Taylor Made Farm
| Company type | Thoroughbred breeding and sales |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Duncan Taylor & Mike Shannon |
| Headquarters | Nicholasville, Kentucky |
Key people | Duncan Taylor: founder, President, CEO
Ben Taylor: Vice President of Taylor Made Stallions Frank Taylor: Vice President of Boarding Operations Pat Payne: Vice President of Sales Mark Taylor: Vice President of Marketing and Public Sales Operations |
Taylor Made Farm is a 1,600-acre Thoroughbred racehorse breeding farm in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and is a leading consignor of Thoroughbred horses.[1][2] The farm is owned and operated by four brothers, Duncan, Ben, Frank and Mark Taylor with their long time family friend and business associate Pat Payne becoming a partner in 2008.[1][3]
History
Taylor Made was founded in 1976 by Duncan Taylor and his business partner Mike Shannon as a broodmare boarding farm, and initially was located on a parcel of leased land on Gainesway Farm.[4] Gainesway Farm used Taylor Made as a place to board mares that traveled to Kentucky to be bred.[1] The Taylor brothers, Duncan, Ben, Frank, and Mark grew up living and working on Gainesway Farm with their father, Joe Taylor, the farm's manager, and were well positioned to perform this work.[4]
In 1978, the business broadened to include sales when they consigned horses at the Keeneland Sales.[4] By 2012, Taylor Made was consigning approximately 10% of the Keeneland's September yearling sale−about 345 yearlings out of the entire sales catalog of 3,604.[2]
As Taylor Made grew, the horses were kept on leased property and barns throughout Central Kentucky. Eventually, the farm was consolidated on a piece of property owned by Joe Taylor on Union Mill Road in Nicholasville, Kentucky.[4]
Operation
Taylor Made is divided into two separate companies: Taylor Made Sales Agency, and Taylor Made Stallions Inc. Taylor Made Sales Agency is in involved with public and private sales as well as a boarding facility,[4]
Taylor Made Sales Agency
Taylor Made Sales Agency is a leading consignor of thoroughbred horses.[1]
For fourteenth time since 2001, Taylor Made was the leading consignor at the 2016 January Horse of All Ages Keeneland Sales auction[5] with 92 horses sold for $4,359,500.[6]
Boarding Operations
Taylor Made Farm has 22 barns with 429 stalls. The farm has three round pens, five exercise walkers and 107 paddocks.[7]
Taylor Made Stallions
Astrology: In 2012, Astrology retired to Taylor Made Farm to stud with a 3-3-3 record from 12 starts and earnings of $516,977.[8]
California Chrome: Taylor Made Farm bought a 30% share of 2014 Kentucky Derby winner and American Horse of the Year, California Chrome, with the intent of racing him in 2016 then retiring him in 2017.[9][10]
Graydar: In 2013, Graydar retired to Taylor Made Farm for stud as a Twin Creeks Racing/Taylor Made Stallions venture. Graydar was bred in Kentucky by William Farish.[11]
Northern Afleet: Northern Afleet, a sire of Afleet, entered stud in 1999 at Double Diamond Farm in Ocala. He moved to Taylor Made Farm in 2004.,[12] Northern Afleet has sired champion race hose Afleet Alex.[12] He has sired a Breeders' Cup winner and has a son that sired a Breeders' Cup winner.
References
- ^ a b c d Hammonds, Evan (2010-06-30). "Q and A with Taylor Made's Duncan Taylor". Blood Horse. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ a b Patton, Janet (August 26, 2012). "At Taylor Made, a careful calculus of finding the right horse". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "Meet The Team". www.taylormadeadvantage.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ a b c d e Zunker, Esther (2014-03-11). "A principled approach spells success for Taylor Made | Thoroughbred Racing Commentary". Thoroughbred Racing Commenary. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "Keeneland sale marked by stability, selectivity". ABC 36 News. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- ^ "Keeneland January produces mixed results". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- ^ "Boarding". Taylor Made Farms/Boarding. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "Astrology to Stand at Taylor Made". Blood Horse. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ Genaro, Teresa (2016-01-09). "After A Year Away, California Chrome Returns To U.S. Racing In Triumph". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "Taylor Made Buys Share in California Chrome". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ "Donn Winner Graydar Retired to Taylor Made". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ^ a b Evans, Murray (2005-06-06). "Breeding boost". Ocala.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.