News coverage:
Expectations high for juvenile market - by Joe Nevills
Inaugural Pleasant Acres roster packs star power - by Nicole Russo
Florida still a proving ground for sires - by John P. Sparkman
Leading sire profiles:
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DRF Past Performances
The new Pleasant Acres Stallions facility in Morriston, Fla., advertises that its aim is “bringing the hottest sire lines on the planet to Florida.” Judging by its inaugural roster for the 2014 breeding season, Joe and Helen Barbazon’s operation is off to a flying start.
Throughout its relatively brief history as a major Thoroughbred breeding state, Florida has developed a well-deserved reputation for punching above its weight in producing high-class racehorses.
Florida’s first great stallion, Rough’n Tumble, sired the immortal Dr. Fager and champion My Dear Girl despite relatively limited opportunities. Rough’n Tumble battled soundness issues throughout his breeding career, but that was not the only reason he sired only 209 foals in 14 crops.
Capable on dirt, turf, and synthetic, the underrated and speedy Two Step Salsa has gotten off to a nice start at stud, finishing 2013 atop Florida’s freshman sire list with $620,716 in progeny earnings. That figure was good enough to rank fifth among all first-crop sires in North America, and through March 6 he has kept those rankings – first in Florida, fifth in North America – on the second-crop sire list for 2014.
With Distinction continued his ascent in the Florida general sire rankings in 2013, moving up from third in 2012 to first in earnings among sires who are standing in the state this year. The 13-year-old son of Storm Cat, who stands at Randy Hartley and Dean De Renzo’s Ocala, Fla., operation, finished last year with $4,589,241 in progeny earnings, more than $280,000 ahead of Journeyman Stud veteran Wildcat Heir.
Grade 2 winner Repent has been sold to stand at Paradise Farms in Trinidad for an advertised fee of $1,000, BloodHorse reports.
The 15-year-old son of Louis Quatorze previously resided at Woodford Thoroughbreds in Reddick, Fla., where he stood in 2013 for a fee of $3,000. According to BloodHorse, Repent has not covered any mares in 2014, and is currently in quarantine preparing to leave for his new farm.
Woodford Thoroughbreds has named Shannon Castagnola director of operations, to assist with business development for the outfit’s Kentucky and Florida properties.
Castagnola previously worked at ownership syndicate West Point Thoroughbreds, in which she specialized in client service and the selling of syndicated shares. She has also previously worked at Taylor Made Sales Agency as the executive assistant to the executive vice president of private sales.
News coverage:
New York-breds in demand at auctions - By Joe Nevills
O'Cains carry on at Saratoga Stud - By Nicole Russo
Sparkman: Playing the regional sire lottery - By John P. Sparkman
For more than two decades, two of the most recognizable faces in New York’s breeding industry have been C. Lynwood “Doc” O’Cain and his wife, Suzie. The couple became well known in the state while helming the stallion operation at the late Carl Lizza Jr.’s Highcliff Farm in Delanson, N.Y. However, following Lizza’s death and the dispersal of his stock, that identity has changed, as the O’Cains have worked to relocate and maintain the former Highcliff stallion roster.
When the long-awaited opening of Resorts World Casino New York City at Aqueduct became a reality in October 2011, the state’s racing and breeding programs soon benefited from a boost in purses and incentives supported by gaming revenue – and, in turn, the value of a New York-bred horse skyrocketed.