Ned Toffey

by J. N. Campbell Looking strong as an oak in the GIII Ben Ali S. at Keeneland, Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) cleared professionally down the lane to take home his second graded stakes trophy for Spendthrift's case on Saturday afternoon. The 2023 GII Louisiana Derby winner finished 14th behind Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby before completing his 3-year-old year when he was beaten only a neck as the heavy favorite in the Pegasus S. at Monmouth June 17. After a nine-month hiatus, Kingsbarns returned to Gulfstream Park Mar....

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - While it took some time to find its stride, the first session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training gained momentum throughout the day and concluded with figures in line with the first session of its record-setting 2023 renewal. "I thought it was a good day," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "A good horse sells well and I thought we had a lot of nice horses today. Holding true to last year, that's a...

Spendthrift Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), sidelined with a fractured splint bone in her left hind leg after fading to seventh as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has begun to gear up for her sophomore campaign. The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10. How are the initial reports so far?...

It is often espoused at business management seminars that having access to people smarter than you is a blessing and not a threat. We also know that having access to communities that share a common interest fosters social collaboration and belonging. But did you know having access to a guy affectionately nicknamed the "Italian Yoda" can lead to a graded stakes victory as a racehorse owner? This type of access has been thoughtfully curated by the powerhouse team at Belladonna Racing Partnership, which includes Paul Manganaro (the Italian Yoda), David...

Everybody understands the deal with new stallions. Most will never again command so high a fee, nor so potent a book, and many will complete their principal service to commercial breeders long before any of their stock has actually entered a starting gate. Once they reach that point, you need only browse the freshman tables of years past to get a chastening sense of how many "exciting" newcomers will establish a lasting eligibility to keep seeding the breed. On the other hand, their window of opportunity is ruthlessly brief. If...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale gained momentum throughout its opening session and concluded a day of competitive bidding Wednesday evening with 11 seven-figure mares and a median up 30% from its 2022 counterpart. "It was a good day. It was a really good day," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "We were really pleased with the session overall. The theme of the century seems to be that the quality sells and there was really high demand for the quality. There was...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - After a vibrant afternoon-into-night of bidding, the Fasig-Tipton November Sale grossed over $100 million for the third straight year with champions Nest (Curlin) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) leading the way when bringing matching $6-million final bids Tuesday at Newtown Paddocks. "It was another remarkable horse sale, literally from start to finish," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "It's really humbling to think that we've been able, for three years in a row, do over $100 million in sales in a single night....

Between winning the COVID-delayed Kentucky Derby in September and giving thousands of microshare owners cause to celebrate, Authentic was a major talking point the fall of 2020. His first foals, yearlings of 2023, include 10 who fetched $700,000 or more at recent Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton sales. "Authentic is a very special horse to us here at Spendthrift," said the farm's general manager, Ned Toffey. "He is a horse that we initially pursued the breeding interest in, but very quickly we found ourselves taking it a step farther and buying him...

The first of back-to-back GI Breeders' Cup Classic winners retired to Spendthrift, Vino Rosso currently leads the U.S. freshman sire list and has had four individuals place in Grade I races in the last five weeks, including three on Oct. 7. "Since he is a son of Curlin, we were fortunate enough to acquire the breeding rights to him in his 4-year-old year, and that's when he really began to take off," said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift. "He won the Wood Memorial, so he was good early in...

It's hard for a horse to have a better season than Mitole did at four: his four Grade Is included the Sprint as well as the Met Mile and it's no small thing to set (and still hold) Saratoga's GI Forego stakes record of 1:20.80 for seven panels. "A long time ago somebody asked a groom what makes a good racehorse. He said speed and more speed. That always makes me think of Mitole," said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm. "This was a horse that had an unbelievable...

Daniel Toffey has joined the stallion sales team at Spendthrift, the farm said in a release Thursday morning. "Tammy and I are happy Daniel has decided to come back home to work at Spendthrift," said owner Eric Gustavson. "He's a hardworking, energetic young man with a wide range of skills, and we know he will be a great fit here." Born and raised in Lexington, Toffey's passion for horses began early on, spending countless hours around Thoroughbreds with his father, Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey. After graduating from high school,...

When The Jockey Club announced last week that the estimated North American foal crop for 2024 was 18,000, a 2.7% decline from the projected 2023 foal crop, the news was hardly a surprise. By the time the final numbers are in for 2024,the foal crop will have declined in 18 of the last 19 years and this will be the smallest foal crop since 1964. Since 2005, when there were 38,365 foals, the crop has declined by more than half. How big of a problem is this. Why is it...