The Sale of Castleton is a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

It's not the first time that a premier Central Kentucky horse farm has been put on the market. This year alone, Coolmore bought 1,100 acres of land from Shadwell Farm for $50 million. But there's never been anything like the impending sale of Castleton Farm, the first farm of its type that will be auctioned off as part of a horse sale.

It was announced Aug. 12 that Castleton will go on the auction block as part of the Oct. 28 Keeneland Championship Sale. The sale will take place at Castleton.

Whoever ends up owning Castleton will be acquiring a horse farm that is steeped in history and checks a lot of boxes when it comes to its beauty, its location and the living quarters, which include a Greek Revival Mansion dating back to 1840.

“The farm has been around since 1793, so it was created shortly after this country became a country,” said Ken Donworth, who is the listing agent for Sotheby's International Realty, which is working with Keeneland on the sale and the auction. “It's rarely been offered for sale. It's a farm that has produced champion Thoroughbreds, Saddlebreds and Standardbreds. That is pretty significant because there have been three different breeds of horses that have come off the farm over 233 years.”

The list of notable horses that came out of Castleton includes 1896 Kentucky Derby winner Ben Brush and the undefeated champion and Belmont Stakes winner Colin. Standardbred great Bret Hanover stood at stud at Castleton.

Castleton Farm

Castleton was founded by John Breckinridge, a U.S. Senator and Attorney General under Thomas Jefferson. Breckinridge named it Cabell's Dale and established a Thoroughbred breeding operation. Around 1840 and after Breckinridge's death, the property was passed on to Breckinridge's daughter, Mary Ann Breckinridge. Her husband, David Castleton, built the mansion and renamed the property Castleton.

Fast forward to 2001 and Dr. Tony Ryan, the co-founder of Ryanair, bought the property for $14 million and focused on Thoroughbred breeding. Ryan died in 2007 and his son, Shane, took over the operation. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, Shane decided to put Castleton on the market because he spends most of his time in Europe and his children are not passionate about racing or breeding.

Sotheby's has listed the property, and the asking price is $57.5 million. That does not mean that someone might come in and buy Castleton before the Keeneland auction, Donworth said.

“There's already been a significant amount of work from Keeneland and Sotheby's, and, obviously, the sale will be held at the farm,” Donworth said. “The auction is going to take place. The reason it's also on the market prior to the auction is to give people plenty of time to view it and complete due diligence so they are prepared on the night of the auction. This was strategically done to give everybody an opportunity with such a large farm. This is typically done and there are typically viewings prior to the actual auction. With the September sale coming up and the Keeneland race meet, which will include the Breeders' Cup, a lot of people will be in town that might buy such a farm.”

Donworth has been busy fielding inquiries about the farm and the sale and said that he has heard from potential buyers from the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Not everyone he has heard from is involved in the Thoroughbred industry as he has fielded inquiries from people interested in turning Castleton back into a Standardbred farm and from others who would convert it to a Saddlebred operation.

Castleton's Greek Revival Mansion

“I would say that if it were going go in another direction, it might be Standardbred or Saddlebred,” Donworth said. “It could be any one of the three, Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Saddlebred.”

With the sales recording record prices, a lot of money from a lot of very wealthy people has been flowing through Lexington. Donworth said the real estate industry in the area is also in the midst of a booming market.

“These people are spending lots of money at the sales,” Donworth said. “And these people buying at the higher end of the sales, their expectations are pretty high. When it comes to farms and land, they like the Kentucky area because the property taxes are low and it's affordable in relation to New York or California. Also, there are a lot of tax benefits, as well, for these wealthy people. They are definitely intrigued with buying properties in Central Kentucky for sure. The market is really good and it's healthy. There's not a lot of supply and there's not a lot of quality. So that's why having the quality of this farm is unique.”

What will Castleton sell for? The answer will come Oct. 28. But Donworth said he has every reason to believe that the Ryan family will not come away disappointed.

“People appreciate the history of it,” Donworth said. “People understand that Castleton is a unique offering.”