Taylor Made Sales’ Bloodstock Investments IV was responsible for the weanling-to-yearling pinhook of 2018 Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity-G1 winner and Kentucky Derby hopeful Improbable (City Zip – Rare Event) and received a $10,000 bonus from Keeneland for his Grade 1 victory. Purchased for $200,000 by Maverick Racing & China Horse Club at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Improbable is owned by WinStar Farm, LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd. and Starlight Racing. Bred by St. George Farm LLC & G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., the Bob Baffert trainee is undefeated in three starts with earnings of $269,520.
The group also pinhooked 2018 Sanford Stakes-G3 winner and fellow Kentucky Derby hopeful Sombeyay (Into Mischief – Teroda), receiving a $5,000 bonus for his graded stakes win from the Keeneland bonus program. Purchased by Starlight Racing for $230,000 at the Keeneland September Sale, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt closed out his juvenile campaign with a fourth-place finish in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile-G1. Sombeyay was bred by J. D. Stuart & Mueller Farms, Inc.
“Thanks to Keeneland’s generous September Sale Bonus Program, our partners received a $15,000 bonus in 2018 as a result of Improbable and Sombeyay’s graded stakes victories,” said Katie Taylor, who handles investor relations for Taylor Made Sales and manages the Bloodstock Investment IV partnership. “In celebration of the success of these exceptional graduates, the investors of Bloodstock Investments IV have generously donated their earnings to the Retired Racehorse Project. Our dream is for the success of Sombeyay and Improbable to bless many other Thoroughbreds with success in their second careers. We’re so grateful for Thoroughbreds and all the wonderful experiences owning and competing with them provides!”
Contributing investors in Bloodstock Investments IV include: Bloodstock Investments Upstate LLC (Jon Bailey and Hunter Garrett), Gary Broad, J. D. Bryant, Tim and Anna Cambron, Chancey Mill Farm, Jay and Carolyn Lawrence, MB Equity Company, Brian McCarty, Linda Parker, Louis Brooks Ranch Ltd., Nick and Amy Richard, Michael C. Stinson, George Saufley, Mark and Julia Taylor, Frank and Kim Taylor, Katie Taylor, Joe Taylor, Bill and Sally Tortorello and Paul and Val Van Wyck.
According to Taylor, the Bloodstock Investments IV partners plan to continue to donate a percentage of their Keeneland September Sale Bonus Program proceeds to the Retired Racehorse Project through the duration of their sales graduates’ racing careers.
Keeneland created the September Sale Bonus Program in 2017 to reward the sellers of graded stakes winners who were sold as yearlings at the Keeneland September Sale. Sellers of horses that win a Grade 1 race receive a $10,000 bonus, sellers of Grade 2 winners receive a $7,500 bonus and sellers of Grade 3 winners receive a $5,000 bonus.
Final Jeopardy (Street Sense – Addison Run, by Unbridled’s Song), a fellow Taylor Made sales graduate that was bred by the farm’s Bloodstock Investments III partnership, is stakes-placed in 2019 and most recently earned an allowance win by 3 ¾ lengths at Gulfstream on March 3. A portion of the group’s Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund earnings from his efforts were also donated to the Retired Racehorse Project.
“The Retired Racehorse Project is grateful for the support from Taylor Made Sales and the partners in Bloodstock Investments IV and III,” said Jen Roytz, Executive Director of the Retired Racehorse Project. “What an incredible gesture for the group to share their good fortune in this way, using their sales bonuses and breeders’ awards from their top horses to support the masses.”
A 501(c)(3) organization, the Retired Racehorse Project’s mission is to increase the value and demand for Thoroughbreds after racing. Its flagship event is the $100,000 Thoroughbred Makeover, a national retraining competition for recently-retired racehorses with 10 months or less of retraining since their last race. The organization recently announced that 673 trainers were accepted to compete in this year’s Thoroughbred Makeover, which will be held October 2-5 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.
In addition, the Retired Racehorse Project publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine; manages the Thoroughbred Sport Tracker, the internet’s only user-driven database for second career talent and accomplishments for off-track Thoroughbreds; and puts on clinics, demonstrations and seminars throughout the country aimed at showcasing Thoroughbreds in their sport horse careers, useful retraining techniques and more.
