John Stuart

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale gained momentum throughout its opening session and concluded a day of competitive bidding Wednesday evening with 11 seven-figure mares and a median up 30% from its 2022 counterpart. "It was a good day. It was a really good day," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "We were really pleased with the session overall. The theme of the century seems to be that the quality sells and there was really high demand for the quality. There was...

The chances might be one in a million. The odds of campaigning a multiple stakes winner from the first yearling you ever purchase are certainly pretty long. But to have that horse go on and produce a champion as her first foal, what are the chances? Amy Moore, the owner of South Gate Farm in Millwood, Virginia, knows better than to take this experience for granted. Besides her childhood family pony, the first horse she ever owned was Queen Caroline. Purchased by Moore for $170,000 as a yearling in 2014,...

Two Grade I winners inside an hour last Saturday: both sold as November weanlings at Keeneland, both through the same consignment. But while their shared provenance at least guarantees that you'll want to drop by the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services draft this time round, as well, it is not as though Forte (Violence) and War Like Goddess (English Channel) can otherwise elucidate the vagaries of our business. Because while one made respectable money, the other was more or less given away. War Like Goddess, swept up in the kind of cull...

Tiani Ibbotson is looking forward to her senior year at Midway University as she prepares to launch her career in the Thoroughbred industry. Three years ago, she moved from the Channel Island of Jersey to join the equine program at the private university located outside of Lexington, Kentucky. While she considered many different colleges around the world, this one stuck out because of the unique program tailored to her career goals. After graduating next year with a degree in Equine Studies with a focus on Equine Rehabilitation, Ibbotson hopes to...