Claiborne Farm

Runhappy will once again be the title sponsor of Ellis Park's upcoming meet, which runs from July 8 through Aug. 28. The Runhappy Meet at Ellis Park will be highlighted by an Aug. 14 card of five stakes races: the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby; $100,000 Runhappy Audubon Oaks; $125,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Juvenile; $125,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Debutante; and the $125,000 Groupie Doll S. "Runhappy won at Ellis Park during the summer of his Eclipse championship season, so we're happy and excited to support the upcoming race meet again,...

In the first episode of the TDN's new video series 'Catching Up with Katie,' host Katie Petrunyak sat down with the University of Kentucky's starting quarterback Will Levis and Claiborne Farm's Walker Hancock at Wallace Station Deli and Bakery outside of Lexington to discuss the N.I.L. (Name, Image, and Likeness) deal between Levis and Claiborne stallion War of Will (War Front). The partnership was announced early last month and is the first of its kind for any collegiate student-athlete with a Thoroughbred syndicate. [Elite_video_player id="2" html5videos_hd="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/709670997/rendition/540p/file.mp4?loc=external&signature=d99ce348f7d43f5e6c9f920d0521574d659d3e2254c9e2161218981a2d67dabc" html5videos_videoThumbnails_jpg="" html5videos_title="Catching Up with...

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...

1st-FG, $65k, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:00p.m. ET John Oxley's Catch Magic (Curlin) is unveiled here on the rail for trainer Norm Casse. The eye-catching half to Checkered Past (Smart Strike), MSW & MSP, $334,284 and three other multiple-winners of over $140,000 cost her connections $600,000 after breezing a quick :10 flat at OBSAPR last year. Right to her inside, Juddmonte will send out Patna (Into Mischief), the half-sister to Ducale (Twirling Candy) who is twice a winner and never off the board in five lifetime starts. Rounding out the...

The European breeze-up sector prides itself as a source of quality, a notion that held particular weight in 2021 as graduates Native Trail (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) signed off their juvenile campaigns with victories in the G1 Dewhurst S. and G1 Middle Park S. Added to that, various graduates are currently more than holding their own at stud. This isn't a new development--older representatives such as Society Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and Paco Boy (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) each sired Group 1...

Claiborne's been running an eye-catching ad on its two young sires War of Will (War Front) and Silver State (Hard Spun) that ties them to their illustrious Claiborne-based grandsire Danzig, under the heading, "The Danzig Legacy continues at Claiborne." What really hits home about this ad is that Danzig's legacy in North America is now limited to two stallions, Claiborne's War Front and Darley's Hard Spun, and their sons. In contrast, Danzig is a massive sire-line influence in Europe and Australasia through many different strains, led by Danehill but also...

Jill Gordon and Jacob West have launched Highgate Sales, a new sales company which will make its debut at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale in February. Highgate Sales will offer consignments at breeding stock, yearling, and horses of racing age sales, as well as offering appraisals, private purchases and sales, and portfolio management services. Gordon formerly worked at Claiborne Farm as the Sales and Client Relations Manager for 3 1/2 years after a three-year stint at Warrendale Sales. In her role at Claiborne, she oversaw all aspects of the...

LEXINGTON, KY--Kentuckians across the Commonwealth woke up with a text on Saturday morning: 'Are you okay?' For most, it was an uneventful night aside from perhaps being awakened once or twice to the sound of high winds. But for some, unimaginable destruction and immeasurable damage occurred overnight as a catastrophic tornado hit western Kentucky. As of Friday, 77 Kentuckians have lost their lives due to a storm that is expected to have affected an estimated 227 miles, according to WLKY News. Bradley Boyd, a professional Quarter Horse trainer based in...

They say it's an ill wind that blows no good and, sure enough, consoling fragments of human kindness were strewn even among the deadly havoc in Western Kentucky last week. But besides the substantial gestures of solidarity from the Bluegrass, including the auctioning of a live foal season to a Triple Crown winner, disasters like this also tend to leave glinting in their wake tiny shards of the life force by which our species has achieved viability amidst its volatile habitat. The tattered photograph of two smiling children, for instance,...

According to Walker Hancock, Silver State (Hard Spun - Supreme, by Empire Maker) has been an easy sell as breeders have stopped by Claiborne Farm in the past few weeks to see the new, Grade I-winning arrival. "Everyone who has come to see him has absolutely loved him," Hancock reported. "They can't get enough of him. We've even sold shares to him just with people who have come out to see him. The comments we get are that people didn't realize how big he is. He's 16'3 and is dappled...

Welcome to our annual winter survey of Kentucky stallion options--with the difference, this time round, that the emphasis will be far more strictly and succinctly on value. Over the past couple of years, acknowledging of the brevity of commercial momentum for so many sires once losing their freshman luster, we've got into the habit of granting some attention (more or less courteous!) to just about every stallion in the Bluegrass. But such an exhaustive approach has doubtless proved still more exhausting for the reader than for the compiler. So, we've...

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato, and Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale saved its best to almost last Wednesday with Paris Lights (Curlin) capping a day of solid trade when bringing a final bid of $3.1 million from Spendthrift Farm. The racing or broodmare prospect was one of seven to top the million-dollar mark during the one-session Book 1 section of the 10-day Keeneland November sale. "It was a good, steady, strong session," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said Wednesday night. "We felt great...