SAINT ANDDAN Purchase

On Tuesday December 5th we flew to Aqueduct Race Track in New York to inspect a possible new addition to our stallion roster. It was cold and snowy, which I loved, and we were able to catch up with friends each night for dinner. But Wednesday am, we were off to the backside at Aqueduct to see SAINT ANDDAN and we were not dissapointed by what we saw. He is a handsome horse and we knew right away we wanted to make him part of our stallion roster. The rest of the day Wednesday and most of Thursday, while traveling back to Ocala we worked out the particulars on the purchase and tried hard to find a way to get him to Ocala by Saturday, the day of our stallion show. We decided in the long run to do what was best for the horse and wait for the best time to ship him.

SAINT ANDDAN arrived at Journeyman Stud on Sunday, the day after the stallion show, but we were able to announce him as a new addition to our stallion roster. We had managed, with alot of help from our advertising agency, Eckman Advertising to have photos and a pedigree available for people to take with them.
Before our stallion show, the Florida Farm Managers had their stallion showcase at the Hilton and along with the pedigree and photos we were able to have a dvd of his races available for people to view. Again, thanks to Eckman Advertising for helping to make that possible.

Along with SAINT ANDDAN we are very excited about our other first year sire (for my 101 crowd, that means they are just starting their stallion career and have never bred a mare) EXCLUSIVE QUALITY, a very talented racehorse by the sire of SMARTY JONES, ELUSIVE QUALITY. A Taylor Made/WinStar venture with Journeyman Stud, ELUSIVE QUALITY is a stallion we feel could become any kind of sire. With his natural talent as a racehorse and his looks we have high hopes for him. We have been very fortunate to develop a great realationship with Taylor Made and WinStar, and with their help we hope to continue to bring stallions of quality to Florida.

BWANA CHARLIE, is new to our roster this year and is starting his third year at stud. He is owned in part by Becky Thomas of Sequel Thoroughbreds. Becky has been in Ocala for a long time and has become a wonderful friend. She is a talented business woman and we are looking forward to a longtime realtionship with her and her clients in the stallion industry.

As the 2008 breeding season starts Brent and I are looking forward to many years of bringing quality stallions to Ocala for the many breeders that make Florida home.

December Stallion Show a success

Journeyman Stud had it's Stallion Show on December 8th at it's stallion complex in Ocala, Florida. It was the hard work of our staff that made it such a success.

We had a great turn-out and beautiful weather. But the people are what make this business, people who make the horse business not just their livelihood, but their life. After what we have been through the last six months, trying to get Journeyman Stud established and up and running in time for the 2008 breeding season, it was great to see all of our old friends from our 30 years here in Ocala along with all of the newer friends who have come along since.

Marty & Carol Hershe of Turtle Pond Farm. Brent first meet Marty at Saratoga when he was 21 years old. Marty is not only a gentleman but a great horseman and has been an advocate of the Florida Thoroughbred industry for more years than I can count. Marty probably know more about a horse than most of us have forgotten.
Jim Scott of Kinsman Farm here in Ocala.. again we have been friends with Jim for 25 years. Jim came up through the business just like we did... with a pitch fork in his hands. Being a hands on horseman, learning all there was to know about a horse from the ground up.
Will and Nancy Johnson. Will worked for Southland Farm, which became Frank's Farm later on, when Brent was the farm manager there. Will was the broodmare manager and eventually became the farm manager for Mr. Franks. He worked for Mr. Franks for many years and has since gone out on his own and has his own farm. There isn't much Will doesn't know about a broodmare. He spent countless nights at the foaling barn, year after year, foaling hundreds of mares. Again, a true horseman.
Jim Loebig of Red Sunset Farm. Where do you even start to describe someone like Jim. I guess by saying he not only is a "horseman" in the thoroughbred since of the word, but Jim is one of a dying breed...Jim is a true to life cowboy. When Brent was broodmare manager of Lasater Farm (which is the same farm that eventually became Frank's Farm, and is now Via Paradista) Jim took a lot of our overflow from Lasater Farm's boarders plus had his own clients and his own mares. Our mutual friend Johnny Mac Smith (co founder of Peterson & Smith Veterinary Clinic here in Ocala)was also the vet for both farms. Red Sunset and Lasater Farm were a great team, and we have a lot of fond memories from those days.
Rick Tortora of Equitor Farm. Rick won the drawing for a free season to our new stallion EXCLUSIVE QUALITY and we couldn't have been happier for him. Equitor Farm has been a mainstay of Ocala for many many years. Professional horsemen who get up and make a living in this business everyday. To say you have supported and raised a family working your family farm in the horse business has never been truly appreciated for what it means. There is no big money client holding you up by your bootstraps (although there were times you sure wished there was) but to appreciate what it takes to consistently be successful enough year in and year out to support yourself is pretty amazing.

I could go on and on about all the wonderful friends we had there, but they all know who they are. These are just some of the oldest (sorry guys) and dearest.

We had a wonderful day and we hope it is the first of many, many stallion shows for Journeyman Stud. Brent and I are true believers in the Florida thoroughbred business and the people that make it.

Check out the photos from the show.

Check It Twice - Could make it three!!

When Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby in 2004, quite a bit was made of the fact that I had purchased his dam, I'll Get Along, when he was a weanling. Obviously, a big reason for this was all the excitement that Smarty generated in his triple crown quest.

I had purchased I'll Get Along as agent for Cl0verleaf Farms II, giving $130,000 for her at the Keeneland November 2001 sale. I sold her as agent for Cloverleaf in November of 2004 at Fasig Tipton for $5 million dollars. I'll Get Along was the highest priced broodmare to sell in 2004, another reason explaining the attention I received.

Another aspect of the story that got a lot of attention though, was that it wasn't the first time that I had purchased the dam of a future Kentucky Derby winner. In February of 1992, I had purchased the mare, Eileen's Moment. Several months later her 3 year old, Lil E. Tee won the Kentucky Derby.

It has been suggested to me that I am the only person to ever purchase the dams of 2 future Kentucky Derby winners. Like a man who has won the lottery twice, I've come to the conclusion that it could happen again. The impressive winner of the recent What a Pleasure Stakes at Calder, Check It Twice, could be just that horse.

In 2001, the same year that I purchased I'll Get Along , I purchased his dam, an Out of Place mare named Christmas List for Cloverleaf. Christmas List, a foal of 1995, was a daughter of Christmas Past, who was champion 3 year old filly of her year. Christmas List had been a solid allowance filly in New York, and was being sold infoal to Kenucky Derby winner, Go for Gin. I paid $95,000 for Christmas List.

In 2004, after producing several very averagae foals, I mated Christmas List to the first year sire, Repent. I had purchased Repent for myself and Cloverleaf in May of 2004. The resulting foal was Check It Twice. In four starts prior to the What A Pleasure, Check It Twice had been 2 firsts, a 2nd and had been third in the Florida Stallion Stakes. He won the What a Pleasure Stakes by 3 and 1/2 convincing lengths and earned a 96 Beyer in the race.

It is a long way from Calder's What a Pleasure Stakes to Churchill Down's famous race, but I am sure you can understand if I do a little day dreaming.

OBS January Horse Sale

We are coming up on the January mixed sale at Ocala Breeders' Sales Company (OBS), the 16th - the 18th. Unlike the mixed sale in October, which is only mares, both pregnant, not bred and a broodmare prospect, this sale will also include horses of racing age. We will be selling mares and spring yearlings only. A spring yearling is called such mostly because it has just turn one year old as of January 1. All thouroughbreds turn another year older on January 1 each year. What are weanlings now (foals that have been weaned from the mare, but are not 1 year old) will be these yearlings.

We will have 41 head of mares and yearlings in this sale. Some for us and some for clients.

The picture at left, is from an earlier OBS October sale from 2002. The mare's name is Fully Approved and she happened to be the highest priced mare at that sale.

There is a timing to sales depending on the age of the horse. From October through February is generally when public sales are held for broodmares, since foaling season starts aproximately mid February and goes through mid June... you can see why you would have a time constrant on when you can sell mares.

Yearlings are generally sold July through September, with the exception of the January mixed sales where they can be sold as "short yearlings" as they are termed in the horse business. I and most people in the business don't really like to consider the short yearling sales prices in the averages given out each year for yearling sales. Strictly because they are barely yearlings, having just turned yearling on January 1 as stated above. The yearlings sold in July through September have had time to become true yearlings and really reflect the market for such better than the spring yearling does.

The two year old sales generally run from February - June. That is another whole chapter, that I will jump into at a later date.

The OBS does show their auctions live online during the sale... if you would like you can visit their site during the dates shown. The sale usually starts around 10:30 - 11:00, it will be interesting watching.. http://www.obssales.com/

It all starts with the broodmare

It all starts with the broodmare and stallion.

Journeyman Bloodstock has several operations, we call them divisions. There is the farm division, where the mares, foals, weanlings and yearlings are kept. The stallion division, where our six stallions, Bwana Charlie, Cashel Castle, Exclusive Quality, Mass Media, Mongoose and Wildcat Heir are housed and where the breeding shed is. You can read more about these and many more stallions at The Blood Horse and Thoroughbred Times online stallion register. The training division is on the same property as the stallion division. We will break and train approximately 75 - 80 head of 2 year olds this season alone. Then we have our sales division, known as Journeyman Sales, that sales horses at public auctions such as Keeneland Sales in Kentucky and Fasig-Tipton Sales in Kentucky, New York and Maryland and privately for our clients. But for this writing I want to focus on the broodmare (mare) and stallion (sire), because this is where it all starts. We have approximately 35 of our own mares and during breeding season, which is roughly between February 15th, and June 15th of each year, that amount increases upwards to 75 - 100 mares with clients sending their mares to board at our farm so they can be bred to one of our stallions. This time of year is very exciting for a horse farm. You have mares having babies, which is called "foaling", so you are anxious to see the fruits of all of your planning from the year before. Here is a quick snapshot of how it works.From mid January through June of each year mares start foaling. During this same time period your "breeding shed" opens up, where your stallions are housed. You usually start breeding mares that are either maidens (mare that have never been bred before, young mares) and mares that for one reason or another didn't get pregnant (infoal) last year, first. Then for mares that have had a foal this year, you usually start breeding them back within about 25 - 30 days of foaling. This is when nature will start having them "cycle" back in.


This time of year is special because you never get tired of seeing a mare with her foal turned out for the first time together in a small paddock. This usually is within a couple of days after the foal is born. To watch that foal take it's first few strides an awkward, long legged newbie and the mare trotting alongside alert and protective is always both comical and beautiful. For those of us who have seen it literally hundreds of times, I don't believe there isn't at least once during this time of year, in your minds eye, you don't see those graceful and powerful horses we see at the track running along there also. The breeding shed, where you bring the mare to be bred, is another world all of it's own also. Usually the breeding shed is either attached to the part of the barn that has the stallions stalls, or it is built very close by.

When a mare comes into heat, she is vanned over to the breeding shed to be "covered" by the stallion. If you are breeding to a stallion in your area this is usually a short trip, even shorter if she is boarded at the farm standing the stallion. But we have mares we routinely send to Kentucky to be bred. That requires a little more effort to get her up there. There are several van companies that specialize in hauling horses long distances. All of these divisions, the grooms taking care of the mares and foals, the ones working with the stallions, and the grooms, exercise riders and farm trainers that break and train them as 2 year olds for the sales or to be shipped directly to a racetrack are all part of a Thoroughbred horse farm. All of this comes before you see them in all their glory on the track. I hope you will visit here often to learn more about all aspects of our industry. It is a fascinating and exciting world and I know you will enjoy it.

The Thoroughbred Horse Farm

This site is all about the Thoroughbred industry. Many of you have probably seen a few horse races on TV or, if you have been lucky enough, been to an actual racetrack. As with most venues, the real thing, the racetrack with all of it's pomp and circumstance can not be beat. But with that said, the pomp, the rich and famous, are really only a small portion of what thoroughbred racing is all about. When it comes to the heart beat of the industry, the grooms, exercise riders, jockeys, valets, grounds keepers, trainers, assistant trainers, people working the track kitchen, etc, these are the people that really make up the horse industry. These are people who love the rhythm of life that revolves around the track. When you watch or go to a race, many of you would not think about all that came before the first horse of the morning steps onto the track surface. And that is where another world, very seldom seen by the general public, comes into play. The proverbial chicken before the egg. That world, the Thoroughbred horse farm is what I am here to write about and hopefully to show John and Jane Doe how wonderfully exciting and rewarding it can be, as much as those heart pounding final moments before the finish line.

The horse farm, like the track, has a rhythm of it's own also. Much of it's rhythm and the tracks rhythm are the same. Early morning, still dark, the grooms arrive at the barns. They start opening tack rooms doors and the music starts, buckets start getting rattled, feed bags are torn open, stalls start getting mucked, tractor engines start up, etc. This is where it all starts for those horses we watch run on television or at the track.

Please feel free to visit our website at http://www.journeymanbloodstock.com/ or http://www.journeymanstud.com/ to learn more about us.