| Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Contact: Gary Falter 859.224.2803 |
| OwnerView Webinar Covers Breeding to Race | |
The first installment in the 2026 OwnerView webinar series was held on March 17 and discussed the benefits and challenges of breeding Thoroughbreds to race. The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland, and Dean Dorton Equine. The panel was sponsored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Airdrie Stud. A Q&A was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees were able to ask questions through a Q&A link. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the panel with guests Carrie Brogden, representing Machmer Hall Farm; Kate Galvin, representing Godolphin; Len Green, representing D.J. Stable; and Walker Hancock, representing Claiborne Farm. When discussing why an owner would choose to breed their own racehorse, Green said, “We had a great year last year. We were fourth in the nation in wins, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that we breed our own horses and by doing that we can actually say, hey, let's breed speed of the mare to stoutness of a stallion and then let's take that foal and at its own pace.” “For me, it’d be developing the bloodlines.” Brogden said. “So, if we start with a mare and we’re starting to keep a lot of our better-bred fillies, and I think that is a big thing that we as a farm really enjoy, now we have generations of fillies and horses that we have.” Hancock agreed, but added that when you breed to race, you’re able to pick and choose your stallions, adding traits such as speed, distance, and a stronger hind leg. Hancock also mentioned how gratifying it is to be involved in a Thoroughbred’s life from the foaling barn to the racetrack. “You cultivate these families over generations. You put time and effort into their mating and God knows what can happen between the time that they’re a foal and time they get to the racetrack. It’s almost a sense of accomplishment when they get to the starting gate,” he said. Falter highlighted that Godolphin was the leading buyer of top yearlings at all sales worldwide for many years, but in recent years it seems that more of Godolphin’s horses are homebreds. “With any organization, whether you’re a horse farm or if you own a tire company, you’re going to live and learn,” Galvin said. “You’re going to figure out what works for you. You’re going to learn more about your employees in the horse industry, you learn more about your mares, you learn more about the industry around you and your competition. I always chalk it up to a lot of it was maturity as an organization and I think that’s very people oriented. I think it’s proof that your people need to be a big thing that you invest in.” The replay of Tuesday’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel is available at bit.ly/OVVideos. Nine additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2026. The next session, “Sensor and Stride Technology,” will be held April 7 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule. There is no registration fee for the 2026 virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com. OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing. | |