LEXINGTON, Ky. - In the many tributes and commentaries on the late John Gaines and his contributions to Thoroughbred racing and breeding, none has focused principally on one of his greatest achievements: breeding top-class racehorses.
Truly, in the scope of his activity, his role as a breeder was quite small. Gaines told me in a discussion several months ago that he "rarely, if ever, had more than a dozen broodmares until the last 10 years or so."
Ron and Betsy Houghton don't mind losing in the claiming game. In fact, they've made a career of it.
Proprietors of 300-acre Sylmar Farm in near Quarryville, Pa., the Houghtons annually bring a dozen or so homebreds to the Pennsylvania racetracks. "We try to run them a few times, and get them claimed," Ron Houghton said.
While racing for their new owners - who pay the bills - the Houghtons' former runners frequently generate breeder awards from the Pennsylvania Breeding Fund program.
Vinery Australia, which announced late last year that it will disperse its bloodstock as owner Tom Simon focuses on his North American program, reportedly has sold its entire 50-foal weanling crop to Arrowfield Stud.
Arrowfield, headed by John Messara, is one of Australia's major breeding concerns. It joined with Vinery to stand Hussonet in 2004 at Vinery's Kentucky farm.
The weanling sale was private, according to reports, but the Sydney Morning Herald quoted an estimate of "around $4 million" in Australian funds.
Popular New York stallion Distinctive Pro, whose son Distinctive Trick became the sire's 44th stakes winner in Saturday's Fred "Cappy" Capossela at Aqueduct, died Tuesday.
Distinctive Pro, 26, was euthanized at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm near Poughquag, N.Y. Pensioned after last year's breeding season because of arthritic stifles, he later had laminitis and was also growing infirm, which prompted the decision to euthanize him.
LAS VEGAS - Saturday, March 5, is a crucial day for Kentucky Derby aspirants, with undefeated 2-year-old champion Declan's Moon making his 3-year-old debut in the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita, and Gulfstream Park offering a delicious card headed by the Fountain of Youth and Swale stakes.
Santa Catalina Stakes
The Kentucky House of Representatives passed a sweeping tax bill on Friday that would divert taxes on stud fees from the state budget to breeding programs for horses, including Thoroughbreds.
The bill passed the House by a 96-4 vote. The legislation, which was supported by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, now will go to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass.
The breeding programs will use money from the 6 percent sales tax on stud fees to create awards for Kentucky horse breeders.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Toby Turrell remembers how he struggled for words the first time his extended family gathered for a memorial to Jill Baedeker, his cousin, who was killed in an automobile accident in 2002.
"I'm not much of a talker," he said.
Turrell, well-known as a private clocker in Southern California, found another way to express his feelings. A few years ago, he named a filly that he owns Jill's Sky.
Last Sunday, in a maiden race on turf for 3-year-old fillies, the California-bred Jill's Sky won her second career start by 3 1/2 lengths.
There are many paths that can lead one to the Thoroughbred industry. Eddie Martin of Martin Stables South has taken several of them. Martin's roots stem from an Indiana family that has considerable experience with another kind of horsepower: automobiles and Nascar.
"The family business is Ford dealerships in central Indiana," Martin said. "I, of course, initially developed an interest in Nascar - my dad sponsored a racing team at Indy."
These are good days for bloodstock investor Becky Thomas, who has been a key player in the business for many years.
Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock has sold Grade 2 winners Officer and Habibti among dozens of stakes horses, and she and her partners have been successful players at major American auctions.
Sequel Bloodstock is annually among the leading American 2-year-old consignors, finishing first in 2003 with gross receipts of $8,751,100 for 44 juveniles sold.