Beau Lane

   In Response to Beau Lane's Letter to the Editor from July 31: Bravo, my friend! The discussion on the impacts of public accusations, even before any form of due process takes place, cannot be understated. I liken the scenario to a judge telling a jury to "disregard that last statement" painting a vivid picture of the harsh reality we face. This metaphor cogently emphasizes the irreversible harm that can befall individuals and organizations alike when accusations are prematurely thrown into the public sphere. The court of public opinion, bolstered...

by Beau Lane Rumor has it that Mike Repole said he was going to get out of the business if things didn't change. Well, I can see how Mr. Repole could feel that way; he's had some real kicks in the behind this year. But the racing industry needs more people like Mike Repole. He goes to the sales, buys nice horses, goes to the races, and takes his chances. He spends more than most and has Todd Pletcher for a trainer (there is no better), and so his chances...

"I told them," he says. "You can't make a hardboot out of a Virginia redneck. And that's all I've ever been. Never pretended to be anything else. Just a Virginia redneck that loves horses." When you have spent as much time as Beau Lane among these unerring vehicles of humility--from the Appaloosas of his youth, to two Kentucky Derby starters in the last seven years--you tend to develop total immunity to self-importance. Even at 80, you never know what's coming next; nor, when something does happen, whether it will turn...

Beau Lane has been in the horse business for half a century. He came to Lexington 23 years ago with six broodmares in tow and $50 in his pocket. Not long after, three of those mares became stakes producers--a harbinger of things to come. Since then, the veteran horseman has grown his band of breeding stock and now has 30 broodmares at his Woodline Farm near Paris. While he's never been able to sign tickets on million-dollar broodmares, he said he doesn't find it necessary. "I usually don't spend over...