Mill Ridge Farm

Longtime Kentucky breeder Audrey "Tolie" Otto passed away on Apr. 18 after a lengthy illness, longtime friend Headley Bell of Mill Ridge Farm announced. A native of St. Louis, Otto moved to Lexington in the late 1980s and bred and raced a number of top runners under the stable name Jamm Ltd., which stood for her four children--John, Audie, Michael and Matthew. Among the more notable names Otto either owned, bred or raced were MGISW Keeper Hill (Deputy Minister); and MGSW producers Hamba (Easy Goer), the dam of GI Blue...

Elizabeth Snellings has been named Director of Sales at Denali Stud. Snellings, who previously served as farm office manager at Indian Creek, replaces Sarah Fishback, who held the position for the last seven years. "We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth onto the team at Denali Stud. She brings a large skillset that will benefit us, as well as our clients," said Conrad Bandoroff. "Elizabeth has always felt like part of the Denali family, so we're happy and very excited to make that official." Snellings has held positions at American Association...

Amerman Racing's Devine Actress (Theatrical {Ire}--Devine Beauty, by Mr. Prospector) hemorrhaged after foaling a Not This Time filly Feb. 24 at Mill Ridge Farm and has died. Winner of Santa Anita's Santa Lucia H. in 2010, the mare produced three graded winners, including MGISW and young Mill Ridge stallion Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy). Her other foals include MGSW & MGISP Oscar Nominated (Kitten's Joy) and GSW Award Winner (Ghostzapper). "Devine Actress had been a part of the Mill Ridge family since 2010," said Mill Ridge's general manager, Price Bell. "It...

Hill 'n' Dale's Charlatan (Speightstown), a multiple Grade I stakes winner, was represented by his first two foals this past week. On Jan. 17, a bay colt out of Inventive (Dixie Union) was born at Seclusive Farm. Inventive is already the dam of GISW Klimt (Quality Road) and of GSP West Coast Chick (Malibu Moon). "This colt has strength, power, substance, and great bone," said Seclusive's Chris Baccari. "Excited to have other mares in foal to Charlatan and will plan to breed back to him after seeing this colt. I...

After a short hiatus from the stallion business, Mill Ridge welcomed GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Oscar Performance to their farm in 2019. Four years later, they now add a second stallion to their roster in Aloha West (Hard Spun - Island Bound, by Speightstown), who claimed the 2021 GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Wayne Catalano. With breeding shed doors opening soon, what has this newcomer's initial reception been like with breeders? "A lot more positive than the Oscar Performance reception was," said...

In partnership with Mill Ridge Farm and In the Money Media Network, Marshall Gramm of Rhodes College will be releasing interviews from his "The Economics of Racetrack Wagering Markets" course to benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. The 10 interviews, recorded in the spring of 2022, were conducted with handicappers, figure makers, horsemen and more to provide valuable insight into the sport of horse racing. "I've never had a course before where I could reach out to knowledgeable experts to aid in helping my students more understand racing," Gramm said. Sponsorship...

Aloha West (Hard Spun--Island Bound, by Speightstown), winner of the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has been retired from racing and will begin his stud career next year at Mill Ridge Farm at a fee of $10,000 live foal. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trained by Wayne Catalano, Aloha West was also second in last year's GII Stoll Keenon Phoenix S. and third in this year's GI Churchill Downs S. He retires with six wins from 13 starts and earnings of $1,507,290. "This horse has the potential to be...

Mill Ridge Farm's Oscar Performance, who currently ranks among the top 10 first-crop sires based in North America, will get a bump in his fee for 2023 to $20,000 live foal, the initial fee he stood for in his first two years at stud. The four-time Grade I winner, whose victories included the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, has sired 14 individual winners (16% winners to foals) and four graded stakes performers, including the GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. exacta with the winner Andthewinneris and runner-up Deer District....

Mill Ridge Farm will add a second stallion to its roster for 2023 in this year's defending GI Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Aloha West (Hard Spun--Island Bound, by Speightstown), according to Mill Ridge's general manager Price Bell. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trained by Wayne Catalano, Aloha West is from the family of Fappiano, out of a winner of the six-furlong GIII Winning Colors S. at Churchill. "Aloha West himself very much resembles this side of his family with the speed of Speightstown and his physical quality and presence,"...

Susan Moulton's Andthewinneris came flying late to win the GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. at Keeneland Sunday, leading home an exacta for his freshman sire while also becoming the Mill Ridge stallion's first stakes winner. The 4-1 shot broke from the far outside in the field of 12, angled over and settled near the back of the field. Still some 10 lengths back approaching the stretch, the bay made eye-catching progress leaving the turn and closed stoutly down the center of the course, hitting the front at midstretch and...

Was it divine intervention? As the story goes, sometime in late 1923 or early 1924, a Kentucky pastor, Rev. Dr. Thomas Settle, convinced some state legislators in Frankfort not to end legalized gambling in Kentucky by repealing parimutuel wagering, much to the relief of the Kentucky Jockey Club and other concerned horsemen. Most ministers may have taken the opposite tack at the time, but not Dr. Settle, and this made him stand out. A well-travelled Englishman who'd found his way to a small congregation on Main St. and Bell Ct....

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out past editions of our series here.   Omaha Beach (War Front--Charming, by Seeking the Gold) set the bar high for this...