The dirt on Marion’s special soil

The Perfect Figure 8

How Ocala’s special dirt made it the Horse Capital of the World

BY BRAD ROGERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY RALPH DEMILIO

The Perfect Figure 8

To the untrained eye, the U.S. Geological Service’s maps of Marion County are hard to read. After all, it is a map crowded with hundreds of individual numerals identifying the different types of dirt across the breadth of the county’s 1,663 square miles. One of those numbers – 8 – is, it turns out, the county’s lucky number.

Found largely in the northwest quadrant of the county, in what today is the Farmland Preservation Area, the presence and volume of No. 8 soil is what many horse industry historians and observers credit with making Ocala what it is today, the Horse Capital of the World.

You see, No. 8 soil is special because it is a thin layer of dirt atop a massive limestone formation known as the Ocala Ridge that runs from south of Ocala to west of Tallahassee. That almost-pure limestone is chockfull of calcium carbonate, and calcium is a key nutrient in building strong bones and muscles in horses and humans.

“Why is the grass so good in Ocala?” University of Florida soil scientist Dr. Allan R. Bacon said. “The short answer is it grows in calcium-rich limestone.”

What makes No. 8 soil so nutritious is that the limestone is just a few feet from the surface, meaning the calcium it contains is more easily absorbed by plants.

It hasn’t always been that way. Bacon explained that tens of millions of years ago, Florida was underwater, and large amounts of limestone were deposited where our peninsula now exists. As the ocean receded and created what is now Florida somewhere between 5 million and 25 million years ago, it would rise and fall, then rise and fall again. Each time it fell, it washed some of the sandy and, importantly, clay surface soils away, until we have the geological make-up that is Florida in 2023. By washing away an entire layer of clay in areas with No. 8 soil, it allowed plants and grasses to absorb the calcium carbonate more easily from the limestone.

IT TOOK A ROAD BUILDER While the USGS first documented No. 8 soil in Marion County in 1892, it would be a half century later before it would be recognized as a potential ingredient for breeding and raising quality racehorses. And it took a road builder-turned-horse farm owner to bring it to the world’s attention.

Carl Rose, who grew up on an Indiana draft horse farm before moving to Florida to become a major road builder, was Marion County’s first thoroughbred breeder. Generally considered “the father of the Florida thoroughbred industry,” Rose realized that Florida limestone made for terrific roadbeds. He also recognized the mineral content of the limestone could be beneficial to growing livestock, especially race horses.

In the 1930s, he built his Rosemere Farm — which was located on 3,000 acres

“Why is the grass so good in Ocala?

The short answer is it grows in calcium-rich limestone.”

that included land where the College of Central Florida and Paddock Mall now sit — and took unimpressive horses and developed them into winners. It was the soil, he said, that made for stronger and faster horses.

Other horse breeders were watching. Bonnie Heath and Jack Dudley, a couple of Midwestern oil wildcatters, were among them. They came to Florida and built farms around where the Heathbrook shopping center on State Road 200 is today. They would go on to put Ocala on the horse racing map.

In 1956, Heath and Dudley had a horse that was special. He had been a sickly foal that almost died in his first few months from pneumonia. He was given so many shots by veterinarians that they named the horse Needles. Needles would go on to win the

1956 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (he finished second in the Preakness) and Ocala would never be the same.

By 1958, there were 28 horse farms in Marion County. Horse breeders were paying attention to what was happening here. They still are — today there are more than 1,000 horse operations in and around Ocala. And the makeup of its soil is a big reason why.

As equine journalist Tom Ferry wrote: “What is the appeal of Marion County and the state of Florida when it comes to raising horses? It begins with the high concentration of limestone in the soil. Comparable to the mineral makeup found in Kentucky, breeders have long associated the grazing of nutrient-rich grasses with the creation of healthier genes for stronger racehorses. This has rarely been more evident than in Ocala and Marion County throughout the past 80 years.”

TODAY, MORE THAN NO.8 Joan Pletcher, one of Ocala’s leading horse farm Realtors, said that some prospective horse farm buyers request land that contains No. 8 soil. But she said it is far less common than one would think. Rather, today’s horse farm purchasers are coming to Ocala because, well, it is the Horse Capital of the World.

It’s about more than the soil, although that was a big draw early on in the growth of the equine industry here.

Travis Douglass agrees. Douglass is a fifth-generation Marion County farmer and associate professor/Agribusiness Program manager at College of Central Florida and said while the presence of No. 8 soil might have precipitated Ocala’s emergence as one of the world’s top four equine communities, there is more than calcium-rich soil to the equation that made the horse capital.

While Douglass concedes No. 8 soil is an important factor in the development of the area’s equine industry, he said other factors are important as well.

He noted that prior to the arrival of horse breeders Marion County was primarily an agricultural community, growing row crops, cotton, citrus and livestock. That’s why we have communities with names like Citra, Orange Springs and Cotton Plant.

Of course, the row crop farmers have moved south to better growing conditions and better markets. Freezes wiped out most of the once-thriving citrus industry. And cotton, once a leading crop hereabouts, has all but disappeared.

But today, horses and their multibillion-dollar impact on the local economy are the dominant agricultural sector – by a long shot – and while it may have started with Carl Rose and his knowledge of our calcium-rich soil, the quality and quantity of Ocala’s horses are the result of more than dirt.

“There’s truth to the idea that No. 8 soil was key in the development of the horse industry here,” Douglass said. “But the climate and the water are all part of it, too.”

Douglass noted that the limestone that laces our grasses with calcium also has our drinking water running through its porous underground formations. The result is our

“No. 8 soil was key in the development of the horse industry here.

But the climate and the water are all part of it, too.”

water is calcium-rich, too.

And then there’s the climate. Because our weather is so warm, Douglass said, Ocala enjoys 250 days of “grazable pasture” each year, which not only is good nutritionally but also allows for year-round training of the horses.

Douglass said the recognition of the presence and value of No. 8 soil, especially following Needles’ Kentucky Derby win, caused a cosmic shift in Ocala’s agricultural make-up and spurred horse people to flock here. But today, he said, the legacy of No. 8 soil and what attracts more horse aficionados to Ocala is the fact that it has grown to be the Horse Capital of the World. That means it has the equine infrastructure – everything from veterinary specialists and tack dealers to fence companies and a trained equine work force – to serve growing numbers of horse people. And they’re flocking here in droves.

Nonetheless, UF’s Bacon said there is no denying the importance of Ocala’s limestone rich soil and No. 8’s impact on turning the region into the world-famous horse country it is today.

“Let’s face it,” he said, “Ocala is a wonderful little sweet spot in the state.”

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