Thoroughbred Bloodstock Agents and Triple Crown Traditions
There are many reasons to love May: colorful, fragrant flowers explode from gardens, the return of warm-weather activities like golfing, hiking, and swimming, and summer holidays and outdoor entertaining begin. But, here in Kentucky, there’s a deeper reason to look forward to the fifth month of the year— beginning with the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown. A bloodstock agent, (the word bloodstock is derived from the bloodlines or pedigree for the thoroughbred), can assist you in managing your thoroughbred portfolio through the busiest time of the racing year, so you can enjoy the traditions as both a spectator and a participant.
What is the Triple Crown?
The Triple Crown is a series of three races for three-year-old thoroughbreds that has run since 1875, with the inauguration of the Kentucky Derby. These races are highly-attended, drawing hundreds of thousands of people a year to the three tracks, with millions more watching from home.
The order of the races:
Kentucky Derby: first Saturday in May
Preakness Stakes: two weeks after the Kentucky Derby
Belmont Stakes: three weeks after the Preakness Stakes
To win the Triple Crown, a horse must win all three of these races in the same year. Only 13 horses have done so over the series’s long and storied history.
The spring season is a busy time for horse racing, but it’s filled with opportunities for industry people. A thoroughbred bloodstock agent can help you navigate it all, advising you when to purchase and sell, giving you insider information ahead of the big races, and even assisting you in implementing a breeding program.
Each race, like each horse, is unique, and there are some key things to consider with each one.
The Kentucky Derby
Mage wins the 2023 Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown. It is held annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and is often referred to as “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” The city of Louisville hosts a two-week-long celebration in advance of the day’s race. The Kentucky Derby is one and a quarter miles long over a dirt track. Like all of the races in the Triple Crown, this race is run by three-year-old thoroughbreds and the colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, while the fillies carry 121 pounds.
The Kentucky Derby has run continuously since 1875, only being rescheduled twice (once due to World War II in 1945, and more recently, due to COVID-19 in 2020). Despite its history of nearly 150 years, all of the winners of the Kentucky Derby can be traced to a handful of foundational sires. These three sires created the bloodlines of every thoroughbred competing in horse racing and other equestrian sports today.
Thoroughbred breeding theories are used by bloodstock agents, owners, and breeders to arrange pairs that produce winning progeny. The most popular theory is that the best horses will produce the best horses. The idea is simple enough, but with the high cost of stud fees for winners of elite races, thoroughbred bloodstock agents can help clients determine the best strategy to use for their individual situations.
The Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is the second leg of the Triple Crown, running just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. The race is hosted at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The race is slightly shorter than the Kentucky Derby, at one and three-sixteenths of a mile over a dirt track. The race first ran in 1873 and is a well attended event every year.
The Preakness Stakes almost always attracts the winner of the Kentucky Derby, and likely some of his or her competitors. The Preakness Stakes will also include some horses who didn’t make their start in the Kentucky Derby, for a total of 14 three-year-old thoroughbreds competing to win the purse, and the possibility of one, to win the Triple Crown. If the Kentucky Derby winner wins the Preakness Stakes as well, the whole world begins to watch more closely to see if that horse can win the final leg as well, the Belmont Stakes.
The Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is the oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States, celebrating its 155th year in 2023. It is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown and it is run three weeks after the Preakness Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The Belmont Stakes is also the longest of the three races, at a length of one and a half miles.
The race is nicknamed “the Test of Champions.” 23 horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, only to experience devastating losses at the Belmont Stakes and lost their chance for the Triple Crown. One of the more surprising losses was WAR EMBLEM’s run in 2002, where SARAVA, a horse with 70-1 odds, won the race instead.
Many young horses, like the three-year-olds who compete for the Triple Crown, lack the experience and stamina for a race as long as the Belmont Stakes. When it comes to horse racing, the unexpected can always occur, but bloodstock agents are privy to the sort of knowledge that makes for a Belmont Stakes winner, such as the bloodline of the horse.
Belmont Stakes winners have gone on to sire new Belmont Stakes winners, especially MAN O’ WAR, who was the sire of three winners, including Triple Crown winner WAR ADMIRAL.
Thoroughbred Bloodstock Agents and Triple Crown Dreams
A thoroughbred bloodstock agent is a primary consultant for horse racing industry newbies and veterans alike to manage their thoroughbred portfolios to get the biggest return from their investments. Think of them as similar to your stock broker, or your real estate agent. Although bloodstock agents are not as visible as owners, jockeys, and trainers of winning horses, they are very important in assisting you in managing your horses. Expert bloodstock agents understand and can help replicate traits necessary for fast horses with the endurance required to win the Triple Crown.
A good thoroughbred bloodstock agent will have spent a lifetime understanding how to create these characteristics using breeding. A great thoroughbred bloodstock agent will have the natural intuition it takes to recognize a winner. Just like in the races of the Triple Crown, when it comes to finding a bloodstock agent, reputation and longevity matter.
Nicoma Bloodstock
2019 Horse of the Year BRICKS AND MORTAR
Mill Ridge has deep roots in Lexington, Kentucky, the city that has earned its title of “Horse Capital of the World” for numerous reasons. The mineral content of the soil leads to stronger bones for horses bred and raised on bluegrass pastures and is the birthplace of champions including aforementioned MAN O’ WAR. Also it hosts the largest and most prestigious thoroughbred auction at Keeneland Sales.
Nicoma Bloodstock, a leading bloodstock agent, was founded in 1979 as the consulting arm of Mill Ridge Farm. On behalf of their clients, they have been team members behind three Kentucky Derby winners: GIACOMO in 2005, BARBARO in 2006, and STREET SENSE in 2007. They have also produced two Horses of the Year: HAVRE DE GRACE in 2011 and BRICKS AND MORTAR in 2019, and eight winners of the Breeders’ Cup!
Mill Ridge Farm and Nicoma Bloodstock helps their clients fulfill their dreams of joining a long legacy of horse racing, from the first turn at the Kentucky Derby to the winner’s circle of the Belmont Stakes.
If you’d like to begin a conversation with a bloodstock agent at Nicoma Bloodstock about potentially owning your own piece of thoroughbred racing history, contact us today at (859) 224-1000 or learn more here.