Gerry Duffy

English may be his second language, but it certainly would have been difficult to guess when 2nd grader Markus won his school's spelling bee and went on to compete against kids several years his elder in a district-wide spelling tournament. Markus moved with his family to the U.S. several years ago when his parents started jobs working on a horse farm in Paris, Kentucky. His family valued education and after receiving a partial scholarship, Markus was able to attend St. Mary School in his new hometown, where his principal Miranda...

The KEEP Board of Directors voted to add three individuals to the board Friday, Feb. 3. The new board members are: Hallie Hardy - Executive Director of Horse Country Kim Smith - Founder and Executive Director of Second Stride and Owner and Operator of Moserwood Farms Rob Tribbett - Vice President of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association and General Manager of Watercress Farm Additionally, the KEEP Board of Directors elected Shannon Cobb to serve as vice chair of the board. Cobb is the COO/CFO of the Red Mile in...

by Sara Gordon and Katie Petrunyak LEXINGTON, KY-The Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club (KTFMC) held its first meeting of the year on Tuesday at Keeneland. The event was conducted jointly with the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners (KAEP) and the over 200 in attendance represented both organizations. Members of the Godolphin Flying Start and Kentucky Equine Management Internship programs were also on hand. Recent changes and trends in the equine veterinary field were a focal point of the evening, along with topics including equine litigation and liability, navigating equine veterinary...

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...

Last month, James Keogh announced that Chance Timm would be joining him at his Grovendale Sales in a new partnership designed to expand their footprint in the sales consignment arena. Most industry people have dealt professionally with Timm at one time or another over his 15 years in the business, but while he has had some high-profile jobs, by and large, he has kept his head down and flown pretty much under the radar. He has preferred, as he says, to deflect the attention to the people he worked for...

Foaling inside has been the go-to method across many equine industries around the world. For decades this practice has been the norm, while the natural act of foaling outside is often something farms work to avoid; often the weather doesn't make foaling outside practical, and as managers we try to do what's best for these new foals by aiding in delivery and getting them a good start in life. However, when a new strain of Rotavirus ravaged farms across central Kentucky in the spring of 2021, foaling outside became a...

LEXINGTON, KY-The ongoing labor crisis in the Thoroughbred industry was the focal point of discussion at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club's monthly meeting, which was held on Tuesday and brought in a large audience for a discussion on the talk. A panel of five industry participants and educators was on hand to give their perspective on the history of the issue and how the situation has worsened over time. They also spoke on projects currently in the works that have potential to bring in skilled labor and shared their...