For it was Ellis who, 40 years ago this coming week, made a decision that altered the course of my life.

McGrath obviously had a wonderful time at Lil's Coffee House in Paris, Ky., listening to the yarns spun by Ellis, now 92, renowned veterinarian Bob Copelan (97), and the youngster of the trio, Stone Farm owner Arthur Hancock (81).

Forty years ago, when I was a mere 25 and Ellis 52, he decided to leave his position as breeding columnist for Daily Racing Form to train a small string of horses he and his wife owned.

I was interviewed by Logan Bailey, who managed the small Daily Racing Form office in Lexington, and was offered the position Ellis was vacating.

While Ellis grew up on Dixiana Farm–which his father managed–and had a wealth of knowledge about Thoroughbreds, my initial foray into the industry was as a handicapper (something I still enjoy today).

Now any good handicapper inherently learns about pedigrees, but, honestly, I knew very little at the time about such topics as breeding and sales.

During the interview, Logan (now deceased) asked me if I could spend time with any one person who would it be. I guess most people answer with the president, or an astronaut, or the Pope … I don't know. I said Secretariat.

There were only four persons in the DRF office, which was located in the Keeneland clubhouse, in some of the track's original stalls. I often wondered what horses had stabled where I now had my desk and typewriter.

I started the Monday after the Kentucky Derby, and that timing was also interesting. Because I had said I wanted to meet Secretariat, Logan had arranged for me to visit Claiborne Farm and do just that. The week after the 1984 Derby was special at Claiborne because the Derby winner, Swale (Seattle Slew–Tuerta, by Forli), was bred by Claiborne and raced by the farm in partnership with William Haggin Perry, Peter Brant and Edward Cox Jr.

Here I was, just a few days after the Derby and new at my job, being shown not only Secretariat, but the incredible roster of stallions, by farm managers John Sosby and Gus Koch.

That day, I briefly met farm president Seth Hancock, with whom I had numerous subsequent conversations over the years.

Of course, the story of Swale ended up being bittersweet. He also won the GI Belmont S. for trainer Woody Stephens, but eight days later collapsed and died. Though no definitive cause was determined, an autopsy discovered lesions in the heart area which could have been responsible for his death.

Chris McGrath, Ercel Ellis, Arthur Hancock and Dr. Robert Copelan | courtesy of Chris_McGrath.

When Secretariat died Oct. 4, 1989, Logan informed me we would be allowed to attend his burial at Claiborne. But, the following morning, farm officials decided not to allow press members. We always respected that decision.

I have seen Ercel only a few times over the years. But it is always a wonderful experience for me when I do because he has as encyclopedic mind when it comes to Thoroughbreds, able to recall races and pedigrees as if it were yesterday.

I was truly honored a number of years ago when Ercel phoned and asked me to be interviewed on his radio show. I will never forget that 15 minutes.

During my 25 years regularly covering racing and breeding at Daily Racing Form, The Racing Times and The Blood-Horse, Ercel is an example of those I always jumped at the chance to spend five minutes or five hours with–such as Bob Green, Bob Courtney, Henry White, Warner Jones, Carter Thornton, Alice Chandler, Ted Bassett, Gail Hughes, Brereton Jones, Johnny Griggs, Bruce Hundley, Johnny Jones, Charlie Nuckols… and countless others–because though green when I started, I became fascinated with the history and intricacies of the industry.

It is hard to believe I was 25 when I started at Daily Racing Form and Ercel Ellis was 52. Now, I have recently started Medicare and Ercel is 92.

Where would I be had Ercel Ellis not left Daily Racing Form? Yogi Berra said, “When you get to a fork in the road, take it.”

Because of Ercel, there was a fork in the road, and I took it.

I just hope those starting in the business today will find mentors not only as knowledgeable as those I was fortunate to have, but as willing to share their knowledge.

The post Letter To The Editor: Ercel Ellis and The Decision That Altered My Life appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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PARIS, KENTUCKY–Citizens of Bourbon County, Central Kentucky and beyond are banding together under a newly founded nonprofit organization to combat a proposed expansion of Bluegrass Station. Many are concerned that this project could involve the use of eminent domain, the government's power to purchase private property for public use, and local farmers and horsemen fear it would cause irrevocable damage to their environment and community.

A 63-page report on the proposed expansion, which calls for the acquisition of an initial 2,000 acres for the construction of an airfield and airpark with the potential to double in size in the future, was presented to the Kentucky General Assembly in November of 2022. However, members of the public were not made aware of the plans until just last week when a private citizen discovered it in the most recent proposed version of the state's budget, which includes $320 million allocated for the expansion.

Bluegrass Station, once an army depot, is currently a 780-acre site near the Fayette/Bourbon county line and is Kentucky's only state-owned industrial park, employing over 2,000 Kentuckians. Lockheed Martin, a private government contractor specializing in aerospace and defense manufacturing, is Bluegrass Station's largest employer.

According to the report from 2022, preliminary research shows that this proposed expansion would require an upfront investment of $55 million in the state's bond money for land acquisition and pre-development costs, as well as an estimated $88 million for roadway improvements. For the majority of the funding, the project would be launched as a Public-Private Partnership (P-3).

Map of proposed expansion | Bluegrass Station Airport Implementation Path report

The report states that the completed project would create 3,000 to 6,000 permanent jobs and generate $12 million to $20 million in annual, recurring state and local tax revenues. It would include more than $1.4 billion in private investment for airfield and airpark infrastructure and development.

On a technical basis, the report proposes an initial runway length of 7,800 feet–the longest in Central Kentucky–and a runway width of 150 feet, plus paved shoulders. At this length, the runway would be able to accommodate single engine aircrafts, corporate jets, smaller cargo aircrafts and military aircrafts, while also serving as backup to commercial traffic and larger cargo activity needs in the area. It is noted that the runway would be designed with potential for future extension.

As the news of this proposed plan has spread, so too has the dreaded feeling of deja vu for many Bourbon County residents. Back in 2017, a similar proposal to expand Bluegrass Station was pitched at the local level but ultimately killed by Bourbon County Fiscal Court. This time around, citizens are frustrated by the lack of transparency.

“The whole thing has been cloaked in secrecy,”  said Lynn Hancock, whose family's Stone Farm is located eight miles from Bluegrass Station. “There has been no information, as far as I know, no environmental studies, no community engagement, and they haven't spoken to any of the people whose properties they would be threatening to use eminent domain in order to seize. The whole thing just seems like it's been done with no regard for the people who are actually going to be affected by it.

“Not only does it threaten our business in terms of the Thoroughbred industry and a lot of other people as well, but it would definitely change the way of life.”

She pointed out a portion of the report that reads: It is possible that the Commonwealth's use of eminent domain to acquire significant property for the Project could inspire public resentment, especially if the Commonwealth is not transparent with its actions, the benefits for community or the need for the Project.

“I think it's funny, because how could it not [inspire public resentment]? It's a sizable project and again, no one thought they should discuss with the community. These elected officials don't care to discuss with their constituents whether it's something we want. Ultimately, it's the state taking our taxpayer dollars to heist private property from people unwilling to sell.”

Hancock questioned the promise of job opportunity, while also pointing out how detrimental the pollutants could be to the overall environment and the land considered by most to be the best in the world to raise horses on.

“How many people working there are actually coming from Bourbon County? I think it's going to be a lot of people moving here from out of state and they're going to live in Lexington. And even if it does create jobs, how many other jobs are going to be lost if it has such a negative impact on some of the industries that we do have here?” she said. “What's it going to do to the environment, to the well water? We raise all of our mares on well water. Are we going to have mares breathing in soot? I mean, is there going to be soot on Secretariat's grave? It will have a massive impact any time you have the size of plane they're talking about bringing in.

“This is not some developmental area where people are seeking to sell their land and make a profit. I think it sets an extremely scary precedent for private property rights. I don't know how as an elected official you can sleep at night knowing all of the backdoor dealing that has been going on. They know it's not what the people that elected them want.”

Bill Dickson, a seventh-generation farmer whose Glen Oak Farm neighbors Stone Farm, echoed Hancock's concern. Though both Stone Farm and Glen Oak Farm are not at immediate risk of being purchased under eminent domain, Hancock and Dickson said they have no doubt the effects will be felt far outside of the Bluegrass Station borders.

“My ancestors started in 1792 and were pioneers at a local station here. I operate a 500-acre farm and we've got Thoroughbreds, a cattle herd, and we raise commercial hay and row crops as well,” he said. “They'd be coming in and taking off over my land and I just don't think that's a healthy place to raise livestock and all the other things I do on my farm. Central Kentucky is an agriculture-based location. It's how we've made our money, it's how we've made our mark on the world. I understand it's going to grow as our population grows, but [this plan] infringes on what we're known for. You're taking some of that away from one of our signature industries.

“I'm supportive of progress, but we need to do it in a way that's advantageous to both of us and not just push eminent domain and have this government land grab. Let's be constructive about where we do these things.”

Ellie Stilson is a nurse at UK Hospital and the owner of Daisy Acres Farm, which is within the designated area for future development in the proposal. Her 50-acre property is home to several dozen Thoroughbreds, both broodmares and retirees.

Although Stilson would receive fair market value if she is forced to give up her property due to eminent domain, with current market rates she does not believe that she could afford another farm in Central Kentucky with a similar amount of acreage.

“I don't think I'm going to get anything like this again,” she explained. “It's 50 acres. What about the animals that live here? What am I going to do with them? But I'm only 50 acres out of 2,000. At the end of the day I won't be homeless, but there are people down the road living in trailers that will be. That's my concern. I don't know where these people are going to go.”

A 501(c)(4) formed by local citizens, 'Citizens for Bourbon County' hosted a town hall meeting on Sunday, Feb. 18 to discuss the implications of this proposal and how they plan to fight it. Around 300 citizens gathered to discuss the ramifications not only for those whose land might be taken from them, but for the entirety of the local community.

The meeting was hosted by Rebecca Rigney, whose family has lived on their sport horse farm just down the road from Bluegrass Station for 20 years. Her land is also at risk of being taken over if the plan goes through.

Rebecca Rigney welcomes crowd gathered for Feb. 18 town hall meeting | Katie Petrunyak

“I call for a burden of proof to be placed on our elected officials,” Rigney told attendees gathered in her indoor riding arena. “Proof that this will work instead of stating that it will. Proof of how this will impact the environment with studies. Proof that there is not another location that will provide jobs elsewhere while preserving our farms and the most precious soil in the world. Proof that your tenants won't be temporary. I want a guarantee that the sacrifices my neighbors and my family make are for more than just a multi-million dollar corporation.”

Mark Offutt, a local landowner and former county magistrate, voted against the expansion in 2017.

“Secrecy and lack of transparency has followed this project for the last seven years,” Offutt said. “The same corporate bullying and tactics that they are using now with the threat of Lockheed pulling 2,000 jobs out is exactly the same rhetoric that they used in 2017 and the jobs are still here…Their model of empty promises and secret meetings behind closed doors hasn't changed at all.”

Some of the attendees expressed their belief that elected officials purposefully kept the project from public eye because of the overwhelming opposition from the community during the 2017 proposal.

“What's extremely clear is that our government, knowing our opposition from 2017 and 2018, tried to hide the movement of this project from us,” said Ike Van Meter, a cattle farmer and Thoroughbred owner and breeder based near Bluegrass Station. “Our elected officials have happily kept us in the dark until the money had been signed off on by the legislature and government.”

Van Meter, whose family farm would be part of the acreage acquired through eminent domain, said he has tried to get in touch with several elected officials including Governor Andy Beshear, but was directed to Steve Collins, the executive director of Bluegrass Station.

“This project is a massive bait and switch with the false pretense of military support, but it's really an illegal use of eminent domain to try and benefit a few multi-billion dollar companies at the expense of prime Kentucky farmland,” he said.

The TDN reached out to Bourbon County Judge Mike Williams, Senator Stephen West who represents the 27th District that includes Bourbon County, and Representative Matthew Koch who represents Bourbon County as part of the 72nd District, but did not hear back.

TDN did get in touch with Collins, who suggested that citizens may feel as though they've been blindsided because the project has not yet advanced to the outreach point in the project's timeline.

“The next step will be sending a request for information to the possible P-3s [Public-Private Participants],” Collins said. “This $55 million [in bond money] is about 20% of the buildout, so it's all private. We will go out into the P-3 community with an RFI [Request for Information] probably in April or something like that. It will take them a while to respond to that. They'll tell us in their response if what we're doing fits that model, so it will change shape a bit at that point. People feel like they got steamrolled by some of these processes, but it's very deliberate. We're out of sequence because after the RFI is when the outreach is supposed to start.”

Collins also countered against what many people have stated regarding the purpose behind the expansion.

“This has never been about economic development,” he said. “That's an outcome or a result. This need is national defense and state strategic obligation, state financial obligation and regional aviation needs. There's a lot of people involved in the need, thousands of people that could become one. There was no due diligence the first time [in 2017]. We knew it was somewhat unpopular back then, but they were using local financing that just wasn't going to work. This is not a local project. It affects local people but this is a national, even global, project.”

Collins has estimated that there will be six military planes per month and 10 to 20 private planes per day utilizing the runway.

When asked about why a facility like this cannot be built elsewhere, Collins said it goes back to the “core customer” of Bluegrass Station.

“Bluegrass Station was invented to serve this customer, ” he said. “…we've created a response model for this customer that we can provide what they need to accomplish their mission faster and cheaper than anybody else. They're using this model to bring in more work. The kind of work they do can't be talked about, so to speak.”

Outlined in an overview of the report, the project timeline estimates four to six months for the RFI phase to be completed, which includes drafting a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and conducting title exams. It isn't until the next phase, when the RFQ would be issued, that public engagement would begin. It is within that second task, estimated to span six to 10 months, that they would also shortlist teams, issue Request for Proposals (RFP) and enter the P-3 Agreement.

Also included in the overview is a project outline, which estimates that if the budget to fund this project is passed, land acquisition would be completed within a two-year timeframe followed by the development of the airfield and airpark over the next two years.

At the town hall meeting, Van Meter expressed the importance of citizens residing in Bourbon County and beyond to contact their elected officials and express their disagreement with the proposed expansion of the former army depot.

“This is not a done deal,” he said. “We will fight. We will fight to keep this out of the budget and if it goes through we will continue fighting. I encourage each of you here to tell your neighbors, have your neighbors tell their neighbors and we will continue to fight.”

As it stands, the House has already passed its version of the budget and it now goes to the Senate.

Arthur Hancock III, a fourth-generation horseman and owner of Stone Farm, shared his perspective during Sunday's meeting. Based on the reaction from the crowd, his words were an overarching sentiment shared and felt by all.

“I would hate to think that our representatives were aware of this all along and never even told their neighbors that something was coming to take their land and their heritage. If that is the case, it's downright un-American and most certainly un-Kentuckian,” he said. “I hope the rest of the people in our state will take notice of what's happening in Bourbon County and will always remember those who came secretly and slyly, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our way of life, from those who instigated this plan to those who are now trying to carry it out. And we should all remember that this may well be the tip of the iceberg of what could come next.

“To those behind this: if you want to try and stab me, at least be man enough not to stab me in the back.”

The post Citizens Speak Out Against Proposed Bluegrass Station Airport appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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For consider him well, kids: this man before you is just a fifth link in the chain to one who knew Daniel Boone. Before founding Runnymede in 1867, Catesby's grandfather Colonel Ezekiel Clay lost an eye in the Civil War; and he was a grandson of Gen. Green Clay, a revolutionary soldier and frontiersman who came through Fort Boonesborough to Madison County as a surveyor. The history of this family is a prism for the history of Kentucky; and much the same might be said of Runnymede, as a bedrock of the evolving American Thoroughbred.

It says everything that Catesby, back in 2009, should have been the 78th Honor Guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America, when his stepfather Senator Johnson N. Camden had been favored as its fifth. Catesby was then already 87, and has understandably slowed down since. But he will be left in no doubt as to the warmth and reverence of the family convening at Kentucky's oldest continuously operative horse farm, a century after his birth on 25 July, 1923.

“Even in his later years, he has always remained an example to us,” says his son Brutus. “Because his faith, his love for his wife and his family, is so evident down to his very core. The kindness that he exhibits to everyone, and the gratitude that he has for his caregivers, just permeates everything that he does.

“We're blessed to have him around. He doesn't quite have the quick wit for which he was always known, but he's still able to appreciate situations. And he has always cared so deeply. I was always amazed that for all those years he was really working two jobs: a day job at Kentucky River [a land and coal corporation], and then he would stay up late, working on the matings, thinking about how to keep the farm going. It was truly a labor of love.”

Brutus is too modest to note that he similarly divides his role as Runnymede Chairman and CEO with several “day jobs” of his own, instead stressing the importance of farm President Romain Malhouitre as this venerable farm has adapted to a changing commercial environment. Its success, in making this adjustment, was marked in memorable fashion when Mage (Good Magic)–foaled, raised and prepped here on behalf of clients Grandview Equine–won at Churchill in May.

Brutus Clay (right) and Romain Malhouitre | Keeneland

“Without Romain, we wouldn't be sitting here talking,” Brutus says. “He's been with us about 10 years now. It was a time of transition, and we needed to find someone with the capacity to bring all the pieces together. With Pops, this was a private farm, with the exception of Peter Callahan who's been with us over 35 years; and just a few others along the way. You couldn't ask for a better partner, he and his daughters have been just extraordinary. But otherwise we didn't have many other clients.”

The 2009 recession changed all that. “My father looked at me and said, 'You need to figure out a way to make this more sustainable,'” Brutus recalls. “He had never given much consideration to the financial constraints, treated it more like a hobby-and, consequently, bred a lot of really good horses! So we're really working to make the farm a sustainable operation: Romain has been absolutely instrumental in that, and we now have over 40 different clients. We feel very blessed, but I like to think it has to do with us being pretty good partners, too.”

Mage, then, sets a fairly symbolic seal on that evolution. Aptly, Grandview came to Runnymede through another set of Clays-Robert, his son Case and partners-albeit the presumed kinship is by now a distant one.

“To have them as clients is such a privilege,” Brutus says. “Robert came to us four or five years ago, looking for somewhere to keep his mares. Grandview was about stallion shares, and buying some good mares to support those stallions. And we were really honored that he felt Runnymede was a good place to board those mares.

“So Puca (Big Brown) was among them. Everything that she's thrown has been able to run, and from what I understand her second Good Magic, the 2-year-old, is showing a lot of promise.”

Mage's brother, named Dornoch, was acquired by Oracle Bloodstock from Runnymede's consignment at Keeneland last September for $325,000. At that stage, of course, Mage remained unraced, so it has already been quite a ride for Dornoch's owners Randy Hill, West Paces Racing and former baseball star Jayson Werth-and Danny Gargan recently disclosed to Daily Racing Form that Dornoch is “the best horse I ever trained.”

Puca's next offering, a colt by McKinzie, will not be passing under too many radars this September, then.

“He's a nice, well-proportioned, athletic mover,” Brutus says. “Up to this point everything Puca has produced, has performed. They've all been different, physically, but they all like to run. And the McKinzie really looks the part.”

If Derby day completed a turn of the wheel for his native farm, in another respect the experience brought things full circle for Brutus. For one of the turning points in his own journey with Thoroughbreds, having gone away to get his MBA and start out in business, was the success of a filly named Meribel (Peaks And Valleys)-co-bred by his father with Arthur Hancock-in a graded stakes at Keeneland in 2006.

“Up until then I had always thought owning a racehorse was stupid, because on average you lose money,” he remarks. “I was like, 'That's not a good bet.' But that became one of those indelible memories that made me realize their value. The whole family's there, grandchildren, there were 16 of us packed into the box, and she comes round the whole field, we're all screaming as she makes this late run, ends up winning by a half.     And afterwards my father looks at me, and I see tears coming down his cheeks, this look of disbelief, his mouth gaping.

Mage winning this season's Kentucky Derby | Horsephotos

“So anyway, Mage comes running down the stretch and I have that exact, same stupid look. My mouth is wide open. And I'm like, 'Is this happening?' It's funny, because you think of the genetic imprint for horses, and then how it works out in us, too.”

Fitting sentiments, those, in one of eight siblings who share a grateful sense of the remarkable dynasty they extend. The pioneering Green Clay came out of Virginia in the early 1780s, before there was any such thing as the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

“And the folklore has it that the fee for surveying was 40 percent of whatever was surveyed,” Brutus explains. “So he would pay someone to travel to the local courthouse, to file the claims. But do you know where the local courthouse was? Richmond. That's Richmond, Virginia, not Richmond, Kentucky! Anyway he obviously amassed considerable holdings. He had over 40,000 acres, he had taverns, toll roads, distilleries, and Clay's Ferry on the Madison and Fayette County line.”

Nearly 250 years on, of course, the world is a different place. Brutus is someone who reflects sensitively on the past, and how his family came by its affluence. He knows that the planters of that era owned many slaves; and, more recently, that the Clays have mined a lot of coal. But he is in tune with his own times, notably as a passionate entrepreneur in the growing of crops as a renewable source of energy. And he has also worked hard to engage the wider world with our community, for instance as a co-founder of Horse Country; and also through As One Racing, a partnership with a mission of diversity and inclusion.

“You look back at your ancestors, and you see what was done,” he says. “You can't really change that, but you're always thinking about how you can contribute in a meaningful way, going forward. There's this phrase, that families grow faster than businesses. In some respects, we've been privileged that my ancestors were first movers. But about each third generation has to reinvent. Otherwise, you don't continue.”

Green Clay had a son, Cassius Marcellus Clay, with whom Brutus likes to identify. (It was this same firebrand abolitionist that inspired the naming of a certain boxer who figures proudly in the history of African American Kentucky.)

“Cassius was a bit of a rabble-rouser,” Brutus explains. “He went to Yale, heard an abolitionist speak, and came to the conclusion that slavery was wrong. And there's a story of a rally and debate that took place at Mt. Brilliant Farm. Cassius went to share his views, which weren't particularly popular. Turns out that some of the local landowners had hired an assassin from New Orleans, who shot him at a point-blank range, three inches above his heart, with a single-shot pistol. Well, fortunately for Cassius, he carried his Bowie knife on his left side. And the sheath of the knife stopped the bullet. He then proceeds to pull out his knife, because he was offended, and nearly kills the guy.”

Sure enough, since the assassin was unarmed after discharging his one bullet, it was Cassius who was charged with attempted murder. Fortunately, he could hire no less eloquent a cousin than Henry Clay to secure his acquittal.

But it was not just communities, but families, that were riven by the slavery debate. Cassius had a brother, Brutus, whose son Ezekiel opposed their abolitionist views and acted accordingly when the Civil War began.

“His father promised to disown him if he joined the Confederacy,” says Brutus. “But being who he was, that's what Ezekiel did anyway. He rose to the rank of colonel, and fought a number of battles with a great deal of courage. He ended up losing an eye and being captured in the Battle of Paintsville, and spent some time up in Johnson's Island on Lake Erie.”

Yet just as division extended to many a family table, so did Reconstruction. His reconciled father either loaned or gave Ezekiel the funds to start Runnymede and, along with his brother-in-law Catesby Woodford at neighboring Raceland, “Zeke” did much to lay the foundations of the modern American Thoroughbred. Such epic careers as those of Ben Brush, Hanover and Miss Woodford began through their partnership.

“To me, it's a prodigal son kind of story,” Brutus remarks. “Over the 30 years or so that they were breeding horses, nine were leading sires, either standing or bred by Runnymede. They bred two Kentucky Derby winners, two consecutive Belmont winners, a Preakness winner. Four in the Hall of Fame. The litany of champions they had was pretty extraordinary.”

Incredible to reflect that “Zeke” died just three years-virtually to the day-before his heir (another Brutus) celebrated the birth of his son Catesby W. Clay. Sadly, it was not even three years later that Catesby lost his own father in a staircase fall. (To this day, a stair-gate at their elegant manor house reminds the family of that tragic night.) In time, however, his mother's remarriage introduced Catesby to a cherished mentor in both business and breeding. Senator Camden was chairman of Churchill Downs for many years, and Catesby would eventually serve 45 years on the board there himself.

In the winner's circle after Rogue Romance takes the GIII Bourbon S. | Keeneland

“His stepfather was a real father to Pops,” Brutus says. “He was also one of the founders of the Kentucky River Coal Corporation, which was kind of that third generation change I mentioned. And, candidly, that was what carried the farm through the ups and downs you get in this business.”

Even so, the Depression required Senator Camden to disperse his own 1,500-acre Hartland Farm near Versailles, and relocate his diminished broodmare band to Runnymede. Catesby himself had gone away for his academic and business education and it was only after a third farm graduate won the Derby-Count Turf in 1951-that he began to engage with the challenges of breeding.

Meanwhile he did a fair bit of that himself, raising eight children with his wife Biz (nee Elizabeth Gerwin). These include Father Chris Clay, who was once a turf writer but discovered a more salubrious purpose in life and now tends a flock full of horse folk in Versailles.

“I remember when my mother mentioned that Chris might not run the farm,” says Brutus with a smile. “I looked at her incredulously, I was like, 'Mother, don't be ridiculous. What else would he want to do?'”

Yet curiously Catesby's own tenure at Runnymede had itself been contingent on a similar call heard by his own Jesuit brother. In the meantime these 365 rich, undulating acres along Stoner Creek in Bourbon County have continued to nourish a chain of champions parallel to the four generations of Clays to have supervised their development. Lady Eli (Divine Park), Collected (City Zip), Agnes Digital (Crafty Prospector) and Awesome Gem (Awesome Again) are among those to have started life here, even though the average crop was averaging no more than a couple of dozen.

And now we have Mage, a flagbearer for this latest chapter in Runnymede's long story. Brutus reiterates his family's debt to their team. “I have such admiration for good horse people,” he says. “They're so committed to these horses: our assistant managers Kathy Bacon and Edgar Hernandez, our night watchman Kenny Gibson. And Romain, of course. He's really passionate about the business, constantly learning, trying to figure it out.

“Nobody is ever going to do that. But we're all students, right? And I've never met a good horse person that isn't meticulous. Attention. Acute memory. Detail. The little things that add up to a big difference.”

But this is first and foremost a day to celebrate the man whose long stewardship at Runnymede unites the legacy of Colonel “Zeke” all the way through to Mage. And while few of his contemporaries have lasted the course, many who might now consider themselves old still look up to Catesby Woodford Clay, and will gladly join succeeding generations in raising a toast of affection and esteem.

Certainly Brutus sounds slightly mortified that we should be approaching him as anything more than a figurehead for the collective engagement of his family, and the toil and skill of their help. “We just hand off the baton, right?” he says. “I always say there are three attributes to making a good horse. There's the land, the bloodstock-and the people. So many different people that play a role in every single horse: the farriers, the grooms, the night watchman, the veterinarians, the office manager. So when you have success, there's a sense of ownership and pride between us all. And it's exciting to have so many good people to share the celebrations.”

The post A Landmark Day in a Landmark Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Blackadder, a son of top sire Quality Road, won the listed race in the colors of Sol Kumin's Madaket Stable from Mackinnon, an American Pharoah colt also flying the Madaket silks but trained by Doug O'Neill. If you haven't noticed, the Madaket silks are ubiquitous across the country these days, particularly in Baffert's barn, which is loaded with well-bred Triple Crown hopefuls belonging to “The Avengers” partnership that includes many entities, headed by principals SF Bloodstock, Madaket, and Starlight Racing. Aside from the three named, Blackadder, a $620,000 Keeneland September yearling, is owned by Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm. All of the 3-year-olds owned by this group run either in the colors of Madaket or Starlight, and they have become a familiar sight in the winner's circle of quite a few Derby preps lately.

Blackadder is the latest. The colt, who was bred in Kentucky by Arthur Hancock III's Stone Farm, won the race with a rousing finish, and the farm was quick to tweet the news of its latest stakes winner. Stone Farm also bred Baffert's 2019 Gl Santa Anita Derby winner Roadster, another son of Quality Road who was on the Triple Crown trail for the Speedway Stable of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner, with Hancock retaining a 10% interest. Speedway picked up an Eclipse Award last week when its undefeated colt Corniche, also by Quality Road and trained by Baffert to win the Gl Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Gl American Pharoah S. last year, was named the champion juvenile male for 2021–the third Eclipse winner for his sire after champion juvenile filly Caledonia Road and champion 3-year-old filly Abel Tasman.

Baffert trained Abel Tasman, the 2017 Kentucky Oaks winner, for China Horse Club and breeder Clearsky Farm, and he clearly has an affinity for the offspring of the Lane's End-based sire, who stands for $150,000 live foal this year. One reason for this is that the Quality Roads like West Coast tracks. Baffert also trained the Quality Road son Klimt for Kaleem Shah when that colt won the Gl Del Mar Futurity in 2016.

All told, Baffert has trained two of Quality Road's three champions, and four of the stallion's 12 Grade l winners to date, and any owner or breeder with a classic hopeful by Quality Road in Baffert's barn would be understandably hyped. At the end of the day, winning championships and races at the highest level boost bloodstock values, and that's what it's all about to owners and breeders who play at the top of the market.

Abel Tasman, for instance, won six Grade l races and earned nearly $2.8 million on the track but made the ultimate score when selling for $5 million as a broodmare prospect at the 2019 Keeneland January sale. Likewise, the breeding rights to Corniche have already been sold for $17 million, I've been told, even though the colt is unlikely to make the Derby after a lengthy freshening. And that's miniscule compared to the more than $100 million for the breeding rights generated together by the Baffert-trained Justify (Scat Daddy) and Authentic (Into Mischief)–the former a Triple Crown winner, the latter a Derby winner, and both Horses of the Year. SF, Madaket, and Starlight were involved in Justify and Authentic, as they were in Charlatan (Speightstown), another Baffert trainee whose breeding rights made significant millions. There are several others as well, and it's one reason why the group has been loyal to Baffert through the trainer's recent travails.

Hancock connection

Blackadder isn't the only colt for the SF/Madaket/Starlight group with Baffert with a Stone Farm/Quality Road connection. On Jan. 21, the Quality Road 3-year-old Armagnac, flying the Madaket silks and under the same ownership as Blackadder, won a mile and a sixteenth maiden special at Santa Anita by 2 1/4 lengths in his second start. He appears to be another with future stakes potential. Armagnac was bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm and Joseph W. Sutton, and he was purchased by the SF group at the 2020 Keeneland September sale for $210,000 from the same Stone Farm consignment as Blackadder, as mentioned earlier a $620,000 buy.

There's no question that Arthur Hancock knows how to breed and raise a good horse at Stone Farm. He raised Derby and Preakness winner Sunday Silence, stood his sire, Halo, and raced him with trainer Charlie Whittingham and another partner before selling him to Zenya Yoshida for a reported $10 million (after initially selling a quarter of the 1989 Horse of the Year to Yoshida for $2.25 million in early 1990 when the colt was four); bred and raced 1982 Derby winner Gato del Sol with Leon J. Peters; bred with Peters and sold 1988 Preakness and Belmont S. winner Risen Star; and bred with Stonerside and sold Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus for $4 million at the 1998 Keeneland July sale, among others of note. And he's raced more than a few partnership horses in the Derby aside from the colts mentioned, including homebreds Menifee, who lost the Derby by a neck in 1999; and Strodes Creek, a Whittingham-trained colt who was second in the 1994 Derby.

A savvy commercial breeder with a great understanding of the potential of winning big races on the values of sires, dams, and female families, Hancock has tasted Derby success doing things his way and knows how the sausage gets made with the right trainer, such as a Charlie Whittingham, at the helm.

After Fluor and Weiner, clients and friends of Baffert, purchased Roadster for $525,000 from the 2017 Stone Farm consignment at Keeneland September, they offered Hancock the opportunity to stay in for 10%, and Hancock took them up because he was well in the black on the colt and was high on his chances for success. He'd bred Roadster when the Ned Evans-raced Quality Road was standing for just $35,000, and he'd purchased the colt's dam, Ghost Dancing, a few years earlier from the Ned Evans dispersal for $220,000, in foal to Candy Ride (Arg).

The Candy Ride, named Ascend, was gelded and initially raced by Hancock with Graham Motion, but sometime in 2016 when Ascend was four, Madaket became a partner in the gelding with Hancock. In 2017, a few months before Roadster was sold at Keeneland, Ascend won the Gl Manhattan at Belmont, which was pivotal in enhancing Roadster's value at auction.

After Roadster won the Santa Anita Derby–defeating Baffert's juvenile champ, Game Winner–and was headed to Churchill Downs, Hancock was sitting pretty because his mare Ghost Dancing was now the dam of two Grade l winners, something that would greatly enhance the value of her Twirling Candy yearling; and Hancock had a minority stake in a potential Derby winner, trained by Baffert.

In an interview with Zoe Cadman in the week before the 2019 Derby, Hancock was asked about his trainer, who'd won five Derbys at the time, including two Triple Crowns, and he said: “I can see, just being around Bob, his record speaks for itself. I told him the other day, you're Charlie junior, talking about Charlie Whittingham. He laughed.”

Unfortunately, Roadster finished 16th of 19, but, thanks to Baffert, he did have that Grade l on his resume, which helped Hancock later that year when his Twirling Candy half-brother made $950,000 at Keeneland September. Twirling Candy's stud fee the year the colt was conceived was $20,000.

Blackadder is from the Pulpit mare Chapel, a Hancock homebred from a family he has cultivated through generations. Baffert jumpstarted this mare and her family as well, training Chapel's first foal, the Hancock-bred Quality Road filly Gingham. She'd been purchased by Sarah Kelly for $420,000 from the Stone Farm consignment at Keeneland September in 2018.

For Baffert, Gingham won a listed race at Santa Anita and was Grade ll-placed and Grade lll-placed, earning $214,000. The black type helped her realize a price of $1 million at the 2020 Keeneland November sale as a broodmare prospect.

Moreover, her black-type success with Baffert obviously contributed to SF/Madaket/Starlight paying Hancock $620,000 for her full brother, who is now a black-type winner himself and one with a pedigree suggesting further improvement. With two Quality Road stakes winners on her resume, Chapel's value has skyrocketed, especially as she was bred to Quality Road for a 2022 foal.

But with the Baffert runners out of the Derby as things now stand and the Avengers group showing no signs of switching trainers to make the Derby despite holding a full house of promising candidates, the financial ramifications for the ownership group potentially extend to the breeders of these colts as well.

That's something that must be disappointing for Hancock and others.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Quality of Baffert and Hancock with The Avengers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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AMERICAN HEROINE (f, 3, War Front–Chatham {MSP, $156,431}, by Maria's Mon) debuted on the turf at this venue Jan. 2 without Lasix, producing a closing kick which carried her five wide into the lane but also to third place within a length of winning. With this race coming off the turf, she broke well and secured a forward position as the 8-5 chalk. The $1.05 million KEESEP score glued herself to the early lead from second on the outside until the far turn, where she tugged her way to the front. Leading a cavalry charge home, Tyler Gaffalione kept his filly's mind on running and despite a huge closing move from Mitigation (Into Mischief), American Heroine had just enough left to hold on by a head in a photo finish. The final time of 1:45.10 is a new track record on the all-weather.

One of six full-siblings, including Air Force Blue, Hwt. Colt-Ire, Hwt. Colt-Eur, MG1SW-Ire, G1SW-Eng, $844,919, the victress is her dam's sixth overall winner from nine to start. Chatham's offspring have always brought interest at Keeneland September: Schon Meer (Arch) bringing $475,000 in 2011; Bugle (War Front) for $400,000; Air Force Blue hammering for $490,000 to M V Magnier; Soleil de Paris (Lemon Drop Kid) for $535,000; and the 2-year-old Sir Blue Eyes (War Front) going for a cool $1 million last year to Lynnhaven Racing. The dam was a shrewd $190,000 purchase by Arthur Hancock for Stone Farm in 2009 at Keeneland November and is expecting a foal this year by a perennial top-sire in Curlin. Sales history: $1,050,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $37,100. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

O-Stone Farm and Augustin Stable; B-Stone Farm (KY); T-Christophe Clement.

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“I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but the horses needed fed,” she said with a grin, nodding toward the pair of stalls that had recently been vacated. The youngsters had shipped out shortly after their morning feed.

There was plenty of cause for Hancock to savor all festivities the Saratoga Sale is known for. The youngest daughter of Stone Farm founder Arthur Boyd Hancock III had successfully sold both yearlings at the first Saratoga consignment she had brought up on her own.

“Dad has always been here,” Hancock said. “This was my first consignment coming up here by myself. Even though my dad was guiding me from afar, it was very rewarding to come up here and put in a lot of work. It's not easy to get these horses to this point from the time they're foals up until now. To bring them up here and get the results that we had, it's exciting.”

When Hancock, alongside a few of her farm's best horsemen and the two sale-bound yearlings, arrived in Saratoga, she knew the colt out of Dame Dorothy (Bernardini) could be something special.

“I wasn't sure what to expect, but we knew it was a nice horse,” she said. “He has done everything right since the day he was born.”

Dame Dorothy has been a special horse for breeder and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, taking him to the winner's circle in five stakes including the GI Humana Distaff and giving him two successful yearling sales already in Spice Is Nice (Curlin), a $1.05 million yearling who went on to earn graded stakes status this year for Robert and Lawana Low, as well as a 2-year-old colt named Principe d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) purchased for $650,000 by Juddmonte, Bridlewood and Winchell Thoroughbreds last September.

Hancock said this third offspring from Dame Dorothy, a May-foaled striking bay colt, excelled from the start.

“He has always been an easy keeper,” she explained. “I would say he was a gate hugger. My dad always said that's a sign of a good horse. When you turned him out, he would turn back around and come hang out at the gate, curious and interested. When you ask him to do something, he does it. Horses like that you keep an eye on because you expect something from them. I've always really liked him.”

Buyers liked the colt as well and when the son of Uncle Mo was the consummate professional in the sales ring, bids flew. The hammer dropped with a $1.6 million winning bid from Jacob West, agent for Spice Is Nice campaigners Robert and Lawana Low.

“He did everything right and when he came up here, he showed well,” Hancock said. “It's fun to bring one that you feel a bit of connection to and get those results. It's very rewarding and it's not easy to do. Breeders will know that you can have a well-bred horse and have all kinds of issues, or things will go right and all the stars align and you can bring them here and have some fun.”

The stars had aligned two years earlier in Saratoga for Stone Farm and Flay when their Curlin colt out of GSW American (A.P. Indy) was the co-topper of the sale, going for $1.5 million. Now known as First Captain, the promising Shug McGaughey trainee took the GIII Dwyer S. in July and is now pointing towards the GI Pennsylvania Derby.

“First Captain was similar in a lot of ways to this Uncle Mo colt,” Hancock said. “He was very laid back. Those well-bred horses, it's really fun to bring them up here and do well with them. You want them to sell well, but the most important thing is that you want them to go on and run. So it's been really fun to watch him become a graded stakes winner. The hype surrounding him has been fun to watch and I think there's more to come.”

While Stone Farm is certainly no stranger to success at the Saratoga Sale, the family behind the legendary surname has been connected with the Fasig-Tipton auction since its inception.

“My great-great-grandfather, Captain Richard Hancock, sold up here in the very early days of Fasig-Tipton,” Hancock noted. “It's been exciting to be up here at the 100^th sale as the fifth generation of Hancocks. Everyone was like, 'Oh, your dad left you to do it yourself,' and I told them he may have misguided faith in me, but it worked out okay.”

When she's not running a sales consignment, Hancock stays busy working alongside her father as Stone Farm's Director of Sales and Racing.

“People ask me what I do on a daily basis a lot and it is kind of ever-changing,” she said. “I look at the horses and I technically do our racing, bloodstock and sales, but a lot of it is just whatever my dad tells me to do. I call him my father boss and what he says, I do.”

While the light-hearted, teasing side of Hancock's relationship with her father is evident, she is also clearly appreciative of the wisdom the renowned horseman has to offer.

“My dad went out on his own and started Stone Farm and it's something that we're all really passionate about because he built it,” she said. “One thing I respect a huge amount about my dad is that he'll tell you what he thinks and he's not afraid to shy away. People might not agree, but he's always going to do what he thinks it the right thing. He always says that all you can do in life is the next best thing.”

She continued, “We're all very proud of him and the work that he has put into a lot of different fronts to better the industry. I think that's what we all want to do is to see the industry continue to grow, try to get young people involved and continue to have the horse racing we all love.”

The Hancock family with Horse of the Year Sunday Silence. | Tony Leonard

Growing up on Stone Farm's stunning acreage in Bourbon County, Hancock and her five elder siblings developed an appreciation for their land and a respect for their horses early on from parents Arthur and Staci.

“It was so much fun growing up on the farm and it was always a little bit of a zoo,” she admitted. “But I think we all have a really strong place association with the farm. Another thing my dad always says is that we're farmers and the product that we grow is Thoroughbred horses. We all love the farm and want to see it thrive and continue to produce runners.”

Today, the business still remains a family affair.

“I love working with my family,” Hancock said. “My dad and I work well together and my mom is very involved with the farm. My sister Alex just had a baby so she's on a hiatus, but she works at the farm and all of my siblings are very involved and interested. I send out alerts so everybody knows what's happening with the horses that come off the farm-not just the ones that we breed and raise, but horses like the Dame Dorothy colt. It's exciting for everybody.”

Lynn Hancock was just a few years old during Sunday Silence's dominating 3-year-old campaign in 1989, but nevertheless, the six-time Grade I-winning son of Halo co-owned by her father is still one of her all-time favorites.

“Sunday Silence was kind of our banner horse and really solidified the future of the farm,” she said. “There's a picture of us kids lined up with him and his story is just amazing. I was two years old so I don't remember, but to go back and watch that Preakness race with Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, that was something that kind of hooked me into the industry and into wanting to do this.”

While Arthur Hancock continues to gradually dole out responsibilities to the next generation of leaders at Stone Farm, his youngest daughter hopes to build on the firm foundation he has already constructed for their farm.

“We're very lucky to have good land, good water and good clients,” she said. “We have large pastures and that has built into how we raise the horses in letting them be horses and develop into the best versions of themselves they can be. We just hope to keep Dad's legacy going. He has had so much success, especially in the '80s and '90s in the early days, that I want to get some graded stakes winners for us too.”

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But while both share a fresh, progressive profile, in other respects they could scarcely be more different. 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin), winner of the GIII Dwyer S. on his stakes debut Monday, is beginning to live up to his onerous billing as a $1.5 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga joint sale-topper by one of the world's leading stallions. In contrast Masqueparade, who won the GIII Ohio Derby the previous weekend, belongs to the very first crop of Upstart, an aptly named $10,000 foil at Airdrie to Hill 'n' Dale's $175,000 veteran.

If anything, First Captain's pedigree has become even more aristocratic since his presentation by one of the greatest of our horsemen, Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm, at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in 2019. For he represents a celebrated dynasty already refreshed this year not only by GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. winner Greatest Honour (Tapit), but also by the 4-year-old Cezanne, another son of Curlin to have vindicated the top price at an elite sale. (Though it must be acknowledged that the $3.65 million Gulfstream 2-year-old has again evinced his fragility since that stunning return in the GIII Kona Gold S.).

Greatest Honour, Cezanne and First Captain all trace their ancestry to the matriarch Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), the GI Kentucky Oaks winner of 1982 whose daughter Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) famously produced consecutive winners of the GI Belmont S.–Jazil (Seeking the Gold, 2006) and Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy, 2007). Both Greatest Honour and Cezanne do so through Better Than Honour herself, as second and third dam, respectively; but First Captain's mother, the Grade III winner America (A.P. Indy), is a granddaughter of Better Than Honour's half-sister Butterfly Blue (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

It is remarkable to remind ourselves now that Blush With Pride was cashed in at the age of 18, for $635,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 1997. At that stage, Better Than Honour was still only a yearling, but John Magnier and his partners in Coolmore–as so often–were ahead of the game even with an ageing mare who had appeared to make patchy use of her opportunities. By the time Better Than Honour had developed into an excellent track performer, and then an even better broodmare, Blush With Pride had closed out her own breeding career in Ireland with four foals by Coolmore's champion sire Sadler's Wells.

The first of these turned out to be the Group 1-placed juvenile Maryinsky (Ire), who later produced elite runners in Peeping Fawn (Danehill) and Thewayyouare (Kingmambo). And the next was Butterfly Blue (Ire), who only broke her maiden on the final of nine starts (albeit highly tried on occasion) for Aidan O'Brien and was culled with a maiden cover by Fasliyev, a precocious sprinter by Nureyev, for $610,000 to Horse France at Keeneland November in 2004.

The filly she was carrying that day was sold in the same ring 12 months later, for $290,000, to the late Jim Sapara of Winsong Farm. And it was only a couple of weeks after this filly, meanwhile named Lacadena, had added a stakes placing to her debut success at Woodbine in 2007 that her dam's half-sister was credited with her second Belmont success.

Her family tree having duly obtained a historic new distinction, Lacadena failed to meet her reserve at $1.4 million at Keeneland that November. Nonetheless, she resurfaced the following year in the silks of Bobby Flay, and though unable to win in a light sophomore campaign, she would prove a fertile investment.

Most obviously, when returned to Keeneland in 2015 to realize $1.3 million from Heider Family Stables. In the meantime, however, she had produced two significant daughters. One, Paris Bikini (Bernardini), brought $425,000 on finishing a mildly successful track career–only to work a big profit for WinStar last year when sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $1.95 million at Fasig-Tipton last November, her homebred daughter Paris Lights (Curlin) having won the GI Coaching Club American Oaks.

The other high achiever bred by Flay from Lacadena was America, the dam of First Captain. She was boldly retained at $725,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, a gamble that paid off fairly handsomely. For a start, she proved a productive performer for Bill Mott, winning five of 22 starts and adding podiums in the GI Mother Goose S. and GI Delaware H. to success in the GIII Turnback the Alarm H. And she was then, very presciently, mated with the sire of Paris Lights just days after that filly was foaled. The result is First Captain, who topped the Saratoga Sale just weeks before she was offered with an Uncle Mo cover at Fasig-Tipton in November 2019. Once again, the reserve was both ambitious–she was retained at $3.1 million–

and astute. Her half-sister, remember, would only be exalted by the rise of Paris Lights the following year.

The docket for her Curlin colt had been signed in as many as seven different names, but that of Flay himself has meanwhile resurfaced alongside three of them–West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm and Woodford Racing–in the partnership registered behind First Captain for his belated, but immaculate start for Shug McGaughey. After beating a next-out 'Rising Star' Mahaamel (Into Mischief) over seven furlongs in April, he graduated to an allowance score over a mile of slop before landing the odds, albeit not in the most flamboyant fashion, by reeling in a front-runner in the Dwyer. In fairness, he was forced wide entering the stretch and a second turn will doubtless tell us more about the feasibility of the GI Runhappy Travers S.

Given his trainer's admirable circumspection, the Curlin S. may well appeal not just for its aptness, but also as a less-searching rehearsal than the GII Jim Dandy S. Whatever happens, he will surely keep progressing. Even at the most elementary level, you would expect a Curlin colt out of an A.P. Indy mare to flourish with maturity and distance; and the anterior intervention of Sadler's Wells in one of the modern breed's landmark Classic families can only serve that orientation.

A.P. Influence Behind the 'Masque'…

A.P. Indy is also a significant presence behind Masqueparade, who is by a grandson and whose damsire is out of one of his daughters. This is a different kind of slow burn. Whereas First Captain was late on the scene, but landed running, Masqueparade did get onto the track at two (albeit only just) but then required four attempts round the Fair Grounds to break his maiden. With those foundations laid, however, he proved a revelation when Al Stall Jr. brought him up to Churchill, winning an allowance on the Derby undercard by just shy of a dozen lengths; and he then consolidated that breakthrough by seeing off some quite accomplished rivals at Thistledown.

I do like the antecedents of this horse, who represents not only a model barn, but also one of the most exemplary programs in the Bluegrass, having been bred by Brereton C. Jones in support of Upstart's debut at Airdrie Stud. (A $100,000 weanling pinhook, he made $180,000 from FTGGG as a yearling.) Masqueparade's dam, Cry War Eagle (Any Given Saturday), was recruited to the farm on her retirement for just $40,000 at Keeneland January 2015. It says plenty about our strange industry that her value as a weanling had depreciated so steeply–she had changed hands for $170,000 in the same ring-despite winning five of 20 starts in the meantime.

That record was sewn from hardy genetic reserves: her half-brother Actin Good (Yes It's True) was a stakes winner or graded stakes-placed in four consecutive seasons, including the GIII Pegasus S. among five wins in 25 starts overall. And their dam was a half-sister to Voice Of Destiny (Mane Minister), teak winner of 24 races (including a couple of graded stakes) between the ages of two and 10! Moreover, the next dam is an Alysheba half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Very Subtle (Hoist the Silver) plus another brisk one in Schematic (Upper Mile), whose respective win tallies ended up 12-for-29 and eight-for-15.

We can rely on Airdrie to draw out such wholesome ingredients not just in their broodmare band, but also in their stallion roster. Sure enough, Upstart was Grade I-placed at two, three and four, besides thrashing Frosted by five and a half lengths in the GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S.

How very auspicious, then, that Upstart should have made such a businesslike start with his first juveniles last year. Reinvestment Risk romped in an early maiden Saratoga to become a 'Rising Star' before twice chasing home speedball Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) at Grade I level, while only the runaway train Not This Time mustered more freshman winners. Consistent with his own track profile, Upstart is now maintaining that momentum in a second campaign where only the eccentric case of Protonico deprives him of the highest earnings-per-named-foal among active Kentucky stallions in this intake.

In the meantime, moreover, he was again in conspicuous demand at the 2-year-old sales, advancing what was already a good yield for his second crop of yearlings (his $45,159 average held up well against fee, not least in a pandemic market and while rehousing as many as 41 out of 47 into the ring) as high as $113,250. Moreover, he has already bucked the usual trend, his first yearlings having been received so warmly (average $63,608) that his fourth book, a notoriously challenging one for most sires, went right back up to 90 after taking the customary slide from 146 to 86 and then just 38.

Both as a runner and a sire, Upstart has introduced more precocity than we associate with the Flatter brand. But remember how another son of Flatter, West Coast, is one of the best recent examples of the type of late-on-the-scene sophomore under discussion. (Though credited with beating all three Classic winners in his Travers, it would be churlish to pretend that they had made it to Saratoga in the same kind of form). So don't be surprised to see Upstart consolidate from here.

Other new names will doubtless emerge to challenge those who have absorbed the grueling Triple Crown trail, though Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) tore up the script prepared for odds-on Fulsome (Into Mischief) in the GIII Indiana Derby Wednesday. Remarkably, the breeders of Mr. Wireless, John and Iveta Kerber, had also been responsible for Iowa Derby winner Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) just five days previously. The Kerbers remain involved in Stilleto Boy and will be hoping to secure due reward for this notable achievement when he enters the ring at Fasig Tipton next week as hip 557 at the Horses of Racing Age Sale.

Not all of these later developers, of course, will cope with the raising of the bar. Some, like those fireflies, will fade away as shyly as they have emerged. But one or two, perhaps, will discover a glow that endures even until mirrored by the Pacific sunset at the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Bred by Arthur Hancock and Stonerside Ltd., Vronsky was a $1-million purchase out of the 2000 Keeneland September Sale and was a three-time winner at the races before entering stud in 2005 at E. W. 'Buddy' Johnston's Old English Rancho in Sanger, CA.

To date, Vronsky is the sire of 154 worldwide winners, including 12 black-type winners. In addition to Kilroe Mile hero What A View, he was also responsible for GII San Gabriel S. winner Norvsky and GIII Berkeley H. victor Poshsky. Vronsky, a half-brother to MGSW & MGISP E Dubai (Mr. Prospector) and to GISW and major producer No Matter What (Nureyev), has progeny earnings to date of over $15.8 million.

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The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (National HBPA) and state affiliates in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and West Virginia are suing HISA's newly-created “Authority” to regulate the sport and the Federal Trade Commissioners. In addition, they are suing the Nominating Committee and asking the court to immediately stop them from appointing the Board members of the Authority.

They are represented by attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center, which is contending that HISA is unconstitutional because it gives powers to private individuals and a private organization in an area where only a government entity should be allowed such powers.

Notably absent from the list are horsemen's groups representing owners and trainers in the four leading racing states, New York, Kentucky, Florida and California. The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association has come out in favor of HISA.

The news of the lawsuit brought an immediate and strong response from those who have been working behind the scenes for the passage of HISA, which some believe is a necessary step in order for the sport to clean itself up and prevent cheating and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

“If they are successful and they stop this, you can kiss the horse industry goodbye,” said breeder and owner Arthur Hancock. “Look at what has happened in the past. That so many have come together to try to clean up the sport is a wonderful thing. Everyone wants a level playing field and this will give it to them. I don't know why anyone would object to that.”

“This is ridiculous,” said Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “I read this and thought, 'you've got to be kidding me.' All we are trying to do is clean up our sport. Looking at the states where they are backing this, those are some of the states that most need cleaning up. I don't know how anybody could be against cleaning up our sport. I can tell you one thing, they never asked me for my opinion.”

While it remains to be seen whether or not the lawsuit succeeds in circumventing HISA, it could cause delays. The United States Anti-Doping Agency is set to begin policing the sport and testing its participants on July 1, 2022. That date could now be in jeopardy.

According to its website, The Liberty Justice Center is “a non-profit conservative public-interest litigation center that fights to protect economic liberty, private property rights, free speech, and other fundamental rights in Illinois and beyond.” According to Wikipedia, The Liberty Justice Center is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a web of state pressure groups that denote themselves as “think tanks” and drive a right-wing agenda in statehouses nationwide.

“All Americans should be concerned when Congress gives power to regulate an entire industry to a private group of industry insiders,” said Brian Kelsey, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, in a statement. “This goes way beyond setting rules for the sport of horse racing. This is not the NBA or the NFL. The 'Authority' has the power to make laws, issue subpoenas and effectively tax owners with little real oversight. Placing that power in a private organization is illegal and must be stopped.”

The Jockey Club, the main proponent of HISA, also issued a statement Monday.

“We are not at all surprised by the lawsuit filed against HISA today by a number of affiliates of the National HPBA,” it read. “We are confident that the law is constitutionally sound and legal, as it is patterned precisely after other longstanding law. It's a shame that the National HPBA has chosen this expensive and time-consuming path, but it is consistent with their well known pattern of conduct that has served to block or water down needed reforms that the vast majority of the equine industry and animal welfare organizations support. It is worth noting that this suit is also brought by state HBPA affiliates that are the greatest beneficiaries of the earlier federal legislation, the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, which confers upon them virtually unlimited authority over interstate wagering on Thoroughbred races.”

Jeff Gural, who owns the Meadowlands and has been one of the leading voices calling for harness and Thoroughbred racing to undergo sweeping changes when it comes to integrity issues, said he does not believe the lawsuit will ultimately stop HISA.

“I think it will prevail,” he said. “I don't think they have a chance because Judges will look at this and, instinctively, will want to keep the horses from being drugged. Them going in and saying drugging horses is OK is going to be tough to sell, especially after all those people were indicted. I'm not too concerned.”

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

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“The Thoroughbred Club of America is excited to name Arthur B. Hancock III as our 2020 Honor Guest”, said LaMonica. “Arthur represents the Thoroughbred industry in its most sincere form, hailing from a family rooted strongly in tradition, while forging his own unique legacy of horsemanship and leadership in our sport.”

Arthur B. Hancock III is the owner of Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He has made his mark breeding, racing, and selling Thoroughbreds, as well as putting his personal stamp on the development of Stone Farm and its ongoing success. A fourth-generation horseman, Hancock grew up on historic Claiborne Farm. As a young man, he worked a year at the racetrack for Hall of Fame Trainer Eddie Neloy and returned to Claiborne to work as the assistant broodmare and yearling manager under the tutelage of his father. In 1970, Hancock leased 100 acres and launched Stone Farm. Today, the farm comprises 2,200 acres and has been in operation for fifty years.

In his capacity as an industry leader, Hancock has served on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, as a director of Keeneland Association and Fasig-Tipton Company, and as a member of The Jockey Club. Especially visible has been Hancock's leadership in fostering integrity in racing. He is a cofounder and outspoken supporter of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA), a growing force dedicated to eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in racing. He is an active supporter of Thoroughbred aftercare, and living by example, he relocated homebred Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol back to Stone Farm from Germany at the conclusion of his stallion career.

Hancock is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was co-captain of the swim team and won the Southeastern Conference in the 100-yard free style. In addition, Hancock is an accomplished songwriter and musician. He has produced several collections of original music, and performers the caliber of Willie Nelson and Ray Price have covered his songs.

Hancock and wife Staci have been married for 43 years and have raised six children. They currently have two grandchildren.

The Thoroughbred Club Testimonial Dinner was inaugurated in 1932, the year the Club was founded, to recognize distinguished contributions of leadership as well as success in the Thoroughbred industry. The first recipient was Col. E. R. Bradley, and other winners include William Woodward Sr., three generations of the Hancock family of Claiborne Farm, plus Ted Bassett, Shug McGaughey, Alice Chandler, Chris McCarron, and The Honorable Brereton C. Jones. To learn more about The Thoroughbred Club of America, visit us online at www.thethoroughbredclub.com. Due to the Coronavirus, the date for the 89th Testimonial Dinner has yet to be determined.

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