7 minute read
Ted Talks: US TOUR
Ted Voute reports on Blue Diamond Stud’s exciting new property purchase, he visits Kentucky Turf Downs Turf track and is overwhelmed by the number of millionaires and billionaires at Keeneland September
VISITS TO LEXINGTON for stud farmers are always stimulating and exciting, the constant searching for an edge to raise a good horse being the ultimate aim.
I have enjoyed several visits to Kentucky this year culminating with the purchase of a farm for Imad Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud.
The 252-acre Stonereath Farm is well situated in the famous Bourbon county on Route 460 between Paris and Georgetown.
Months of due diligence and reviews of painstaking reports concluded in relief that, of the farms available, Stonereath is indeed worthy to raise a select group of mares who can qualify under the elusive “Kentucky-bred” banner I had an advantage when considering buying options as I have worked for Spring Oak, Mill Ridge, Clear Sky and Glennwood Farm – all of which gave me plenty of knowledge to draw on whilst looking for the ideal farm.
I have also lived and run a business in Lexington, have visited annually to consign horses and have always visited as many properties as possible, seeing many of the farms that can raise a good horse.
The availability of fresh pasture and clean water is pressed home right from Pony Club horse management classes, but it is so important and is a maxim held true by successful breeders world wide.
The Stonereath land was tested for us by The Farm Clinic, run by the Allman family, and gives a clear indication that there is a phosphorous rich pasture that can raise an elite racehorse.
We had visits to Hallway Feeds and Woodford Feeds and we will be able to balance any deficiencies in the land with the best feed available.
Hallway Feeds is found in downtown Lexington on Louden Avenue and is a family-run feed company that has fed 13 Kentucky Derby winners – five reared on the vine of land bought by Imad Al Sagar.
It soon became obvious that Hallway Feeds and Bourbon county are a good match.
Feed supplements to increase bone density have been meticulously researched by the company for use in the heart of the Bluegrass.
The last but not least important ingredient is the pure spring water –many of the best farms I have visited have spring water paddocks.
Kitten’s Joy’s owner-breeder Ken Ramsey even bought the piece of land that houses the spring’s source, just so he could control the water quality.
For water needs, Moses Drilling was our first port of call as we would like to reinstate the aquifer and drill down to the sulphur-smelling water table.
All that’s left is to add mares with good pedigrees, mate them well and manage the property with good a horseman or woman!
Labour in the horse industry is difficult with many farms struggling to find staff with the experience needed, but Kentucky is fortunate to have a thriving community of excellent horsemen and women, many with Mexican descent, and whose work ethic is second to none.
As in every rural community, there are challenges involved in getting decent internet access, and installation of Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband system is a viable alternative to AT and T.
We’ve had meetings with solar panel companies regarding electricity supply for the staff accommodation, office and barns.
With a 50 per cent grant, 50 per cent depreciation and 30 per
cent tax credit – in two years the panels will have paid for themselves.
We have also been engaging vets and farriers and, most importantly, the foot soldiers to run the farm.
We even had a visit to the Paris City Hall to transfer the title on the trucks and convert to the farm plates so they can tow 2600lb in a trailer –it has been a steep learning curve!
KEENELAND SUNDAY pre-sale is always a quiet day so I decided to head down to Kentucky Downs race track for a day’s racing.
On its website the course states that it is home to “America’s only European-style (all Turf) racecourse, and at one mile and five-sixteenths in length, it is one of the longest tracks in the nation. Unlike other racetracks, which are typically oval, the course at Kentucky Downs is kidney-shaped, featuring undulation and a unique right-hand bend.”
Heading down the I-65 I passed the biggest lithium car battery factory in the world, as well as buildings housing casks of bourbon, turning gently till maturity, possibly to become Jack Daniel’s.
Half an hour outside the city of Nashville is The Mint Casino and Kentucky Downs, which was enjoying its seven-day long meet.
The racecourse entrance is secondary to the casino with the packed crowd pulling one armed bandits so financing the incredible prize-money for this almost hidden grass-only racetrack.
The stands are akin to a posh point-to-point and the racecourse very similar with railings and undulating terrain.
However, the prize-money was on a different scale and included multiple $1,000,000 races, $250,000 restricted Keeneland graduate races and $150,000 maidens.
Horses bred in Kentucky also get a significant extra share of the prize pot from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.
For example, a Kentucky-bred winner of a maiden special weight at Kentucky Downs would earn the winner’s share of a $150,000 purse, while a winner born out of state would receive a share of $80,000.
I am sure European jockeys would feel at home riding here, perhaps more so than the locals. It is very easy to get here as there are direct flights from London Heathrow to Nashville, and the airport is just 30 minutes from the track.
I wonder how many Kentuckybreds are catalogued in the Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale this year?
MONDAY saw the arrival of Keeneland Book 1 and I restricted myself to looking at the Curlin fillies, unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of his stock.
Glennwood Farm did sell a particularly nice filly, who ended up making $650,000, but in general I found the sire’s draft disappointing.
Book 1 in any sale is a vendor’s nightmare – everyone wants its existence but no one wants to sell in it!
And although most million dollar horses come from it, the sessions also produce the most RNAs and outs, which ran around 50 per cent of the catalogue.
The remainder offered is a group of horses who manage to pass the vet but also the numerous expert eyes which all tend to select which are the best horses. Everyone is good at the selection process and all land on roughly the same horses.
America is currently seemingly stuffed full of millionaires and billionaires all wanting to team up with others and play the game in partnerships in order to reduce their risk.
It’s a fickle market, but when your playing with million dollar chips the stakes are high, yet everyone wants to find the next Flightline or Baaeed.
Watching millionaire and billionaire breeders selling, or staying, in partnerships; it was quite a humbling experience as a voyeur.
All the chat was still focused on the Saratoga fatalities and a possible switch to synthetic surfaces.
If indeed this were to happen it could be a game changer and draw US racing even closer to the European racing.
The leading sires’ title would change dramatically drawing it ever closer to a Turf-like statistic leaving behind the A. P. Indy line, and as yet unconsidered sires would rise from the ashes to change the breeding industry and with it the buying patterns of the participants.
The jurisdiction could align and become one and interchangeable and for the first time in decades, or at least since Gainsway stood Irish River, Riverman and Vaguely Noble.
We could get a joined-up industry, interchangeable and unified in both sales and racing.
