Golden Eagle has major downsizing in works

Golden Eagle Farm, a leading owner and breeder in California in recent decades, will drastically reduce its bloodstock holdings in the next year and is arranging to sell its flagship farm in Ramona, Calif., according to a statement released on Tuesday.

The farm is owned by Betty Mabee and her son, Larry. In a statement, the Mabees said they will sell horses at auctions in California and Kentucky in coming months and will eventually move approximately eight to 10 broodmares and a few yearlings to a small farm in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in early 2009 after the Ramona farm is sold.

Golden Eagle currently has 282 horses and plans to narrow the herd to about 25 horses in mid-2008, the statement said.

Last week, Golden Eagle Farm announced that the stallions High Demand and Souvenir Copy had been sold. They stood at Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona earlier this year. The farm still owns the 18-year-old stallion Salt Lake.

Betty Mabee and her late husband, John, have been prominent in California racing through such popular horses as Best Pal, Dramatic Gold, Excellent Meeting, General Challenge, and General Meeting. Golden Eagle Farm was honored with Eclipse Awards as the nation's outstanding breeders in 1991, 1997, and 1998.

John Mabee died in 2002. In recent years, the family has downsized its racing operation.