Rick Littrell, who owned Viking Stud in Lexington, Ky., with his wife, Pam, died Thursday night at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington. The cause of death was a blood clot in his lung. He was 50.
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DRF Past Performances
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Vinery operation, owned by Dr. Tom Simon, has announced that it will disperse all its Australian Thoroughbred holdings in order to concentrate its bloodstock interests in North America.
Vinery recently began construction work on a new 220-acre facility in Ocala, Fla., which will serve as a training center for Vinery stock as well as a stallion center. Peace Rules, whom Vinery acquired earlier this year, will be the first stallion to stand there. Vinery also has a farm in Lexington.
Epitome, 1987 champion juvenile filly, died Friday at John and Benny Bell Williams's Elmwood Farm near Lexington, Ky. A Summing mare out of Honest and True, Epitome was 19 and was in foal to Pulpit when she died of a ruptured artery.
Epitome was voted champion 2-year-old filly after winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Pocahontas Stakes. She also finished second in the Grade 2 Alcibiades that year. She went on to establish a career race record of 14-5-5-1 and earn $631,755 racing for John A. Bell III
LEXINGTON, Ky. - In a lush market for broodmares that is somewhat overpowering in its strength, the top prices were paid for mares either with outstanding racing credentials or with exceptional produce. And in the year of Smarty Jones, no mare was more sought-after than I'll Get Along, who produced the quick-footed chestnut who came close to winning the Triple Crown.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Broodmares were still in demand even as prices tailed off at Friday's fifth session of the Keeneland November breeding stock sales. Top prices were no longer in the million-dollar range, but there was no shortage of horses selling for six figures.
At 5 p.m., the top price was $270,000 for Storm Teal, a 12-year-old Storm Bird mare in foal to El Corredor. B.C. Jones, agent, bought the mare from the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency. Storm Teal is the dam of the stakes winner Gold Storm.
The Florida Thoroughbred Farm Managers will host its annual parade of stallions next Sunday at the Ocala Equestrian Complex. The Equestrian complex is adjacent to the north end of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's facilities, across from Ocala Airport.
"No change from previous years," said Debbe Wojack, executive director of the farm managers. "Admission is free, and the stallions can be looked over in the barn area between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Then they will make the short walk to the reviewing pavilion and be introduced."
The Canadian breeding industry had one of its biggest days on the international racing scene on Oct. 30, when three Canadian-bred stallions and one mare produced five of the eight winners at the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Lone Star Park.
Adena Springs's 10-year-old stallion Awesome Again, who won Canada's most important race, the Queen's Plate, became the first Canadian-bred Breeders' Cup winner to sire a Breeders' Cup winner.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The $600,000 broodmare Beautiful Treasure lit up the price board Thursday at Keeneland's November breeding stock sale as a significant bright spot on a rainy day.
Beautiful Treasure's price followed the auction's early trend, which saw young mares with black type commanding large prices as buyers bid aggressively for them. John and Martha Jane Mulholland, whose Mulholland Springs in Lexington is one of the area's most successful small commercial breeding programs, were the winning bidders for Beautiful Treasure.