Monday, June 12, 2017

All the memories

Billy Hayes
Sitting around the campfire in our backyard. Wife and I reminiscing about 30+ years ago when the only vacation we could afford to take was a 4 day weekend to Brown Co. Ind. We loaded the horses, a caravan of friends, and made our annual treck there. In the campground there were 300 horses, and riders there to enjoy life as we did. We would unload the horses,sweep the trailer out, and put our bed rolls down inside. We would ride the trails all day, and eat steaks cooked over the campfire at night. Those WERE the good ole days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just finished reading the story of the Godolphin Arabian and his influence on the modern day thoroughbred. It is interesting from what I have read that he was not unlike some of the greatest sires of my lifetime. The great sires, Northern Dancer, Storm Cat and Seattle Slew were all small in stature, fleet of foot, long in heart! Seattle Slew was born on White Horse Acres the farm next to my family farm. I remember well his dam My Charmer, and and I could have been one of the people who transported "Slew" to the auction where he was sold as a yearling. I will never forget warching him win the Triple Crown. Our good friend Paul Mallory and his family raised many good horses on the 90 acre White Horse Acres. Slew may go down in history as one of the greatest sire of sires ever! Billy

Sometimes I wonder why the horse business in the Bluegrass has changed so much. In 1962 my family started a horse boarding and transportation business.
Our farm was across from Elizabeth Arden's " Maine Chance Farm. Almost all of the stud farms were within a 10 mile radius of the"Jotem Down Store". Claiborne farm was the farthest away and it seemed like an all day trip. The average book of mares was 35. Claiborne did not breed on Sunday! Every farm sent an attendant with the mare to be bred. Spendthift and The Stallion Station were the largest sheds, and Hagyards was the largest equine veterinarian firm in world with 12 vets.
I was so blessed to be able to work for Dr Arthur Davidson in the surgery for two years. We operated on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and by emergency. Dr Davidson was one of the finest men I have ever met. I was out of the horse business from 1987 until 2001. The biggest changes I noticed upon returning were, electric gates, overbooked stallions, and most of the work force hispanic! I never dreamed that I would be driving to Frankfort to breed mares. Claiborne would be breeding mares on Sunday evening, and 100 mares would be a small book. Hagyard and Rood-Riddle have about 50 vets each. Who would have dreamed that I would be working 70 hours a week during breeding season! I think it's time to go to bed and dream about the good old days!!!

As I get ready to go on my breeding mission of the day I received a voicemail from a friend telling me of his recalling a talk at the Ky. Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club of which I was a member.
Each year in February at our meeting we would have a Veterinarian come and prepare us for the upcoming breeding season. This year it was the famed Vet. Of Claiborne Farm. His name was Colonel Floyd Sager and he he was held in high esteem among the hardboots! The question was was ask " Colonel, how many mares do you recommend breeding to a stallion per season"? His reply was "Bull Hancock and I believe that a stallion need not make more than 100 covers per breeding season". He stated that Round Table had made the most the previous season and that was 75.
The KTFMC in those days were held at the Thoroughbred Restaurant on Leestown Road. The average attendance in the 70's was 60. It was the place were current information was shared. I cannot tell you how much was shared at the bar before and after the meeting. THOSE WERE THE BEST OLD DAYS! Billy

In 1973 I believe was my first year of membership to the Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club. I had attended UK for three semesters thinking that I wanted to become a Veterinarian. Working for Dr Davidson after school each day and slipping off to Keeneland during the meets was not conducive to my studies. Also I totally hated chemistry.
The next year I attended Transylvania University and lived there thinking I would be a better student. Needless to say between Kappa Alpha and Keeneland I was only average. That's when my father decided it was time for me to go to work and he was right!
I took over the day to day management of the barn and helped out with the horse transportation.
I joined the farm managers club and purchased my first mare from Ben Castleman fo $300. Our good friend and neighbor Paul Mallory told me she was for sale and I could afford her. So I bred her to a free season horse and sold her in the fall for $1200.
I was hooked as I loved the horses anyway and wanted to learn all I could. I would also like to give Dr Ed Fallon credit for being a wonderful reproduction teacher. When ever he came to the farm he always took time to explain things to me.!

This morning I took the Winner of the Spiral Stakes to the airport. It reminded me of Tex Sutton the man I knew in my younger years. He was always a dark skinned frail man, and he wore a felt fedora. Tex was what I thought of as a California Man. He smoked his camels non stop and was always full of wisdom. I remember being at Fasig -Tipton one night when he was there. He had a heart attack not long before and had recovered well. Someone said "Tex, you look great"! His answer was "Don't ever tell me that! That's what they say about people right before they die"! He lived 4 or 5 years more if I remember correctly. Tex was a pioneer in equine aviation! Today horse are tranport across the United States each day!

INFLATION! In 1945 my grandparents bought land on the Newtown Pike for $340 per acre. The last piece of the original farm sold for $51,000 per acre. In 1948 my father had a grade saddle bred mare. Isabell Dodge Sloan owned Castleton Farm on the Iron Works Pike. She had a saddle bred stallion named "Anicashiro Shamrock". Mr Francis McKinzey was the manager of the farm. He let my father breed his mare to the great stallion free.
The resulting foal was a colt and a very nice one! My dad was 21 years old when the colt wss a yearling. The Korean War was going on and Dad was close to being drafted. He knew a lady at the draft board and called her to see how close he might be to being drafted. She checked but could not find his draft card. She called him and said that it had been mailed that day. He really did not want to go to the infantry, so he went straight to the Navy recruiting office and joined the Navy!
The next year Mr McKinzey called and asked if dad would sell the colt for $2,500. Of course you could buy a really nice car then for $800. Based on the average car price now of $24,000, that colt would have been worth about $75,000 in todays dollars!!

A friend of mine called me today to talk about Francis McKinzey. He reminded me that Mr McKinzey managed Walnut Hall Stud before he went to Castleton Farm.
Walnut Hall is one place that brings back many memories. My first memory was going to the yearling shows with my father as a teenager. They would have the yearlings in the "Big Barn" that you now see at the Ky. Horse Park. Each October a couple of days before the Tattersalls sales began, they would invite prospective buyers to come and see the yearling jog back and forth inside the big barn. The Nichols family would have lots of food and refreshments for the guest. The thing that impressed me most was this hug crock full of lemonade. It was so big and had a spickett on the bottom. After all of the horses had been shown we would load them for the trip to Tattersalls.
Another wonderful memory was the annual Sheep Dog Trials there in June. The farm had a 50 acre field and 5 sheep were turned loose in it. The dogs had to go way to the back of that field, bring the sheep forward and put them in a 10x10 pen. The sheep were provided by Hershil Weil a local buyer and Bob Micklers father inlaw. He would purchase a semi load of sheep and bring them them to be used for the trial. This was all done for charity.
The first time Susie and I went there we purchased a dog from the winner of the trials. His name was Jack Knox, a wonderful Scottsman with a melodious scotch accent. I cannot tell you how much fun those trials were. Billy

The Nichols family of Walnut Hall Farm owned a large farm in Nicholas Co. In the 60's It was called "Skyview". It was 5,000 acres along the Licking River. Steve Brown who was married to Martha Nichols and manager of Walnut Hall at that time was friends with my family . He invited my Dad and I to go there and ride one fall day. We loaded the horses in Dads van and headed over there.
When we got there the weather was get a little cool. Martha did not ride but she brought a picnic for us, and she had the best Ky burgue I have ever eaten. The farm manager of Skyview met us to be our guide. Steve said he found the meanest guy in the county and made him manager. Then nobody messed with the farm. The two horses dad and I rode were former lead pony's at Walnut Hall that Steve had sold my father. We had a wonderful time and were so thankful for the wonderful picnic as it really turned cold before we left. Skyview is now called Clay Farm and is owned by the Dept. Of Fish and Wildlife!

From 1959 until 1962 my father worked for a company called Visumatic Timer. He went around the country installing electronic timers at racetracks. He put the first one in at Keeneland and the Red Mile. It took the tracks a while to trust electronic timing so they kept their stop watches for backup!
Visumatic was owned by Bill Sallee, who also owned Sallee Vans. At that time it was only 4 or 5 small trucks.
Bobby Maxwell and his father bought the van company in 1963 and built it into an empire. I use to ride with Bobby in his first semi when I was a kid. Bobby's father Robert owned a bar-gas station at the corner of Parkers Mill and Versailles Road. The walls were covered with win photo's from friends horses. I liked to go there with dad to get a nickle coke and peanuts. Bobby told me later that his biggest regret was not changing the name when he bought the business!, Those were the good Ol'e days!

In 1971 my senior year of high school I took a trip to Miami by my self. I drove my 1970 Buick Skylark, my first car. I went to visit a horse trainer friend who was stabled at Tropical Park. When I got there I could not find their condo or get them on the phone, so I got a motel room. The hotel looked OK from the front but they put me in the back. The room next to mine was full of Hispanic people parting and this liitle country boy was not happy! A couple of hours later I reached my friends. Their condo was only two doors away from the hotel. Boy was I glad to see them. They had a condo with a swimming pool and hot rock sauna. It was awesome! We went to old Tropical Park to the races. It was a beautiful place! I got a call to come home ASAP, because Dr Davidson needed his team to operate on a very important horse, I drove home non stop 20 hours. Boy was I tired. It was a great adventure!!

At the November 1978 Keeneland sale a mare named "Squaw " was purchased by Walkover Farm of which I was the manager. The owner picked out a few young mares to look at based on the "Dosage Index". One mare we liked was by Speak John. She was placed at 2 and very little black type under the second dam. She was from an old L.L.Haggin family. She was infoal to Mr Leader on an April cover.
We were able to purchase her for $12,000. On March 20 in a snow storm she foaled a colt by Mr Leader. I will never forget that night because the snow was blowing through the cracks in the walls. He was average size with long spindly legs.
He was a colt that never would put much weight on, toed out slightly in both fore legs and was a cribber.
Jack Van Berg trainer of Ky Derby winner "Alysheba" was the speaker at the Ky. Farm Managers meeting that spring. I asked him how he felt about cribbers. His comment was " They do not bother me. If they don't crib when I get them, most do after standing in a stall 22 hours a day"!
The 1st of August that year we shipped our yearlings to Jonabell farm to be prepared for the September Sale. I told them how hard he was to put weight on and hoped they could do that.
When he sold at the sale he brought $19,000 and we were happy with that because " Squaw " had paid for herself with her first foal! She was purchased by Texan named "William Raymond"
This story is to be continued----------

PART TWO "Sguaw",
We chose Jonabell Farm as our agent because I knew of John Bells integrity, and the fact that the Keeneland auctioneers always spent more time on his horses. We were never disappointed in our sales by Mr Bell as agent!
The next year 1981 the Squaw colt was two years old. I received a call from Mr Raymond of Texas in late April. He just called to tell me that the Squaw colt was now named "Inevitable Leader". He also stated that he looked like he was going to be a nice racehorse. He also said that Inevitable ran 3rd in the Riley Allison Futurity. I did not know what the Riley Allison was until I found the results in the Blood Horse magazine. The Riley Allison Futurity was a jackpot race for two year olds at 4 fulongs. He earned more for 3rd in the Riley than 3rd in the Ky Derby paid that year!
Later Mr Raymond called me and said that they were going to run Inevitable in the Arlington -Washington Futurity as he had been nominated. He asked if I would be able to come! I called my farm owner William Moller and he said absolutely. Mr Moller lived in Chicago and was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade. I flew up on Friday and visited him at the Board of Trade. I got to go down on the trading floor and see how grain was traded. It was the experience of a lifetime!
The next day we went to Arlington Park and met the Raymonds. It was so exciting. Mr Raymond ran two horses and Inevitable Leader ran 4th.
At 2 Inevitable leader ran in a race at Louisiana Downs. It was a mile and one 16th if I remember correctly. It was called the Ark-La-Tex. He won the race and set a new track record!, What a horse!
He was later trained by Ron McAnally and Bobby Frankle, and Mr Raymond himself. He ran third to Wild Again in the Meadowlands Cup. He beat Big Pistol in a stake race at 5 beating Big Pistol who had just set a world record at Churchill Downs.
In all he raced from 2 until 7, started 72 times, 56 times in the money and earned over $800,000.
THOSE REALLY WERE THE BEST OLD DAYS! I worked for Bill Raymond from 1983 until 1986. They were the 3 best years of my working life!!!

FLORENCE NIGTINGALE GRAHAM, aka' Elizabeth Arden. I grew up on our farm across from the Maine Chance Farm stallion barn owned by Ms Graham.
She loved her horses more than anything. She would send her famous "8 hour cream" down from New York to be used on her horses. One time she went up in the van to say hello to a race horse going back to the track. He bit the end of her finger off.
She hired and fired trainers right and left. They finally got smart and demanded a one year contract.
In the stallion barn she had a special room with a one way mirror window where she could watch the breeding process and no one would know. In those days it was not proper for a lady to watch.
Her famous saying was " I do not make cosmetics for poor people! If you but a high price on them everyone will want to have them"! Maybe some stallion owners think that way also!

Ms Graham had a nice filly who she was shipping to Chicago by train in the 60's. Many horses were shipped by rail back then especially to Ny. Fla. and California.
There was a rail siding on Broadway for horses. I remember loading them there with my father.
Any way the filly was on her way to Chicago to race, and on the way up there she became frightened and the groom with her got scared. He opened the door to jump out, but the filly did. Most grooms in those days liked to indulge in the spirits when not working.
The filly was found on a farm in Indiana three days later. She had many cuts and bruises but nothing broken. My father was dispatched immediately to bring her home to Maine Chance. A groom at the farm was assigned her personal care. His home remedy was to put hydrated lime on the wounds to dry them up, then Eight Hour Cream to promote healing. After about a year she was good as new except a few scars.

I love Texas people! When I first met Bill Raymond he brought his pedigree advisor with him. His name was Clfford Sims. Mr Sims was a jolly fellow, who reminded me of a small town judge. He refused to fly so he would come to Ky in his Chevy pickup truck. Mr Sims told me that being in Ky. Was as close to Heaven as he will be! Bill, Cliff and I had so much fun shopping for bargain horses.
One visit to Rockdale, Texas Bill took me to Cliff's place of business. He owned an old fashion beer joint on Main Street. When you walked in there was several tables with the locals playing "Domino's! At the back of the room was a huge bowl of ice with a fan behind it. That was his air conditioning!
Clifford Sims was one of those special people that you never forget! I am sure that on the first Saturday in May Cliff will be watching TV and drinking a Mint Julep or maybe a Bud Light wishing he were in the Bluegrass

Bobby Frankel,,, One of the greatest trainers ever! My first encounter with Bobby Frankel was at the Meadowlands kitchen in 1984. Bill Raymond had shipped Inevitable Leader to the Meadowlands to run in The Patterson Stake . We were in the Kitchen to eat breakfast and there was Bobby "the king of the claimers" sitting there reading his racing form. On the front of the form was his picture saying that he had the favorite in todays race! He was skinny then, had on a leather jacket.
We drew the 12 hole in a field of 12 horses. Bill was able to obtain Eddie Maple as his rider. We were so lucky to have Eddie because he was winning everything for Woody Stevens at that time.
We were treated like royalty by the racetrack had our own box and buffet in the Clubhouse.
The race broke and Eddie really hustled Inevitable out of the gate. He was 3rd at the first turn and settled. We ended up running 3rd in the grade 3 stake, and Bobby won on his horse.
The next year Bill sent Inevitable leader there and ran third in the Meadowlands Cup to " Wild Again"!
Bill sent Inevitable to Bobby Frankel after that and told him I can't beat you so I am going to join you!
Inevitable Leader took us on so many journeys and we met so many interesting people. Especially the great " Bobby Frankel"!

Harold Rainwater... From 1983 until 1986 I managed Windridge Farm in Wilmore, Ky for Bill Raymond. One of the first people I met was Harold Rainwater. Harold was a dark skin man with the face of a cowboy movie star. I believe him to be of Cherokee decent!
He and his wife owned a tack shop in Wimore and he was a hay and straw dealer also. Just the person I needed, and a Christian to boot. He was also the Mayor of Wilmore and the head of the fledgling horse program at Asbury College.
We loved living near Wilmore and my in laws lived about 5 miles away.
Anyway yesterday I delivered a horse to the Asbury College horse farm on Shanty Hill Lane in Wilmore. I turned on a gravel road and went through a jungle of cedar trees and . At the end was a beautiful indoor arena and horse barn plus 200 acres of land over looking the Ky. River. They have hiking trails and 6 miles of horse trails to the River!
The I am greeted by my good friend Harold! Harold had his friend David there also. David is a stallion attendant at Claiborne Farm. The horse program at Asbury is self sufficient, and they train donated horses to be police horses. How cool is that!! Needless to say it was a great day to see an old friend after 25 years and to see the wonderful work he has done at a Christian School! AMEN!

From 1983 until 1986 I managed Windridge Farm on corner of Ky 33 and Mundys Landing Road.
The farm was 60 acres with 2 barns and a stallion barn. During that period we retired two sons of Mr Leader and a horse named Actual Count. I had two employees, Terry and Joe.
Joe was our stallion man and Terry and I took care of the mares. We were a good team and worked efficiently together. After work sometimes we would go down Mundys Landing road where it ended at the Ky. River. Joe's grandfather Ralph owned a farm that was the old river boat stop and Inn at the Landing. Across the river the Shaker Run Creek ended. We had fun fishing and Ralph let us use his john boat.
Terry was a song writer and kept us entertained with his songs and poetry.
I would let each one of the guys have one half weekday for business and one weekend day each. Joe got married while we were there and Terry had a son he named John Thomas after a black man that we knew.
The man John Thomas was a mason who built two of our barns. He and his son Clinton were two of the best block layers I have ever seen. They mixed most of their mortar by hand. John Thomas Hayden taught us how to pour concrete and finish it.
He and my father in law were great friends and fishing buddies. Those were great fun and educational years! Running a horse farm is much more than just horses!

I went to Bluegrass Field this afternoon to pickup the Arkansas Derby winner Danza. It reminded me of a trip that I took to Japan 41 years ago.
My parents transported horses for a family called the Murty's. There was three brothers. Robert, and twins Wayne and Dwayne. In the late 60's and 70's Wayne and Dwayne were two of the biggest hucksters in the horse business. They always had two beautiful women on thier arms. I think they were Leslie Combs want to be's.
They bought and sold horses and flew horses to Europe and Japan.
In 1972 they asked me if I would like fly to Japan with a load. What 20 year old would not like an adventure like that.
On Thanksgiving 1972 the Murty's chartered a Flying Tigers " Stretch DC8 to land at Lexington and take 42 mares to Japan. The Stretch 8 looked like a giant mosquito, and it was the largest airplane to ever land at Bluegrass Field at that time.
More Later-----------

MURTY PART TWO---- When the Flying Tigers jet landed at Bluegrass Field it took all of the main runway to stop the plane. It taxied to the area that is now Tex Sutton. The airport official in charge of parking it brought the plane to far forward and the pilot had to reverse the engines to back it. When he did a single engine Cessna behind flipped upside down. Needless to say there was an FAA investigation over this. Finally the plane was parked and we loaded the 42 head on 3 abreast.
Next the plane had to be restarted and the jet start was connected. The jet start that Bluegrass had was so small that they had a hard time restarting!
Finally we were loaded and the Stretch 8 taxied to the far west end of the main runway. The engines were reved to a fever pitch, and off we went. My friends on the ground later told me that we were trimming the trees after we hopped over Versailles Road. We flew to Anchorage Alaska to refuel before going on to Japan More Later..................

LEXINGTON TO JAPAN-----Our next stop was to Anchorage, Alaska for refueling. We were able to get off the plane and see the terminal. I remember a very large Kodiak bear at the entrance. On across Alaska then over the Bearing Strait. I could see icebergs floating, and could actually see Russia.
As we appraoched Japan you could see terraced rice paddies on the side of green hills. We landed at Kobi, Japan where the horses were unloaded and put in quarantine. That was the last time we saw them. After going through customs next we got on a wide body Jet to Tokyo. On the plane with us was the great Sumo Wrestler " Wajima" He must have been 7 feet tall! The Japanese were taking pictures of him and getting his autograph. We were able to stay in Tokyo for 5 days, all expenses paid! It was awesome!.
We went to the Imperial Palace, rode the Bullet Train, and went to the Ginza Shopping District. One time we were told about a place that had very nice leather goods. We hailed a cab and told the driver where wanted to go. He kinda of laughed and put us in. He drove around the corner and let us out! Little did we know that all we had to do was walk a half block! We tipped him well. I am sure that had that been NY city it would have been a 5 hour tour!! More Later.........

ember 1972------ From Tokyo we all split up and went in different directions. The Japanese gave us each an open plane ticket home on Pan American World Airways. The ticket then cost $800. Michael D'Stefano and I decided to fly to Hawaii, some went back to Florida and one went to Australia.
Our tickets allowed us to stop anywhere in a half way straight line home. So we took advantage of this.
When Michael and I got to Honolulu we found a two bed sleeping room for $12 per night. It was one block from the beach. During the day we were on the beach and at night checking out the strip and International Village. I rented a car and we drove all over the Island. Drove up on the mountain overlooking Pearl Harbor, into the jungle called the Pauley. We saw the national cemetary and Visited the USS Arizona Memorial. We stayed a week. Hawaii was so beautiful, I would love to go back someday. Michael went home to New York and my next stop was Houston, Texas! More Later!!

As I drove to Churchill Downs in Louisville a few days ago I reminded of all of the good times that I have had over the years at thre Ky. Fair and Expo Center.
First my memories of going to the state fair each year with mom and dad. Mom would fix a picnic lunch and we would eat it at the car. Then all of the concerts and rodeo's that I have seen there. Also dairy judging in high school, and taking saddle horses there to show. The first real date with my wife to the Farm Machinery show and tractor pull 40 years ago. Susie and I volunteered at the Ky Cookout lamb booth a couple of times.
We were band parents when The famous Harrison Co. Thoroughbreds would win at fair each year.
Going there with friends to see their grand champion chickens show, and taking the grandchildren to see the mules. And for me to checkout the champion photography.
How much more fun and memories could one place provided! Thanks for the memories KFEC!!!

May 25, 2014
Memorial Sunday has always been a special day in my life. It brings back memories of going to the Indianapolis 500 with my family! It was the beginning of my shared love with my father for car racing.
We would get up early on the Sunday morning and drive to Indy. We were so lucky that my father always got great seats from a friend. Most of the time we sat just above the pits.
When we stopped going about the time I was 20 dad and I always watched the race on TV.
Except for the experience of being there the TV coverage with in car cameras is really better.
I watched my last Indy 500 with dad when he was at the Thompson Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Dad was a Navy veteran of the Korean War. Nobody was more proud of their service in the Navy than Dad. And we were proud of him! I am sure that he is sitting around a tv in heaven watching the race with his Navy buddies! Amen!

Why do we need to live in a fast paced world? I had worked on the farm until 1987 when I went work at Hoover Wire Products. I went to Hoover because my good friend John Kitchen helped me get a job there.
The horse business had gotten really bad and I decided to make a change. I worked second shift, and operated wire bending machines that made springs for beds. My shift was 3:00 pm until 11:00 pm. My quota for an 8 hour shift was 20,000 springs. I received incentive pay for producing over the 20,000 number and usually produced. Usually I made 1 to 2 hours extra pay each night.
Coming from the farm that was the most money that I had ever made. Also that was the fastest I had ever moved in my life. We received two 10 minute breaks and a 20 minute lunch during a 8 hour shift.
I would lay down an close my eyes during the 10 minute breaks. I would be so tired , but seemed to refresh enough to make it. I did this for two years.
One night I dreamed that John Kitchen suggested that I put in an application at Toyota. The bed business had gotten really slow and I was close to being layed off. The next day at church John came to me and said " Billy I think you need to put in an application at Toyota". Five months later I was working at Toyota Motor Manufacturing! Then I found out what faced paced was!!
I must thank God for the opportunities that have been presented to me. Billy

Susie and I went to Church this morning and the sermon was about "integrity". Our pastor used a story about Harry Truman when he was first elected senator from Missouri. He traveled around the country inspecting government facilities and found many inadequacies. He took these problems to the Senate and the Truman Bill was passed to make government places more efficient.
From Nehemiah in the Bible, " This day is special. Do not grieve over your past mistakes for the joy of the Lord is your strength. "
This reminded me of a story my father told about a visit from President Harry Truman to Key West where he was stationed in the Navy.
A demonstration was set up on a small pier to show President Truman how Navy fire boats worked. The President and dignitaries sat on the beach and a small fire was set at the end of the pier. The fire alarm was sounded and here comes the Navy fire boat! The boat came running with water spraying in front. Just before it could reach the dock it ran aground and did not get close enough to put the fire out! Someone setting up the demonstration did not plan on the tide being out at that time. Needless to say the end of the dock burned and the Navy looked really silly!
Do you homework! Especially when the Comander and Cheif is present! LOL!

Sitting in Church this morning singing "The Old Rugged Cross!" Remembering the Sundays that I spent in church as a child.
When I was young we went to church at the Macedonia Christian Church on Winchester Road. It was a great stone structure resembling the " Parthenon". It was about 3 stories tall with huge pillars in front. My great grandfather was instrumental in the building of it. Inside the walls were stucco and it had a tile floor. It had beautiful swinging stained glass windows. The church isle ran north to south. In the summer there was always a nice breeze blowing across from side to side.
I attended church with mom and dad, my fathers mother and father, and many Hayes relatives.
My great aunt Bertha played the organ, and I can still see her sitting there with her black orthopedic shoes pushing the pedals on the pipe organ.
We always sat on the left side near the organ. I loved the old gospel hymns. My grandmothers favorites were "Just as I Am", and "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling.
The Old Rugged Cross and Onward Christian Soldiers were regulars.
Even without air conditioning I never remember being hot in that chuch. This morning I was also thinking about that because the air at our church blows right down on me. I hate to be hot so I enjoy that. Two women sitting behind me always complain and I just smile. This morning one of them said maybe it will shut off soon, and I smiled and said "I don't think so"!

October is my favorite month of the year. I have so many good memories of 4 day weekends spent at Brown Co. State Park in Indiana.
Around 1978 Susie and I met Charles and Rebecca Cannon at the Oxford Christian Church in Scott Co.. Susie and I were newlyweds and lived on Walkover Farm next to my farm on Hicks Pike. Susie and I had Appaloosa mares that we rode and the Cannons had walking horses.
They pretty much adopted us and we went riding all the time. A 4 day weekend once a year was all that we could afford. The Cannons would go to out of state trail rides. They invited us to go to Brown Co. with them.
Brown Co. State Park has 15,000 acres with horse trails all over. It has a horsemens camp for 600 horses. We had so much fun!
Henry and Doris Waits were also friends of ours and the Cannons. Along with their 3 daughter's we had a great time.
This got to be an annual October trip for us. The caravan to Indiana grew over the years. The Suttons, Harbours, Suffaltta's, Probst, Downings, Conners, and many others joined us over the years.
The children of all made memories that last a lifetime. Andrea and Drew became friends back then, and the rest is history. This October we will be welcoming our 4 th grandchild. I hope that she will get to enjoy Brown Co. Someday! Billy

The trips we made to Brown County with the Cannons we stayed in rustic cabins near the Abe Martin Lodge. In 1906 the Author Ken Hubbard created a country character named "Abe Martin." Hubbards "Abe" had Minnie Pearl type sayings that he published in his book. The cabins were named after the characters in his book. Hubbard loved the beautiful Brown Co. area as we learned to.
We stayed in the cabins and had the most wonderful country breakfast each morning, with a crackling fire in the fire place and deer grazing out side the window.
After breakfast each morning we followed the winding hilly roads through the park to the horsemens camp. Entering the camp you would smell wood fires and bacon cooking from the campers. The camp lies in a creek laden valley with 500 ft hill on each side Our first ride was to the fire tower. Initially we have a level ride through a pine needle carpeted trail gradually rise to the top of the hill. About 5 miles away was the fire tower over looking a beautiful scenic vew of the park.
At the least once each trip we would go into the little town of Nashville, Indiana. It is a mini Gatlinburg with lots of shops and great food.
The worst part of the whole trip is packing up to head home and leaving this wonderful place!

In March of 1972 Yellowstone Park celebrated its 100th anniversary. My family rented a Winnebago motor home in that year. We made our way to Mt Rushmore, and Yellowstone National Parks. I am watching a documentary on the National Parks and it brings tears to my eyes. The next time I would visit
Yellowstone would be 1995 with my wife and daughter. May God bless those who have supported our National Parks to be enjoyed for all peoples and generations!

When Andrea was was old enough to ride we took her and her cousin Karen to Brown Co. to ride. It was a July trip. We borrowed a horse from Kay Conner for Karen and left for a 3 day weekend. The weather was nice and we enjoyed our ride in the park the first day. That evening we drove through the park to the lodge. There were deer every where. That night we slept in the trailer with the door open as it was a warm evening. Sometime late that night we heard a noise at outside. Susie shined the light out and the raccoons were trying to get into a popcorn can full of cookies. There were raccoon eyes everywhere! We scared the coons off and brought the food in. The next day we rode the horses and the weather was getting progressively more hot. In the afternoon the wind started to get up and storms were called for that evening.
Worried about the horses being out in a storm and the children, I decided to pack up and head home. We were checking out at the guard shack and the person there told us that a tornado had been reported near the park. Off we go pall mall getting out of there! Before we could get to the main rode a large sycamore tree fell across the road. Luckily I had a 4
wheel drive and we were able to go off of the road around it.. By the time we got to Columbus, Indiana and I65 it was raining cats and dogs! It was a real frog stangler! Lightning everwhere and it seemed to be following us.
We got about halfway to Louisville and a car came careening across the medium toward us. I decided to get off at a truckstop and wait it out. As we pulled in a bolt of lightening struck and all of the lights went out!
We waited a while and proceeded on toward Louisville. Listening to WHAS in Louisville on the radio and hear what was predicted that night I made an executive decision to get a room for the night.
Thank God that we did because Louisville was hit extremely hard. Needless to say it wss an eventful trip!!!

Around 1996 the "Caravan from Scott and Harrison Co's headed for Brown Co.about this time. Suttons, Probst, Suffaletta's, Harbour and Hayes' off for a beautiful weekend.
Andrea, Annie, Adam, Rick, Daniel Drew, Morgan, George, Terri and Jessica. The kids could not wait to get there They rode and played during the day.
At night we cooked steaks over a wood fire, baked potatoes, roast corn, baked beans. Sat around the camp fire sang and told stories. In the horsemens camp you could hear guitars and banjos playing, and people riding through. Some going out for night rides. The camp is noisey until midnight. I had been on the night shift at Toyota so I stayed up later than most and kept the fire going. I love to sit by the fire and listen to the Grand Ole Oprey!
One of our favorite trails was to a little place called "Story". There was a country restaurant and art studio there. They had tie ups and picnic tables for the riders. The fall foliage was at mid term. Brown Co. Is usually a week or two ahead of Lexington.
Little George Sutton and I played football, Adam video the camp. Daniel played the guitar. Eddie told about the Civil War and John Wayne. Susie Marie kept us laughing.
If you ask any of the kids these WERE THE BEST days of their life. Interesting enough, most all of them are parents now! Two sets of twins!!!

I would like to give a big shout out "THANK YOU" to the Harrison County Water Association! When I come in from the field all sweaty and nasty there is a nice shower waiting for me!
From 1977 until 1983 Susie and I lived here on Hicks Pike and the only water we had was cistern. We had a 2500 gallon cistern on the little house that we lived in. That meant hauling water from Cynthiana when there was not enough rain water.
Most of the time when we went to shop or go to the laundry mat we filled our little 300 gallon tank and brought a load home. More than once I would be in the shower, latherer up and the water went to trickle. I had to wipe the soap and head to town! No fun! Especially in the winter months. That also meant chopping ice on the ponds for the animals all winter. Now we have automatic heated waters. ( Thank you God for those also).
So once again Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!!!!

Watching Country Classics from the Grand Old Opry! Remembering the nights I spent foaling mares in the barn back in the early 1970's. Listening to the Opry on WSM am radio live from Nashville, Tennessee! On a good night I would listen to WBAP 820 am from "The Metroplex, Ft Worth-Dallas. At midnight they had the PRCA results. Then it was Bill Macks all night "Truck'n show!
Who needed the Internet? Nothing like a nice rain on that tin barn roof! Thank you God for simple memories!

Some things never change! I can remember when I lived on Newtown Pike as a youngster. We had a quarter mile straight stretch of road in front of our house. Many evenings in the summer two cars ( Usually 56 or 57 chevys) would line up side and drag race down the road. In the 50's and 60's that was a really cool thing to do. Young men had no fear and drag racing was a real rush. I never see that any more but I still notice black marks on the road where boys think it's cool to burn rubber on the road! Don't they realize that tires cost a lot, and repairs are really costly! Let alone the danger of hitting some innocent person! Some things never change especially in a small town like Cynthiana!!!!! We still have a tractor parade in downtown for the FFA boys and girls!

Can't Sleep! Thinking about mason jars. Last night I had sorghum on a biscuit out of a beautiful mason jar. It was a gift from my brother in law, puchased at Court Days. So many memories of eating at my grandparents house when I was little. My grandmother Laura Marrs Hayes was a saint. She lived through the depression, and never through anything away! If it could be frozen, washed or reused it was saved.
Nothing better than going to her house on a frosty morning for breakfast. Her kitchen faced east and the morning sun would shine in on the violets that she raised in her window. The window seals were marble and their was the perfect mixture of light and moisture for their production. She would cook sausage ( burnt to a crispt) in her iron skillet. Homemade biscuits and sorghum molasses. What more could a kid ask for! Thank God for mason jars and Nannies love!!!!

Growing up in the horse industry affords many
fond memories. Among those are the smell of tan bark in the breeding sheds. Real pine oil disinfectant gives a heavenly smell to the barns. New leather shanks and halters. Many
of the farms used a yellow soap to wash the mares. It had a very distinct smell. I remember Darby Dan farm had whiskey bottles with green and yellows soap. Darby Dan was and still is a wonderful place. They still use the same training barn to prep the mares for breeding. I remember well Gene Palmer the assistant manager teasing and washing the mares. The many tales he told and the race horses he touted. The business was so different then. I remember Olin Gentry the famed manager of Darby Dan. What a character he was! He sat in the corner of the breeding shed and watched each breeding. I saw great sires such as Ribot, Graustark, and His Majesty. I remember Mr Gentry was complaining one day in the 60's about not being able to find help. He said " Boys, what we need is a dammed good war to get to get people back to work"! That has always stuck with me. He had lived though World Wars I and II. It's funny, I hear people at the shed saying the same thing about needing good help. But no one mentions war!

When I was young we lived on the Newtown Pike. It was a farm that my grandparents had bought in 1945 for $340 per acre. You could drive into Lexington to where the New Circle Road is at night and not see a light from houses. Eastern State Hospital would be the first building you would see in town at the corner of Fourth and Newtown. There was a gas station at the intersection of Georgetown Street and Newtown. It was called the Red Head and they had 5 cent cokes! Next on the left was Hutchinson Drug Store and that was where we got our medicine. My how things have changed in the last 55 years!

If anyone wants a good read about the history of Lexington a the horse business in the late 1800'°s? I just finished "Madam Belle" by former horse racing writer Maryjean Wall. A friend loaned it to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It talks about a horse photographer that I knew named "Skeets Meadows". He and Dr Thomas Clark were called to Belle's place to appraise some books she owned before she died. They were able to get some information about her past which Maryjean used.
Skeets was a frail old man when I remember him coming to our farm to take pictures of some horses. He had an old still camera like you would see in the old movies used by reporters. Skeets had "the shakes", but somehow he got a great picture. He gave me a little book that he had published with horses in funny poses. He loved my dog and showed me how much dogs loved to be rubbed behind their ears. So many characters that I have been privileged to meet!

Growing up on th farm
in the 50's and 60's there were many African Americans in my life. The earliest I remember was a gentleman named "Les". Les would do odd jobs for my family. He could not read write or drive. He was such a good hard working soul. He would bring his nephew Tony on Saturdays. Tony and I would ride ponys and build hay forts in the loft of the barn. Les loved my little brother Bobby. My grandparents lived on the other side of the farm. One day my brother decided that he wanted to go see my grandmother. We called her Nanny! Bobby asked Les to take him on the tractor to see her. Les said "Bob I can't do that". Bobby said " Les if you love me you will take me". On the tractor they went to grandma's house!

In the 50's and 60's we lived on the farm across from Elizabeth Arden's Maine Chance Farm. We never had to look for help with hay or tobacco because the men who worked on Maine Chance were always wanting extra work. In those days most all families lived on one income. The men would tell dad to just let them know and they would come after work. And they always showed up! People were grateful just to have the opportunity to make extra money even if it was hard work.

In 1965 Elizabeth Arden died and Maine Chance Farm was sold to the University of Kentucky. My parents had just started the Hayes Horse Vans along with the horse boarding that we did. Dad and one other gentleman Buster Mansfield were the drivers. Thomas W. "Skeeter" Johnson, an African- American man came from Maine Chance to join them. Buster and Skeeter were like family to us. They were both on salary, because in those days the van business was very seasonal. You had breeding season, sales, and horse shows. Rarely were horses hauled on Sunday even during breeding season. Our family would take care of the horses on Sunday so Buster and Skeeter could have a day off. My how the horse business has changed!

Skeeter Johnson was born in a little settlement on Huffman Mill Road in Fayette Co. Kentucky. His father I believe worked for Cy White father of Henry White famed Kentucky hardboot. Skeeter was about 6ft 6in and skinny as a rail. There weren't many horses that Skeeter could not hold on to. Skeeter always wore a harris tweed flat cap. On Sundays he would wear his big camel hair cap and sing in the Maddox town Church choir! If you met Skeeter he would greet you with a"how ya doin' Captain"! Skeeter would tell me about leading mares and foals down the Russel Cave Road. There would be a caravan, and the foals would be tied to the mares tails. There were no horse vans back then. When Skeeter died my father went to his funeral and he was the only Caucasian person there. I wish that I could have gone.

Colonel John Day and Howard Keller were friends of my dads back in the 50's. They were crop dusters, and had a small airport on Iron Works Road between Newtown and Russell Cave roads. They also had Wacco biplane and built experimental airplanes for air shows. The dusting planes had tanks behind the pilots seat to spray tobacco, corn, and other crop in central Kentucky. John also performed at air shows in the area, especially at the old airport in Georgetown. It was located where the Burger King is on US25. There was also a drive in theatre there. John's plane had an inverted fuel system in it so that he could fly upside down and Howards biplane was used for a wing walker. Howard would also have a guy who would hang below the plane and drop off into a moving car! More to come later!

John Day would land behind our house in the 50's before dad built horse pastures. One time he landed as usual but forgot that dad had put a new fence over the hill. When he took off he went down the hill over the fence and under the power lines to get airborne. Needless to say that was the last time he landed there!
One evening my dad and I were over at the airstrip. A friend of Howards had a new parachute he wanted to tryout. It happened to be almost dusk and I think that there was some alcohol involved. So Howard took the door off of the two seater, and told my dad to take the truck to the far end of the runway. He was to shine his lights down the strip so Howard could see to land. Up they went to altitude and we saw the chute open. Howard started his landing pattern and approach. As he did someone pulled in and the car lights shine up the runway. Howard was too low and could not see. He clipped the left wing on a tree but remained airborne. He yelled out the window for the (sob) to turn his lights off. He circled the field and limped in safely. The parachutetist landed on top of a house unscathed (probably because of the medicinal alcohol he had consumed).

The sermon today was given by Reverend Phil Cook. Phil and I have two things in common. We both attended Transylvania University and we were both members of the Oxford Christian Church. Two of my favorite places! I only went to Trasy for one year but, enjoyed every minute of it. I lived on campus and it was my first time to live away from home. I made so many friends there, had fun, and grew up so much. I highly recommend students living on campus for a couple of years. There is so much history at Transy (the oldest university west of the Allegheny mountains).
When Susie and were first married we lived on Walkover Farm in Cynthiana where I was the manager. Susie was in graduate school and I was working 7 days a week to develop the farm. We had horses and cows and I was working myself to death. I finally told her that we were going to get off the farm at least one day a week. So we had some wonderful friends who attended the Christian Church at Oxford. We absolutely loved it, and were welcomed with open arms. We made so many life long friends there!
Phil came along as minister right after we left to go to church in Cynthiana so Andrea could go to church with her school friends!

When I was ten years old my parents decided to start a horse transportation business. Dad had been around the horses all his life, and he was friends with many of the local hard boots. For the last 4 or 5 years he had been working for Bill Sallee the original owner of Sallee Horse Vans. Mr Sallee had ventured out in a business called Visumatic Electronic Timer Co. Visumatic designed and built the first electronic timer system for race tracks. Dad was one of several employees who installed the systems at major race tracks. The technology was so new that the tracks still relied on a human with a stop watch to be the official timer!
Dad installed the first system at Keeneland. I remember going with him running wires to all of the poles on the track marrking the furlongs, start and finish. I got to go everywhere at Keeneland and to see the inner workings of the facility. Pretty neat for a 10 year old! More later!

Dad would travel to some of the major race tracks with the steel box on a trailer. The box was approximately 16 ft long and 12 ft tall. It had a series of light on the front to display the fractions as the horses ran. At each quarter pole there was a light on one side of the track and a mirror receiver on the other. The boxes containing that equipment were made of cast aluminum and were approximately 8 inches square. The light shown a strong beam across the track into the mirror. As the horse crossed the beam the time between the quarter poles flashed on the timer board.
Also at the end of the race the board would flash the official total time of the race. A person would be in the grandstand usually were the race caller was to reset the information after each race and set the distance for the next race. My dad would do alot of that initially. More late!

The four or five years that Dad worked at Visumatic Timer I was able to take several trips with him. The most memorable for me was to Chicago. Dad was installing timers at Arlington and Washington Parks. They were both owned by a nice lady name Marge Everett. He was working at Washington Park when I went to spend a couple of weeks with him. There was a great restaurant outside the track called the Homestretch Inn. A nice lady name Lil owned it and she was very nice to me. While we were at the track working I saw a man electrocuted when he was setting a light pole and it hit a high power line. I will never forget that! No one could help him because the truck and everything it touched was electrified. It was so sad.
On Dads day off he took me to Midway airport and we rode a shuttle helicopter. It ran from downtown to O'Hare and back. One of the coolest things ever!

My father was a Hollywood Park in the summer of 1963. He was putting in an electronic timer system for the race track. My mom was nearly 9 months pregnant with my brother Bobby. By the middle of July he was trying to finish and get home for the birth. He left California on July 16th headed home. Bobby was due on the 18th. He drove 3 days almost non stop to get home. He got home at 2:00 am and mom had already gone to the hospital. He did make it for the birth, but mom was not exactly happy. That fall when my sister Nancy entered first grade. The teacher asked the children to draw pictures of their parents. Nancy said that she could not draw her father because she had not seen him for a long time. That's when dad decided it was time for a career change! That's when they decided to go into business for themselves. More later!

In 1964 my dad bought two International 2 ton trucks and took them to Louisville. He had aluminum 3 horse boxes custom made for them. Thus the beginning of Hayes Horse Van Service. He also had mom's friend Ed Rose to come and build a 10 stall barn behind our house. Ed's brother Gene was in the tobacco warehouse business. Mom had worked on the tobacco warehouse business for years and she knew everyone in the business. And the farm was named Echo Valley Farm. It was the name that my grand father had given the farm in 1945. We would board mares and have a horse motel to compliment the van business. Mom continued to work on the tobacco market and dad would work 2nd shift at International Trucks until the business was on it's feet good.

Continuing the Hayes Saga. The farm name was changed to Hayes Haven after a few years. The reason was that a man named Don Sucher moved here from Pennsylvania and started a farm. He named his Echo Valley Horse Farm. It did not matter that ours had been called that since 1945! My parents found out that Sucher contacted the Kentucky Dept. Of Agricultural and that there was a farm name registry. He had the name registered. My parents were glad in the end to include the family name into the farm name.
Several years later Bobby Maxwell told dad that his biggest mistake was not changing the name of his van company when he bought it from Bill Sallee. Bobby built Sallee Vans into an empire with the help of Tex Sutton.

The horse business in Kentucky is like none other. It use to be the sport of kings and only the wealthy could be in it. It was a time when the workers were respcted and trusted employees. Many families worked on the farms for several generations. But today it so different. Most of the people are recent immigrants. Many of the managers are Iirish and most people under them are Hispanic. The breeding sessions when I was young were twice a day and none on Sunday. Keeneland refused to race on Good Friday. But now that has all changed. Most of the stallion farms breed mares 3 or 4 times a day, 7 days a week.
Some of the farms breed as many as 200 mares in the season. When I was young it was 30 to 35 mares maximum. Today Good Friday and Easter are just another day in the horse business. And I am sure that Walmart and other stores will be open also. Happy Easter to All.

Easter______ I grew up in the Macedonia Christian Church. Easter was always a beautiful celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. Macedonia if you do not know is located on the Winchester Road. My great grandfather help to build it in the early 1900s. It is as they say it is "solid as a rock". It is all natural stone with huge stone columns in the front. It has huge swimging stained glass windows that swing open. It had no air conditioning but really did not need it. There was always funeral home fans to stur the air if you needed them. I am sure that you older citizens like myself remember those. Any way there was always lots sweet breezes blowing side to side through the church. And the smell of fresh flowers was heavenly! The old hymns such as "The Old Rugged Cross and When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" were testament to the celebration! May God Bless you with memories like these this Easter!

Many Easters we would go to My aunt Rosemary's. It was way out the Richmond Road not far from the Kentucky River. Their farm was sloping down to a creek which ran to the river. They had ponies that we could ride and we could play and shoot our bb. Guns. There was some junk next door and sometimes we would see rats to shoot. One time we were shooting rats and one ran up my cousins pant leg. He screamed "bloody murder"! One time I stayed several days there and it was warm like it has been recently. We would run around like wild indians with our shirts off. My cousins tanned really well, but I burned like nobody's business. All of the skin on my back blisters and peeled off. I had to wear white tee shirts to school until it peeled off. That was the last time I went out a shirt very long!

My father was quite a pioneer in horse transportation. He was always trying to find a better way to do things. Not long after the business got off the ground he decided to look
For a way to get better fuel mileage to tranport the horses. In order to do that he needed to have smaller trucks than the 2 tons. He bought a couple of 1 ton Fords and found a company in Indianapolis called Premier that made aluminum boxes. He had them made with a side door and back door. Then he and a good fabricator named Joe Preston finished the inside, put windows in, and built the ramps. He would work on them at night in Joe's shop. The one tons doubled his fuel mileage, and were so much easier to maneuver. They were a hit and before long everyone was going to the smaller trucks! There was such a market for them that Premier started building horse vans for sale.
To be continued!

In 1969 the Hagyard Surgery was built on our farm. My father saw a need to build an horse ambulance. He contacted a trailer manufacturer in Ohio to custom build a trailer for him. He and Jim Alexander designed a second rolling floor that could be moved in and out of the trailer. It was made of 3 sections hinged together with rollers under . Jim built the floor and installed and electric winch in the trailer. It was a big hit in the industry. Spendthrift, Gainesway, and UK actually ordered their own trailers from dad to use on the farms.
At that time horse trailers weren't used by many farms, only horse vans. But this trailer was so low and made a big box stall that many farms just wanted it to transport problem horses. So dad decided to have two gooseneck trailers built for that purpose. Then everyone wanted gooseneck trailers to haul their horses.

In the mid 1960's the horse van business was very seasonal. We did do some jumper shows for Robert Murphy in the summers. Robert had a small place on Grimes Mill next to the Iroquois Hunt Club. We would go there on Saturday morning early, load horses and tack to go to a show. The Pony Club would have shows at Keeneland in the bottom where barns one through ten are now. It was a huge show with a fair like atmosphere. Francis McKinney and her girls were always there. Her daughter Tamara was a great rider, and went on to be an Olympic Downhill Skier. Robert Murphy was a great show horse tainer and had many clients. His brother Patrick was "Master of the Hounds" at the Hunt Club. His other brother Dennis was a world class farrier. Dad and Dennis were good friends. We also had individual young ladies that we took to shows.
One was Nancy Davis. She was the daughter of Dr Horace Davis. Dr Davis owned Bluegrass Heights Farm on Old Frankfort Pike.
More later..............

I saw Bedell Conboy the other day. She looks so much like her mother Polly. I remember when Polly and I were teenagers. Here father William Hilliard owned Futurity Hill Farm. It was a Standard Bred horse operation. He also loved to play polo. Dad hauled all of his horses and on certain Saturday nights in the summer we would take his polo ponies to Goshen , Ky. There he, Dr Todd (a Lexington physician) and others would play against Dinwiddie Lampton and friends. Mr Lampton was a very wealthy insurance man and owned Harmony Landing farm.
Buster, Dad and I would load the ponies about 5pm and head for Louisville. This was before the interstate was built and we had to take old US 60 to Route 42. It was a long 2 hour trip then. We would get there about 7 to 7:30 when it was cool enough for them to play.
One night Dr Todd got there and he had fogotten his riding boots. Buster always wore cowboy boots. Dr Todd asked Buster what size he wore, and they were the same as the drs! Needless to say Buster never played polo, but his boots did!

I found out the other day that the Crestwood Farm on Spurr Road was sold to Don Alberto a Chilean horseman. I can remember when we hauled horses on that farm for Thomas Carr Piatt. He was my friend Lucy Young's grandfather. I remember going there some 40 years ago to an auction with dad when Pope Mclean bought the farm. Pope had a little place on Newtown Pike that he leased. It is now where the new Eastern State hospital is. Pope's sons are fine young men and continuing his legacy in the horse business. The Mclean boys and I have one thing in common. We have both been in feature articles in the National Geographic on the Bluegrass. Mine was in 1974 and 40 years later.

The first time that I met Buster Mansfield dad and I were at a tack auction. Tattersalls at the Red Mile held a Saddle Horse sale each year and they always had a tack auction before. Buster came there to see dad about a job. He was the orignal "man in black"! He had on a black shirt, black pants, black boots, and a black cowboy hat. To top it all off he drove a black Cadillac! He became dads first employee. He had worked for John Muth and they had a disagreement on the proper attire for a "Muth Horse Van Driver"°! Mr Muth had filed suit against Buster because he refused to wear a uniform! This is the truth! Buster had won the case. But left the job. He brought the "Cowboy Culture" to our family. More later...

One thing Buster had a lot of was pride. Money he did not. Buster had driven several million miles hauling livestock for Leneord Jefferson. He had never had a speeding ticket or major accident. He had an eighth grade education, but he was a voracious reader. He read every western novel that he could get his hands on. He had a collection of every book that Louis L'Amour had written. He believed that he was Native American. He loved the "red man" and believed that there was a "great spirit". Buster did not go to church or give money to charity. But he always gave a generous tip to waitresses. He said they might have babies that needed milk money.
Buster loved to buy western shirts, boots, and hats. He kept a "tab" at Bob Mickler's. Mr Mickler allowed him to buy things on credit anytime he wanted something. He would always pay on his bill when he could. He was an honest man! More later..........

Although most of the horses we hauled were Thoroughbred and Standard bred, Buster taught me to appreciate Appaloosas, and Saddle breds. Buster bought an Appaloosa yearling colt at an auction in Winchester. He kept him at the farm and we used him for a teaser. He called him "Black Hawk".
We started hauling Saddlebreds for Brent Jacobs, and C E Peppiatt. Buster loved to take them to the shows and I would go with him. I loved the 5 gaited horses and the "road classes". We would go to Shelbyville, Harrodsburg, the Junior League, and State Fair. Those were fun times!

Buster would take Mr Pepiatt to the horse shows. Pepiatt was also a respected show judge. His farm was on the Russell Cave Road. It was next to the school, just down from the "Jot'em Down"! Store"! He had a beautiful white Antebellum home which is still there. Pepiatt had a 3 year old that Buster loved. He told Pepiatt that this horse would win many stakes. Every time that horse won Mr Pepiatt would tip Buster.
One time they went to a show and Buster said "Mr Pep, think we will win tonight"? Pepiatt replied "we got it in the bag Buster"! "This judge owes me a favor"! Sure enough they won the stake!

During the mid 1960's the horse van business grew in leaps and bounds. Dad was up to 10 trucks. He had 5 full time drivers and many part time. In those days, people who would work night shift somewhere else would haul horses in the day. Some where firemen. He never had to look for help. On the weekends during breeding season dad would take me to a shed and drop me off with a mare. Then he would go get another one. I loved spring breaks because I got to make money. The men who washed the mares at Spendthrift and the Stallion Station were helpful always! I got to know all of them. They called me "little Bill"!
The fellow at Spendthrift's name was Baker. He kept a bottle on the shelf above the was rack for medicinal purposes you know. Any time dad was in a hurry he would move me and the mare to the front of the line. Dad made sure to reward him with "Kentucky's finest"! Those were the best of times growing up around the horses.

One thing that I must point out is when I refer to Dad, I mean to say "The Team", Mom and Dad. My grandparents planted the seed by providing the land. Dad and Mom worked together to build two businesses from that seed. Mom kept the books, took the calls and raised three kids. Dad had the trucking knowledge, and the farm background. The businesses were built on honesty, integrity, and hard work. Dad always told us that " all we had to sell was service. And it had better be the best "! Mom said, " The customer is always right. Kill them with kindness"! Growing up on the farm and in a family business was the greatest education that my brother, sister, and I could have!

As the van business grew the boarding and horse motel also grew. Boarding with us were friends and family. Mom's cousin Bill Chenault sent us some mares. Dicky Bowman brought race horses. Also we picked up people who wanted to breed to the Maine Chance stallions. The motel or Layover grew exponentially! We were the main layover for Nationwide Horse, Erlich Canada, Fox Hollow (California), Hull and Smith , and many others. Many of the Canadians used us when shipping to Florida for the winter and back. Ivan Vandenberg with Erlich became one one my parents best friends. We built two more barns mainly to accommodate the layover business. Canadian trainer Frank Merrill shipped many race horses north and south on his private van.

My fathers mothers name was Laura Wiley Marrs. She was born in Fayette County in 1901. She was the middle child and lived on Hamburg Farm when she was young. The great horseman John Madden was the owner of the farm. I remember her telling me that Mr Madden would ask the children who lived there "what is my name"? If they responded " old man John E Madden" then he would give them a dollar. I do not know what her fathers job was there but I assume that he raised the tobacco. He brother Bill went on to be a very weathy man in the tobacco business. She was very adventurous, and learned to drive a car at fourteen. She attended the University of Kentucky until she met my grandfather. They eloped one day and stay with her aunt for two weeks before she got up the nerve to tell her parents. She and my grandfather were the salt of the earth!

My great grandfather Marrs built a brick grocery store and house on West Main Street Lexington in the 1930's Both still stand today west of the bridge over the Southern Rail Road tracks. My grandfather Hayes and my grandmother operated the store until 1945. The store was sold and my grandparents bought the farm on Newtown Pike. The interesting thing is that my maternal grandmother bought the store. Grandmother Lilly Jeter. She, my mom, and her siblings lived there, but my mom and dad had never met. Mom's best friend was my dads first cousin. She introduced them and the rest is history!

May 4, 2016
Growing up on the farm was the best life a young person could have. And having your grandparents on the farm within walking distance made it even greater.
My fathers parents were the finest , Christian, hard working people there could have been. They lived a simple life, and lived off of the land. They had Hereford cows, pigs, chickens, a huge garden, and orchard. My grand mother made homemade biscuits every morning. Left over mash potatoes from the past dinner were fried potato cakes cooked in the iron skillet. Sausage, bacon and fresh brewed coffee. Milk and cream from the milk cow! My grandfather would fix sugar biscuits for us. Biscuits with butter, a little sugar and springled with coffee. What more could a kid ask for!

May 5, 2016
There was a nice article about Bob Mickler's and his daughter Julie in the Herald Leader on Saturday. My mother use to work on the tobacco maket each winter for Jimmy Sharp. He owned the Farmers #4 warehouse next to Mr Mickler's business. Mr Mickler would let mom park her car in his lot each day. Mr Mickler was always good to us and I loved going there to buy boots and clothes. And his employees John Hiler and Dale Wolfram were the best sales people anyone could have. I loved the smell of fine leather in the store. And I was a true fan of the down jackets that he sold. His son John had a very fine Appalossa -thoroughbred jumper named "Big Train". Buster use to take him to the local shows. Mr Mickler was in the same nursing home with my mother in law during his final days. I would visit him and share old stories. He was a fine man! His White Horse is still gallping in heaven I am sure.

May 29, 2016
26 years ago this month I started my first job in an automobile factory. At the time I was working in a factory making springs for beds. I was about to get laid off and a friend suggested that I put in an application at Toyota. There was 115,000 applications for 3,000 jobs. I applied and 5 months later I was walking in the door. The moto for Toyota was "oh what a feeling". I did not realize at the time but I had the best job in Kentucky. I was truly blessed by God. Watching the 100th running of the Indy 500 today makes one realize how big the auto industry is in America. Auto racing brings technology to manufacturing. Working at Toyota was not only a pay check, but a real education. I learned so much about, leadership, technology, efficency, quality, and safety. I Have been very blessed! One thing that I have realized about life is that it is ever changing. Young people need to be flexible, and embrace change, because it is inevitable!

June 4, 2016
Last night I was reading a draft of a research paper Susie is doing on the history of Maine Chance Farm. We lived across from Elizabeth Arden's Maine Chance Farm. I have so many fond memories of the farm and it's workers. Upon her death the farm was put up for sale.
One day two gentlemen came to our office asking my parents about particulars they might know about the farm. They said that they were interested in purchasing it. They came back several times to talk. One day when they came a friend of my parents showed up and met them. The friends name was Robinson. He owned a farm on Mt Horeb Road. The strangers talked to Mr Robinson who was on his way to the races. He invited them to go to Keeneland with him and they did. Over a period of weeks they met with Mr Robinson. Robinson told dad that he was going to be the farm manager when they bought Maine Chance. Not long after that Robinson came to talk to Dad. He said that the gentlemen had ask him to cash a check for $25,000 for them. They needed the cash to close a deal but did not have a local bank yet. Robinson went to his bank and got the cash. That was the last time they were heard from! When the police came to interview my parents mom said the only thing suspicious about the main man was that not many wealthy men wore a Timex watch! Needless to say Mr Robinson never saw his $25,000 again.


June 5, 2016
We had a family business in our home when I was growing up. Mom and dad started the horse transportation, and boarding businesses when I was ten. Our house was expanded four times including the office where our back porch was. Mom did all of the planning and she was really good at it. We finally out grew the small office in the house and they built a larger one away from the house. Mom had great taste and could have easily been an interior decorator. Her real forte was mathematics. She had been a bookkeeper at several businesses since I was born. One time in high school I brought a friend home. He looked in the office and told me " wow, your secretary is beautiful"! I had to tell him " oh' that's my mom"! She was very beautiful and she could even make her own dresses. Most important of all she was the best partner my father could have had!

I talked to a friend of mine today and she suggested that I need to start writing again so here goes.
 When I turned 16 in 1968 I could not wait to get my permit to drive. Driving in those days was everything to a young man. To have the freedom to go places without a real adult was awesome. In my world it meant that I could go to work hauling horses. As soon as I got my license in January of 69 dad would put me in the truck with Buster heading to New York, Florida, Arkansas and all places in between. We would usually leave on Friday night and return by noon on Sunday. One of our main missions was to deliver Nurse mares from Springland Farm in Paris to Paul Mellon's Farm in Virginia. Mr Mellon's "Rokeby Farm " was five thousand acres at the foot of the Shenandoah Mountains. He even had his own private jet runway on the farm. Anyway we took a nurse mare and her foal up there and brought the foal back. Mr Mellon did this so that he could keep his thoroughbred foals at home in Virginia and send the mares to Kentucky to be bred. More later!

June 18, 2016
One of my duties growing up was to milk the cow each evening. We had a Brown Swiss-Jersey cross cow that dad had bought. Skeeter would milk her in the morning and I milked at night. We would keep her calf in a stall for beef. After we milked a gallon or so she would be turned in with her calf so that he could strip the rest out. She was very gentle and came in when called. The cats knew when it was milking time and came to get fresh milk sprayed in their mouths. I would take the bucket to the house and we had a strainer to pour the milk through to any dirt or flies out. We had one gallon glass jars to pour it into. Nothing like fresh milk. The cream would rise to the top over night in the refrigerator. We would skim it off before drinking it. I loved the day old milk best. My dad had milked a cow as a youngster and hated it. One time I was sick with the flue and dad paid me $5 to go milk so that he did not have to. The first day I went to college I went out to get the cow. I called her but she did not come. I found out that dad had sold her because he was not about to milk her when I left!

Buster and I would go to Virginia by way of West Virginia or Ohio depending on the weather. The West Virginia route was not all interstate as it is now. We would drive I 64 to Charleston and over Clinch Mountain. On top of Clinch there was a road house that had a bear in a cage. When we got to Virginia we drove the Sky Line Parkway along the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was most beautiful early in the morning on the Blue Ridge. Sometimes we would go through Ohio which was the one way I least prefered. Then we had to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Wheeling West Virginia. The first time I drove the turnpike at night I was scared to death. That was the darkest, hilliest, most crooked expressway that I had ever seen. Buster had hauled cattle for years across the turnpike. He told me about a serial killer who was attacking people on it. He said one night a car got in behind his truck and followed him for a long way. He would speed up and the car would speed. And when he slowed the car slowed. Finally he pulled over, the car pulled over. He got out of the truck with his pistol and went back to see who this was! The driver told him that he was following to keep the "killer" away!

My first vehicle was a 1962 Ford Bronco. It was the small one with a 3 speed on the column. It was green and white and all metal. As dad would say "no plastic in this baby and no Japanese pot metal"! The 50's and 60's were a time when most Americans hated anything built in Japan. Japanese products were totally inferior in dads eyes. Then Sony came along! The first portable color TV we owned was a 12 inch Sony. It had the sharpest picture ever. Maybe those Japanese could build a better product. Dad was always a Ford man, but General Motors was building great cars. With much better body styles. In the mid 60's we had a Pontiac, then a Buick Electrica 225. As Skeeter called it a" two and a quarter"! A year after I bought the used Bronco I decided that I really needed a nice car if I was going to get any dates! My how times have changed. Will I finally talked dad into taking me to "Shug Glenn Buick" in downtown Lexington. There it was a brown and white Buick Skylark! My first real love! It was a special order that someone backed out on. It had bucket seats t'bar shift 350 four barrel carb, mag wheels! I was in heaven! More Later........

Getting back to my vehicles. The Bronco cost me $1,200. My payments were $50 per month. It leaked like a sieve! Neil Howard and I took it to the State Fair in Louisville. A cloud burst hit while we were on Waterson Expressway. Every time we stopped, we had to hold our feet up because all of the water ran to the front. Nancy is 4 years younger than me. One time Skeeter thought he would teach her to drive a standard shift. They took it around on the farm without my conscent! Needless to say I was furious when I found out! Of course Skeeter and the guys got a great laugh out of it!
I drove it to school my junior year of high school. It did not have a radio so I went to Radio Shack and had a ten dollar radio but in. Every morning on the way to school I would listen to Bill Bailey "the Duke of Louisville" on WAKY!

My second vehicle the 1970 Buick Skylark was a dream car for me! I washed it almost everday. It was brown with a with white vinyl. The car cost me $3,200. My car payment was $125/month. I worked after school and on weekends for Dr Arthur Davidson in the equine hospital on our farm. I made $3/ hour which was a great wage for that time. Considering my car would have cost $25,000 in todays dollars then I should be making about $20/ hour now. But that ain't happening!
As my cousin Missy said we had great fun taking it to the DQ! I drove it to Miami once to spend a week with friends near old Tropical Park Racetrack. While there Dr Davidson called me and said that needed to get back because We had a very special horse coming for Surgery. I drove straight through about 19 hours. No I don't remember the horses name! One day in the summer of 1972 I was driving in to Lexington on Newtown Pike. An older gentleman and his wife come off of the I 75 ramp and did not stop. He T boned me and totaled my dream car! Such is life!

July 7, 2016
Back to my life. I was very busy working and school my senior year at Bryan Station High School. I went to school 8:30 to 12:00. Some mornings dad would need me to haul a breeding trip before I went to school. Luckily my first class was Agriculture and my teacher would excuse me. Then after school I would work for Dr Davidson in the hospital. I thought that I wanted to be a veterinarian but my first year at UK changed my mind. I hated chemistry and it did not like me. I was living at home working and going to college. Needless to say school suffered. More later...

July 7, 2016
When I finished my first year at UK it was obvious that I needed a change. After talking with my parents and others, I decided to try a smaller school and live there. I applied to Transylvania University in Lexington and was accepted. I quit working and lived in the dorm. My roommate was an accounting student from Whitesburg , Kentucky. He was the salt of the earth. My friend Dr John Backer had graduated from Transy and gone to Vet school at Auburn. So this was my second chance to think about pre-vet. I had met Dr Backer's brother Jesse that summer before. Dr Backer had some steeple chaser's and I would exercise them with Jesse. It was great fun to gallop them. I had a thoroughbred yearling that I was breaking for dad. Dad had taken him for a board bill. He was by a stallion named Crozier. Crozier was owned by Fred Hooper in Ocala. Dad called Mr Hooper and asked if he was interested in purchasing the colt. Mr Hooper ask for pictures and liked what he saw. We took pictures of him under tack with Neil Howard (5'4") holding him. Mr Hooper bought the horse the dads price. That was a fun summer.

I saw a guy hauling junk today and it reminded me of an old retired fellow who hung out at Southern States in Cynthiana when I first started farming. His name was Prentice Burgan. He had a weathered face and alway had a chew of tobacco in his cheek. There were several old fellows who came and hung out there just to have something to do. Prentice loved to collect aluminum cans. He would collect the cans out of the garbage and walk the roads picking them up. One time Prentice told told me " I don't know why I do this. When I take them to Lexington to sell, I have to take my wife and mother in law. They have to go eat at Long John Silvers and it cost me more than the cans bring at the scrap yard!" Rest in peace Prentice!

Watching the stake races from Saratoga reminds of why I have enjoyed being a part of the Thoroughbred business. In the Sword Dancer Stake today were older horses running 1.5 miles on the turf. Flintshire racing for the powerful Saudi farm "Juddmonte." And "Twilight Eclipse" running for the Westpoint Thoroughbred syndicate.
I first met Twilight Eclipse when he was a 3 year old training at The Kentucky Training Center. He had just won his first two races at Indiana Downs. The owner-trainer had purchased him for $1,000 at the Keeneland January Sale. After winning his first two races Westpoint purchashed him and I picked him up for trainer Tom Albertroni. He was on his way to New York. Since that day he has set a track record and earn over $2,000,000 for the partnership owners. Today he ran 3rd to Flintshire. I am glad that I have followed his !

Listening to the sermon today the pastor used the work "cloak" many times. It reminded me of my days at LinLee School from 1957 until 1963. Linlee named after both sides of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and Robert E. Lee.
Built in 1921 all of the classroom floors were hardwood, and the windows were 8 feet tall. Each room had huge cast iron steam fed heaters, huge real slate black boards and a "coak (coat) room. The teachers desk was all wood, and the ceilings were plaster. The rooms were in a circle around a gym and stage that was 8 feet lower than the class room level.
Outside my first grade room was the play ground and honeysuckle bushes under neith the windows. In the spring you could smell the sweet fragrance.
I truly never remember being hot even though we never had air conditioning. Most of the students were farm kids. The principal was very stern and each teadher had "board of education" (paddle) and knew how to use it! It was a great place to be in my informative years!

I had a very nice talk with a couple of people today! One was Mr Stanley Petter, former owner of Hurricane Hall Farm on Georgetown Road. Mr Petter was a customer of my family's horse transportation business. He is an astute horseman and always a a gentleman. Mr Petter was known as the "weanling man", starting in the 60's and on. Today he told me that when he started selling weanlings for profit the only people who sold them were in dispersals or just culls to get rid of. He built a reputation of selling fine individuals for yearling prices without holding them for another year. Most hardboots believed that selling yearlings was the only way.
I remember one time loading horses at Mr Petter's for shipment to the sale. He had a dog that kept getting in the way. He told me "Billy dogs and kids will disapoint you when there suppose to be quiet"! I will never forget that. I can always see Mr Petter with a turtle neck shirt, sport jacket, and "Cot Campbell fedora"! It was so nice to share old times with him today!

I happened to stop at Hardee's in Paris for some of their awesome biscuits this morning. Paris is the epitome of a horse town. When I was old enough to drive a horse van for my father Paris seemed like an all day trip. At that time most of the stud farms were within ten miles of the Jot'em down store on Russel Cave Road. Paris was a sleepy backward little town on Stoner Creek. If you were going to Paris you had to stop at Terry's Corner for a pop and a moon pie. Junior and Francis Terry would greet you at the bar to serve your drink. Most of the talk was about who had two year olds training well and might be on the derby trail! Then it was on to the narrow down town main street. Just getting my license made me very careful to negotiate main and the Winchester Road turn on the way to Claiborne Farm.
Pulling into Claiborne was like going back in time. There was a certain reverence about going there. I would see Col Sager the farm vet, a former calvary remount Veterinarian Surgeon. And at the shed would be Mr A.B. "Bull Hancock! If I was lucky I would get to see the great "Bold Ruler". All of the grooms had their Claiborne yellow jackets and black caps on. The stallion grooms made lots of money in tips giving tourist the show of the stallions.
More later---------

In December of 1968 I went to the Drivers License Bureau in Lexington to take my written test. Back then you only had to wait 30 days to take your driving test. 30 days to the day I went to take the test. I thought I would be smart and drive my grandmothers Ford Fairlane because it was small. The only bad thing it did not have power steering. The 7 foot tall State Policeman was standing on the curb waiting on me. Everything went well until the parallel parking! Nannys little car without power steering messed me up! Needless to say I failed by one point.
You had to wait one week to take it again so I took dads big old Buick this time and passed with flying colors! Power steering and condidence made the difference.
The next day dad put me in a truck with Buster going to New Jersey . More later----------

Just a little comment on the state of small towns like Paris. The things that make a small town great are fading away! It breaks my heart to see wonderful places like Loui's Restaurant and Kens grocery store leave Paris in the wake of WALMART. I remember eating home cooked meals at Loui's . It was a staple of a tourist visit to Claiborne. Also in the latter days Ken's had the best doughnuts anywhere, and their carry out lunches were just like mom would make. I detest Walmart for quick shopping so now where do you go? We are very lucky in Cynthiana that our Ken's and our Bianke's have survived the curse of Walmart! So sad to see local grown stores go by the wayside!

Getting back to my Paris story...... Several years ago I happened to find a book entitled "Trader Clark" By famed horseman Johnny Clark. For those that don't know horse trader Johnny Clark was the advisor for Captain Harry Guggenheim, John D Hertz, and Elizabeth Arden in the 1940's. Johnny was also great friends with famed horse trader Col. Phil T. Chinn who hailed from Mercer County, Kentucky.
One summer afternoon Johnny and Col Chinn were motoring out Paris Pike. The Colonel told John turn here at Terry's Corner "Ihave some business down the road. As soon as they turned Chinn hollered " Stop the car"! " Look at that colt", " He's a sure runner"! He told Johnny to back the car up and ask Junior Terry how much he wanted for him"! Terry said "$700 Cash to you or anyone else"! The Colonel said " tell him we will be right back with the check".The colt was later named "With Regards"! He finished first in 14 major stakes including the Arkansas Derby in 1942 and the Aqueduct Handicap in 1943! More later--------

My first year of driving a horse van was getting an education from Buster Mansfield on how to be safe while hauling horses. The first rule he taught me was that the average lane on a highway was 10 feet wide (except Ironworks pike which is 8feet). He said if you watch in the mirror and stay close on the drivers side the other side will take care of it's self. Always drive slow and turn the radio down when approaching an intersection. Always use 1st gear when taking off as to not through the horses down. One of the hardest things to learn was to take off on the hills at each end of Ironworks Pike. And for Gods sake get off of the clutch as soon as possible! So pulling on to Paris Pike was a nightmare at 7:00 am in the morning. Paris Pike was a 2 lane road back then and there was a wreck on it most everyday. Ironworks Pike was so narrow(and still is) between Newtown and Paris Pikes. If you can drive good in Central Kentucky in those days, you could drive well anywhere! There is no place more beautiful than the Bluegrass especially in the spring or fall! Safe travels! More later------

To drive into Claiborne Farm one sees the simplicity of Bourbon County and the things that make Kentucky great! There is no monument to the owners, no statues, it only is about the horse and the land. You notice the gently rolling creek to your left. It is lined with native Sycamore trees and there are swans and geese lazily floating. On the right is a tenant house, and the office. One of the neatest things to do is walk into the office and see the magnificent collection of stallion halters on the wall. Former Residents with names like Princequillo, Nasrallah, Round Table, Sir Ivor, Nijinski II, Bold Ruler, and Secretariat! I was very lucky to get to go to a football game at the University of Alabama. As the bus entered the complex and I saw a statue of "Bear Bryant", I knew that I was on hallowed ground! That is the same feeling I have at Claiborne! More later-----'

In the summer of 1907 A. B. Hancock of Charlottesville Virginia was ask to judge the thoroughbred classes at the Bluegrass Fair in Lexington. He was 32 years old and had graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in engineering. His real passion was assisting his father in managing Ellerslie Stud a thoroughbred farm. While in Lexington he met Miss Nancy Clay of Paris. They were married the following year in Paris, Kentucky. Three years later the couple returned to Bourbon County to permanently establish the 1300 acre Claiborne Farm. After that the Viginia Farm was sold and the sire +Princequillo was moved to Claiborne. Princequillo had just sired Hill Prince. Mr Hancock had laid the foundation for his son A.B. (Bull) Hancock. Bull' was a genius and in his early 30's was allowed to start the decision making at Claiborne. Of the stallions that Bull aquired as of 1972 11 of the stallions at Claiborne were among the 40 leading sires of stakes winners during the current century. Claiborne today is the home Derby winner 'Orb, Breeders Cup Classic winner 'Blame and one of the most impressive sires anywhere "WAR FRONT"! Claiborne has changed little since Bull's tenure and continues to raise classic winners for itself and clients!

In the old days the stallion grooms were held in high esteem. The head groom or manager of the stallions set the mood of the operation. Many of whom I only knew their first name. At Claiborne Farm I can remember names, Lawrence, Jim, and today it is Joe. There are 5 or 6 grooms at Claiborne to take care of the stallions. They each have a specific job during the mating process. The stallions are brought from the barn as called by oneor two grooms and handed to the head groom. At that point everything is his call. The stallions at Claiborne are the best mannered I have ever seen. All stallions have personality, but manners and respect are a must! Claiborne is not a factory as some farms are. The stallions are bred to smaller numbers than other farms. As I have said before it is about the horse!

At the turn of the century James R Keene had one on the most successful racing stables in America. Keene decided he wanted a breeding operation in Kentucky. He hired his brother in-law Major Foxhall A. Dangerfield for counsel. In 1904 Major Dangerfield purchased Castleton Farm on the Ironworks Pike for Keene. The property totaled 1,072 acres. By then Mr Keene had the largest percentage top stake horses for any farm in the world! The success would continue until both gentlemen died a few days apart in January of 1913. The farm was sold to David M. Look acouple of years before his death. In the span of 14 years Major
Danger field raised five Belmont winners at Castleton Farm! Major Dangerfield's grandson Keene Dangerfield was a succesful trainer and retired the Dean of American Stewards.


In 1949 Bull Hancock, Harry Guggenheim, William Woodward, and John D. Hertz, bought ×Nasrallah for $340,000. from Joe McGrath of Brownstown Stud, Ireland. Nasrallah was second best in his crop at 2 and 3, and had he not been so high-strung he would have been champion at 2 and 3. Nasrallah died in 1959 and was the all time leading sire of stakes winners in North America with a total of 99! He was the all time leading sire by percentage of stakes winners from foals (23,4%). His sons Bold Ruler, Never Bend, Nashua, and Fleet Nasrallah were dominant sires in the 1970's and 1980's. Nashua wasnthe first stallion to be syndicated for $1million.

December 18, 2016
Watching the Sound of Music on tv. I remember going to the Strand theater in downtown Lexington 1965. It was Christmas and mom had bought tickets to see it. I remember leaving grandmother Jeter's apartment to go. I have a second cousin who was a nunn. I asked her recently how long it took her to get use to the convent? She said "five years, but it only took five minutes when when I decided to leave"! God Bless you MARIA, I mean cousin Jenny!

The most memorable Christmas I can remember was 1983. This was the year that Andrea was born. Susie and I lived in a house trailer on the farm. We had spent the night with mom and dad. At 7:00 Christmas morning it was minus nine degrees with snow. Dad was called by Don Lane at Hagyard Farm to come and pick up a mare who was foaling and needed to go to surgery. Dad had bought his first diesel truck and headed to the farm. As he pulled into Hagyard Farm the diesel fuel jelled and froze. He called me to bring another truck and get the mare. This was the coldest Christmas morning in Lexington history. I will never forget it! I have been blessed with many memories. Especially the birth of my daughter that year.

In the early 1900's Central Kentucky ascended to the pinnacle of the Thoroughbred industry not only because of the richness of it's soil and the sweetness of its bluegrass. No it became dominant within the industry because of the horsemen who grew up in the Bluegrass or settled here. "John H.Clark" One such gentleman was John E. Madden. My grandmother Laura Marrs lived on Madden's Hamburg Farm in her youth. She told me that Mr Madden would ask the children who lived on the farm, " What is my name"? If they replied "Old Man John E. Madden" he would give them a silver dollar. In 1905 Mr Madden sold 55 yearlings for an average of $1,000. He estimated it cost him $250 to breed and raise a yearling. More later..........

'Hamburg' was by the great sire 'Hanover'! 'Hamburg was purchased by John E. Madden as a weanling. 'Hamburg had won stakes at two with as much as 135 pounds on his back. He was also a high class three year old. His progeny turned out to be more remarkable for speed than stamina. Madden held many mares who traced back to the Maggie B.B. line. In 1878 Maggie B.B. foaled a colt by *Leamington, and his name was 'Iroquois. Iroquois was the first American bred winner of the Epson Derby and the St. Leger in 1881. Mr Madden was know as the wizard of the turf for all of his wheeling and dealing. He was particularly careful to sell a good horse to a new customer the first time! He knew that they would come back for more. More Later..........

In the 60' I would go to Hamburg Farm with my dad to breed mares. I was so facinated by the horse drawn sleighs hanging in the ceiling of the breeding barn. I had visions of the Maddens being driven to Lexington in a sleigh years past! Our good friend Henry Waits was the farm manager there. Later in the early eighty's Henry and Doris would be mine and Susie's trail riding buddies. We had many wonderful times at Brown County State Park in Indiana!

One great advantage that John Madden had over most breeders was that he trained his own horses. He began the process early at the farm, putting light boys on his weanlings in the fall and then going on again in May of their yearling year. Madden trained his horses by a slow legging up schedule not giving them a fast work until they could go a mile in 1:50 without blowing. In 1978 I was able to go to the Ocala Breeding Stock sale to buy mares for William Moller. I had met the great Canadian trainer John Tomarro that fall as he layed over horses at our farm. John Tomarro trained for Kinghaven farm in Canada. He was the first trainer in Canada to earn $1 million in a year. I visited him at the Kinghaven farm in Ocala. He taught me some things about conditioning yearlings. Long slow gallops and jogging in the reverse clockwise way. Mr Tomarro said that reversing keeps them from getting sour and cheating! I thought that was very interesting!

John E. Madden was the first to use large three sided sheds with feed troughs to provide free access to feed day and night. His yearlings were hard as nails, they were thin and not very tall. He said"Colts reared in this way will put on muscle and gain strength from the day you put them in training. They are so much sounder and harder than the auction fattened yearlings." When I worked for Brookledge, each December we would take many loads of yearlings from Airdrie Stud to be broken. Many were horses that did not bring the reserve at the auctions. The colts had been running in large groups and were tough as nails. Much like the ones that Mr Madden raised. Farm manager Tim Thornton told me "We raise race horses here, they learn to be tough in large groups!" I think Airdrie's record speaks for itself!

January 1
John E Madden is on the record saying that "the stallion is 75% of the stud farm." In the 1920's Mr Madden could take credit for having developed two horses of the highest class, Hamburg and Sir Martin. Despite the fact that he owned and trained Plaudit to win the Kentucky Derby. Madden bred 5 other Derby winners and 5 Belmont Stakes winners. My good friend the late Henry White once told me that his father said that the cheapest thing to pay in breeding was that stud fee. He did not live in a time where more breeders sell than race. And a time when greedy stallion mangers over price and over breed the stallions . I truly believe that if an owner cannot afford to race, they should not be in the business!

January 2
Watching The Rose Parade from California I am reminded of the Long Beach Mounted Patrol. In 1969 the Mounted Patrol was invited to the presidential inauguration of Richard Nixon. A horse transportation company called Fox Hollow shipped the horses and they laid over at our farm on their way to Washington. Channel 18 news came out to film them. They had palomino horses with black and silver saddles. It was fun to have them!

January 3
Susie and I had a very nice visit with an old friend tonight! We shared memories of the past growing up in the horse business. Her father Jim Brady was one of the best hard boots that I have ever met. He is still living in Paris and keeping busy exercising although his sight is failing. Mr Brady was always good to Susie and I. Susie worked the horse sales for him several years. Mr Brady once ask me if I would be interested in managing a farm for a new comer in the business. I told him that I didn't feel ready for a large farm. The great Ted Carr got the job. The owner was Allen Paulson who had a big impact on the horse business with great horses as Cigar, Theatrical, and many others! It was so nice to visit Stephanie Brady!

January 4
This will be the last installment on John E Madden. He may have been the best all round horseman ever. In 1926 Mr Madden dispersed virtually all of his Thoroughbred holdings, selling 139 horses for more than $446,200. He had already sold more than 70 mares in 1920. In 1929 his estate was valued at $9million. Mr Madden died alone at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City. He was 73 years old. The glories of Hamburg Farm were revived by his grandson Preston in later years. More later.........


January 5
John E Madden had two sons Joe and Edward. Mr Madden left $2 million plus control of Hamburg Place to them upon his death in 1929. Joe died 3 years later and Edward died 11 years after Joe. Edward loved to raise Polo ponies at Hamburg and the polo field was across from the current WKYT studios on Winchester Road. Edward had two sons Preston (born 1934) and Patrick Preston continued the thoroughbred legacy of his grandfather but never owning more than a dozen mares in 1960 Preston formed a sydicate of friends and purchased T V Lark who was the champion grass horse that year. TV Lark became the leading sire in the US in 1974 and was second two other years. More later........



January 6
Preston Madden I was never introduced to, but saw many times at Hamburg Place Farm. He is a towering man, tall and handsome. It is said that Preston is a quiet, honest, and honorable man. All of his horse business partners it is said stayed with him for life or just left the horse business. I understand that he was also good to his employees. I remember his longtime farm manager Henry Waits telling me that Preston killed a beef each year and divided it among the employees. Henry did say "Some complained that it was to lean!" Knowing the fit condition Mr Madden kept his animals probably had the same expectations. Preston's homebred Alysheba won the Kentucky Derby in 1987. Alysheba was trained by Jack VanBerg. I sat by Mr Vanberg on a plane going to California once. He stated how lucky he was have the son of Alydar to train! Just something interesting I asked Mr Van Berg how he felt about 'cribbers? He said " well if they aren't cribbers when I get them they will be after standing 22 hours a day in a stall!"

January 6
Preston Madden met his future wife Anita at the University of Kentucky in 1952. In 1955 they were married. Nine years latter Pattrick Winchester Madden was born. Preston and Anita complimented each other as He was quite and reserved, and she was out going and loved to be in the public eye. Anita became the ultimate Derby Eve hostess! Her only competition on Derby eve was Mary Lou Whitney. The Madden party was a charitable event benifiting the Bluegrass Boys Ranch. A reporter for the Los Angeles times attended one year and said, "Anita noticed some guest leaving and wondered why?" She said "I guess they didn't have a good time!" IT WAS 5:00 AM! On another note a van driver that I know from Louisville arrived at the farm on Derby morning to breed a mare. (He was a few bricks short of a load) He called the police and said "I am at Hamburg Place and have a mare to breed! There are cars and sleeping people everywhere and I can't get in to breed my mare!" It was 7:30 am!


January 7
In 1981 I was president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club. Anita Madden was invited to speak at a meeting. Anita was on the Lexington Fayette County planning commission and the Ky Horse Racing Commission of which she had been appointed by Governor John Y. Brown. This was the first time that I had met her. I said "Mrs Madden it is a pleasure to meet you." She said to me "Just call me Nita honey." In 1986 a plan was approved by the planning commission to allow the Maddens to develop 100 acres near Interstate 75. Hamburg Place at that time was nearly 2,000 acres. In 1995 ground was broken for the Hamburg Pavilion shopping center. On July 23 2016 Preston and Patrick Madden both had winning horses at Saratoga. Preston now 82 still buys a yearling or two each year to race. The winner he had on this date was a son of the great sire 'Pulpit.

January 8
Born December 12, 1859 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania E.R. Bradley saw little future for himself as a steele worker. At an early age he moved beyond the Continental Divide and became a gold prospector. Soon he had enough capital to move back to Chicago where he invested successfully in real estate. At the agenof 39 his first horse won in his first start. Soon Colonel Bradley decided that he liked racing so much that he wanted to try breeding also. He purchased 335 acres on the Old Frankfort Pike and named it Idle Hour Farm. By the time of his death at 86 he had expanded the farm to 1,293 acres. More later........

January 9
In the 1920's Colonel E.R. Bradley bought the Fairgrounds racetrack in New Orleans and in 1929 he and Joseph Widener pulled Hialeah from financial ruin. He held his stock in the track until 1943. I was lucky enough to visit both of those racetracks in the 1970's. A horse that I had raised 'Inevitable Leader ran in the New Orleans Handicap. The Fairgrounds was nice but Hialeah was one of the most beautiful, historic places that I have ever been. It is a shame that Hialeah does not race anymore. It was the winter place for the rich and famous! In 1943 Colonel Bradleys stock in the track was sold to Joseph P. Kennedy and other "Eastern Interest."

Colonel Bradley bred horses at Idle Hour Farm for 35 years. Although Samuel D. Riddle (who owned Man o'War) invited him to breed to Man o'War, he did not accept the invitation, gambler Bradley said that he observed "too many sulkers, too many dishonest, and high strung runners" with Fair Play blood. When War Admiral retired to stud Riddle came to him again. War Admiral was out of a mare named 'Sweep. Bradley told his farm manager Olin Gentry to select mares with good dispositions for
War Admiral and to double up on 'Sweep. The arrangement produced 'Busher, (champion three year old, Horse of the year, and leading money winning female upon her retirement from racing)!

January 14
Colonel E.R.Bradley in 1912 purchased Castleton Farm's (Jack Keene) yearlings for $25,000. New York racing had been outlawed for the second year forcing Keene to sell. Mr Keene died 6 months later. The ever wise Bradley sold the 18 yearlings at auction in Lexington for $57,000. He retained two of the yearlings one being the great 'Black Toney. Black Toney would be the cornerstone of his Idle Hour Stock Farm for many years.

January 15
There was a mare at Idle Hour Stock Farm named *Minawand. She had been tried repeatedly as a broodmare with little success. Colonel Bradley instructed his farm manager Olin Gentry to get rid of her. She was offered as a gift to Bradley's neighbor Dr Horace Davis. Davis agreed to take her only on the condition that he could have a free season to Derby winner Bubbling Over. If she had a foal it was to be owned by the partnership of Davis and Bradley. The result was a colt by Bubbling Over in 1929. Colonel Bradley heard that the colt was very nice and went over to inspect him. Colonel Bradley bought Davis' half interest and the colt who went on to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness under the name od Burgoo King!


January 17
One could not finish the E. R Bradley legacy without mentioning his long time farm manager 'Olin Gentry. Gentry first went to work for Bradley in 1921. Mr Gentry and Colonel Bradley both had backgrounds of racing in the southwest. Gentry came from Texas, and was never one to hold back on opinion and subtlety was not his style. I met Mr Gentry many times in the breeding shed at Darby Dan farm. I remember him once saying in the 1970's " what we really need is a damn good war to get people working again!" Many able body Kentuckians were working in factories or on welfare. It was hard to find anyone who wanted to work on a farm. In the early days it is reported that Olin Gentry butted heads with Colonel Bradley. Bradley told his secretary once after an engagement with Gentry " Sometimes it's just a little hard to get along with the help around here!"

January 18
When Colonel Bradley died in 1946 Idle Hour Stock Farm on Old Frankfort Pike was 1,480 acres. The farm was on both sides of the road and if you drive the road now, you can see a tunnel under it for livestock to go through. Leaving from Lexington on the left you will see Three Chimneys Farm 'Old Bradley division. This property was sold to The King Ranch in 1946. It was used to raise Thoroughbreds and yearling Santa Gertrudis cattle. My friend Buster was hired to take the mature bulls back to the Texas ranch each year. The right side of Idle Hour was sold to E.S. Moore and later to John W. Galbreth (Darby Dan Farm) and Dr William O. Reed ( Mare Haven Farm). The horses were divided between King Ranch, Greentree Stud and Ogden Phipps. Colonel Bradley had followed the same model of Jack Keene by of breeding imported mares ( Mainly English and French) to very fast American stallions. The mare*La Troienne is responsible for many of the best pedigrees in American Racing. The same model was followed at Maxwell Gluck's Elmendorf Farm!


January 19
"He'd been riding almost as soon as he cold walk. His father was a rider and stagecoach driver in Montana before they settled in Cardston Alberta. In 1926 the 15 year old rode his first race on an organized track, a horse named 'Catch Me at Chinook Park, Calgary, Alberta." And there was the golden afternoon at Pimlico when his regular rider was in the hospital. Georgie got up on Seabiscuit and stole the start, and the horse race from Charley Kurtsinger in the unforgettable match with War Admiral, whose owner dictated all the conditions right down to a walk-up start." "Didn't think I could do it, did you?" Georgie shouted when Seabiscuit broke ahead of War Admiral. On the stretch Georgie spoke once again. "Good-bye Charlie," he yelled!" This was a recount by the great sports writer 'Red Smith. George Wolf lived a short life at the age of 36 he died I a fatal spill at Santa Anita. It was ironic that a great rider of his stature should be killed in a $3,500 allowance race!


January 20
Dr Eslie Asbury who was a Cincinnati Physician had grown up the son of a country doctor in Nicholas County, Kentucky. In 1934 he bought a farm in Carlisle, Nicholas,Kentucky near his birth place and later added several hundred acres in adjoining Bourbon, County. He did this in 1934 purchasing the land for the same price as it had brought 54 years earlier. He said "I thought I had bargain in spite of the briars, rundown buildings and fences." His Cincinnati friends were skeptical! One of his friends said, "You damn doctors never made a good business deal in your life. Why do you think you outsmarted those country slickers?" Dr Asbury replied, " I can prove it. Right after the the auction a native rushed up and offered me $300 a year for blackberry and rabbit rights alone!"


January 23
I drive the Paris Pike five days a week in my new job. I have always wondered about the history of the farms on this road. I will share with you some of the history starting with Elmendorf Farm. The property starting at Ironworks Pike and going north towards Paris original was 544 acres owned by textile manufacturer Milton Sanford in 1874. More later.......


January 23
As early as 1806 the Elmendorf property was purchased by Robert Carter Harrison of Virginia. He purchased 374 acres that was called the 'Old Kenny Farm also known as 'Elk Hill and later Harrison's wife named it ' Clifton. In 1855 Thomas Hughes bought the 374 acre farm. And in 1862 his son William Thomas Hughes inherited the property from his father. William was a speculator and began to add to the property paying $100 to $150 per acre. He owned cattle and was also a trader in cattle on the New York market. William Hughes was forced to sell the land wich totaled 544 acres to repay creditors in 1874. Milton Sanford then bought the land and renamed it 'Preakness Stud. More later.......


January 24
Milton Sanford was a textile manufacturer from Medway, Massachusetts. He made a fortune producing blankets for the Union Army during the Civil War. In the summer of 1868 he hosted a dinner party during the Saratoga meet. It was such a big event that one guest suggested that he sponsor a $15,000 Stake race at Saratoga the next year. Governor Oden Bowen of Maryland happened to be there and said to Sanford "If you will sponsor the Stake Race in Maryland, I will see that a new racetrack will be built to host it", As result Pimlico Race Course was built in Baltimore, Maryland. On October 25, 1870 the Inaugural 'Dinner Party Stake was run and Milton Sanford's horse named 'Preakness won the race! In 1873 in honor of Milton Sanford's colt The 'Preakness Stake was was established at Pimlico! More later.........


January 25
Milton Sanford owned the Preakness Stable in Preakness New Jersey and the 544 acre property on Paris Pike which he called Preakness Stud. His stallion 'Virgil stood there and was the sire of three Kentucky Derby winners, 'Vagrant 1876, 'Hindoo 1881, 'and Ben Ali 1886. Mr Sanford sold the land and horses in 1881 to Daniel Swigert a very astute horseman. Swigert had been the horse manager for R.A Alexander's Woodburn Stud (now Airdrie Stud) near Miday, Kentucky. Woodburn was 2,000 acres and stood the great stallion 'Lexington who was on the leading sires list fourteen times! More later........


January 30
In 1881 Daniel Swigert purchased the 544 acres on Paris Pike from Milton Sanford for $150,000. He renamed the property 'Elmendorf, the maiden name of his wifes grandmother. Swigert aquired two stallions 'Virgil and ' Glenelg from Mr Sanford. Swigert had already bred his mare 'Florence by Lexington to ' Virgil. Thus the great racehorse ' Hindoo was born. He made 35 starts, and won 30. Hindoo became the sire of Hanover and his best son was the great 'Hamburg! Virgil also sired 'Ben Ali who was out of a 'lexington daughter in 1883. It is perhaps no accident that Swigert bred no great horses after 1886 as both of his stallions passed the 20yr old mark. As the great John E. Madden said" The stallions are 75% of a srud farm".


February 7
This is a recant by the great sports writer Red Smith about the 1941 Preakness Stake. "Eddie (Arcaro) sat still on the backstretch as Whirlaway picked up horses in his own good time." "There was a courious sound from the crowd, sort of deep bass, "whuumph!" The horse race did not last long! " He moved around the field with a bold burst of speed." "He cooked 'em, fried 'em. You could hear them sizzle, see them curl like frog legs in a pan!" The great Calumet three year old Smith compared to sports greats such as "Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bill Tilden and golfer Bobby Jones." 'Heady' Eddie Arcaro said " when you clucked to this horse he gets to other horses faster than any horse I ever rode!" In the 1942 Pimlico Special he performed a official 'Walkover' as he galloped around the track by himself because no one would race him and there was no betting!

February 13
 
The great Red Smith wrote a article about William Lee Shoemaker on September 17, 1970. I was a senior in high school at Bryan Station in Lexington. I was on top of the world I thought going to school a half day and working for Dr A. H. Davidson in the afternoon. We did surgery for the best racing stables in the United States. I can remember operations for Francis Genter, Greentree, the Whitneys, and for the top standard bred stables. Glenn Garnsey and Donnie Miller, were at the top of their games. Back to Bill Shoemaker better known as 'Willie. "The Shoe had just won his 6,033rd visit to the winners circle at Delmar. Standing less than five feet tall and weighing around 100 lbs he beat everybody at what he does. Pound for pound, he's got to be the greatest living athlete", according to Red Smith! His mounts had earned $41million. One of my greatest memories was the last Kentucky Derby that he rode in. He was riding Ferdinand for the great Trainer Charlie Whittingham at the age of 55. Bill died in 2003 at age 71 with over 8,000 wins to his credit.


February 17
Did you know that the first mare bred to Secretariat was a registered Appaloosa? She was a foundation mare that my family had owned prior to selling her to Bill Taylor manager of Claiborne Farm. Taylor offered her as a test mare for Secretariat. She conceived and the resulting colt was named First Secretary!


February 27
June 12, 1977 the great Red Smith talks about Jean Cruguet's Triple Crown winning Belmont ride. "This was a day when nothing was beyond him. Not only did he and Slew complete the most sensational winning streak ever compiled by an American horse at this stage of life, but the little Frenchman also polished off three other races, including the Mother Goose Stakes. Jean took that one, the second event in the fillie's triple crown series, aboard 'Road Princess, who was trained for Elmendorf Farm by Cruguet's severest critic, Johnny Campo. It was a rare day in June when Jean can look good in Campo's eyes. Indeed he looked so good that when he got off Rosd Princess the trainer kissed him! However, Cruguet reported later that Campo had not been all sweet surrender. Even as he smooched the rider he growled in his ear "You're still a bum!"

March 15
A good family friend died yesterday. I went to his store today to pickup supplies for Park. When I walked in the place was eerily quiet. I asked if Paul was still around and the man said " He died yesterday." I used to love to go to Pinkston's on Short anf Main in Lexington with my dad. The store had wooden floors and extremely high ceilings. Paul would greet my dad with "how you do'n brother Hayes!" I loved the smell of the new leather and neats foot oil. They had a rope hanging down from the ceiling and a large hook on it. There would be a dozen halters on it. The halters were dipped in a large tub of oil then raised up to drip dry. I thought that was so cool. When they moved from Main street the ambiance was never the same. You could walk in and ask Paul " do you have this?" And he would say "if I don't, I can get it." The horse business just lost another Icon! RIP Paul Ladd!

March 17
The continuing saga of Elmendorf Farm. James Ben Ali Haggin was born December 9, 1822 in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. In 1850, he an attorney and friend Lloyd Tevis opened a law office in Sacramento, California. Haggin and Tevis married sisters from Kentucky. The partners invested in mining with George Hearst. The partnership became one of the largest mining companies in the United States. Haggin made a fortune in the aftermath of the Gold Rush and became a multi millionaire by 1880. In 1897 he acquired the Elmendorf Farm on Paris Pike in Fayette County, Kentucky. He would build one of the largest horse breeding operations in the United States! More later.......)))))

March 18
James Ben Ali Haggin expanded Elmendorf by buying many of the surrounding farms. He owned 2.5 miles of road frontage on each side of the Paris Pike. He owned what is now Walmac, The Training Center, the whole block from Johnston Road to Bryan Station, and to Muir Station. He owned almost the whole block from Ironworks to Russell Cave and to Harp Innis Road. He also owned what was Crimson King on Yarnallton, and the land that is now Mt Brilliant Farm. He invested over $2 million in the Bluegrass land. Averaging $93 per acre at the turn of the century!

March 19
James Ben Ali Haggin built a $300,000 mansion on a hill over looking the Elkhorn which he called ' Green Hills. He also built a large house for his farm manager (exist today at main entrance) Charles Berryman at a cost of $75,000 in 1901. Haggin owned a total of 5 miles of road frontage on the Paris Pike. He also owned 4 miles of frontage on each side of the Russel Cave Road extending from Ironworks to the Bourbon County line. The farm entrance next to Elkhorn Creek was the farm office a power plant and grain elevator. The mansion entrance (existing today) on Ironworks had a gate house and lodge. It was 3/4 of a mile to the Lion guarded crossroads (existing today) and Green Hills Mansion. Behind the mansion was the Coach House (existing today). In 1903 the Ble Grass Traction Company buit an interurban train line from Lexington to Paris. I June 1904 a special station was built at the entrance to Elmendorf for the farm employees. The train ran hourly from 7:00 am until 10:00 pm daily More later.............)-

March 21
James Ben Ali Haggin hired architects from New York to design and oversee the improvements for Elmendorf. That included the summer mansion barns,stables, stone fence, a conservatory, offices and powerhouse. The model for Elmendorf was the Biltmore Farm and estate in Asheville, North Carolina owned by George W. Vanderbilt. The farm was always maintained to a high standard regardless of the expense. The farm workers reportedly crawled "through the pastures on their hands and knees pulling out weeds by their roots." More later.....)...)).)

April 17
The Easter Sunday message had to do with fathers, faith, and trust. I remember how scary it was when I realized that my father had Alzheimers and I could no longer counted on him to have my back. I always counted on his mechanical advice for everything. He was a master mechanic, and could fix anything. He was also a master driver and could drive anything. One time Susie, Shannon, Dale and I were going to the Quarter Horse show in Louisville. I had borrowed mom's car and we were on our way. It was evening and half way there the alternator quit and the lights went out. I pulled in the rest area and called dad. He said no problem, I will be there in an hour. We were sitting there waiting and here he came. He brought a flat bed gooseneck with my truck on it. We unloaded the truck and reloaded the car. Soon my crew was on the way again to the show. The day that I realized it was all on me was a weight on my shoulder was an awakening, but just as God taught his son, my Dad had taught me what faith, trust and love was about.

April 30
Last Friday I had the honor of seeing my old friend Dr Robert Copelan. He is now 91 years old and a legend in his time. Dr Copelan is a true gentleman and great Veterinary surgeon. He and John Thornbury established Sunnyside Farm and Surgery in the mid 1960's. He has a resume miles long for surgery on great equine athletes. Dr Copelan in the 2000 was advisor to many stables, such as Todd Pletcher, Cott Campbell, and most notably William T. Young. When the great Storm Cat went to stud Mr Young gave him a lifetime breeding right. When I was 10 years old Copelan and Thornbury leased land from the University of Kentucky's Spindletop farm. He had a surgery there and I would go over to play with my friend Jeff Thornbury. They moved to Bourbon County in the mid 60's. Dr Copelan told me that the current Keeneland meet was the first time in his career that he has not gone to Keeneland. He is now caring for his aged wife. God bless Dr Copelan!
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