Prominent bloodstock agent Chace dies
Prominent bloodstock agent Baden P. “Buzz” Chace died on Sunday following a battle with cancer at age 72.
Chace, a lifelong horseman and a figure in the auction business for several decades, was involved in the acquisition of many horses that went on to succeed on the racetrack and at stud, including the recently deceased Grade 1 winner and prominent commercial stallion Unbridled’s Song. His other notable finds include Belmont Stakes winner Sarava, Grade 1 winners Awesome Gem, Dream Rush, Flashy Bull, Irish Smoke, Lear's Princess, and Macho Again, and graded stakes winners Freedom Child, Half Ours, Master Command, Meadow Right, and Value Plus.
During his 40-year-plus career, Chace either represented or advised a list of clients that include some of Thoroughbred racing and breeding’s biggest names, including Terry Finley’s West Point Thoroughbreds, B. Wayne Hughes of Spendthrift Farm, Richard Santulli, Lewis Lakin, Charles Hess, Leonard Pivnick, Roger King, and Aaron and Marie Jones.
Chace advised Ernie Paragallo's Paraneck Stables on the purchase of the colt for $200,000 out of the 1994 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. The colt, from the first crop of Unbridled, later sold for what was at the time a record $1.4 million at the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training, with Taylor Made Sales as agent, but was purchased back when the buyer refused the sale and went on to win the 1995 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the 1996 Florida Derby and Wood Memorial for Paragallo.
“[When] I first saw him, I just fell in love with him,” Chace remarked to Daily Racing Form about Unbridled’s Song. “There were knocks on the horse: He was close behind, his airway wasn’t big enough, but we ended up with a good horse. I just loved the way he walked. He had that beautiful, long walk, with his neck swinging back and forth, and long neck. I loved his conformation and the way he handled himself, and I liked the sire line.”
Unbridled's Song stood at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., from 1997 until his death last month, producing champion Midshipman and Breeders’ Cup winners Unrivaled Belle and Unbridled Elaine, among numerous other top-class horses.
Chace is survived by his wife of 50 years Mary Lou, sons Baden II and Mark, his brother Gary, sister Edie, and three grandchildren.
A celebration of Chace's life will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Aug. 23, at Beacon Hill Country Club, 107 Portland Road, Middletown, N.J. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National HBPA Foundation, 870 Corporate Drive, Suite 300, Lexington, Ky., 40503-5149 or to a charity of one's choice.