Owner Bio
Entered thoroughbred business in 1993 with the purchase of a stud colt we named Council Chief, who had problems almost from the get go, and we sold him in Arkansas as a three year old. In January of 1994 we purchased a Broodmare in Florida, she was in foal and the baby born in the spring died at 3 days of age, the same year we purchased two wealings at the November Keeneland sale to replace the baby we lost. These two were purchases we hoped to resale as yearlings. One of the babies broke her leg in the pasture and we had to put her down, it had been a hard way to get in this business.
The yearling that was left we took to the Keeneland Yearling Sale in September of 1995, and she failed to meet her reserve so we then took her to Clyde Rice in Florida and had her broke with hopes of selling her at the OBS Two Year Old in Training sale in Ocala in April. Again the filly did not meet her reserve, so we were stuck with her, and it ended up being the best thing that ever happened. We named her Cozy Blues and she became one of the best turf fillies in the country in 1997 winning three race one being the Hilltop Stakes in Maryland, was third in the Fair Ground Oaks a grade III, and went on to win 3 races, and was stakes place in 3 other graded stakes on truf, so that year we were eight starts and in the monies seven times with 3 wins. She was only a three year old, she ended up being a Grade stakes winner winning the Just A Game in 1999 at Belmont Park.
We had help along the way, Cozy Blues' first trainer was Michael Dickinson, who first recongized the class and sped she had, she was then moved to Jimmy Baker at Churchill Downs and under Jimmy she shone her three year old year. We stayed in California after we were second in the San Clement Stakes at Del Mar to run in the Del Mar Oaks, were Cozy Blues broke a splint bone in her hind leg, and she was rehabed with Bobby Mitchell, and returned to racing under Walter Greenman and was shipped east in May running in 1998 in the Just A Game and finished fourth. My husband and I decided to stay on the east coast and not go back to California with Walter, so she again got another Trainer, James Bond, who was her trainer the next year in the Just A Game which she won. I thank all the people who trained Cozy Blues, but Walter Greenman most of all he saved her life because he recongized she had EPM and was treated under his care. She came back 100% from that awlful disease.
We have yet to have another Cozy Blues, and have had a lot of bad luck, three of our best mares bowed and had to be retired, and we lost one to EPM. We are lucky, we owned the farm in North Carolina and we do not owe monies to anyone for the farm, that has help with the expenses. My husband and I are not wealthy but by staying small we have survived all the twist and turns in this business. We now breed to race only, Cozy Blues is the only mare we had that was a graded stakes winner and we could sell off her, but she is now retired because of lamintis. We have two broodmares one being Blues Legend out of Cozy Blues the only filly she ever had, and we keep her. Our other broodmare is a horse named Lumina, and she was very fast but bowed and was retired after her second race. Lumina has two horses on the track and her filly Maco Light broke her maiden on September 15, 2013 at first asking. So we will see if breeding to race is sucessful.
The best thing that has happened to us in the past four years is hiring Tom Proctor as our trainer, finding a trainer who fits with you is very hard, in Tom we have found one. It only took us 16 years to find a trainer that we are completely comfortable with, and races at the venues we like. I have had many trainers, some fired us and other we fired, but all of them had very good points, and bascially did a wonderful job for us.
I am now president of the North Carolina Thoroughbred Association and we are 50 members strong, and I have seen how hard it is not just for us but for everyone in the business who are not extremely wealthy to make it. Most of our owners have never made money at this, have never had a graded stakes winner, and play mostly in the claiming ranks at the tracks. You have to get lucky, you have no idea as new owners what fragile creatures horses are. I came from the horse show world, and getting into this business was like getting another college degree, but having horse knowledge no matter where from helps.
Racing partnerships have come a long way as an easy way to get into this business. Sales are harder since I entered the business, because of the repository, and the cost associated with going to the sale, these were very few twenty years ago, and not having the prefect horse or predigree hurts you. It use to be a good mover, nice looking, could bring you money, and making five or ten thousand above your cost was much eaiser. Now the cost of getting to sales can take a two year through breaking and getting to the track. Beware and be careful do not spend more than you budget, and only believe what you know, not what you hear or see. It is very easy to over spend on a horse. Your chances of buying a yearling and getting it to the track are only 60%,
Best of luck to all who enter this business, it is a passion of the heart, and as people say it is the highest of highs and lowest of lows, I would not have wanted to live my life without a chance to be a part of the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry.
