Northview Preparing for 'Epic' Besecker Dispersal

When more than 100 horses owned by Joe Besecker are offered to the public at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale Dec. 10, he will not be in attendance because he is holding the dispersal somewhat reluctantly.

"I won't be at the sale; I can't take it," said Besecker, whose stable ranks sixth in North America with more than 180 wins and stable earnings in excess of $4.5 million. "This is emotionally hard for me. This is not something I want to do." 

Besecker has more than 880 wins and stable earnings of more than $16.7 million since 2000 and the stable has annually been among the nation's leaders in purses and wins, ranking sixth and eighth by number of wins in 2018 and 2016, respectively.

The best horses campaigned individually by Besecker have been Aztec Sense, whose six stakes wins include the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3), and stakes winners Mr. Brix, Salsa's Return, and Wildwood Dancer. In addition, Besecker has campaigned horses with various partners, including grade 3 winner No Advantage and Discovery Handicap (G3) winner Now a Victor.

When he first became involved in horse racing, Besecker used the same fundamental approach he took at Emerald Asset Management, a private firm in Leola, Pa.

"I call it the three Ps. If you have the right process, and employ the right people, you will get performance. I approached it like I would any business," Besecker said. "I've got some of the best trainers, advisers, and veterinarians in the country and I've made money."

But Besecker decided to disperse his racing and breeding stock for a plethora of reasons that he groups together as the three Fs—family, foundation, and frustration.

Besecker said while his wife, Martha, and four children have been supportive of his equine endeavors, none share his passion for the game and have a myriad of time-consuming other interests. Also, for the past two years while Besecker's father, a noted pediatrician, was suffering from cancer, he was able to follow his son's horses on a daily basis until he died Aug. 4.

"He never had the ability to get into the game, even though he followed it and loved it," Besecker said. "The more horses I had, the more opportunities he had to follow it. When my dad died, that let a little air out of the balloon."

Besecker said the Emerald Foundation he and his wife established 12 years ago recently joined with another organization to establish the North American Scholastic eSports Federation and that is consuming a greater portion of his time. 

"This is not for e-sports per se, but to impart learning and using that as a platform," he said. "I believe we are really going to be able to change people's lives."

Finally, Besecker said his experience in horse ownership has had its share of frustrations due to the lack of a commissioner's office that would help with issues such as the public response to the rash of breakdowns at California tracks and lack of uniformity in other areas.  

"If I ran my business like horse racing is run, I would be out of business," he said.

Besecker said with the greater demands on his time, he had to weigh all the variables before deciding to get out of racing.

"I had to ask, 'Does the time I spend with my family and the foundation make up for the frustration?' And the answer is no," he said.

The owner said he will miss the excitement of going to the track and being in the winner's circle and would not rule out a return at some point in the future.

"There is nothing I can compare to winning a race and I'm going to be fortunate enough to win almost 200 this year. I know people don't believe me when I say it, but I really get as much enjoyment out of winning a $5,000 claiming race as I do a $200,000 stake."

While Crane Thoroughbred Services, P.J. Arnold Bloodstock, and Greenmount Farm will also be selling horses on behalf of Besecker, 103 of the 116 dispersal horses are being offered by Northview Stallion Station at the sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds sales pavilion in Timonium, Md.

"We're calling it the epic sale," said Northview general manager and sales director David Wade, noting the uniqueness of having so many horses being dispersed at a one-day sale. "This is the largest consignment we've ever had. There have been dispersals spread out over the course of a sale, but I can't think of a larger dispersal being offered in one day."

Wade said Northview was selected to handle the dispersal because of the long-term working relationship between Besecker and Paul O'Loughlin, the farm's bloodstock manager. 

The Besecker dispersal consists of a diverse group of racehorses, broodmares, and racing and broodmare prospects sired by nationally prominent and regional sires.

Many of the racehorses are part of the supplemental catalog and either have earned black type or have earnings of six figures, including Kentucky-bred Admiral Lynch, a 3-year-old Super Saver  colt who finished third in this year's Chick Lang Stakes (G3). The group also includes Laddie Liam, a 2-year-old who recently finished third in the Maryland Millions Nursery Stakes, and Mine Not Mine, a juvenile who broke his maiden impressively in his only start.

In an effort to make sure the horses are presented to the buying public in the best way possible, Wade has set out to assemble an experienced group of sale professionals to assist Northview's accomplished staff. He recently attended the November sales in Kentucky, networking to find some of the best help available.

"I have picked up 50 people from November consignments to help with this sale," Wade said, noting he relied upon experienced sales people who had worked with him previously to assist in the recruiting effort. "One thing I'm very big on is delegating responsibility to people I have confidence in. I have people who work for me regularly who will have quite a bit of responsibility helping organize things and keep it running smoothly, especially getting horses out for people so they don't have to stand around and wait."

Given the magnitude of the Besecker dispersal, Wade said there should be heightened interest in the Midlantic sale that usually draws primarily from a regional buying bench.

"It's definitely going to garner some attention," he said.