Jim and Dana Bernhard began buying Thoroughbreds in the summer of 2021, and have already found success, as the first yearling they purchased, Geaux Rocket Ride, won the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational this summer. The Bernhards found a home base for their operations last year, purchasing the Pin Oak Stud of the late Josephine Abercrombie in Versailles, Ky. They’ve wasted no time in continuing to build their operation, ranking among the Keeneland September yearling sale’s leading buyers, and also recently adding a parcel of land to Pin Oak’s acreage. Through Book 4 of the September sale, the Bernhards have purchased 19 yearlings for a combined $8,835,000. Their top lot has been a $1 million Uncle Mo colt out of Book 2. :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. “Beautiful colt with really nice physical,” Pin Oak adviser Matt Weinmann said. “We saw him for the first time a few days [pre-sale], and saw him a few times, and had the team look at him. Jim and Dana thought he is a lovely colt. There is a lot of Uncle Mo about him. He looks a lot like his sire. If he is anything like him, we will be pretty happy.” Weinmann is the CEO of the bloodstock operation Equine Analysis Systems, which uses digital photos and computer software to measure the bone length and angles of young horses, to evaluate cardiac activity, and to isolate genetic markers related to performance. The Bernhards have leaned in to this approach. Their other buys at Keeneland, with Weinmann signing, include a $950,000 Omaha Beach colt and a $925,000 Twirling Candy colt. Earlier this month, the Bernhards announced that they had purchased a 465-acre annex farm from Adena Springs, bringing the total size of historic Pin Oak to just over 1,250 acres. “Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs and Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Stud are two legendary farms,” the couple said in a joint statement. “Both were champion breeders focused on raising the best racehorse possible, and that’s what we aim to do as well.” The Bernhards plan to integrate the two adjacent properties into one cohesive farm, housing their mares, foals, and weanlings in one area, and their growing group of yearlings and horses in training in another. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.