By Stefanie Grimm
If the Kansas City Chiefs need any advice on achieving the historic three-peat come Super Bowl Sunday, they need only ask Dr. John Eaton who, in conjunction with First Row Partners and Team Hanley, achieved the milestone at last Thursday's Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards.
As a co-owner of two-time champion sprinter Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) during her racing career (she sold to John Stewart's Resolute Racing for $6,000,000 at FTKNOV in 2023), Eaton was honored Thursday as the breeder of yet another champion sprinter when Straight No Chaser (Speightster) earned the accolade off his win in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Del Mar.
From his home in Montana, Eaton, who has been involved in the racing and breeding industry since the 90's, spoke to what it meant having bred an Eclipse Award winner and how it differed from Goodnight Olive.
“It's very exciting,” said Eaton. “The breeding is more satisfying [to me] than buying a horse and winning a Breeders' Cup. That's nice, and it pays a lot of bills to own that horse, but I get as much if not more satisfaction out of breeding a champion.”
Straight No Chaser is a result of four generations of Eaton-owned mares dating back to Desireux (Fappiano), a mare whom Eaton purchased from Keeneland November as a 6-year-old in 1998.
“With Straight No Chaser and [first dam] Margarita Friday, she's our third generation. It goes back to a mare named Desireux. She was a Fappiano mare that Steve and I purchased and we've been breeding for speed. [Second dam] Smile Maker (Capote) was the next one and then Margarita Friday is by Johannesburg and she's in foal now to Authentic. We have an Omaha Beach that we're probably going to race. And then we have a Practical Joke yearling that's a colt. We usually sell the colts and so he'll probably either go to a yearling sale or a 2-year-old sale. We've been pretty successful with 2-year-old sales. Margarita Friday will go to Gun Runner next year.”
Straight No Chaser wins the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint | Horsephotos
But Eaton was the first to note that his breeding luck hasn't always been so kind.
“I bred a mare, Loma Preata, back in 1998 or 1999 myself. I bought the filly as a racehorse in France and brought her over here. After she was retired, I had a share in Forest Wildcat so I bred her and her first foal was a colt named Var. He was a Group 1 winner and a European champion. And the mare dies the next year. That's the difference between making money in the horse business. That was a tough pill to swallow because every foal after Var was going to be worth a lot of money. It's a great business, but it's a tough business. You have to have thick skin.”
The success of Goodnight Olive, both on the track and in sales ring, made that tough pill just a little easier to swallow as First Row Partners reinvested that $6,000,000 back into new stock to head to trainer Chad Brown and Saratoga, where their story began.
“[First Row] is a bunch of guys that sit in the front row boxes at Saratoga. We probably had [the box] for 25 or 30 years and we just decided, with the guys next to us, we said let's do a partnership and you know, we've been talking for 25 years and we decided to do it. Then a couple of other guys that have boxes decided to join so now we have six of us. Steve Laymon runs the partnership and he does most of the buying in-person. I help with the pedigrees and the 2-year-old sales. I'll look at all the videos and stuff, but he runs that partnership. With the breeding, he and I have been partners for 25 years or more, just the two of us. We had mares and raced and everything together before the partnership was created. We do have a few mares in the partnership. It was supposed to be just racing and it's gotten out of control,” Eaton says with a laugh.
While Goodnight Olive was the first taste of top-level success for First Row Partners, it was hardly the first time the group had tasted victory on the track in their short five-year span.
“We've had unbelievable success in [First Row]. We've only had it for five years. We had multiple Grade I winners and then got the two Eclipse Awards and two Breeders' Cups. [Goodnight Olive] was our first Grade I success but we've had several Grade II winners and Grade III winners within that short period of time which is a little unusual. That was an exciting night [when Goodnight Olive sold at FTKNOV]. We probably buy three to five horses a year. And you know you're going to have one every year that's going to be a stakes winner, just to pay the bills. One of them usually pays the bills. So it's not an easy business. We used to buy in the $145,000-$250,000 range. Now, [with the funds from Goodnight Olive], we're probably buying $250,000 to $350,000. But we keep it under control.”
Goodnight Olive sells for $6,000,000 at FTKNOV | Fasig-Tipton
Eaton recently purchased a home in Saratoga Springs, NY, not just to bring him closer to where his horses spend their summers but also as he looks to take advantage of a lucrative state-bred breeding program.
“I'm probably going to move some mares to New York and have New York-breds as its such a great program. Plus, it's enjoyable to be there with the partners and enjoy the success. I haven't been able to really be at most of the races in four or five years now. Short term, I'll be buying some mares for myself to take to New York eventually.”
Confidence in the New York-bred program, along with strong purses both there and in Kentucky, has Eaton looking to double down on his investment in the game, even others may be looking to get out.
“We're all getting older. And you can't take the money with you so I'm probably going to step up participation at least in the breeding aspect. I wish I was 20 years younger, it would be a lot easier! It's a game of patience. Chad Brown has taught me that. But Kentucky is strong. And New York is so strong. They have a wonderful breeding program. If you're doing the New York-breds, most of the stud fees in New York are pretty cheap. That's the level I'll participate in with my horses probably for the time being until they prove that they're going to be a successful mare. Then I'll probably go to some stallions in Kentucky.”
And as for going for the four-peat?
“We're just hoping Straight No Chaser stays healthy. He's a very talented horse. It's just about keeping them healthy. We're always looking for the next one.”
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