Kentucky Thoroughbred industry raising tornado relief funds; Justify season being auctioned

A season to Triple Crown winner Justify, standing at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky, is being auctioned this week to benefit relief efforts for those affected by tornadoes that devastated Western Kentucky on Dec. 11, one of several major donations made by high-profile Thoroughbred breeding establishments this week.

A line of storms unleased tornadoes late Friday and early Saturday across parts of the central and southern United States, with officials fearing the death toll could exceed 100 across eight states.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that at least 74 are known dead in Kentucky, with more than 100 people still missing in the southwestern quarter of the state, with the hardest-hit towns including Mayfield, Bowling Green, and Dawson Springs. A major federal disaster has been declared, and President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the area on Wednesday.

Justify's 81 first-crop yearlings sold at public auction worldwide in 2021 have averaged $370,329. The son of Scat Daddy's advertised fee for the 2022 season is $100,000. E-mail bidding for the live foal guaranteed season is open through Friday evening.

Ashford provided an update on the bidding on its Twitter account Wednesday morning, with the high bid sitting at $95,000 as of about 9:30 a.m. Eastern.

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Proceeds from the Justify season will go to the relief fund established by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association.

The GoFundMe page for that effort had raised $263,147 as of noon on Wednesday. Spendthrift Farm had contributed $100,000 to that total, and The Jockey Club, through its commercial subsidiaries, donated $50,000. Major donations were also made by outfits including Godolphin, Juddmonte, Stonestreet, Lane's End, Stone Farm, Claiborne Farm, and Hermitage Farm.

In addition to the KTA's fundraising efforts, the American Red Cross has established a relief fund for tornado victims. The University of Kentucky's athletics department and the LEX18 local news department hosted the "Kentucky United" telethon for that fund on Dec. 14, raising more than $3 million.

Keeneland promoted the telethon through its social media channels and announced that it had donated $25,000. In addition to its donation to the KTA fund, Stonestreet donated $100,000 to the Red Cross fund.

Prominent owner and breeder Jim McIngvale, known for his humanitarian efforts particularly in his city of Houston, arranged for a tractor trailer to haul donated goods from the Thoroughbred training center in Lexington to Mayfield for affected families.