2011 Eclipse Awards: Ken and Sarah Ramsey

After their homebred Kitten’s Joy won the 2004 Eclipse as champion turf male, Ken and Sarah Ramsey gambled he would make a good sire. Their decision to breed many of their mares to him has paid off, and in 2011 they enjoyed their biggest successes with homebreds by the stallion Ken Ramsey has called “the family stallion.”

Foremost among those runners was Stephanie’s Kitten, who won the Alcibiades en route to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Another, Holiday for Kitten, won the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes over eventual Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Musical Romance. Stephanie’s Kitten and Holiday for Kitten also helped the Ramseys secure leading breeder honors in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. Other Kitten’s Joy stakes winners carrying the Ramseys’ red and white silks in 2011 included Grade 1-placed Dean’s Kitten, Grade 3 winner Derby Kitten, and Queen’splatekitten. Another, Coalport, was graded-placed in 2011. The Ramseys also won stakes with horses they bought, notably graded winner Headache and stakes winner Pleasant Prince.

The stable led North American owners by stakes wins with 12 and ranked second by North American earnings with more than $4.7 million.

The Ramseys bought historic Almahurst Farm in 1994, renaming it Ramsey Farm. From that base near Nicholasville, Ky., they have become a force and have campaigned champions on both the flat and over fences, including 2005 Dubai World Cup winner Roses in May. They won the Eclipse Award as owners in 2004, when Kitten’s Joy was voted champion, and also took home an Eclipse Award in 2010 for their steeplechaser Slip Away.