- Mill Ridge Farm

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THOROUGHBRED TIMES
BREEDERS
O
N the following pages are profiles of the top ten breeders of 2006 by purse earnings, wins, starters and winners, stakes winners, and graded
based on rankings developed by THOROUGHBRED TIMES. Four stakes winners. Adena Springs of Frank Stonach led two categories, total
measurements, all accorded equal weight, are used in the rank- earnings and number of winners.
ings—total purse money earned by
Of the top ten leading breeders in 2006, two
a breeder’s runners, average earnings per starter
make
return appearances. Phipps Stable, and
Top ten
for each breeder, number of winners for the
its owner Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, ranks
breeder, and percentage of stakes winners from 1. Roy and Gretchen Jackson 6. Ivy Dell Stud
seventh this year after holding down the top
starters for the breeder. To be eligible for rank- 2. Rose Retreat Farm
spot last year. Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte
7. Phipps Stable
ing, a breeder must have had at least ten starters 3. Darley
Farms ranks ninth in 2006 after placing sixth
8. Live Oak Stud
at North American tracks in 2006.
last year.
4. Wimborne Farm
9. Juddmonte Farms
Included with the overall rankings are sep- 5. Bentley L. Smith
All profiles are written by Frank Angst, sen10. K. T. Leatherbury Associates
arate lists detailing the 2006 leading breeders
ior writer of THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
Roy and Gretchen Jackson
Roy and Gretchen Jackson
Residences: West Grove, Pennsylvania;
Bahamas
Leading earner of 2006: Barbaro,
$2,203,200
cide on our best mares,” Jackson
said. “Hopefully, we choose the right
ones, and over time we build up a
stronger group of mares.”
Of course, no sooner had those
words left her mouth when she realized she may have sounded a bit
too heady talking about a sport that
so often humbles.
“That said, it’s not like we’ve had
much success before this year, so I
don’t want to sound like I have it all
figured out,” Jackson said with a pleasant chuckle.
The considerable efforts the Jacksons have put into the sport paid off
in 2006 with Barbaro, winner of the
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum!
Brands (G1) and Florida Derby (G1)
on the way to earning $2,302,200.
Barbaro also won the Holy Bull
Stakes (G3) and took the Tropical
26
Park Derby (G3) on the Calder Race
Course turf in flashing versatility in
a racing career that ended with his
Preakness Stakes (G1) breakdown.
While Barbaro was the only horse
bred by the Jacksons to win a stakes
in North America in 2006, his big
season helped the Jacksons top the
THOROUGHBRED TIMES list, which rates
breeders on total purse money earned
by a breeder’s runners, average earnings per star ter for
each breeder, number
of winners for the
breeder, and percentage of stakes winners
from starters for the
breeder.
The Jacksons work
with Headley Bell’s
Nicoma Bloodstock in
Lexington, which researches possible stallions for matings with
the Lael Stables mares.
After that research is
gathered, Bell meets
with the Jacksons by
conference call.
“He’ll typically have
a list of about five stallions, and he will go
over the qualities of
each stallion and why he might be a
good choice for the mare,” Jackson
said. “We’ll talk about stud fees,
crosses, the stallion’s build, and the
history of each horse. Then we’ll
make a decision. It’s not always the
top stallion on the list, either. Sometimes we’ll listen to everything and
maybe just go with the third choice
on the list because he’s a horse we
like.”
What the Jacksons liked about Bar-
THOROUGHBRED TIMES/February 17, 2007
baro’s sire Dynaformer was
the outcross the Roberto stallion provided for their Carson City mare La Ville Rouge.
Bell thought Dynaformer
could provide some size to
the foal, and the Jacksons
saw potential for Dynaformer
to add some stamina.
“Besides that, we liked
Dynaformer’s success as a
MEMORABLE RIDE
Roy and Gretchen
Jackson’s Lael Stables
finishes 2006 season as
THOROUGHBRED TIMES’s
leading breeders due to
the efforts of hugely
popular Kentucky Derby
winner Barbaro, one of 11
starters and six winners
bred by the Jacksons in
2006
Photos by Z
W
ITH a mix of professional
commitment to the breed
and a healthy appreciation
of the fun generated by the sport
they love, Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables found its way to
the top of this year’s list of leading
breeders as compiled by THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
The Jacksons tr y to keep their
broodmare band at about 20 to 30.
Sticking to those numbers sometimes forces some tough decisions,
but Gretchen Jackson said, hopefully,
those choices improve their stock.
“We cull and that forces us to de-
sire, and we were anxious to breed
to him,” Jackson said. “His foals are
so versatile and able to run on dirt
or turf.”
While non-North American statistics did not figure in this ranking, it
should be noted that the Jacksons
enjoyed a big season in Europe in
2006 as George Washington (Ire),
whom they bred and sold for
$2,050,335 as a yearling, won the Stan
James Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-
G1) the same day as Barbaro’s Derby
triumph. They also had homebred
Enticing, an Irish-bred two-year-old
filly in 2006 who won a Group 3 stakes
at Goodwood racecourse in England
against males.
A majority of the runners bred by
the Jacksons, who own the 190-acre
Lael Farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania, race in North America to give
the couple the opportunity to follow
their careers. But the couple enjoys
the turf racing offered in Europe and plans to maintain a
string of broodmares overseas.
“The tracks are all so beautiful, and the people really
know their horses,” Jackson
said.
In a tie with Darley Stable,
the Jacksons received an
Eclipse Award as outstanding
owner of 2006, and they were
a finalist for outstanding
breeder. As part of Team Barbaro, they received a Special
Eclipse Award for their commitment to Barbaro after his
injury. As a couple who puts
the Thoroughbred first, Jackson said
she hopes people remember Barbaro’s
racing accomplishments.
“We really enjoyed [the Eclipse
Awards dinner],” she said. “The only
disappointment was that Barbaro did
not win any awards. At one point we
thought, ‘We’re winning all these
awards and the only reason we’re
here is because of Barbaro.’ ”
As race fans mourn the death of
Barbaro, they turn their attention to
his siblings. Jackson said Barbaro’s
half brother, a three-year-old Quiet
American colt named Man in Havana, could be a late bloomer. She
said he has shown flashes of talent
for trainer Michael Matz.
Barbaro’s unnamed full brother,
now a yearling, is at Mill Ridge Farm
in Lexington. Jackson said the full
brother most likely will take the same
early career path as Barbaro and be
shipped to Florida for breaking and
training at John and Jill Stephens’s
Stephens Thoroughbreds in Morriston before being sent to Matz.