Ned Toffey

In response to the approval for a soccer complex in an agricultural-rural zone, once home to Ashwood Training Center on Russell Cave Road just outside of Lexington, Ky., members of the equine and agriculture communities in Fayette County came together for a meeting, hosted by the Fayette Alliance at Greg Goodman's Mt. Brilliant Farm, the evening of Wednesday, July 13, to discuss the implications and potential next steps. Fayette Alliance, a non-profit of citizens dedicated to achieving equitable, sustainable growth in Lexington-Fayette County through land-use advocacy, education, and research, addressed...

By Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini    LEXINGTON, KY--Yearling sale season started with a bang Tuesday at Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Yearling Sale. The auction house saved the best for last with the final horse through the ring, a son of Curlin (Hip 302), topping the day on a $600,000 bid from the Green family's DJ Stable. Last year's leading freshman sire Gun Runner accounted for the day's second-highest seller, a $430,000 colt (Hip 153) sold to de Meric Sales. Both colts came from the Gainesway consignment, which was responsible for...

Never mind the champion stallion who emulated his own rags-to-riches rise: every yard of paddock rail, every coat of paint, every blade of grass at Spendthrift Farm commemorates the man whose arrival here transformed the commercial breeding landscape. But it's not just the fact that it will formally preserve his name that makes an especially apt memorial of a new visitor center, opening later this year. For its very existence attests to the unique, restlessly challenging style of the late B. Wayne Hughes, and the determination of those charged with...

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association will be hosting a Breeding Clinic on June 3-4 in Lexington, Kentucky. Attendees will learn about a variety of topics pertaining to the breeding side of the Thoroughbred industry while visiting five central Kentucky farms and hearing from experts in the field. The clinic will include tours of Godolphin's Stonerside Farm, Spendthrift Farm, WinStar Farm, Mt. Brilliant Farm, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, and Summerwind Farm. Topics and speakers at the Breeding Clinic include: Breeding For the Athletic Thoroughbred and Conformation in Foals, presented by...

TIMONIUM, MD - The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale got off to a strong start Monday in Timonium as it looks to follow up on a record-setting 2021 renewal. "It was a very solid opening session to the sale," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "There was diverse bidding activity literally from buyers all around the world participating today. This has become a really solid marketplace where you can sell a quality horse, you can sell a state-bred horse. There was lots of activity at really all price ranges." A...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis HALLANDALE BEACH, FL - A diverse buying bench vied for a select offering of juveniles during a rapid-fire three hours under the sunshine at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale Wednesday afternoon. A filly from the first crop of Bolt d'Oro brought the day's highest bid when selling for $1.2 million to Spendthrift Farm. Consigned by Tom McCrocklin, the youngster was one of two to bring seven figures during the auction. Jamie McCalmont, bidding on behalf of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier, went to $1.1 million to acquire...

By Christie DeBernardis & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL--The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's grounds continued to buzz with activity during a second straight day of very strong trade as the March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded Wednesday. Bidding was fast and furious right from the start with the top horse of the day--and the sale as a whole--coming in the second juvenile through the ring, Hip 318, a colt by More Than Ready, who summoned $1.2 million from Kaleem Shah. A daughter of American Pharoah (Hip 532) also achieved seven figures...

by Christie DeBernardis & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL--To no one's surprise, Into Mischief--a $180,000 purchase at the auction 15 years ago--was the star of the show at the opening session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2022 March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Tuesday, with two of his colts bringing seven figures during a strong day of trade. Hip 257, a son of Zapara (Not For Love) was first to break the seven-figure barrier, bringing $1.1 million from Hideyuki Mori. It wasn't long before Hip 277, a son of MGISW...

Not long after a son of Into Mischief broke the seven-figure barrier at $1.1 million, another colt by Spendthrift's sizzling sire summoned a cool million from the Brad Cox colt group, in which Spendthrift is a major player. The colt's breeder, Chester Broman, will stay in for 25%. Bred in New York, Hip 277 is out of Broman's MGISW Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler), whose first foal Chestertown (Tapit) topped this sale at $2-million in 2019.

Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse.com have launched a weekly foal contest on social media called #FoalDerby, which will showcase foals from the first crop of their Horse of the Year and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The contest begins this week and will run weekly leading up to this year's Kentucky Derby. Breeders are encouraged to submit photos each week as their foals arrive and continue to submit as they grow over the course of the next 10 weeks. Submissions will be posted to Spendthrift's Twitter and Facebook platforms. The top...

Spendthrift Farm will discontinue its operations in Australia and put its property there up for sale, it was announced Wednesday. "This has been a very difficult decision for us," said Eric Gustavson, owner of Spendthrift. "We have a wonderful team in Australia and will be working closely with them to help make this as smooth a transition for them as possible. The Thoroughbred industry in Australia is one of the finest in the world, and we have great respect for the job they've done in building it. We've been fortunate...

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}--Charm the Maker, by Empire Maker), who defeated GI Kentucky Derby winner and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Medina Spirit (Protonico) in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2022 at Spendthrift Farm. The nursery had previous announced the acquisition in last April. The handy winner of a six-furlong turf sprint on career debut at Santa Anita Jan. 1, the $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase took the one-mile...