consecutive Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed. A series of complex financial transfers took place in the early 1980s, and in 1985 Spendthrift became the first Thoroughbred operation to be listed on the stock exchange. Inconsistent earnings and a public not well versed in the workings of the horse industry doomed the stock price, and Spendthrift filed for bankruptcy in 1988. The farm passed through a series of owners until Hughes stepped in to secure it.

The property Hughes purchased, however, had deteriorated significantly from its halcyon days. And as Hughes’ vision shifted away from the notion of simply enjoying a non-commercial farm to share with his family and toward a far grander scheme, the sheer volume of work required to bring the now-1,200-acre property back to brilliance became apparent.

“Mr. Hughes had an appreciation for the huge history at

Spendthrift when he came here, and his appreciation for it has become much deeper after being here,” noted Toffey, who has served as general manager of Spendthrift from the beginning of Hughes’ tenure. “Mr. Hughes saw this as a very special place and an opportunity, because it had great bones. The history of the stallion complex is nearly unparalleled.”

Hughes’ first inclination was actually to lease out the stallion complex. But Malibu Moon, still owned by Hughes, had proven a huge success at stud in Maryland, and Hughes eventually brought him to Spendthrift from neighboring Castleton Lyons Farm. Malibu Moon, a perennial top 15 sire for more than a decade, got a Kentucky Derby winner when Orb took the classic. Other Hughes runners such as Teton Forest, Don’t Get Mad, and Action This Day were coming off the track. Hughes decided he wanted to spend more time on his Thoroughbred business, and stallions became a key component.

The most famous building on Spendthrift is the U-shaped stallion barn, named the “Nashua Motel” by legendary groom Clem Brooks. Nashua was named Horse of the Year in 1955 after winning the Preakness and Belmont stakes. He became racing’s leading money earner in his career, and after his million-dollar stallion syndication Nashua could not be kept in the original wood stallion barn because Lloyd’s of London would not underwrite his insurance coverage in a wooden barn with no sprinkler system. So Combs built the U-shaped stallion barn with

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cinder block instead of wood specifically for Nashua, who would go on to sire 77 stakes winners. It would also become home to Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Gallant Man, Raise a Native, and dozens of other important sires who are memorialized on a Wall of Fame in the original wooden stallion barn.

However, the U-shaped barn was neither attractive nor optimally functional when Hughes took over. Its flat metal roof and lack of proper ventilation made it hot and uncomfortable. The roof and hayloft were removed, and a higher, slanted roof installed. Exterior doors were added. The old wood barn was

Clockwise from top left, Spendthrift has acquired highly desirable stallion prospects including (from front to back) Mitole, Vino Rosso, and Omaha Beach. Into Mischief was 2019’s leading stallion in North America. Spendthrift’s racing silks are hard to miss. Recent arrival Omaha Beach brings a top race record and pedigree.

Spendthrift’s aggressive recruitment of stallions has yielded Vino Rosso, winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and sprint champion Mitole among others.

also renovated, with sprinkler systems added to both barns.

“The Nashua Motel was an iconic image for Spendthrift, and we have been very much respectful of its history while putting our own mark on it,” Toffey noted. “Today we have a modern, world-class stallion complex where you can still walk in and feel the history. It ties in architecturally with the rest of the farm and it works much better for the horses.”

Stallion power Today, two dozen stallions reside in the three barns that form the stallion complex, giving Spendthrift the largest stallion population of any Thoroughbred farm in North America.

Like Combs, Hughes has proved to be an innovator in his professional life. With a growing stallion roster and an economy languishing in the Great Recession, Hughes instituted his Share the Upside program in 2009. Aimed at giving potential breeders a bargain during tough times, Share the Upside allowed participants the chance to gain a lifetime breeding right to a certain stallion

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if they agreed to breed a mare to that stallion for two consecutive seasons (and get live foals). Other farms followed Hughes’ model.

But the poster boy who cemented Share the

‘‘

MR. HUGHES SAW THIS AS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE AND AN OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE IT HAD GREAT BONES.” — NED TOFFEY, GENERAL MANAGER

Upside in people’s minds was a bay Harlan’s Holiday colt that arrived at Spendthrift for the 2009 breeding season.

Hughes had purchased Into Mischief at a 2-year-old sale for $180,000, and Mandel-

la trained him to a victory in the grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. Into Mischief raced six times over two years, winning three and finishing second three times.

His Futurity score had come over a synthetic surface, and he wasn’t the most sought-after stallion of his generation. At Spendthrift, he stood for $12,500 in 2009 and for $10,000 the following season. Fewer than 10 breeders took advantage of signing up to breed to him through Share the Upside. Thousands more ended up kicking themselves in the rear end.

Into Mischief got black-type winners right off jump street and has continued to excel at stud, siring Canadian champions Conquest Enforcer and Miss Mischief, dual Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents, Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner and twotime champion Covfefe, and grade 1 winners Audible, Practical Joke, and Mia’s Mischief.

Gamine, a 3-year-old Into Mischief filly, set a stakes record in winning the grade 1 Acorn Stakes by 18¾ lengths this June. Into Mischief was North America’s leading general sire in 2019 and stood the 2020 season for $175,000.

That represents a nice annuity for a few lucky

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Share the Upside participants.

“The big break that happened for Spendthrift was the day when Into Mischief stepped off the van and into the stallion complex,” Toffey noted. “That was a far bigger day than any of us realized at the time. He’s turned into a special horse for us, a farm-maker.

“There is no question having stallions like Into Mischief and Malibu Moon raise your credibility. People believe that you know how

to develop a stallion, and it drives traffic. It’s a huge tool for our salespeople. You get breeders out here to look at a horse, and that presents you with an opportunity to sell some of your other horses. All breeders have mares at various levels, and we try to offer them value at all points.”

Spendthrift is among the most aggressive recruiters of stallions today. Its 2020 rookie class included standouts such as multiple

Multiple champion Beholder is the pride of the Spendthrift broodmare band. Hughes and his wife, Patricia, celebrate the first of Beholder’s three Breeders’ Cup victories, this one in the 2012 Juvenile Fillies.

grade 1 winner Omaha Beach, Breeders’ Cup Classic victor Vino Rosso, and champion sprinter Mitole.

“All you can do is try and find horses you can give an opportunity to, and let them do their thing,” said Toffey. “We can’t always recognize which ones will become successful, but we do recognize that they can’t become successful unless we give them the opportunity. ‘Nobody knows’ is an expression Mr.

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Hughes uses for horses and life. And that’s key in not being afraid to give a horse a shot.”

Sight to behold Along those lines, Spendthrift has nearly tripled the number of broodmares that roam its spacious fields, and a majority of the 100 Spendthrift-owned mares are sent to in-house stallions. And as with the sires, Hughes has been fortunate enough to retire a top runner to his mare pastures.

Because she was a half sister to Into Mischief (both being out of Leslie’s Lady), Hughes agreed to spend $180,000 to buy a filly at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling auction that was by modest stallion Henny Hughes. Named Beholder, she became one of the great race mares in history, winning 11 grade 1 races and being named a champion in four of her five racing years.

Famously temperamental and loathe to travel from her California base, Beholder still won three Breeders’ Cup races and earned better than $6.1 million. Thus far, she has rewarded Hughes with an Uncle Mo colt and fillies by Curlin and War Front.

“I don’t think there’s another horse in the world that won a grade 1 every year from ages 2 to 6,” said Toffey of Beholder. “Again, having a mare like her adds credibility. She is a good horse for all of us to have around because she keeps everybody on their toes. It’s an honor to be around her and work with her and help raise those foals.”

The horses that Spendthrift keeps for its racing stable get a fast start at the Silver Springs training center, on land that Hughes acquired to bring the operation up to 1,200 acres. Before being sent to Raul Reyes at Kings Equine in Ocala, the yearlings are able to stay in Kentucky for their early lessons.

“We start our horses on the training track at Silver Springs, which has been a great addition and a great way to begin training our yearlings,” noted Toffey. “It’s been a treat for us to have Silver Springs right there.”

It is perfect symmetry that Wayne Hughes followed Leslie Combs II as the steward of Spendthrift Farm, one innovator paving the

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Horses in the Spendthrift racing stable get their early lessons at the Silver Springs training center, part of the main Kentucky farm.

Now encompassing 1,200 acres, Spendthrift has reclaimed the luster of its celebrated past.

way for another of a later generation. Hughes has established a three-person sales staff to market his stallions to potential breeders.

He then rewards the breeders that support Spendthrift stallions by having them consign his yearlings at the Keeneland September sale.

“Mr. Hughes has always had the ability to look at the same situation as everyone else, and to see a different way to go about it,” said Toffey. “Great ideas can come from places you didn’t necessarily anticipate, sometimes from mistakes. Mr. Hughes has the business acumen to seek different solutions, and he’s always looking ahead.”

Hughes has assured that the future of Spendthrift will remain in his family. Eric Gustavson, who is married to Hughes’

daughter Tammy, has spent the past 15 years learning the Thoroughbred business division by division under Hughes and Toffey. Today, he serves as Spendthrift’s president and was recently voted to the Breeders’ Cup board.

“Wayne loves this industry, and being involved with Spendthrift has made me grow to love it and the amazing, majestic animals that make it all possible,” Gustavson said.

“Wayne is all about family, and that element of owning the farm means a lot to him. He and [wife] Patty live here. Tammy and I live here, and we love it. We call our porch ‘the best place in Kentucky.’ It’s magical out there. Spendthrift Farm is a special place to our family, and I’m honored to have been allowed to be its steward, now and in the future.” KM

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FALL 2020

By Cynthia Grisolia | Photos by David Coyle

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Keeneland, horse industry adapt to pandemic times

After canceling its spring meet in April, Keeneland conducted racing without fans during an unprecedented summer meet July 8-12.

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sually on opening day in April, Keeneland Race Course welcomes fans from across the country for its boutique, 16-day race meet. The spring event attracts thousands of people to Lexington’s popular oval to admire the blooming cherry blossoms, sip a bourbon or two, and witness such top-notch contests as the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, an important prep for the just-around-the-corner Kentucky Derby.

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But there was nothing at all usual about April 2020, as the nation fell prey to the COVID-19 pandemic that has, through early August, taken the lives of more than 160,000 people in the United States and changed, perhaps for a long time, the way we live. It certainly has changed, at least for the present, the way we race.

In March, in response to the spreading virus, the bricks of mainstream sports rapidly began to crumble.

On March 11, baseball, golf, and basketball suspended coming seasons. Within hours, horse racing followed with its own announcements eliminating patrons at tracks across the country. A few days later, racing’s biggest blocks collapsed: Churchill Downs postponed the running of the Kentucky Derby, rescheduling the iconic event from the first Saturday in May to Sept. 5. And Keeneland announced it would not conduct its spring meet, slated to launch April 2.

“It was truly a heartbreaking decision,” said Vince Gabbert, vice president and COO of Keeneland. “But in communicating with officials, we knew we didn’t have a choice. Race meets in Louisiana and Florida were wrapping up, and cases were already spiking,” Gabbert added.

“In another week we would have brought all of that into Central Kentucky. We knew we needed to make that decision for the greater good.”

Righteous as it was, the shuttering of Keeneland — culturally, a hallmark of the season — was, for many, like the loss of an old friend. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so depressed,” said Suzanne Mundy, who, with her husband, Dr. George Mundy, operates Canamer Farm, a mom-and-pop breeding-racing operation in Lexington. “This is probably the longest period in my life that I have not been to a racetrack. But with Keeneland closing … it was just devastating,” Mundy said. “The meet has been such a huge part of my life, even growing up.” Mundy said that it was so upsetting

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With an empty grandstand behind him, bugler Steve Buttleman calls horses to the post during the summer meet.

Keeneland’s Gate 1 has remained closed since mid-March. Anyone entering through other gates must undergo medical screening and wear a face covering.

that she would sometimes drive up Lexington’s Rice Road and park outside Keeneland’s back gate to watch horses from afar.

To ease the pain — and recoup purse money for horsemen — Keeneland made a request to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to hold a summer meet. The request was quickly approved, and on May 27 plans for five days of live racing in July went forward. What happened in between, however, not only underscored the integrity but also the tenacity of horse racing and horse people.

Soldiering on While the outbreak unsettled race schedules, other facets of the industry had no option but to soldier on. The care, training, and breeding of Thoroughbreds await no human — or disease. So for those on the front lines, for whom work-at-home orders were not viable, business went on, even if business now included rubber gloves, N-95 masks, and standing six feet from coworkers.

With the crisis growing grim, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Office of State Veterinarian, led

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Wearing personal protective equipment, Spendthrift Farm groom Alex Marcias leads Goldencents to the breeding shed.

Rusty Ford, the state’s equine operations consultant, helped the industry establish best practices.

Dr. Natalie Heitz, a field vet with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, says the industry by its nature has been well prepared for the pandemic.

by equine operations consultant Rusty Ford and veterinarian Dr. Bob Stout, worked at a rapid-fire pace to compile a set of best practices, issued on March 24, designed to stem the spread of the virus while keeping the horse industry afloat.

It outlined safety protocols for farms, clinics, and breeding sheds. Things such as temperature checkpoints, limited staff, usage of personal protective equip-

ment, equipment sanitizing — from lead shanks to vans — and social distancing became paramount. Zoom sessions, FaceTime, and video replaced meetings, stallion shows, and, in some cases, even non-critical veterinary visits.

When the pandemic hit at the height of the multimillion-dollar breeding season in Kentucky, there was “true concern,” said Sandy Hatfield, stallion manager

at Three Chimneys Farm, which stands 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner.

“But we were lucky to have Rusty working on our behalf. The work he did with the state veterinarian and the secretary of agriculture to get the protocols up and in everyone’s hands in a very short period is a testament to the love of the horse and of our industry,” Hatfield said.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who

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DUBAI RACING CLUB/MATHEA KELLEY

is based on the West Coast where COVID was not safety protocols but travel bans cases were far more numerous, also not- that threw a wrench into the works. “The ed that while there were minor changes issue we faced was having an American in training game plans — such as fewer groom on board planes,” he said, noting breezes — there was really no choice but that it is standard practice to ship horses to maintain status quo. “Horses have to overseas accompanied by trained pergo out for exercise every day,” said Baffert. sonnel. “We were not allowed into cer“And we already practice most of the pro- tain countries. So a groom could ship tocols put in place. Grooms wear masks in with a cargo plane but not get off the to protect against dust; we sterilize racing aircraft,” said Santarelli. equipment after every use; and, by nature, horses need a lot of space and distance to navigate. Plus, as a trainer, you’re always on alert for viruses that could spread through your barn.”

Indeed, if anyone were prepared for a pandemic, it just might have been the horse industry. “To horse people, all of this is not new,” said Dr. Natalie Heitz, a field veterinarian with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington. “With horses, it’s all about herd health. Horse Mersant International’s Chuck Santarelli, left, people are always looking to elim- with his brother, Joe, says equine transport inate the possibility of disease — has been challenging. whether it’s an outbreak of stranWhen officials in Dubai announced gles or herpes. This time,” added Heitz, “the pandemic affected humans, so now the cancellation of the Dubai World it’s just a different herd we’re looking Cup, slated for March 28, Mersant faced out for.” Heitz even noted that the body a particularly demanding challenge. length of an average Thoroughbred is, Twenty-seven horses had already made the nearly 7,000-mile journey to Meydan well, six feet.

Racecourse — among them American runners Tacitus, Sir Winston, War Story, Harder hit Still, some businesses felt the and Mucho Gusto — and they needed COVID-19 burn more than others. One to return. “Information was changing was global equine transport, a linchpin by the minute as to what was going to be of the industry. According to Chuck San- allowed and what wasn’t,” said Santarelli.

“All the grooms we were using were tarelli of Mersant International Ltd., it

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European, and they were now not allowed into the U.S, so we had to scramble and send four Americans to Dubai.

It was a very stressful period, but the horses got home safely,” added Santarelli, praising the Dubai World Cup Committee and the Dubai government for invaluable assistance. “Without their help we don’t get it done.”

Non-profit Thoroughbred aftercare facilities also found themselves in dire straits as social distancing rules and a failing economy threatened their missions. “Since this virus, donations have all but halted,” said Lynne Sullivan of the Oklahoma-based Thoroughbred Athletes Inc., which retrains and rehomes off-track Thoroughbreds. “Also, we have not put on fundraising events due to social distancing so we are working at half the income for twice the horses.”

Similarly, at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility near Georgetown, Kentucky, the crisis froze its public tourism — and the revenue that comes with it. “It came at a time when we have the most visitors, raise the most money, and raise the most awareness,” said Old Friends’ Michael Blowen.

Sullivan noted that the organization adapted as necessary, simplifying daily routines in order to keep up quality care with fewer volunteers. Old Friends, like others, turned to social media, implementing “virtual tours” to keep supporters engaged, along with online fundraising and mail campaigns.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL 60

Horses from around the world already had arrived in Dubai when officials canceled the Dubai World Cup.

Old Friends’ Barbara Fossum takes the temperature of a visitor to the Thoroughbred retirement facility. Right, Old Friends alerts visitors to the requirements.

This time it’s personal But as the industry persevered under the cloud of the pandemic, owners, fans, and breeders found themselves victims of an unforeseen byproduct of the times: separation anxiety. Mundy said she was suddenly cut off from her 6-year-old race mare On Probation. “We sent her on a two-week vacation in Florida, but two weeks turned into almost three months,” she said. When travel restrictions lifted and the mare returned, owners were still not allowed on most track grounds. “The only way I could see her was through a chain-link fence,” Mundy lamented.

“It was heartbreaking because these horses are like my children. I follow them everywhere, and I never miss a race.”

Illinois-based owner/breeder Charlie Pigg suffered a similar experience with his broodmare, Cora Mesa, who resides at Lexington’s Scarteen Stud. “Not being able to visit has been really tough,” said Pigg. “I have a habit of being underfoot there several days each year. But I was unable to be there even when her Connect filly was foaled April 29. I finally saw the baby on June 12.”

spectatorless summer meet that would run from July 8-12. Among the added biosecurity measures: Jockeys were segregated into six separate jock’s rooms and tested before their initial ride and again if they returned from another jurisdiction; testing was mandatory for out-of-state horsemen; and a limited number of owners were permitted onsite only for the day of their race, sharing social-distanced-designed grandstand seating and dining areas.

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LEWIS GARDNER

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL Jockeys and grooms wear personal protective equipment during the summer meet. At right, Keeneland’s outriders sport masks with the track’s logo.

Masks — on everyone from starters to outriders — were ubiquitous. Despite precautions, two jockeys, Luis Saez and Flavien Prat, did test positive in the final days. But “because we were able to keep everybody segregated, we were able to minimize the spread here,” said Gabbert.

The meet went off with nary a hitch, showcasing 10 graded stakes, among them the deferred Toyota Blue Grass Stakes and the Central Bank Ashland Stakes, both of which saw winners — emerging 3-year-olds Art Collector and

Speech, respectively — crossing the finish line with only an eerie silence emanating from an empty grandstand. “One of the things I don’t think we understood or appreciated, was how much energy we get from fans,” said Gabbert. “It was extremely odd to not have that thrill of fans hollering, that buzz of people.”

The mini-meet was met with enthusiasm by horsemen (“Can we do it every year?” trainer Ken McPeek quipped to BloodHorse) and was historymaking in more ways than one. Threetime graded stakes winner Swiss Sky-

Field Pass wins an exciting Kentucky Utilities Transylvania Stakes.

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diver became just the second filly ever to run in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland; 2019 Preakness hero War of Will made his first mark as a grass horse by capturing the grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile; Guarana’s win in the Madison gave trainer Chad Brown his 100th grade 1 victory; and Rushing Fall notched her fifth stakes victory at Keeneland with the grade 1 Coolmore Jenney Wiley (only superhorse Wise Dan owns more).

The meet even boasted a particularly robust handle: The five-day all-sources wagering totaled more than $63 million, which was not unlike surges seen at other tracks across the country throughout the summer. On March 13 New York’s Aqueduct reported an all-sources mutuel handle up almost 28 percent over a comparable date in 2019. Similarly, Belmont’s June 3 opening generated a record-breaking all-sources handle.

Such vigorous numbers have led some to believe the COVID-19 crisis actually presented horse racing with an unexpected shot in the arm. Thanks to advance deposit wagering (ADW) systems and hours of added live TV coverage, horse racing, it seems, has filled a void for starving sports fans. “It amazed me, before this began, how far down the list of sports — in the public

eye — horse racing was,” said TVG host/ analyst and longtime handicapper Kurt Hoover. “Then we are the only sport going.

By sheer accident,” Hoover added, “we’ve

ended up in a very good spot.”

Gabbert added the pandemic might also have inadvertently thrown a positive light on the game. “Racing gets some hard knocks for not being united, but over the past few months racing has been more united than ever,” he said.

With July in the record books and strategies battle-tested, Gabbert noted that Keeneland expected to move forward with its September yearling sale (Sept. 13-25), its fall race meet (Oct. 2-24), and the Breeders’ Cup World Championships (Nov. 6-7). As of this writing, it was still uncertain whether spectators would be permitted.

“We are developing up to five plans for how we can execute — whether that’s no spectators, whether that’s 25 percent,” said Gabbert. “We feel like we have a template to build on, and we feel good about the plans in place for Breeders’ Cup, even if it’s

Your

Vision Our Expertise

a scaled-down model of what people witnessed when Keeneland hosted the Championships in 2015.”

As summer dwindled, the world, and the world of sports, was still reeling from the effects of COVID-19. Additional outbreaks within jockey colonies forced temporary racetrack shutdowns and raised some questions, as baseball, football, and hockey began to emerge from the darkness. But horse racing, if nothing else, had shown its grit — a little like its tenacious equine athletes in a challenging stretch duel.

“You never know,” said Old Friends’ Blowen, who is not only an aftercare advocate but also a former horse owner and longtime handicapper. “Everybody was bleak and pessimistic; then all of a sudden, we were setting records. Horse racing just may be the greatest sport,” he said, “it has always survived itself.

And it will again.” KM

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DURING A CHALLENGING TIME,

Toyota and Keeneland Celebrate 25 Years Together

TOYOTA AND KEENELAND ARE TWO NAMES CELEBRATED FOR EXCELLENCE.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we celebrate our 25th year as a sponsor of the Toyota Blue Grass, we are proud of our contributions to this great state and our partnerships with outstanding

While Toyota is a leader in the

organizations like Keeneland,â&#x20AC;? said Susan Elkington,

automotive field with its best-selling vehicles, Keeneland is a leader in the

President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky

equine industry through its globally recognized Thoroughbred racing and auctions. The two companies share a mission of being good citizens and giving back to the Central Kentucky community.

At no time has that shared goal been more evident than in 2020.

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Toyota Blue Grass marks the 25th time that Keenelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous

entire season because of the COVID-19

part of the community and doing whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

outbreak.

right for your neighbor.â&#x20AC;?

Acknowledging the Toyota-Keeneland

Elkington explained to WLEX that the

anniversary would have to wait while

face masks are â&#x20AC;&#x153;made of plastic, so

Toyota and Keeneland concentrated their

initially when we started building these,

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they were done on 3-D printers. But now

of their employees while supporting the

we can actually do injection molding and

needs of the community.

pretty soon be able to do eight of them

race has been sponsored by Toyota, whose Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) in nearby Georgetown, Kentucky, is the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first and largest manufacturing plant in North America. The Toyota Blue Grass

TMMK closed for vehicle production for

at a time.â&#x20AC;?

roughly seven weeks. During that time,

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the plant produced a half-million face

co-founding Nourish Lexington, a

shields that it donated to doctors and

program to help feed hungry people in

nurses around the U.S.

the community while employing out-

originally was scheduled for April 4 on

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Toyota is more than just building cars,â&#x20AC;?

of-work hospitality industry employees.

opening Saturday of the Spring Meet

TMMK President Susan Elkington told

Keeneland also created Nourish the

but Keeneland was forced to cancel the

Lexingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WLEX-TV. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about being

Backstretch to assist people who care

involvement of team members.

for racehorses at Keeneland and The

best-selling sedan for 18 years in a row,

Thoroughbred Center.

TMMK also manufactures the Camry

â&#x20AC;&#x153;At Toyota, we believe an automobile

Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, RAV4

company can be a vehicle for change,

Hybrid, Lexus ES 350 and ES 300h, as

and we are committed to supporting

well as four-cylinder and V6 engines.

the local communities where we live

Fortunately, a new opportunity for recognizing Toyotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anniversary at Keeneland came with the creation of the WUDFNČ&#x2021;V XQSUHFHGHQWHG YH GD\ 6XPPHU

In 2019, Toyota invested $238 million

and operate,â&#x20AC;? Toyotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rick Hesterberg,

Meet from July 8-12. The season, which

in TMMK to bring production of the

Manager of External Affairs, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our

was run without fans in attendance,

Lexus ES 300h and RAV4 Hybrid to the

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included 10 graded stakes with the

Bluegrass State. This is in addition to

of expertise, including personal mobility,

Toyota Blue Grass featured on July 11.

the $1.33 billion it invested in 2017 to

education, the environment and safety,

equip the facility with Toyota New Global

as well as the priorities of our local

Architecture. Today, TMMK represents

dealers.â&#x20AC;?

an $8 billion investment.

In fiscal year 2020, Toyota made

While Keeneland emphasized numerous ways to remotely watch and wager on the season, Toyota enhanced

$2,685,970 in philanthropic contributions

its presence by sponsoring â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Day at

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Keeneland is proud of our 25-year

Keeneland Presented by Toyota,â&#x20AC;? a

association with Toyota,â&#x20AC;? Keeneland

with more than $143 million in cumulative

four-hour program on the UK Sports

President and CEO Bill Thomason said.

contributions since 1988.

Radio Network that highlighted the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Both companies work incredibly hard

Additionally, these five local Toyota

best of the Bluegrass: University of

to be good citizens by doing the right

dealers contribute to the Keeneland

Kentucky athletics and Thoroughbred

thing for the respective industries they

sponsorship and support their own local

racing at Keeneland.

serve and by having a positive impact

charities: Toyota of Nicholasville, Greenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

on the community.â&#x20AC;?

Toyota of Lexington, Toyota of Somerset,

More than $23.8 million was wagered

Toyota South and Frankfort Toyota. They

on the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outstanding 10 races, which were capped by Bruce Lunsfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art

TOYOTA GIVING

also participate in Toyotaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dealer Match

Collector driving past the filly Swiss

In addition to building popular cars,

program, which supports dealers and

Skydiver to win the Toyota Blue Grass

Toyota has a philosophy of giving back to

their local communities by matching

by3½ lengths. Art Collector also earned

the community and to Kentucky through

their contributions to selected charities.

100 qualifying points for the Kentucky

monetary contributions and personal

Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, which is rescheduled to Sept. 5.

HORSEPOWER Toyota and Keenelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning collaboration began a quarter-century ago ZKHQ 700. WHDPHG ZLWK YH DUHD 7R\RWD dealerships and Toyota Motor Sales in Cincinnati to sponsor the Blue Grass and PDUN 7R\RWDČ&#x2021;V UVW VSRQVRUVKLS RI D KRUVH race. Since then, Keeneland has featured 7R\RWD YHKLFOHV WKURXJKRXW LWV HHW DQG KDV hosted an annual family day at the races for Toyota employees.

Since TMMK opened in 1988, more than 12.5 million vehicles have rolled off its assembly lines, where full-time employment is more than 10,000 people.

In addition to the Camry, Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Art Collector joined the history books not only because he won the 2020 Toyota Blue Grass but because of the unique circumstances surrounding this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewal of the historic event.

Bob Baffert leads all other Breedersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cup trainers in money won with his starters accounting for more than $30 million in purses.

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Secure at the Top These Breedersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cup leaders demonstrate their dominance year after year

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By Tom Pedulla

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all of Fame trainer Bob Baffert could not take his eyes off of the action as he watched NBC’s telecast of the inaugural 1984 Breeders’ Cup World Championships run at old Hollywood Park. He was conditioning Quarter Horses at the time, but the world of Thoroughbreds caught his attention as one stirring race followed another.

“I got hooked on Thoroughbred racing that day,” Baffert said.

“It was like the Olympics. It was really exciting because you had jockeys from Europe, trainers you’ve read about. When it was all over, I thought, ‘Maybe I can do that.’ ” He can do that, all right.

Based on earnings, no one has done it better in Breeders’ Cup history. The same can be said for leading owner Juddmonte Farms, top breeder Adena Springs, and premier jockey Mike Smith, who made like Secretariat in the Belmont, creating a tremendous margin against his fellow riders.

To all of them, their unrivaled success means everything.

“When you win a Breeders’ Cup race,” Smith said, “it means you beat the best in the country, the best in the world, in the category.”

Here is a look at the best of the best in Breeders’ Cup history:

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BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON

Secure at the Top

Prince Khalid Abdullah has left his mark on the Breeders’ Cup.

Juddmonte Farms Leading Owner From the moment the Breeders’ Cup was established in 1984, it became a major target for Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Juddmonte Farms, his international breeding and racing operation.

No one imagined it would be a maddeningly elusive target until Banks Hill broke through in the Filly & Mare Turf in 2001.

“Every year we’d go to the Breeders’ Cup and not get a winner,” recalled Garrett O’Rourke, Juddmonte’s manager in the United States. “You’d walk away and say, ‘We’ve had some good days and horses that ran well.’ You’d give all of the stock excuses.”

Juddmonte, of course, is about performance, not excuses. There was little doubt the cream would eventually rise to the top.

Banks Hill leads a parade of impressive winners: Intercontinental (Filly & Mare Turf, 2005), Ventura (Filly & Mare Sprint, 2008), Midday (Filly & Mare Turf, 2009), Arrogate (Classic, 2016), Enable (Turf, 2018), and Expert Eye (Mile, 2018).

In all, Juddmonte’s 80 starts have accounted for seven victories, 10 runner-up finishes, and eight third-place efforts for $16,815,820 in earnings.

‘‘

THE BREEDERS’ CUP… JUST DRIVES ME TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL.”

SKIP DICKSTEIN

— JOCKEY MIKE SMITH

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Banks Hill secured Juddmonte’s first Breeders’ Cup victory in 2001.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Intercontinental earned Juddmonte its second win in the Filly & Mare Turf.

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Worthy rival Godolphin Racing owns an equal number of wins from 91 starts and ranks second with $15,061,735 in purses.

As lofty as Juddmonte’s success is, O’Rourke views it as keeping to Prince Khalid’s vision.

“His goal has always been to produce horses capable of running in the very, very best events in the world, whether that be the classics in England, the Arc de Triomphe, the Breeders’ Cup,” the manager said.

In the case of the magnificent Enable, she became the first to combine the Arc with a Breeders’ Cup score when she staged a furious rally down the center of the track at Churchill Downs to beat rivals in the taxing one-anda-half-mile Turf. She became just the fourth female to prevail in the Turf.

It doubled Juddmonte’s pleasure that Expert Eye also delivered on the same day. He bore Prince Khalid’s famous silks — green, pink sash and cap, white sleeves — across the finish line first in the Mile.

Six of Juddmonte’s winners were homebreds. “It’s like someone with their kids.

There is an extra pride when they succeed,” O’Rourke said.

Arrogate stands as the lone exception. His acquisition — a $560,000 purchase at Keeneland’s 2014 September yearling sale — makes a powerful statement about Juddmonte.

When Prince Khalid sought success with Baffert, O’Rourke noted how difficult that might be for an operation focused on breeding for turf superiority.

“Let’s go and buy them,” replied the

Arrogate defeated California Chrome in a thrilling renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He retired to Juddmonte’s Lexington division (pictured with Garrett O’Rourke) before dying unexpectedly in 2020.

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SKIP DICKSTEIN

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Secure at the Top

undeterred Prince Khalid.

A team of experts was dispatched to the Keeneland auction, which perennially offers quality in abundance. And when Arrogate swept past the great California Chrome in the shadow of the Santa Anita wire in the 2016 Classic, he represented yet another bold and brilliant move by Juddmonte.

Adena Springs Leading Breeder Frank Stronach and members of his family secured their place in racing and Breeders’ Cup history more than a decade ago through Adena Springs’ success.

Stronach received an individual Eclipse Award as Outstanding Breeder in 2000; then Adena rattled off five Eclipse Awards

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Awesome Again’s victory in the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic proved a harbinger for Adena Springs’ success in the event.

in a row from 2004-08 before striking again in 2010 and 2011. The operation still holds a commanding advantage with $10,112,400 in Breeders’ Cup earnings. Juddmonte Farms, its closest pursuer, has $7,973,820.

Stronach, 87, has never been afraid to think big. When asked during a 2017 interview with America’s Best Racing about his accomplishments, he replied, “If you use your imagination, there is no limit.”

In addition to his breeding prowess, Stronach earned four Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Owner and accepted the highest honor, the Eclipse Award of Merit, in 2018. He is the most decorated individual in the history of the awards.

Eric Hamelback worked almost 15 years for Adena and served as general manager from late 2006 until the end of 2014. He noted that Stronach and his family members set the bar high.

“I would define our mission as achieving excellence,” he said, adding, “We are all very, very proud of the accomplishments we had as a team.”

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Juddmonte’s Enable delivered an unforgettable Turf victory in 2018.

Frank Stronach

Adena produced Breeders’ Cup victors Awesome Again (Classic, 1998), Macho Uno (Juvenile, 2000), Perfect Sting (Filly & Mare Turf, 2000), Ghostzapper (Classic, 2004), Ginger Punch (Distaff, 2007), and Judy the Beauty (Filly & Mare Sprint, 2014).

Judy the Beauty was bred by Adena and was bought by and raced for Wesley Ward.

Awesome Again was indeed awesome

SKIP DICKSTEIN

SKIP DICKSTEIN

Ghostzapper gave Adena another Classic victory in 2004.

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Stronach leads in Juvenile winner Macho Uno.

CHAD B. HARMON

again because he sired Ghostzapper, Horse of the Year in 2004. Bobby Frankel, the late Hall of Fame trainer, described Ghostzapper as the “best horse I ever trained.” Ghostzapper still boasts the fastest Classic in Cup history, blazing the mile and a quarter in 1:59.02 as part of his gate-to-wire domination at Lone Star Park.

Hamelback said of Awesome Again: “From racetrack to breeding shed, he’s definitely the cornerstone of the program at Adena.”

He took equal pride, though, in Judy the Beauty. She was a $20,000 bargain for trainer Wesley Ward at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale that earned almost $2 million, illustrating one of the enduring beauties of racing. Great runners can come at any price.

Adena bred 2014 Filly & Mare Sprint winner Judy the Beauty.

Awesome Again went from racetrack to stallion success.

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Adena Springs continues to breed high-quality Thoroughbreds.

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON

Secure at the Top

Baffert began as a Quarter Horse trainer.

Thirty Slews gave Baffert his first Breeders’ Cup victory when the gelding took the 1992 Sprint.

Bob Baffert

annually ensures the event will have an international flavor, ranks second with $23,895,590.

Baffert got a late start and, for him, a slow start. Thirty Slews supplied his first winner, in the 1992 Sprint. The gray son of Slewpy illustrates Baffert’s keen eye for a horse. He saw potential in Thirty Slews that others did not and landed him for a relatively modest $30,000 at the 1988 Keeneland September yearling sale.

The silver-haired genius waited until 1998 for his next triumph, when Silverbulletday scored in the Juvenile Fillies, and then for four more years for Vindication to provide the first of four Juvenile triumphs. The others came with Midshipman (2008), New Year’s Day (2013), and Game Winner (2018).

Baffert’s powerhouse stable owns five Sprint victories. After Thirty Slews, Midnight Lute went back to back in 2007 and 2008. That high-octane burner was followed by Secret Circle (2013) and Drefong (2016).

Baffert credits his Quarter Horse

Leading Trainer Baffert learned hard lessons that helped him to understand how much Breeders’ Cup success depends on timing. With so many attractive races available during the spring and summer, it is no mean feat to have an elite horse ready to run its biggest race at the close of what can be a very long season.

Over time, Baffert learned to identify his Cup prospects early, then work back from the fallending championships.

“I was having these great years, but by the time I came to the Breeders’ Cup, my horses, I was just sort of empty. They were tired, so I had to change the way I prepared for it,” Baffert said. “I had to make sure there was still some juice in the lemon.”

Brilliant trainers make great adjustments.

There can be no doubt that Baffert ranks at or near the top, no matter the era. He has saddled 119 Cup starters to record 15 victories, 17 second-place finishes, and six third-place results for earnings of $30,065,000. Aidan O’Brien, who

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background for his Sprint and Juvenile accomplishments. It taught him how to bring out every bit of a runner’s speed — at an early age.

It took him some time to decipher how to reel in the biggest fish of all — the Classic. But, of course, he figured that out, too. As in three in a row starting with Bayern and followed by American Pharoah and Arrogate.

American Pharoah’s 6½-length tour de force at Keeneland was one for the ages. He emerged as the first Triple Crown champion to complete the Grand Slam by tacking on the Classic.

And he did it with an overpowering display of horsepower in his career finale.

“American Pharoah just needed to get out of the gate clean,” Baffert said.

“He was just so much better than those horses.”

Interestingly, Baffert does not list Pharoah’s Classic as his finest Breeders’ Cup moment. “My greatest Breeders’ Cup win was with Arrogate in the Classic,” he said. “He ran down a great horse, California Chrome.”

SKIP DICKSTEIN

ROB MOASKAL

Bayern gave Baffert the first of three consecutive Classic victories.

The connections of Silverbulletday celebrate.

Mike Smith and the Breeders’ Cup are intertwined.

BENOIT PHOTO

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Silverbulletday won the 1998 Juvenile Fillies for Baffert’s second Breeders’ Cup score.

American Pharoah concluded his career with a Classic victory at Keeneland.

Baffert considers Arrogate’s 2016 Classic victory his greatest Breeders’ Cup win.

Mike Smith Leading Jockey

ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Jockey Mike Smith loses no time searching for mounts that can take him to the seasonending world championships.

“It starts as soon as the Breeders’ Cup is over,” Smith said.

“Who’s next, man? Who’s good enough to get you there?”

Smith’s ability to make accurate assessments before the Cup and during the races themselves explains why he is the runaway leader among riders with 26 victories and $36,634,605 in earnings.

Runner-up John Velazquez has used 187 starts to produce 16 wins while ringing up $27,760,275.

That level of success led Baffert to refer to Smith as “Big Money Mike.” As one high-profile win followed another, the name stuck.

“The Breeders’ Cup means a whole lot to me,” said Smith, 55. “It just drives me to a different level. I

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From left, Smith shed tears after Zenyatta’s narrow Classic loss in 2010; rejoicing after Arrogate’s 2016 Classic coup; celebrating Royal Delta’s 2012 Distaff victory; guiding Songbird to a Juvenile Fillies triumph at Keeneland in 2015.

don’t know what it is. I want to win those races so bad, I can’t think of anything else.”

Success did not come quickly. Smith did not pilot his first Breeders’ Cup winner until Lure prevailed in the 1992 Mile, a result the colt would repeat the following year for his rider. Smith also repeated with Mizdirection in the Turf Sprint in 2012 and 2013.

Smith’s gaudy total includes a combined nine victories in the Classic and Distaff. He got the job done in the Classic with Skip Away (1997), Zenyatta (2009), Drosselmeyer (2011), and Arrogate (2016). His Distaff winners are Inside Information (1995), Ajina (1997), Azeri (2002), Zenyatta (2008), and Royal Delta (2012).

His magical ride with Zenyatta was unforgettable. When she added the Classic to her Distaff success the year before, she became the

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first horse to win two different Breeders’ Cup races. Smith deftly guided her home when she emerged as the first female to defeat males in the Classic, a distinction she still holds. She ran her perfect record to 19-0 before losing by a head to unyielding Blame in the 2010 Classic.

Smith said of his time with Zenyatta: “It was awe inspiring. I was riding her during her winning streak, so there was always pressure.

But it was the kind of pressure you like and you’re looking for.”

Zenyatta’s running style, nerve-wracking as it was, also was a joy to behold. After breaking into her customary dance in the paddock, she would typically break so poorly and work her way into a race so slowly that it was almost as if she were spotting overmatched rivals a lead.

Smith, smart and patient, allowed Zenyatta

to do as she pleased. “It was her style. She was happy and comfortable doing it. As long as she was happy and comfortable, she was going to run big,” he said.

Smith treasures all 26 of his victories. The day Zenyatta’s breathtaking rally allowed her to turn back the boys in the Classic certainly belongs at, or near, the top.

“It was a great day to let the world see just how good she was,” he said, “and she didn’t disappoint.”

Just when it seemed as if Zenyatta might be the distaff runner of a lifetime for Smith, along came Songbird. She announced her superiority with a 5¾-length romp in the Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland.

Smith does not take credit for that dazzling performance. “It was just a matter of me staying on,” he admitted. KM

SKIP DICKSTEIN

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Smith guided Zenyatta to a wildly popular Classic win in 2009.

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Lure gave Smith his first Breeders’ Cup victory in 1992.

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At the Lexington Farmers Market, the Kentucky Proud logo is readily seen and reassuring to customers.

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MORE THAN A LABEL Kentucky Proud has raised the profile of “locally grown” and now encompasses many products and destinations with roots in the Bluegrass State

By Vickie Mitchell Photos by Arden Barnes

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Carla Garey arranges Garey Farms produce at the Lexington Farmers Market. Garey Farms is among Kentucky Proud’s 8,000 members.

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Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles promotes Kentucky Proud products at events around the state.

With more than 8,000 members — an all-time record number — “Kentucky Proud is the state’s most successful marketing program, hands down,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.

Research shows some 80 percent of Kentuckians recognize the symbol.

When people buy Kentucky Proud, “it means they are supporting a Kentucky farmer or agribusiness,” said Quarles.

The program’s free membership comes with many benefits.

Kentucky Proud programs promote everything from Kentucky meat, wine, and hemp to Appalachian producers and military veterans who farm. It touts some 70 community supported agriculture (CSAs), 160 farmers markets, and 500 agritourism sites, where Kentuckians can get in touch with the state’s farm roots by picking a pumpkin, chopping down a Christmas tree, or hosting an event in a tobacco barn.

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COURTSEY OF KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

he Kentucky Proud logo pops up in a lot of places: on that jar of raspberry jam at the farmers market, a package of lamb at the grocery store, or a bar of goat’s milk soap in a gift shop. Local restaurants that buy from local farms print it on their menus. It’s even in the Keeneland race meet program, next to names of Kentucky-born and -bred Thoroughbreds.

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COURTESY OF KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

MORE THAN A LABEL

Kentucky Proud encompasses products ranging from produce and cheese to wine and meat.

Many, but not all, Kentucky Proud members are farmers. Some process agricultural products.

“A farmer might sell ingredients to a canner, who processes and cans the food and sells it as Kentucky Proud,” said Quarles. Another example is the butcher who buys hogs, sheep, and cattle and then processes and resells them.

Members can apply for grants to fund their own promotional efforts; Kentucky Proud food fairs put farmers in touch with new markets. The program also helps members market their products to schools and colleges.

Created nearly 20 years ago and funded by tobacco settlement monies, Kentucky Proud helps diversify the state’s ag economy. “Here we are a couple of decades later and most farmers have diversified their farms in magnificent ways,” said Quarles.

Every agriculture commissioner has expanded it, and Quarles too has made some additions, among them changes spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

One was shifting CSA signups online to limit face-to-face contact. The idea proved popular. “We smashed all records for sig-

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‘‘

FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES WOULD BE ENVIOUS TO HAVE A LOGO THAT IS SO IDENTIFIABLE.” — AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER RYAN QUARLES

nups,” said Quarles. “In fact, this might be what we do from here on out.”

Kentucky Proud Take-Out also was launched to promote carryout options at restaurants that buy Kentucky Proud products, to build sales not only for the restaurants but also for farms that supply them.

No matter where it shows up, Kentucky Proud “has a strong brand identification,” said Quarles. “Fortune 500 companies

would be envious to have a logo that is so identifiable.”

Here are four Kentucky Proud members, whose businesses have benefited from membership. To see how wide-ranging Kentucky Proud membership is, visit www.kentuckyproud.com.

Veteran’s ag career takes off with alpaca Farming wasn’t on Alvina Maynard’s radar when she was growing up in San Diego.

Instead, she flew off at 17 to join the U.S. Air Force, graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, eventually becoming a special investigator.

After active duty, she chose agriculture as her next adventure, with no experience and a “black thumb” to boot.

“Because I don’t have an ag degree or farm experience of any kind, I wanted to do something that was a niche that would allow me to be competitive in agriculture,” she said.

She chose alpacas, and today, she, her husband, and their two children live on 32 hilly acres south of the Kentucky River, 10 minutes off I-75, and five minutes from her

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MORE THAN A LABEL in-laws, where they raise some 40 head of alpacas at River Hill Ranch.

The sure-footed, curious creatures seem content on the secluded hillsides. The scenic spot has also been a good fit for Maynard.

In Kentucky she’s found a supportive community of agriculture experts — universities, local extension offices, the state agriculture department — that have shared advice, guidance, and even some financial support.

Funding for her website came from a Kentucky Proud promotional grant. It helps her market yoga classes and summer camps for kids, as well as alpaca woolens she and others make and sell at a small gift shop. The website and tours she gives also allow her to explain the importance of grasses, which she learned about through courses at the University of Kentucky.

River Hill Ranch is marketed under three Kentucky Proud offshoots: Homegrown by Heroes, Kentucky Farms Are Fun, and Appalachia Proud.

Created in 2013 and now a national program, Homegrown by Heroes, supports military veterans in agriculture pursuits.

Maynard attends its conferences. “They allow us to share our stories and how we can better support each other. There is a farmer veteran community out there, and we didn’t

Through Kentucky Proud, Maynard learned of Homegrown by Heroes, which supports veterans and helps them connect.

know each other,” she said.

Homegrown by Heroes also promotes farming as a vocation. Careers in agriculture appeal to veterans’ desires to serve others and can prove therapeutic, said Maynard. “The program not only supports those of us who are already farming, it has also helped share with other veterans who might be emotionally and mentally lost and show that this is a possibility.” www.riverhillranch.com

Garey Farms grows by trying new things

Alvina Maynard chose alpacas as a niche endeavor when she decided to try agriculture after a military career.

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Farm fields flank the gravel drive to Garey Farms’ greenhouses, commercial kitchen, and hemp processing facility off Paris Pike. Beans grow to the left, hemp plants on the right.

The two crops, one typical, one somewhat experimental, sum up the mind-set at this diversified farm. “My husband would try about anything,” says Carla Garey of her husband, David.

Both of the Gareys were raised on farms, and after they married, bought one of their own.

On 58 acres, they “grow everything, from A-Z,” said Carla. In June, the asparagus was fading, but dried beans, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and watermelon were coming along. They also raise hogs, cattle, and chickens.

Among Kentucky Proud’s earliest member, the Gareys have long benefited from the pro-

Carla and David Garey raise everything from beans to hemp and sell all they grow plus jams, jellies, and condiments at the Lexington Farmers Market.

gram, especially its promotion of the state’s 160 farmers markets. Selling at markets in Louisville and Lexington has been a major source of income. They’ve also been leaders in the Lexington market, and their son, John, now 39, grew up working their booth and was president of the Lexington market

for almost a decade.

Working at the Lexington market, listening to shoppers, Carla is often reminded of the Kentucky Proud logo’s impact. “You’ll hear people say, ‘Let’s go here; this is Kentucky Proud.’ ” The program has also helped the Gareys

sell to restaurants through financial incentives. “Restaurants can get a rebate if they buy from a Kentucky Proud member, so that makes a product like our pork more affordable for them to buy,” said Carla.

Each Monday, farmers market leftovers become canned goods — jams, jellies, sal-

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MORE THAN A LABEL sas, hot sauces, and tomato sauce — and every jar wears the Garey Farms label and the Kentucky Proud label.

Even their newest crop, hemp, is Kentucky Proud. The Gareys grow and process their hemp and hemp grown by other farms. They make about 50 hemp products sold to some 50 retailers.

One Kentucky Proud benefit they haven’t tapped into are promotional marketing grants. As established farmers, they’d rather see those funds used to help others get a strong start.

“We need new farmers — they are the ones who need these programs,” said Carla. “If we applied, I feel like that would be taking advantage of the system.” www.facebook.com/gareyfarms/

A flower CSA brightens days Before Elizabeth Sainte became an urban flower grower, she took two steps.

“After I got a federal tax ID number, I joined Kentucky Proud,” said the owner of Bluegrass Blooms and Botanicals in Winchester.

The business, which Sainte calls her “passion project,” was inspired by her grandmother, who grew flowers, made arrangements, and delivered them to church each week. Sainte never forgot how blooms brightened people’s days.

In 2014, she began a part-time, second career growing and selling organic flowers after 22 years in the office of a Thoroughbred farm.

She is especially enthused about being part of the “buy local” movement, which is what Kentucky Proud is all about.

“I’ve learned about the value of a locally grown flower,” she said. “They last longer, because they aren’t being picked and shipped from South America.” They also have fragrance, she said,

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Elizabeth Sainte began Bluegrass Blooms and Botanicals in 2014 as a “passion project.” She delivers flowers to CSA subscribers who receive weekly, biweekly, or monthly bouquets.

a trait bred out of shipped flowers.

As Sainte pondered how to make flower farming not only fun but also financially viable, she dug into Kentucky’s Proud website to study other flower growers.

“I wanted to meet people and see what they are doing,” she said.

Based on her research, Sainte opted for a CSA (community supported agriculture), where subscribers get weekly, biweekly, or monthly bouquets delivered to their office or home during the growing season. She had 20 subscribers before the pandemic but has about half as many now because of office closures. She also teaches flower arranging and makes floral arrangements for special events.

But the CSA is what she likes best because it allows her to design bouquets

SUPPORTING LOCAL If you’ve ever had a sausage biscuit at McDonald’s or gotten gas at a Kentucky gas station, you’ve bought Kentucky Proud.

A good number of McDonald’s coast to coast use Purnell’s Old Folks Country Sausage, based in Simpsonville; and the ethanol blended into gasoline sold here is a Kentucky farm product, as well.

Biscuits served at Cracker Barrels in the East and some wood products at Lowe’s and Home Depot are also Kentucky Proud.

based on subscribers’ favorite flowers and colors.

The flowers she picks vary with season: sunflowers, zinnias, delphinium, peonies, lilies, tuber roses, lupine, nigella, and her favorite, dahlias, all picked from small plots in a creek bottom behind an office building her husband owns in an industrial park.

Before the pandemic, part of her payoff was seeing the smiles her bouquets brought as she delivered them in Mason jars with Bluegrass Blooms and Kentucky Proud logos affixed. Now, she leaves bouquets on doorsteps and porches and looks forward to next season, when she hopes once again to witness the delight her blossoms bring. www.bluegrassblooms.com

The Breeders’ Cup, the best two days of horse racing, returns to Keeneland this fall.

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MORE THAN A LABEL

Above, Stone Cross Farm’s cheeses are easily identifiable in Kentucky specialty shops.

Left and below, Patrick Kennedy says the business has had to respond to the times by adding such services as home delivery.

Direct marketing is Stone Cross Farms’ forte Patrick Kennedy’s family has farmed for eight generations. His wife Leeta’s family owned a John Deere dealership.

So farming comes naturally to the couple, and unlike many of their peers, so does figuring out how to sell their products. They go straight to the customer, cutting out the middleman in sales, processing, and distribution.

“We talked about ‘how are we going to make this work?’ and we started doing direct marketing,” Patrick said.

For decades the Kennedys have sold at farmers markets in Louisville. Gradually they shifted more to wholesale sales, mainly to popular restaurants that tout local ingredients — among them Ouita Michel’s family of restaurants, and small groceries specializing in organic foods, such as the Good Foods Co-op in Lexington and Rainbow Blossom in Louisville.

Because of COVID-19, wholesale business has taken a hard hit, prompting the Kennedys to add home delivery. They realized the homebound would appreciate

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having a reliable supply of sustainably raised local meat, eggs, and cheese.

On their 130-acre Stone Cross Farm and Cloverdale Creamery near Taylorsville, the Kennedys produce natural, sustainably

raised beef, pork, lamb, and eggs. They also buy from other farmers who raise sustainable beef, pork, and lamb to the Kennedys’ standards.

In 2012 they started the creamery after adding a small dairy herd and deciding that instead of selling the milk, they would make a stable product with a long shelf life that they could sell themselves.

Already, their cheeses have won blue ribbons at the Kentucky State Fair.

Like a lot of other Kentucky producers, the Kennedys have benefited from the networking opportunities Kentucky Proud has created. Their booth at the now-defunct Incredible Food Show that Kentucky Proud ran for seven years was a huge benefit.

“That show really helped move our business up quite a bit,” said Patrick.

Even for farmers like them, who are capable marketers as well as growers, the Kentucky Proud label is important, Patrick Kennedy says.

“The Kentucky Proud label gives you cachet.” www.stonecrossfarm.com KM

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+ PART 3

THE TEXAS-KENTUCKY CONNECTION REMAINS A POWERFUL FORCE IN RACING AND BREEDING

By Edward L. Bowen

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KENTUCKY DOWNS/REED PALMER ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

From left, Clarence Scharbauer and his family raced Alysheba; Corey Johnsen operated Kentucky Downs; Ro Parra put down Kentucky roots at Millennium Farms.

KIRK SCHLEA

Kenny Troutt presides over WinStar Farm.

SKIP DICKSTEIN

Susan Moulton has set up her Kentucky operation at Safari North, formerly Pauls Mill Farm.

Center, Greg Goodman’s Mt. Brilliant Farm succeeds in the sales ring and on the track; above, Terry Green’s Jackpot Farm is a recent arrival to Kentucky.

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DAVID COYLE

WinStar Farm stands a number of prominent stallions, consigns to the major sales, and has raced such luminaries as 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.

T

exas involvement in Kentucky’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry remains robust well into the 21st century. Stalwarts such as WinStar Farm and Mt. Brilliant Farm continue to exert their influence while newcomers to the Bluegrass such as Susan Moulton’s Safari North make significant investments in land and bloodstock.

From Prestonwood to WinStar The Texas socialite and publisher Martana some years ago conceived of a book that would feature various successful Texans, each of whom would ask a friend to write a “tall Texas tale” about him. The deal was that each “tall tale” had to be true.

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Kenny Troutt, left, and Bill Casner, right, hoist the Kentucky Derby trophy after their Super Saver wins the 2010 Run for the Roses.

ling to billion-dollar status in eight years.

The love of horses once demonstrated in Omaha was soon being expressed in Kentucky, with the acquisition of Prestonwood Farm. Prestonwood had flourished for (the late) Preston brothers of Texas — where else?

The Prestons’ highlights included Victory Gallop’s nose denying Real Quiet the Belmont Stakes, and thus the Triple Crown, in 1998.

That Belmont Stakes victory for Art, J. R., and Jack Preston was also a highlight for Elliott Walden, Victory Gallop’s trainer. Walden

SKIP DICKSTEIN

One of the subjects was Kenny Troutt, whose tale was related by Bill Casner, a friend from the days when one trained claiming horses for the other. In his tall Texas tale about his friend, Casner recalled the time Troutt needed to cash a $500 win ticket at Oaklawn Park. In the balance hung Troutt’s fledgling Excel Communications’ ability to meet payroll. That winning bet was a boost along the way of Excel’s setting the record for how fast a company could become a $1 billion enterprise. Ten years after Texas Men was published, Troutt and Casner won the Kentucky Derby as owners of Super Saver.

Troutt is an Illinois native who, like Casner, was racing some horses at the old Ak-Sar-Ben track in Nebraska in the 1970s. Casner trained for him briefly when they were in their 20s.

Troutt later moved to Texas, where his first company rose but then fell. Casner returned to Texas, his own home state, and joined several others in making modest investments to support Troutt’s next venture. This was Excel, the communications giant that went from found-

SKIP DICKSTEIN

+

Jack Preston, third from left, and brother Art, right, celebrate their 1998 Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop. Then-trainer Elliott Walden, second from left, is now WinStar’s president.

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

Young WinStar horses get their early lessons on the farm’s training track.

remains a part of this ongoing “tale” as the president, CEO, and racing manager for Troutt’s WinStar Farm. WinStar is the name given the former Prestonwood operation.

Today the Woodford County farm covers 2,400 acres, of which a 450-acre section is part of an 18th-century property known as Silver Pond.

Casner was a partner in WinStar early on and was thus co-breeder as well as co-owner of Super Saver, who became trainer Todd Pletcher’s first Kentucky Derby winner. Casner later launched his separate racing operation while still having a house on WinStar and remaining a client.

Troutt and Walden operate a multipurpose operation at WinStar. They breed, race, and sell horses and operate a stallion division, all the while concentrating on, as well as recruiting, newcomers into racing.

With partners including China Horse Club, WinStar raced the undefeated 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.

LEE P. THOMAS

DAVID COYLE

Range of contributions

A bronze sculpture atop a gate welcomes visitors to the farm.

ADAM COGLIANESE/NYRA

Super Saver began his stallion career at WinStar.

The theme of this series of articles involves Texans operating Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky. It goes without saying, of course, that there are ways other than farm ownership for anyone to contribute to a state’s industry. A related case in point involves Casner, identified above as a former partner in WinStar Farm and a continuing breeder and owner. When Texan Corey Johnsen

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ANNE M. EBERHARDT

WinStar’s Drosselmeyer wins the 2010 Belmont Stakes. Right, Troutt leads in Justify after his 2018 Preakness victory.

E. MARTIN JESSEE

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The Scharbauer family and jockey Chris McCarron celebrate Alysheba’s 1987 Kentucky Derby victory.

acquired Kentucky Downs as a managing partner, Casner was among the investors who helped establish and advise on the racetrack project.

Johnsen’s co-managing partner was Ray Reid, and Johnsen said Texans accounted for five of the nine investors. Kentucky Downs, which annually presents short, all-turf meetings, rapidly became a leading resource for the Kentucky racing purse structure. Buoyed by handle on historical racing, Kentucky Downs purses rose in 2019 to $11,565,684, more than 15 times the purse total for 2011.

Prior to the 12 years he was co-owner of Kentucky Downs, Johnsen had operated the Magna Group’s Lone Star Park in Texas, site of the 2004 Breeders’ Cup. Johnsen currently operates a company developing racing partnerships and is joined by former Dallas Cowboy football star Mike Renfro.

Another vein of Texans’ support of Kentucky racing is epitomized by the family of Clarence Scharbauer, who in two generations won two Kentucky Derbys. Mrs. Dorothy Scharbauer’s father, Fred Turner, owned 1959 Derby winner Tomy Lee, and the Scharbauers and daughter Pam won the 1987 Derby with Alysheba. A Kentucky-bred purchased at Keeneland for $500,000, Alysheba added the Preakness and the next year was Horse of the Year. Scharbauer elected to establish his Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas, but stood his Hall of Famer in Kentucky.

TONY LEONARD

Brilliant, past and present

After winning the Derby, Kentucky-bred Alysheba captured the Preakness but fell short in the Belmont. He closed his career in 1988 with a triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

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History is so entrenched within Mt. Brilliant Farm that it would be possible for its present to be overshadowed. That possibility has been adroitly sidestepped by the current owner, Texan Greg Goodman, who has developed a flourishing operation of breeding Thoroughbreds both for the racetrack and the sales ring. Goodman and his wife, Becky, acquired the core of their present farm in 1995,

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and restoring formal gardens is just one illustration of their respect for both past and present of their rolling landscape.

Mt. Brilliant’s litany of past distinctions is familiar in volumes of Kentucky history.

Stephen Burnett compiled one account for KyForward: It was part of a land grant issued

by Thomas Jefferson in the 18th century; site of a famous fight that abolitionist Cassius Clay survived thanks to his opponent’s bullet glancing off Clay’s knife; and a stop along the Underground Railroad abetted by Russell Cave’s benefits as a hiding place.

In deciding where to land to raise a family, Goodman was smitten by Kentucky: “To me, there’s no place more beautiful.” He not only preserved but also added land. His purchase of adjoining property included a section of the old Faraway Farm, where Man o’ War reigned as half idol and all horse from the 1920s through his death in 1947. (Man o’ War’s stallion barn is preserved and on occasion has been lent by Goodman for a catered lunch to support charity.)

Mt. Brilliant has bred more than two dozen stakes winners in a short time. They include Creator, winner of the 2016 Belmont Stakes,

ANNE M. EBERHARDT PHOTOS

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Mt. Brilliant yearlings are presented before the September sales.

land. He is also vice chair of the Markey Cancer Foundation.

A safari like no other

The Horse of the Century stood at stud on the Mt. Brilliant property.

and Nehro, second in the 2011 Kentucky Derby. Goodman is a member of Breeders’ Cup Ltd. and a director of Keeneland. He also is drawn to causes for the overall community.

He is a founder and present board member of the Fayette Alliance, which promotes harmony in the development and preservation of

The restored Man o’ War barn today occasionally serves as a venue for charity events.

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High among qualities for which the Thoroughbred is admired is courage. This is defined by a specific nuance of that word, related to giving one’s best in the challenges of being a racehorse.

If it were the way of Nature that racehorses could be aware of the courage of humans around them, the horses of Safari North would quake with intimidation by how high the bar is set. The Safari North owner, Susan Moulton, has suffered the loss of a young child — not one, but both of her children. Her response has been to grab the circumstance of having financial wherewithal and merge the hemorrhaging of soul with an ocean of works

Becky and Greg Goodman have been generous supporters of local causes.

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Susan Moulton’s lifelong love of horses led her to Kentucky, where she established Safari North at the former Pauls Mill Farm.

to benefit others. Along the way, she has permitted herself to whiff some joy by following her childhood dreams of horses.

Moulton was raised in Texas, where her father’s runners at bush tracks were glamorous enough in a little girl’s eyes for her to pretend to be a jockey aboard a cow pony and in an English saddle.

Moulton’s early adulthood presented various inputs that still touch her life. After receiving a business degree from Trinity University in Texas, she operated her own bloodstock agency and also helped with a hunting lodge on her father’s property that attracted visitors from around the world. The latter job acquainted her with visitors from Africa, and she later took her children to that continent.

The death of one son, Will, in an auto accident sent her back to Africa. Remembering the lad’s generous compassion for children he got to know there while he was a 6-year-old led her to create the Will Smith Foundation.

Over some 13 years, the foundation has built educational facilities in Togo and Zambia among its contributions and has kept Moulton returning to Africa many times.

Years later, the death of her other son from a substance overdose prompted creation of Rise Recovery, a Texas-based service counseling families with similar problems.

Moulton inherited some 4,500 acres from her parents. That property’s use as a source of

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oil supported her instincts to help others in various contexts. As far as providing for her own inner self, she turned again to horses.

Two years ago she acquired historic Pauls Mill Farm outside Versailles, Kentucky, and changed the name to Safari North.

She has followed up on other racing connections that she had developed in adulthood. These included the purchase of Solitary Ranger, who subsequently won the Arlington-Washington Futurity for herself and trainer Wayne Catalano.

Solitary Ranger encouraged deeper involvement, including purchase of more yearlings and 2-year-olds. Moulton also sold her Texas ranch and reinvested in the Kentucky farm, while maintaining her Texas residence.

Safari North’s general manager, Debbie Ward, also lost a son to substance problems, and Moulton is inclusive when she makes such comments as “this beautiful farm … is so healing.”

Safari North’s business plan includes investing in quality broodmares, and patterns of early success are evident. Her 4-year-old Manny Wah, a $175,000 yearling purchase, was graded stakes-placed and had earned about double his purchase price by late spring of 2020.

Also, the various worlds of Moulton coalesced when Irish-bred juvenile Amanzi Yimpilo won her debut in June 2020 for trainer Wesley Ward. The filly is owned in a partnership. The name translates to “Water is Life”

SKIP DICKSTEIN

and relates to Will’s Wells, one of the charitable efforts in Africa.

Moulton explained that the Amanzi Yimpilo name comes from the Ndebele language of Zimbabwe. “We are currently drilling water for villages in that country, as well as for animals in Botswana where the delta there is suffering greatly from drought. We’ve saved many hippos there. In Zimbabwe, a chief in the village told me last year, ‘Thank you, thank you. Water is Life.’ And he was so right!”

Of late, Moulton’s personal life also has taken a highly significant turn in a sunny direction. Famed former jockey Shane Sellers has been a mainstay on the staff at Safari North.

They met at a fundraiser for disabled jockeys and later discovered Sellers used to ride some of her horses in the 1980s. “He is a kindred soul,” Moulton said, “who also enjoys giving everything away — including his heart — and fighting for others’ rights and health.”

Jackpot Farm owner Terry Green, fourth from right, accepts the trophy for Basin’s victory in the 2019 Hopeful Stakes.

Sellers and Moulton are engaged to be married in October.

A jackpot emerges One of the Texans who established a Kentucky farm featured in the previous article in this series is Mike Rutherford, master of

Manchester Farm. In addition to their own family’s success, Rutherford’s son influenced another Texas-to-Kentucky chapter.

Mike Jr. became friends with Terry Green.

They enjoyed riding cutting horses and hunting, but since Manchester was a prominent Thoroughbred farm Green also became

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LEE P. THOMAS PHOTOS

and thence by 1993 to the Dell Corporation. As president and general manager of Dell Americas, Parra was heavily involved in the company’s climb in worth from $1 billion to $60 billion. He then moved on as foundacquainted with that part of the horse er of Daylight Partners, which helps industry. He later joined the ranks of middle-sized companies improve Texans with Kentucky Thoroughbred their growth. farms when he established Jackpot It was during the middle 1990s Farm near Lexington. that Texas became a locus for Parra.

The name Jackpot originated with His wife, Cheryl, is a pathologist who Green’s primary profession. Green completed her residency in San Antois co-owner with Rick Carter of the nio. Fortuitously, that new chapter in Island View Casino in Gulfport, Mislife harked back to an earlier one, for sissippi, his hometown. Green and nearby Retama Park held its first race Carter were instrumental in encourmeeting around the time of the Paraging 1990 legislation that changed ras’ move. Parra thus resumed his enMississippi’s requirement that casinos joyment of attending the races, which aboard boats could only operate while led to claiming his first horse. offshore. The new law allowed the caParra later purchased his first horse sinos to operate from docked boats. Ro Parra purchased Millennium Farms in 1999 and has farm and initially supported the Texas After Hurricane Katrina destroyed developed it into a full-service operation. breeding industry. By 1999 Parra had their original business, Copa Casino, moved into the Kentucky environin 2005, Green and Carter purchased the site by his employer. Parra graduated from the ment with the purchase of 320-acre Millenniof another destroyed casino and re-emerged in University of Maryland with a marketing de- um Farms near Lexington. Nevertheless, one gree and launched a career that by contrast of the leading moments for a horse bred by the Island View Casino name.

Green has been a resident of Houston for was indeed a straight line — straight upward. Parra was an historic victory back in Texas. some 30 years and first used the name Jackpot He excelled in a sequence of professional Lone Star Park outside Dallas had acquired for his ranch in Weatherford, Texas, a leading assignments with Radio Shack, then on to a the Breeders’ Cup for 2004. The colt Wilko, producer of cutting horses. His first venture laptop manufacturer named GRiD Systems, whom Parra had bred in Kentucky out of a with Thoroughbreds came in 2008, mare he had claimed for $30,000, won when he and Rutherford campaigned the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. stakes-place High Quail in partnership.

Wilko, a son of Awesome Again, Only three years into the Thoroughhad been purchased from Millennium bred farm venture, Jackpot’s Basin won for $75,000 at the Keeneland Septemthe 2019 Hopeful Stakes, traditionally ber yearling sale by Susan Roy. Major the most important race for 2-year-olds California-based owner J. Paul Redat historic Saratoga. dam purchased a 75 percent interest in Wilko not long before the Breeders’ Embracing Kentucky Cup. Rosendo (Ro) Parra enjoyed going Parra has bred some 50 stakes to the races with his father in his native winners. In another pattern, purEcuador, but the path that led to his chasing a horse from another owning a major Thoroughbred farm in owner with Texas connections, Kentucky followed a route that was anyParra scored with Student Counthing but direct. cil. Owned by William S. Farish of At age 14, Parra found himself in Lane’s End Farm, Student Council Parra’s Student Council won the 2007 Hawthorne Gold Maryland, after his mother had remar- Cup among other victories and now stands at stud had been developing slowly and ried and her husband was transferred at Millennium. had one stakes win at the time Par-

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Above, Parra bred Wilko, winner of the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Right, Bobby Miller serves as vice chairman of Millennium Farms.

LEE P. THOMAS

BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON

going to believe this — I paid $9,000 for this horse and I’m selling her for a half-million! This is better than Dell stock!’ She asked if I really wanted to sell her, and I said, ‘Of course; it’s a no-brainer.’ ” However, “when I got home that evening Megan met me at the door in tears and said, ‘Daddy, you are not going to sell my horse, are you?’” Nonetheless, Parra felt he had made a commitment to sell and told the buyer as much, but when the other party grasped the connection to the daughter, he let Parra off the hook. Parra kept the mare, and, although an injury soon ended her racing days, nine foals from her brought a total of $821,200 at auction.

The most expensive was a $260,000 filly by Millennium Wind.

Parra has found ways to support his adopted communities and business priorities. For example, in 2004 the Parra Family Foundation teamed with University of Kentucky basketball coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith to provide computers and computer training to at-risk middle school students in the Lexington area. The effort was part of the “Tubby’s Klubhouses” program. Within the racing industry, Parra is a member of The Jockey Club and serves on the board of BloodHorse Publications. KM

ra bought him. Then, in his first two races wearing the silks of Millennium Farms, the son of Kingmambo won the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar and the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup. When Student Council added a win in the historic Pimlico Special the following year, the occasion drew Parra to Pimlico in his one-time home state of Maryland. Parra told ESPN Sports that he figured he had attended the Preakness about 15 times in the infield but never before had watched a race at Pimlico from the stands.

Parra developed Millennium Farms into a multi-service operation, including sales prep, boarding, and standing stallions. Student Council became one of the major stakes winners to have been on the farm’s sire roster.

The others include Millennium Wind, a Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner and a half brother to classic winner and Horse of the Year Charismatic.

The name Millennium Wind might indicate he was a homebred, but he actually had been bred and raced by others before landing at the farm with the duplicating name.

The stallion Millennium Wind also was connected to a sequence that illustrates a bit of sentiment can sometimes co-exist with a business approach. In a translated interview in El Caballista, Parra recalled buying a French Deputy filly at Keeneland for $9,000 in 1998. He named her My Meggie Meg, honoring a daughter, Megan: “It turned out (the filly) had some OCDs (lesions) and we had to do surgery on her and turn her out.

Well, she won her first race going away, and we took her to Sam Houston and won a stakes race. She ran a 103 Beyer.”

An offer to purchase her for $500,000 was forthcoming, and Parra recalled he “was so excited, I called my wife, Cheryl, and said, ‘You are not

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For the

GOOD of the HORSE Veterinary pioneer Edward Hagyard Fallon made invaluable contributions to his field and community

By Glenye Cain Oakford

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WHEN HAGYARD EQUINE MEDICAL INSTITUTE’S renowned veterinary pioneer Dr. Edward Hagyard Fallon died on Oct. 12, 2018, in Lexington, he left a legacy that reaches far beyond the Bluegrass and touches both horses and people.

Fallon’s family is deeply rooted in the Hagyard veterinary practice as

well as in Keeneland’s history. Fallon, a descendant of Dr. Edward T. Hagyard, who founded the famed Lexington veterinary hospital in 1876, was the fourth generation of his family to join the practice. His father, Harold, managed Beaumont Farm in Lexington for Keeneland co-founder Hal Price Headley and helped install the racetrack at Keeneland for its 1936 grand opening. In a career that spanned a half-century and made him a legend among equine veterinarians, Fallon both reflected and helped drive vital innovations and knowledge that Hagyard has brought to the equine world, as well as the institute’s many contributions to charity, community, the equine industry, and veterinary research.

Fallon represented a pioneering institution whose 145-year tradition of innovation helped the Thoroughbred breeding industry grow and flourish, ever since Dr. Edward T. Hagyard first opened the firm’s doors on East

COURTESY OF FALLON FAMILY

Dr. Edward Hagyard Fallon

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COURTESY OF HAGYARD EQUINE MEDICAL INSTITUTE

Short Street. Since then, the practice — Lexington’s second-oldest continuously run business — has grown into the civic fabric of the town and helped give American breeders a scientific edge in breeding and raising Thoroughbreds.

Today, the practice both supports research through the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and conducts research itself; offers clients an on-site laboratory and access to state-of-the-art technology such as the Siemens Espree MRI system, one of only three animal-dedicated MRI systems for horses in the U.S.; and operates a 115-stall, 100-acre hospital, field services, an equine rescue service, and a pharmacy. Hagyard serves clients ranging from individual pleasure-horse owners to global Thoroughbred operations to Olympic equestrians. It has more than 60 veterinarians and more than 200 support staff — a far cry from the 10 veterinarians who constituted the practice when young Dr. Ed Fallon, a newly minted DVM from Cornell University, arrived to join his uncle, Dr. Charlie Hagyard, in 1956.

Research gives Kentucky industry the edge

Generations of Fallons and Hagyards have practiced at the renowned Lexington firm.

Over the next five decades Fallon and his Hagyard colleagues worked with researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Veterinary Science and the Gluck Equine Research Center to develop and test new drugs, techniques, and innovations that helped increase equine fertility and improve horse health. On the back of these achievements, the Bluegrass Thoroughbred business became a lucrative global industry, drawing huge

investment and more veterinary talent.

“At that time, there was very little horse research being done anywhere except here,” said Dr. Walter Zent, who worked with Fallon at Hagyard for more than 50 years. “This was the only place where a scientist could walk out of his laboratory and in 10 minutes be in the middle of 2,000 mares.

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“[Hagyard] facilitated that research because we were willing to participate and so were our clients. And we were willing to do it gratis so that the scientists didn’t have to worry about raising enough money to pay us to go vaccinate these horses.”

Hagyard and Fallon often were on the leading edge of veterinary innovation — all to the benefit of Kentucky’s breeders,

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YARD EQUINE MED

ICAL INSTITUTE

Left, Harold Fallon managed Beaumont Farm for Keeneland co-founder Hal Price Headley, above, and served as the track’s first secretary/treasurer.

Below, the Hagyard veterinary firm first opened on Short Street in downtown Lexington.

COURTESY OF HAG

owners, and horses.

“Before his time at Hagyard, it had always been thought that, due to the horse’s anatomy, you’d put a mare at perilous risk by doing manual palpation of the ovaries,” recalled Fallon’s son, Dr. Luke Fallon, the fifth generation of his family to join Hagyard. “In the early days of his practice, he not only started palpating mares for pregnancy but then started to explore the possibility of palpating ovaries. Remember, this is in 1956, and ultrasounds wouldn’t come along until the late 1970s.”

Fallon and Hagyard partner Dr. William McGee established ovarian palpation as a safe and important tool for synchronizing the breeding and management of broodmares. Ovarian palpation is standard today, and Fallon gradually became known for his masterful ability to divine a mare’s pregnancy status early through palpation. But he and McGee weren’t the only ones who helped further the technique. Fallon’s wife, Priscilla, an artist, created clay mock-ups of equine ovaries in various states — an anestrous one, for example, or one with a 35-millimeter follicle or even a cluster of follicles.

“That was part of the arts and crafts in the Fallon household!” Luke quipped.

Collaborating with Dr. Robert Loy at UK and aided by willing clients, Fallon and his colleagues experimented with specific techniques for using artificial light to promote earlier estrus in mares. At his Gainesway Farm, John Gaines tried lights that seemed as bright as limelight; just a few miles away, at Plum Lane, where Paul Mellon kept his mares, manager Henry White placed a single 100-watt bulb between every two stalls.

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GOOD of the HORSE

For the

Luke Fallon, with his father, Edward Hagyard Fallon, is the fifth generation of his family to practice at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

known as “shaker foal” syndrome, and “abortion storms” caused by equine herpesvirus were serious and regular threats to horses. Dewormers and vaccinations for such problems had yet to tackle them effectively. Fallon and other veterinarians at the practice worked with prominent UK researchers such as Dr. John T. Bryans and

Dr. Charles Hagyard, above (second from left) and right, served on Keeneland’s first board.

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Dr. Gene Lyons to develop, test, or perfect vaccines for equine herpesvirus, equine viral arteritis, and equine influenza. Hagyard also was instrumental in the development of vaccines against Salmonella, Clostridium, rotavirus, and strangles. They also improved equine dewormer products and practices, and they established prevention

KEENELAND LIBRARY THOROUGHBRED TIMES COLLECTION

“The influence of Dr. Fallon was crucial,” Zent recalled. “I think you’ve also got to appreciate the confidence the farm managers had in Ed because nobody had done this before. We didn’t know whether this might turn all the mares off, put them all into anestrus. We thought we knew, but it had never been done. It worked.”

The use of lights, now common in Kentucky’s breeding industry, allowed breeders to start the mating season a month earlier, in mid-February.

These and other innovations contributed to sharp increases both in stallions’ book sizes and in live-foal production, key factors in the growth of the Thoroughbred breeding business.

When Fallon began practicing, breeding farms faced a number of intractable problems. Parasites, equine influenza, equine viral arteritis, a form of botulism

KEENELAND LIBRARY THOROUGHBRED TIMES COLLECTION

GOOD of the HORSE

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For the Left, Dr. Willian McGee and Fallon developed standards in broodmare breeding and management. Below, Fallon pioneered the use of nighttime lights to improve mare reproductivity.

and/or treatment protocols for a number of diseases, including contagious equine metritis. Hagyard also refined the protocol and field-tested the vaccine still used today for the prevention of “shaker foal” syndrome. The practice aided advances against outbreaks of virus abortion, leading in the testing of a vaccine against it that continues to be used today.

Dr. John Chandler, president of Juddmonte Farms USA, saw Fallon’s contributions both as a fellow veterinarian and as a Hagyard client. Chandler worked with Fallon at Hagyard during its most fertile collaborations with UK and was also busy building Mill Ridge Farm with his wife, Alice. “Being as open to advancement and change as he was, he was always progressive,” Chandler said. “He was always willing to try something new or different.”

For breeders, the effect of these advances was dramatic. Hagyard field veterinarians’ work often meant the difference between saving or losing a mare, foal, or pregnancy — and all of the potential income they could have realized.

The tendency to go the extra mile out of scientific and professional curiosity was a Hagyard hallmark, as Zent discovered when he began accompanying Fallon on morning rounds at farms.

“He did things not because that was the easiest way to do it, not because it was the most expensive way or the way you’d make

Among Fallon’s many other affiliations, he also was a member of the Thoroughbred Club of America, where his grandfather Dr. Edward W. Hagyard and uncle Dr. Charlie Hagyard had been founding members; the TCA recognized Fallon as one of its Honor Guests in 2015. The American Association of Equine Practitioners also named him on its Wall of Honor. But Fallon’s interest wasn’t only in the horses and the science. It was also in the people.

“One thing he instilled in all of us is to know not only the people you work for — the owners and the managers — but also the people who are there working day to day with the horses,” his son Luke said.

“Mentorship was very important to him and so was taking care of people as they came here to work with horses.”

Fallon’s impulse for mentorship, care, and community is, like his family history, reflected in Hagyard’s institutional DNA, and that legacy continues. The practice is ensuring horse breeders and owners continue to have access to state-of-the-art veterinary knowledge and expertise for future generations, thanks to its worldclass internship and externship programs.

Through the Kentucky Equine Management Internship program and Godolphin Flying Start, Hagyard veterinarians also work closely with non-veterinary students interested in equine business careers.

Fallon’s influence on generations of equine veterinarians naturally extended

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COURTESY OF DR. WILLIAM MCGEE

GOOD of the HORSE

the most money, but because that was the right way to do it,” Zent explained.

Caring for more than horses Fallon also embodied — and deepened — Hagyard’s involvement in the Thoroughbred community, not just as veterinarians but also as citizens. Fitting for a man who remembered riding on one of the tractors that laid down Keeneland’s first racing surface back in the 1930s, Fallon was a longtime member of the Keeneland Club; Hagyard’s strong relationship with that venerable Thoroughbred institution goes back just as far, and the practice has sponsored the track’s grade 2 Fayette Stakes, a $200,000 race, since 2013.

WE’RE GOING THE DISTANCE

We’ve all experienced races like this. Where every obstacle is against you.

Tough post position. Inclimate weather. A bad break from the gate. But your horse manages to push through it all. To go the distance and come

FOR YOU

out on top.

That’s what 2020 has been like for all of us. One obstacle after another.

But through it all, Hagyard has been there for you. With unparalleled expertise. With intense passion in how we care for your horses. And with an uncompromising commitment to doing it in the most ethical way possible.

No matter what the rest of 2020 brings, we promise to go the distance for you. Because that’s how we’ll ensure we both finish strong.

H A G Y A R D . C O M

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

ENDURING PARTNERSHIP agyard has sponsored Keeneland’s Ed tagged along. $200,000 Fayette Stakes (G2) since In 1943, when Kentucky breeders formed 2013, enhancing a long relationship the co-op Breeders’ Sales Company — between these two iconic Lexthe forerunner to Keeneland’s ington institutions. Dr. Charles auctions and the first to conduct E. “Charlie” Hagyard served on a dedicated yearling sale at Keeneland’s first board and latKeeneland — Dr. Charlie Hager became a vice president, and yard, a successful Thoroughbred Harold Fallon — Dr. Ed Fallon’s breeder himself, was on its father — was one of six original founding board and was named shareholders in the company its president. named Keeneland Race Course Hagyard and Harold Fallon, formed in 1940 to lease the who also were brothers-in-law, Dr. Charles E. Hagyard Keeneland property to run two were uniquely placed to be race meetings each year. Harold present at Keeneland’s creation.

Fallon also participated in the new track’s Hagyard was Keeneland co-founder Hal development and kept the books while son Price Headley’s veterinarian at Headley’s

Beaumont Farm, where Harold Fallon was farm manager. After Lexington’s dilapidated downtown Kentucky Association track closed in 1933, Headley led a group determined to open a new “model race track,” whose mission would be “to perpetuate and improve the sport and to provide a course that is intended to serve as a symbol of the fine traditions of Thoroughbred racing.”

“Keeneland and Hagyard have stayed true to that original mission with continued support for the health and welfare of our equine athletes and also of the folks who take care of them,” Luke Fallon said.

“Keeneland has supported backstretch programs to provide health care and other support for the people who work with the

to his own heirs. On his last farm call in late July 2018, Fallon accompanied his son Luke and watched as grandson Liam learned one of the foundational skills of equine veterinary medicine: how to pull blood from yearlings.

“We had a wonderful afternoon,” Luke Fallon said.

“We talked about Fallon worked with prominent conformation and UK researchers old pedigrees and such as Dr. John all things horses. It T. Bryans. was very meaningful because we were at Springhouse Farm, owned by Aisling and Gabriel Duignan.

Gabriel was a young Irish horseman when he arrived in the United States in the ’80s to work with my dad, and [Circle O Farm owner] Bill O’Neill, who also taught so many horsemen. My father mentored both Gabriel and me, as he did with so many others in the horse business.”

to new generations of practitioners, and the practice to which he contributed so much will continue to benefit horses and people for many decades to come. KM

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Priscilla and Edward Fallon were married for 60 years and raised four children.

Fallon died that October, two days after his 87th birthday and his 60th wedding anniversary. But the advances he helped veterinary science achieve, the wisdom he passed along

KEENELAND PHOTO

horses, as well as supporting advancements in science, technology, and research through the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation and post-racing care through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Hagyard is a longtime supporter of the Markey Cancer Center, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Fayette Alliance, Horse Country, and the Bluegrass Land Conservancy. Keeneland and Hagyard continue this shared mission of giving back to the community as a whole and promoting the sport, the betterment of our equine athletes, and the well-being of those who care for them.â&#x20AC;?

Keeneland recently named Dr. Stuart Brown, a longtime Hagyard principal, to the position of equine safety director.

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute sponsors the Fayette Stakes at Keeneland.

WINNING STARTS HERE

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making a difference NOURISH LEXINGTON

PROVIDING NOURISHMENT LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS COMBINE RESOURCES TO FEED THOSE IN NEED

By Rena Baer | Photos by Mark Mahan

ary Quinn Ramer’s grandmother used to tell her, “Your true character comes out when the chips are down.”

The VisitLEX president has thought a lot about those words since early March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and necessary stay-at-home orders delivered a huge blow to the economy, particularly to restaurant, hotel, entertainment, and tourism-related businesses.

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“In the hospitality industry, we’ve been dealt a really tough hand,” said Ramer. “The unemployment and furloughing have been massive, even worse than the Great Depression. And it’s going to be a long, slow recovery for our industry.”

As head of Lexington’s official tourism office, Ramer wanted to do something to help and began having conversations with a small group of friends who had been weighted down by the same concerns. The result is Nourish Lexington, an initiative begun in early April that puts displaced hospitality industry employees back to work preparing healthy, scratch-made, free meals for those who need immediate access to food.

Since April Nourish Lexington has partnered with

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Greg Spaulding shells peas at the FoodChain’s processing kitchen. Nourish Lexington uses FoodChain’s kitchen and other commercial kitchens to prepare healthy meals for those in need.

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community action centers, senior centers, and other community groups to distribute food at more than 15 sites around Lexington. Nourish Lexington continues to adjust distribution, with one central location at FoodChain on West Sixth Street.

Meals are distributed there Monday through Friday beginning at 5:30 p.m.

By the end of July, the organization had served 100,000 meals, spent $308,000 with 16 local food businesses, and established 22 community partnerships to help get meals to youths, families, and seniors in need. “The need is astounding,” said Rebecca Self, founder and executive director of FoodChain, which has been a key player in the effort.

The framework for Nourish Lexington comes from FoodChain, which Self started in 2011. She describes it as “connecting the community with fresh food, doing education around it, teaching our neighbors to prepare it, finding jobs connected to it, and providing it to kids after school.”

But when the pandemic hit and schools closed, “we had to pivot to meet an avalanche of need,” she said. “The best path — since we have a food kitchen of our own and expertise preparing food — was to start getting meals out to our partner agencies or through our Nourish neighborhoods.”

Lexington Self said they quickly offers meals reached their maximum, and to Keeneland backstretch it still wasn’t enough to meet workers. the needs until she spoke with Ramer, and they joined forces with Keeneland, the Jenna and Matthew Mitchell Family Foundation, the E. E. Murry Family Foundation, and the Lavin Family Foundation to create Nourish Lexington.

“This pandemic is affecting so many people, but we have been overwhelmed at the generosity of those who are donating, volunteering, or offering in-kind services,” she said.

In addition to the FoodChain kitchen, the effort has grown to include 15 other local restaurants,

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Worried about displaced hospitality industry workers, VisitLEX’s Mary Quinn Ramer helped organize the effort that resulted in Nourish Lexington.

‘‘

…THE MAIN THRUST IS NOT ONLY FEEDING PEOPLE BUT ALSO HELPING TO SUPPORT THE FOOD INDUSTRY…” — REBECCA SELF, FOUNDER OF FOODCHAIN

making a difference NOURISH LEXINGTON

Michael Halligan, CEO of God’s Pantry Food Bank, says the organization has seen a 33 percent increase in food assistance requests.

caterers, and food businesses making meals, some Monday through Friday, some a single-meal shift, said Self.

“We try to have multiple ways to partner with local businesses, but the main thrust is not only feeding people but also helping to support the food industry in a way that honors their expertise,” she said. “Not only can we pay shift workers who are helping prepare meals at FoodChain but also off site at these businesses. It’s not high-end catering prices because we have to stretch our funds as far they can go, but it’s not trying to ask favors.

We are trying to make it worth their time and hopefully help them keep staff on or bring staff back.”

The initiative kicked off with a generous donation that seeded the Nourish Lexington Fund, she said, and since then funding has been a collaborative effort.

“BGCF [Blue Grass Community Foundation] was kind enough to hold that fund under its umbrella, but there have been numerous other donors, including corporate and individual gifts,” said Self. “It’s a very wide smattering of local residents, private foundations, and corporate funds.

“Keeneland has been intimately involved

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RESOURCES For more information about Nourish Lexington, God’s Pantry, and Feeding Kentucky or to donate: NOURISH LEXINGTON https://www.nourishlexington.org/ (859) 428-8380 GOD’S PANTRY FOOD BANK https://godspantry.org/ (859) 255-6592 FEEDING KENTUCKY https://feedingky.org/ (502) 699-2656

in every facet, from personnel helping with media and marketing to Chef Marc Therrien, whose kitchen was one of the first we were able to contract with to prepare meals and help distribute them in a number of ways.

They also donated part of their sales from the Keeneland Gift Shop and Keeneland Mercantile in April.”

Therrien, who is Keeneland’s executive chef and managing director of hospitality, lauded the efforts of the culinary and event teams.

“We transformed our kitchen operation to serve those who needed it most and our event team used their operations brains to facilitate distribution,” Therrien said.

Christa Marrillia, Keeneland’s vice president and chief marketing officer, said, “The effort has engaged the entire team, from our amazing culinary staff, special events team, marketing, operations, security, and beyond.

It’s been heartwarming and inspiring to see the Keeneland family support the Nourish mission.

“When the pandemic began, we were all coming to grips with our new reality. Giving back and helping our community quickly aligned our teams and gave us a new sense of purpose,” she said.

Nourish Lexington led to Keeneland’s creating a similar program for its backstretch workers at the track, The Thoroughbred Center, and Blue Grass Farms Charities, providing prepared lunches every Wednesday through June to help ease the burden the pandemic has placed on many families. This is in addition to the 1,664 bags of groceries, provided by God’s Pantry Food Bank, partnering with Bluegrass Farms Charities, that are dis-

making a difference NOURISH LEXINGTON

Statewide, the number of people being served by food banks has increased 40 percent, said Tamara Sandberg, CEO of Feeding Kentucky, a non-profit that helps food banks connect with suppliers. “Of those numbers, 30 percent have never needed help from a food bank before,” she added.

“Food donations were impacted by stress on the supply chain as people panic shopped and retailers had less product to donate, so food banks have worked really hard to try and supplement the decrease in food donations,”

get it to the food banks, rather than plowing it under in the field. “This is a great example of a public-private partnership that is helping farmers who don’t have a market for their produce and helping people who need access to nourishing food,” said Sandberg. “Even before the pandemic struck, there were already too many Kentuckians who didn’t have enough access to enough food.

“With the pandemic, the need has skyrocketed as children are missing meals at school; seniors are missing meals at senior centers;

KEENELAND PHOTOS

tributed directly to backstretch workers’ families identified by the chaplaincy program as in need of additional assistance.

Though the hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19, Central Kentucky has felt the repercussions in all sectors. God’s Pantry Food Bank, which serves central and eastern Kentucky, has seen a 33 percent increase in food assistance requests, said CEO Michael Halligan, who also works closely with FoodChain and Nourish Lexington to help with food needs and make sure

Keeneland Director of Dining Brian Hegnauer, left, and Keeneland Executive Chef Marc Therrien, blue cap, do their part for Nourish Lexington and Nourish the Backstretch, which provides meals for track workers.

services aren’t duplicated.

“Folks are looking for ways to get their needs met,” he said. “Most people are one unfortunate event away from being food insecure. And as we’ve seen recently, hunger is not just a low-income issue.”

Thankfully, said Halligan, donors have been very generous financially and with food donations. The U.S. government also has stepped in with additional money through a USDA commodities program, and the CARES Act Farms-to-Families Food Box Program has provided economic support to farmers and food service distributors to gather those commodities, box them, and distribute them for hunger relief, he said. “We’ve been able to meet the needs with food and funding so far, but we don’t know what tomorrow will hold,” said Halligan. “We’ll continue to be here and try and anticipate, as we’ve done for 65 years.”

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said Sandberg. “Many of them are using financial donations to buy food, which they distribute to people who need help.”

The state’s farming community has also stepped up.

“Kentucky has an incredible agriculture community,” she continued, “so we were also able to — thanks to a gift from the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation through the Department of Agriculture — connect farmers who have product they can’t sell with food banks that need it, so we were able to distribute thousands of pounds of ground beef, pork, sausage, and cheese — all of which was produced in Kentucky — through the food bank network in the last few weeks.”

Before the pandemic, the Kentucky General Assembly had funded $500,000 for a summer Farms-to-Food Banks program to help farmers who have excess produce box it and

and, of course, the many, many Kentuckians who have lost wages and jobs as a result of businesses shutting down during the pandemic,” she said.

Kentuckians, meanwhile, are showing their true character and stepping in to help with efforts like Nourish Lexington, said Ramer, who also expressed much appreciation for generous donors and organizations like God’s Pantry and FoodChain. “There’s tremendous work going on in these non-profits day in and day out,” she said.

And the folks picking up meals and food appreciate it.

“People are only taking what they need and trying to do something in return like bringing us masks, making a small donation, paying what they can,” said Self.

“There’s just a lot of sentiment that we are all in this together.” KM

The Mule Team (from left): Brutus Clay, CEO, Runnymede Farm; Dr. Luke Fallon, Member, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute; Anne Hardy, Executive Director, Horse Country; Headley Bell, Managing Partner, Mill Ridge Farm; Price Bell, General Manager, Mill Ridge Farm

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Keeneland Team Profile

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G.D. Hieronymus, left, leads an 11-member team that helps broadcast Keeneland to the world.

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eeneland’s Broadcast Services Team is recognized globally for its expertise, groundbreaking techniques, and award-winning video production.

The 11-member staff (which grows to 20 for sales and 30 for race meets) manages a spectrum of videography, production, animation, editing, and engineering duties for every business line at Keeneland and is involved with a variety of high-profile projects for the entire Thoroughbred industry.

Their responsibilities during race meets and sales run the gamut from video simulcast and streaming production to creating social media content and maintaining some 1,200 TV monitors throughout the Keeneland campus.

Keeneland was the first racetrack in North America to feature HD capability.

The track’s 17-camera broadcast operation has been honored seven times with the Thoroughbred Racing Associations’ International Simulcast Award as North America’s best simulcast production. Among the

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team’s other work familiar to race fans are “Today at Keeneland,” the race-day preview show, and presentation of racing on the Daktronics infield display.

Additionally, broadcast services supports Keeneland’s four annual Thoroughbred auctions and creates video content to promote sales graduates around the world.

They have collaborated with TVG on “Rising Stock,” a one-hour preview of the September yearling sale. Recently, they facilitated a video interface for Keeneland’s new digital sales platform.

The team’s talents also are called on to benefit the broader Thoroughbred industry through coordinating production of such programs as the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame induction and NTRA Eclipse Awards ceremonies; KTA-KTOB Kentucky Derby Trainers’ Dinner; The Jockey Club and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland; and the Thoroughbred Club of America’s Honored Guest Dinner.

Every major broadcast network has fea-

tured their work, notably NBC Sports telecasts of the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, and racing coverage via partnerships with TVG and Sky Sports Racing.

“Our team takes pride in being innovative in our work with Keeneland’s internal departments as well as our outside industry partners,” Eclipse Award-winning Director of Broadcast Services G.D. Hieronymus said. “Things we’ve pioneered in our simulcast production have set the standard for racetracks throughout North America. It’s one example of the type of leadership people expect from Keeneland.”

Following Keeneland’s mission to uphold the traditions of the sport, broadcast services has been instrumental in protecting racing’s rich history. Through Keeneland’s multifaceted “Racing through Time” project, they are preserving NYRA, National Museum of Racing, and NTRA film archives, which span more than 100 years.

Along with the Keeneland Library, they also have captured treasured oral histories from notable racing personalities as part of the Life’s Work campaign. KM