Top owner Rick Porter dies at 80

Rick Porter, who campaigned three Eclipse Award-winning horses, including 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, has died, according to Fox Hill Farm, his racing operation. Porter, who was diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago, was 80.

Porter, who founded the Porter Auto Group, which owned a string of successful car dealerships, was a visible presence at racetracks around the country, but he had a particular fondness for Delaware Park, where he was introduced to the sport by his father as a child. Many of his leading horses made starts at the track, even when they could make more money in richer races elsewhere.

While his Havre de Grace was named Horse of the Year, Porter’s most dominant filly was unquestionably Songbird, the 2015 2-year-old filly champion and 2016 3-year-old champion. Songbird started in 14 stakes races and won 12 of them, earning $4.7 million. She was retired as a 4-year-old after being injured and was sold later that year at auction for $9.5 million.

Havre de Grace earned her Horse of the Year honors after winning 5 of 7 races in 2011 and beating males in the Woodward and finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. After the completion of her racing career, she sold in 2012 for $10 million.

Porter’s other Eclipse Award winner was Kodiak Kowboy, who was voted the 2009 champion sprinter. In total, he campaigned 20 stakes winners, according to Fox Hill Farm. As a sole owner, his horses made 1,749 starts and won 424 of them, for earnings of $32.3 million, according to Equibase.

Often dressed in bold colors and a bow tie, Porter was gregarious at the track and often pitted his horses against top challengers. One of those forays ended in tragedy when his filly Eight Belles suffered catastrophic injuries after finishing second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs later named a race after her that is run each year on Derby Day.

Victoria Keith, a long-time employee of Fox Hill Farms, said that Porter always made his decisions with his horses’ best interests in mind, even while relishing big challenges.

“His horses’ well-being was always his top priority over any trophy,” Keith said, in a release announcing Porter’s death. “He encouraged fan interaction, making them feel part of the team. He welcomed the challenge of the best meeting the best on the track, resulting in some of the most memorable match-ups of the past decade. His Fox Hill Farm became synonymous with excellence and ethical ownership.”

In 2018, Porter founded the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization, which re-homed retired Thoroughbreds. According to Keith, the program has placed 250 retired racehorses in new homes.

Other top horses campaigned by Porter included the top-class horse Hard Spun, who won 7 of 13 lifetime starts and earned $2.7 million, in part by finishing second in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic; Round Pound, who won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 2006; and Omaha Beach, who went into the 2019 Kentucky Derby as the favorite but had to be scratched due to an entrapped epiglottis.

Porter was first diagnosed with a type of lymphoma in 2001. He is survived by his wife Betsy; two sons, Cory and Scott; his daughter Tracey; and a son-in-law, John, and a daughter-in-law, Inci.