Marty Maline, the former executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, is the recipient of the 2023 Warner L. Jones Jr. Horsemen's of the Year Award presented by the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners, the organization said in a release Friday morning.
The Warner Jones award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by its namesake. Maline, who ranked among the country's most-respected executive directors of any racing organization, will be feted at the KTO's annual awards dinner, Saturday Nov. 18 at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
“The biggest part is that with the people I have known and respected who have received that award, it was very touching to me and I'm really honored that they would even consider me,” Maline said. “Many, many years ago somebody told me 'This isn't your position; this is your life.' And he was right.”
For more information on the event, contact Marlene Meyer at 502-458-5820 and click here for a list of past winners.
The Jockey Club's Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics reflects that through Oct. 18 of this year, 867 stallions covered 26,597 mares in North America during the breeding season, a decrease from 2022 when 925 stallions covered 27,163 mares, the organization said in a release early Friday.
They estimate an additional 2,500 to 3,500 mares will be reported as bred during the 2023 breeding season.
Kentucky traditionally leads North America in Thoroughbred breeding activity. During 2023, Kentucky's 199 reported stallions covered 16,953 mares, or 63.74% of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions increased 1.58% compared with the 16,689 reported at this time last year.
Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2023, in addition to Kentucky, stallions in New York, Ontario, and West Virginia covered more mares in 2023 than in 2022, as reported at this time last year.
Golden Pal, standing at Coolmore America, had the highest number of mares bred in 2023 with 293, followed by Epicenter (Coolmore), 262; Practical Joke (Coolmore), 252; Jack Christopher (Coolmore), 247; and Uncle Mo (Coolmore), 234.
The RMB also shows that there were 14 stallions with a book size of 200 or more that covered a total of 3,213 mares in North America in 2023 as reported through Oct. 18, which is 12.1% of all coverings reported. The 45 stallions with books of 150 or more covered 8,588 mares, which is 32.3% of all mares reported bred.
For comparison, reports submitted by Oct. 10, 2013, show that one stallion covered more than 200 mares in North America, which represented 0.6% of the total for that year. Those reports also show 19 stallions covered 150 or more with a total of 3,205 mares in the 2013 breeding season, which equates to 9.4% of all mares reported bred in 2013 as of Oct. 10.
Click here to view all of the RMB statistics, which can be found in The Jockey Club Fact Book.
In addition, RMB information on stallions that bred mares in North America is available through report 36P or subscription service Equineline.
(Story courtesy of The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association of New Jersey)
New Jersey-based breeder Greg Kilka knew the odds were not in his favor when he arrived at the 2020 Keeneland January Sale. A small-time owner and breeder with a modest budget, what chance did he have of coming home with a horse that could be life-changing? He was playing the lottery.
“I didn't have unlimited resources,” he said.
What he did have was $14,000, what it cost to buy an unraced mare named Adorabella (Ghostzapper) in foal to Fast Anna (Medaglia d'Oro). It was the only horse he bought at the sale.
Fast forward some three years later and Adorabella's first two foals are both stakes winners and her third, a yearling colt by Classic Empire just sold for a sales-topping $135,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale. All three are New Jersey-breds.
“People may think we're overnight successes,” Kilka said. “But my wife and I have been putting money into the sport for some 15 years. But never have we had anything like this.”
Kilka arrived at the sale with bloodstock agent Chris Gracie. They looked at dozens of horses, hoping to find that diamond in the rough that everyone else misses. Hip 945 caught their attention. There wasn't a lot to go on. She was bred by Tracy Farmer but never made it to the races. Her dam, Alydorable (Arch) was 1-for-3 during her brief career and finished third in the Revidere S.
“Physically, she was beautiful,” Kilka said. “There was nothing we could see that was wrong with her when we purchased her. Chris went through lot of mares on my behalf. He liked this one physically and thought she could be a productive broodmare. Looking at her family, he thought there was some upside.”
Kilka said he had no idea why Adorabella had never raced. It turns out she had the type of niggling problems that keep a lot of horses from making it to the races.
According to Joe Miller, who helped manage the racing and breeding operations of Tracy Farmer, Adorabella was sent to Mark Casse to prepare for her debut but came down with some ankle issues.
“We felt like we'd be better off breeding her because she was going to struggle to make it to the races,” Miller said. “Now I feel embarrassed that we sold her. Fortunately, Tracy still has the rest of the family. He's pressing on with the family, so, hopefully, they'll keep breeding stakes winners out of Adorabella.”
Kilka teamed up with Christine Connelly of Bright View Farm and they are the co-breeders of the Fast Anna foal, which they decided to sell at auction. Named Girl Trouble (Fast Anna), she sold for a mere $15,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Fall Yearling Sale. The buyers were Swilcan Stable LLC and LC Racing and they turned her over to top Midlantic trainer Butch Reid. She's gone 5-for-13 and has won two stakes, both at Parx, the Future Stars Filly Division S. and the Parx Futurity.
Kilka and Connelly were off to a fast start with Adorabella, but it would only get better.
Kilka had been part of a partnership that raced Bucchero (Kantharos) and was eager to give the stallion a try. He didn't know at the time that Bucchero would become a rising star among stallions. From his first two crops to race, he's had 50 winners (61% winners to starters, below only Army Mule and well ahead of horses like Justify and Good Magic. He's had three stakes winners and eight total stakes horses from modest books of mares.
“I probably wouldn't have been shrewd enough to breed her to Bucchero, who's off to a phenomenal start as a stallion” Miller said. “More power to them. They've done a great job managing her.”
The mating of Bucchero and Adorabella produced Book'em Danno, named for Steve McGarrett's go-to closing line in the old Hawaii Five-O series. This time Kilka and Connelly decided to sell the foal privately and he was purchased by Atlantic Six Racing LLC., which is comprised of a group of friends who are residents of the Jersey Shore.
Trained by Derek Ryan, Book'em Danno broke his maiden on Aug. 2 at Monmouth, besting a field of Jersey-breds by 9 1/2 lengths. Believing his horse was ready for a tougher challenge, Ryan entered him back against open company in the Smoke Glacken S. at Monmouth, which he won by two lengths.
That had the connections thinking Breeders' Cup and they wheeled Book'em Danno back in the Oct. 8 Futurity S. at Aqueduct for what was to be his turf debut. The race was a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, but things took a wrong turn when the race was rained off the grass.
That didn't prove to be a problem on the racetrack as Book'em Danno dominated, winning by 6 1/2 lengths. But because the race came off the turf it was no longer a Win and You're In race, so “Danno” will not be headed to Santa Anita. It was also downgraded from a Grade III to a listed race.
“Maybe that was a blessing in disguise, Ryan said. “The Breeders' Cup race is at five furlongs and that might be too short for him.”
Ryan now plans to run Book'em Danno in the Nov. 5 Nashua S., run on the dirt at one mile at Aqueduct.
“We plan to stretch him out now,” Ryan said. “It's a one-turn mile and I don't think that will give him any trouble. He'll handle the distance. He's a very laid-back horse. He switches himself off and then when you call on him he's there. I'd like to try him on the grass at some point. He's bred for it. I think if that race stayed on the grass the result would have been the same.”
Should Book 'em Danno win the Nashua he'll join the conversation when it comes to hopefuls for the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby. But Ryan isn't ready to look that far ahead. He said the Nashua will be the gelding's last start of the year. He will then ship to Tampa Bay Downs and gear up for his 3-year-old campaign.
For Kilka and Connelly, the best should be yet to come. The $135,000 they picked up when selling the Classic Empire–Adorabella foal was their first real payday. (The yearling was bought by the same connections that own Girl Trouble). The next could come as soon as Nov. 7–two days after the Nashua–as Adorabella has been supplemented to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale (hip 261). She sells from the Gracie Bloodstock consignment in foal to Medaglia d'Oro, carrying one bred like the aforementioned Girl Trouble.
So what did Kilka really get for his $14,000?
“A dream come true,” he said. “An absolute dream come true.”
The GIII Bank of America Valley View S. kicks off the graded action on the final two days of the fall meeting at Keeneland, and a mostly evenly matched group of sophomore fillies will head to the post.
Sacred Wish (Not This Time) was something other than a failure on the main track, with placings in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks–in her first start following a private acquisition by a partnership group headed up by Black Type Thoroughbreds and Swinbank Stable–and a near miss behind Wet Paint (Blame) in the GI CCA Oaks in July. The dark bay never reached contention in the GI Alabama S. after some problems getting out of the gate and tried the turf for the first time in the Sept. 15 Winter Memories S. at Aqueduct. She took to it beautifully, coming away late to score comfortably and looks to have trained on strongly since.
Klaravich Stable homebred Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}) is the 3-1 favorite on the morning line and with good reason, as she won Saratoga's GIII Lake George S. at second asking July 21, where she had Secret Money (Good Samaritan) back in third, and was second best to stablemate Aspray (Quality Road) in the GII Lake Placid S. Aug. 19. Secret Money did her part to flatter the Lake George form when edging next-out Glen Cove S. winner Danse Macabre (Army Mule) in the 6 1/2-furlong GIII Music City S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 2.
Trainer Jessica Harrington sends in Moyglare Stud homebred Eternal Silence (War Front) for her U.S. debut. Third to the recently retired Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Group 1 stakes sponsored by her owner last fall, the bay won her maiden by 11 lengths going a mile a Naas June 28 and exits a fourth in listed company at Killarney the following month. Shane Foley ships in to ride.
So rich in quality is the Valley View that three fillies that have already struck at the graded level are no better than bit players. The rail-drawn Heavenly Sunday (Candy Ride {Arg}) wired Churchill's GII Edgewood S. May 5, while Safeen (War Front) picked up her graded score in the GIII Pucker Up S. at Ellis in August. The most intriguing of this trio is Abundancia (California Chrome), a Group 2 winner on the dirt in Peru and Group 1 placed on both surfaces.
