Bernie Sams

Bernie Sams has been named as the new Director of Stallion Operations at Lane's End Farm, according to a release from the breeding organization on Friday. Sams notably spent more than 20 years at Claiborne Farm where he managed the careers of accomplished stallions such as Pulpit, Arch and War Front, to name a few. Prior to his tenure at Claiborne, Sams worked at Haras de Roiville in France, Overbrook Farm and Gainesway. "It's exciting to bring on a longtime friend like Bernie to quarterback our stallion division as we...

It has taken more than 40 years in the industry to build the resume, but it's a pretty good bet that there's not a more well-rounded, experienced person at the helm of a bloodstock agency than Bernie Sams. Sams will launch a new chapter in that storied career with the debut of BF Sams Bloodstock Advisory, which will be representing clients at a sale for the first time under that banner in July at Fasig-Tipton. Sams has worked for farms large (Claiborne, Gainesway) and small (Wimbledon, Manchester), at home and...

Bernie Sams will be launching a new venture, BF Sams Bloodstock Advisory, according to a press release from the new company this morning. Drawing upon his extensive experience working for some of the world's top Thoroughbred farms, Sams said he would offer a variety of consulting services, including broodmare band management, advice on matings, purchases of stallion seasons and shares, securing equine insurance, and more. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Sams began working with Thoroughbreds while attending the University of Kentucky. Early in his career, he worked at Wimbledon Farm, Haras...

"The first big firework that's gone off since I got here," acknowledges Jacob West. "And I will say this: I think it'll put the other farms on notice. I think people are going to say, `woah, they're back. Not exactly a new shooter, obviously--but reloaded.'" The new stallion seasons and bloodstock manager at Claiborne Farm is at pains to stress that the recruitment of Mindframe (Constitution) only builds on the work of his universally esteemed predecessor Bernie Sams. After all, the last stallion brought here by Sams, who's still sharing...

Nineteen individuals have been elected Breeders' Cup Members by 2023 Breeders' Cup foal and stallion nominators in voting that concluded Monday evening. Each Member will serve a four-year term. The following individuals, listed alphabetically, received the most votes from the Breeders' Cup nominators to fill 19 Member seats: Conrad Bandoroff, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Barbara Banke, David O'Farrell, Boyd Browning, Bernie Sams, Doug Cauthen, Alex Solis II, Matt Dorman, Edward (Ned) Toffey, Craig Fravel, Elliott Walden, Eric Gustavson, Barry Weisbord, Bret Jones, Aron Wellman, Gray Lyster, Jacob West, and Clem Murphy. The...

Jacob West will join the Claiborne Farm team in October as the Stallion Seasons & Bloodstock Manager, the organization said in a release Wednesday. West, a Kentucky native, graduated from UK with a degree in Economics. He began his career in the Thoroughbred industry at the ground level, first serving as a groom in Taylor Made Farm's broodmare division. From there, he ascended to barn foreman, divisional yearling manager, and then Buyer Account Manager. During his tenure at Taylor Made, West managed all aspects of his clients' investment portfolios, including...

In our walk of life, nothing succeeds like succession. As with any other form of agriculture, a horse farm is not just a business but a legacy sometimes shaped by several generations of rain-or-shine toil and kitchen-table lore. The balance sheet may happen to be in the black, or in the red--but that's just a moment in time. How does one put a price on the decades of patient nurture that have gone into land and bloodlines? Yet there's never any guarantee about the next generation, whether in terms of...

During a flurry of activity late in the day at Deauville, Group 1 winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 188) took the lead, after bringing €2.05 million from Claiborne Farm's Bernie Sams. Sams was acting on behalf of an undisclosed client of the farm. The bay 4-year-old has victories in the G1 Prix Vermeille, G2 Prix Corrida, G3 Prix de Flore and Listed Prix La Camargo to her name. A half-sister to listed winner Toujours l'Amour (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), Sweet Lady is out of dual stakes winner...

A filly by Quality Road helped get the Keeneland September Yearling Sale off to a quick start Monday in Lexington when selling for $1.2 million. Claiborne Farm's Bernie Sams signed the ticket on the bay yearling on behalf of an undisclosed client. The bay filly (hip 8) was consigned by Gainesway and was bred by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, which purchased her dam, Princesa Silvia (Medaglia d'Oro), for $1.4 million at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. The mare is a half-sister to champion Saint Liam (Saint Ballado), Grade I...

Flatter (A.P. Indy--Praise, by Mr. Prospector), a successful stallion at Claiborne Farm for nearly two decades, was euthanized May 9 at the age of 23 due to the infirmities of old age, Claiborne announced Tuesday. The bay was a second-generation homebred for Claiborne and Adele Dilschneider and a full-brother to GSW and successful sire Congrats. "Flatter was the kind of sire you'd like to have 10 of," said Claiborne's Bernie Sams. "He was solid and consistent year in and year out. He started at the bottom and worked his way...

He really had to earn his stripes, his farm resorting to pretty desperate measures to keep him in the game as his early books dwindled along with his fee. But he has long since vindicated (as well as virtually trademarked) that farm's management style, evolving into one of the great stallions of our time--a status on which he set a formal seal last weekend with his 100th stakes winner. And his name is... Into Mischief. Or is it? Hang on a minute. Syllable for syllable, you can say exactly the...

War Front is undoubtedly heralded as one of America's top turf sires, but Claiborne's Bernie Sams said he finds any stereotype that the stallion is solely a grass producer is unjustifiable. "I think War Front has been labeled to some extent as a turf sire, but unfairly so because he got his start with dirt stakes winners," he said. "Then a lot of people started breeding to him and taking a lot of them to Europe. He probably is equally as good on dirt as he is on turf, if...