Vinery’s Kentucky facility sold to Chilean company

Chilean interests have purchased the Kentucky operation of Tom Simon’s Vinery, Ltd., which was put on the market last year, in a multi-million dollar deal.

Don Alberto Corp, a division of the Chilean-based Bethia Holdings, purchased the 440-acre Lexington, Ky., property for $13.82 million. The property had been listed on the market for $13.97 million. The sale, which closed last Friday, was first reported by Paulick Report.

Bethia Holdings, chaired by Liliana Solari, includes Haras Don Alberto, a Thoroughbred operation established in 1987 in Los Angeles, Chile. The company also maintains holdings in the wine, health care, and communications sectors, and has an ownership interest in the Club Hipico de Santiago racecourse.

The Lexington farm was one of four Vinery properties owned by Simon, who announced his intentions to sell in August 2012. Vinery also owned properties in Florida and New York, and, at the time of the announcement, Simon said that he hoped to sell his entire U.S. operation as a package but would consider offers on individual properties. Vinery also owns an Australian facility in partnership that was not put up for sale last year.

Simon, a former corporate law attorney, purchased Vinery from George and Kay Hofmeister in 1999. The farm was founded in 1986 by Ben Walden, Jr., who sold it to the Hofmeisters in 1998. The farm previously stood stallions More Than Ready, Congrats, Kodiak Kowboy, Pure Prize, Pioneerof The Nile, Maimonides, and Street Hero. Those stallions were relocated to WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., prior to the 2013 breeding season.

Vinery’s 220-acre training facility in Summerfield, Fla., was purchased by Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables in December for an undisclosed price and renamed the Stonestreet Training and Rehabilitation Center.