Castleton Lyons Farm

Given the dominance she showed when blowing away a field of Presque Isle maidens by 11 lengths in fast time on her six-furlong debut Oct. 25, the connections of El Terreno (Speightstown--Palma, by Malibu Moon) would hardly have been dismayed when Friday's second race from Gulfstream Park was washed off the turf and onto the synthetic surface. Accordingly smashed into 2-5 favoritism, the Castleton Lyons homebred duly obliged with another commanding performance, this one good for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Kicked straight into the lead by Irad Ortiz, Jr., El...

Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse: A Novel, Nov. 9 was awarded first prize in Castleton Lyons's 17th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, the sponsor of the prize said in a release Friday. The work of fiction tells the story of 19th century racehorse and sire Lexington by moving back and forth through time and space from the antebellum South to modern day New York and Washington D. C. At a reception held at Castleton Lyons outside of Lexington, Brooks received a check for $10,000 and a Tipperary...

WinStar's David Hanley will transition to Senior Bloodstock Consultant along with several other key personnel moves by the end of the year, the farm said in a press release Thursday morning. Dr. Natanya Nieman will take on the role of General Manager while she continues her duties as Resident Vet. "I am excited for Natanya to expand her opportunities here at WinStar. She is a very good horsewoman and having David as a mentor for the foreseeable future will give her the expertise needed to continue to grow here at...

The first reported foals sired by dual Eclipse champion and Classic winner Essential Quality (Tapit) were foaled on Jan. 21 and Jan. 25 at Castleton Lyons and Taylor Made, respectively. Arriving first, the colt is out of the mare Double Jackpot (Broken Vow), dam of Grade III winner/Group I-placed Stays in Vegas (City Zip), who hails from the family of Phipps Stable standouts Heavenly Prize, Dancing Spree, Instilled Regard, etc. "He's a big, strong leggy colt with very good bone. A lot of substance about him," said Castleton Lyons General...

Six semifinalists for the 16th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been selected by a panel of judges and were split evenly this year between fiction and non-fiction. The semifinalists were chosen from nearly two dozen submissions. The six semifinalists for books published in the 2021, listed alphabetically by title, are as follows: Death by Equine, by Annette Dashofy Dinky Becomes a Racehorse, by J. M. Chodkowski Head to Head, Conversations With a Generation of Horse Racing Legends, by Lenny Schulman Racetrack Rogues, One Woman's Story of Family, Love,...

Six finalists have been announced for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, which recognizes the year's best long-form writing on racing. The award is presented annually by Castleton Lyons. A Hole Through the Wind, by Alan Patterson, reveals the lives of twin colts through the diary and remembrances of an old horseman. Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle, by Mark Shrager, is a biography of the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in the U.S. First-Time Starter is a novella written by former owner...

Who has been the biggest inspiration in your career? JD: As a child growing up, I never had any interest in running a stud farm, but I've always loved riding horses, especially hunting and cross country.  My first inspiration was my Grandfather, Gar Barker. He was a legendary figure on the hunting field and a wonderful horseman. He only rode Thoroughbreds and they'd all be beautifully behaved. He'd ride them on the end of the buckle and with the lightest of touches. I always wanted to ride like that. Later...