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INQUIRY Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Most Impressive Debut Victory?

A first impression can go a long way.

In Thoroughbred racing, a strong debut victory can be the springboard into stakes competition that can last for the rest of a horse's career, and potentially into the breeding shed. The sport is built on catching lightning in a bottle, and when the world sees what it thinks is a flash, it can be potentially life-changing.

On this edition of INQUIRY, we ask the folks on the sales grounds to recall a rookie sensation with the question, “What is the most impressive debut win you've ever seen?”

Chris Knehr – WinStar Farm

“The one that sticks out is probably Maclean's Music. That was a freakish performance.”

Carl McEntee – Ballysax Bloodstock

“Maclean's Music. That first out of his, running the 106 Beyer was insane. That was something special.”

Scott Mallory – Mallory Farm

“A filly named Promise Me More. She was entered in a stakes race for her very first race, and she ended up winning by five when she trailed the field the whole time. That was pretty impressive, and it gave me my first win as a breeder.”

Tom Hinkle – Hinkle Farms

“Back in the early '80s, we owned a filly named Romper, and she won here at Keeneland. It was the first race we won at Keeneland, and she won by 15 lengths in 1:09 and change.”

Marc McLean – Crestwood Farm

“We bred Xtra Heat, so to us, that was a big deal when she won her first start.”

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Prominent Owner, Breeder Frank Generazio Jr. Dies At 91

Frank Generazio Jr., an owner and breeder responsible for some of the most memorable turf runners of the past couple decades, died Saturday at the age of 91.

A resident of Jupiter, Fla., Generazio was a participant in the Thoroughbred business for five decades with his wife Patricia, under whose name their horses usually ran. Their racing operation began in the Northeast at tracks like Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park, and the stable can primarily be seen today in New York and Florida under trainer Christophe Clement.

Generazio entered Thoroughbred ownership after a conversation at his father's birthday party led to a group of friends agreeing to put in money to claim a handful of racehorses at Suffolk Downs. After a few years, he was the only member of the group still in the game.

The Generazios became fully entrenched in the business after the $27,000 yearling purchase of Concorde Bound, a colt who went on to become a Grade 3 winner in the mid-1980s. He then retired to stud, and though he died of colic after a couple seasons at stud, the handful of foals he produced set the roots for his owner's homebred program through their success on the racetrack and in the breeding shed.

In recent years, the pink and green Generazio colors were best known for flying over a pair of homebred high-level gray turf sprinters in Disco Partner and Pure Sensation. Disco Partner set a world record for six furlongs over the turf at Belmont Park when he won the 2017 Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational Stakes in 1:05.67. Pure Sensation, who is still racing in 2020, is an eight-time graded stakes winner, and he won the Jaipur himself in 2016.

The Generazio homebred program has also included Discreet Marq, who won the G1 Del Mar Oaks for her breeders, then sold for $2.4 million at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale. They also bred and raced Discreet Marq's dam and granddam.

In addition to owning and breeding, Generazio spent time as a trainer in the Mid-Atlantic, racking up 370 wins from 1991 to 2006. His most notable runners in that span included Grade 2 winner Concorde's Gold and Grade 3 winners Unreal Turn and Play It Again Stan. He also trained the multiple stakes winner Concorde's Tune, who became a successful sire.

Generazio was a long-serving president of the New England HBPA, a member of the New Jersey HBPA, and he was a high-ranking member of the National HBPA.

The Generazios have based their breeding operation at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, Fla., since the 1990s, and they currently board about 35 horses at Joe and Helen Barbazon's farm, between broodmares and young horses.

Though the Generazios were clients well before the transaction, their relationship with the Barbazons was solidified with the private purchase of Presious Passion, a colt bred by the Barbazons.

Presious Passion went on to to earn $2,694,599 over the course of eight seasons, including two victories in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes, a win in the G1 Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Championship Stakes, and a runner-up effort in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park. The gelding returned to Pleasant Acres at the end of his racing career.

Memorial details for Generazio are still to be announced.

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Accomplished Veterinarian Johnson Dies At The Age Of 81

Dr. Jerry H. Johnson, longtime veterinarian well known in academic and private practice, died Nov. 9 at the age of 81.

Born March 7, 1939 in Gough, Ga., to Julian and Martha Kitchens Johnson, Johnson was raised on his parents' working farm and attended the University of Georgia, where he received both his undergraduate and veterinary degrees. He went on to spend seven years in the U.S. Army Reserves before being discharged in 1963 with the rank of staff sergeant.

Johnson became a boarded equine surgeon and taught for 16 years at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Auburn University, and the University of Missouri.

After encouragement from well-known racetrack practitioner Dr. Alex Harthill, Johnson left academia to begin private practice in 1979 in the Central Kentucky area. He is credited with introducing the use of furosemide into racing to prevent incidence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), as well as being the first veterinarian to use an endoscope to examine the airway of horses at auction. Johnson was also well known as an advocate to end of the practice of soring and “Big Lick” movement in the Tennessee Walking Horse world.

Johnson's work also included field trial studies for pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Merial, and Schering-Plough. He scoped more than 2,000 horses as part of field trials for the omperazole treatment now commonly known by its trade name of GastroGard.

According to his obituary, Johnson's patients included many Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup winners, as well as grand prix jumpers, Paso Finos, Friesian carriage horses, the Budweiser Cydesdales, Belgian pulling drafts, and the occaisonal stable dog or cat.

Johnson was a published author in the American Association of Equine Practitioners Proceedings, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Journal of Equine Medicine and Surgery, and was a member of AVMA, AAEP, ACVS, NAARV, KVMA, KAEP, FAEP, The Thoroughbred Club, The Keeneland Club.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 30 years, Patricia White Johnson, and daughter Julee Johnson, longtime friend Jo Ann Johnson, daughter Kaitlyn Hildenbrand (Maury), sister-in-law Barbara White Crockett, nieces Jennifer Knight (Mark) and Elizabeth Erickson (Nils) (daughters of his late sister-in-law Jacqueline White), nephew Major Roy B. Crockett, USMC (Anais), adopted daughter Elizabeth Connolly (Jim), grandchildren Juel Johnson; Ty, Alexa, and Ashley Hildenbrand; Christopher and John Connolly.

A memorial will be held sometime in 2021. In lieu of flowers, the family has established a memorial fund in Johnson's honor at the University of Georgia, where friends may contribute to the UGA Foundation (note: The Jerry H. Johnson, DVM Memorial Fund) or online here.

Read an extended obituary of Johnson here.

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Kentucky Derby Museum Welcomes Four New Board Members

Kentucky Derby Museum welcomes five new members to its Board of Directors. Joining the Board is Brandy Harmon, Vice President of Ticketing & Venue Operations for Breeders' Cup Ltd., Ja Hillebrand, CEO of Stock Yards Bank & Trust, Briana Lathon, Senior Compliance Officer, Group & Military at Humana and returning to the Board is Harold Workman, who is retired from his career in public service.

“It has been a tough year on many businesses, but especially for non-profit organizations like the Kentucky Derby Museum,” said Pat Armstrong, President & CEO. “Our Museum is navigating challenges in 2020 with steady direction from our Board. With their experience and sharp minds, the incoming Board members will further strengthen our organization moving forward in these challenging times.”

Additionally, current Board Member David Nett has been appointed Secretary. Departing Board Members are Theresa Canaday, Michael Rust and T. Hunter Wilson.

Kentucky Derby Museum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is governed by a 22 person Board of Directors, committed to the highest standard of business ethics. The Museum board monitors Museum operations, provides financial oversight, and helps guide the growth of the Museum. The new Board members will serve a three year term.

About the new Board Members:

Brandy Harmon

Brandy oversees all ticket sales and operations for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, beginning her career there in 2009. A graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, she began her career as Director of Sales & Operations for Dapple Bloodstock/Season Exchange, and worked her way up the ladder through the equine industry. Harmon is a member of the Thoroughbred Club of America, served on the board of directors for the Oregon TOBA, Race for Education, and a member of several industry organizations. She resides in Lexington, KY with her husband.

Ja Hillebrand

Mr. Hillebrand is Chief Executive Officer of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company and its holding company, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. Ja joined Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company in 1996 to develop the Private Banking Group for the company. Prior to joining the Bank, he was with a regional bank and a community bank where he specialized in private banking.

Ja led Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company's expansion into the Indianapolis market in 2003 and in 2007 he led the Bank's expansion into the Cincinnati market and supervised the Bank's retail brokerage division.

He served as Executive Vice President and Director of Private Banking until 2008. In 2008, he was appointed to the Company's Board of Directors and named President. In 2018, Ja became Chief Executive Officer.

Briana Lathon

Briana Lathon is an attorney and life-long Louisvillian. She graduated from Centre College in 2015 and the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 2018.

Briana is currently employed by Humana as a Senior Compliance Officer for the commercial and military group. Prior to Humana, Briana spent two years in private practice as a business litigation attorney.

During law school Briana served as the Black Law Student Association President, Lead legal research fellow for the Center for Land Use and Policy, and was named a Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Fellow by the University of Louisville and Louisville Bar Foundation.

In addition to the Kentucky Derby Museum board, Briana serves as the Chair of the Brandeis School of Law Diversity Alumni Council, is a member of the Kentucky Derby Festival Board of Directors, an Associate member of the Brandeis Inn of Courts, and vice chair of the Louisville Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section.

Harold Workman

Harold Workman of Louisville grew up on a family farm in Livingston County and received a bachelor's degree in animal science from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture in 1969.

Workman has spent his career in public service with significant focus on development of livestock expositions. Workman began his career with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. In 1974, he was named General Manager of the North American International Livestock Exposition. Beginning in 1986, Workman directed all agency-produced events for the Kentucky State Fair Board as director of exposition, and served four years as vice president of expositions and operations. In 1993, Workman was named to his current position as President and CEO for the Kentucky State Fair Board.

Thanks to his efforts, the Kentucky Exposition Center is home to several signature events including the North American International Livestock Exposition. When he took on the challenge of establishing a major livestock exposition 38 years ago, he set the groundwork for an event that would annually attract thousands of producers and exhibitors. The event has grown from 2,500 head of beef cattle in its first year to becoming the largest all-breed, purebred show of its kind.

Under his leadership, the Exposition Center has been transformed into one of the ten largest facilities of its type with more than 1.2 million square feet of indoor space.

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