BH Interview: John McMahon of McMahon of Saratoga TBs

The McMahons have been breeding and raising horses for more than four decades at their 400-acre farm in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Home to the top three stallions standing at stud in the Empire State, the McMahon of Saratoga name is synonymous with successful New York-breds—both in the sales ring and on the racetrack. Founded by Joe and Anne McMahon in 1971, many of the farm's day-to-day operations have been passed along to his son and daughter, John and Jane, who currently oversee the McMahon's 19-horse consignment at this year's Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale.

John McMahon spoke with BloodHorse about the importance of the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale to New York breeders, the success of the McMahon of Saratoga stallions Central Banker  , Bucchero  , and Solomini  , as well as the blossoming evolution of the New York-bred yearling.

BloodHorse: What are your expectations for the McMahon consignment going into this year's sale? (The Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale will take place Aug. 11-12 at the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)

John McMahon: Our expectations are high. We've brought a good group with us this year. Hopefully, the weather cooperates where we can get horses shown enough but this sale has always been a good sale for us and I'm very happy about our consignment this year. We're very enthusiastic about our chances Sunday and Monday.

BH: What horses from your consignment are you particularly excited about? Two that stuck out in the catalog were Hip 352, a Mo Town filly half to Wynstock (by Solomini), and Hip 356, a Solomini half to Candied (by Candy Ride).

JM: I've got some very nice horses. That's a half to a grade 1 winner and a half to a grade 2 winner.  We've also brought several very racy-looking Central Bankers. I have a nice Daredevil (Hip 407) out of a mare who just had a Solomini maiden special weight winner. As far as a horse though that I'm particularly excited about I have to say Hip 334 is a beautiful colt. He's a good-looking Hard Spun and I'm excited to see how he does. Of all of them, he's the one I would pick to go on and do well at a 2-year-old in training sale or be a maiden special weight winner.

BH: In looking at the offerings in your consignment it can be noted that many of them are sired by stallions standing in New York. Why do you find it important to support New York-based stallions?

JM: We probably have 50% Kentucky-sired to 50% New York-sired in the consignment here, which is probably stronger New York-sired than a lot of the other consignments in the sale.

We really believe in the stallion business in New York. We have the leading sires in the state and we're very proud to stand them and we're very proud to show off their offspring, so we push to get these New York-sired horses in the sale each year.

BH: As you mentioned, Bucchero (who just stood his first season in New York after beginning his stallion career at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida), Central Banker, and Solomini are currently the top three leading stallions standing in New York. What can you say about the success of these stallions and their impact on the New York breeding program?

JM: They've all had a great impact so far. Central Banker has consistently thrown sound, fast runners that go onto 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Solomini sired a grade 2 winner in his first crop. He's already way ahead of the sires within his crop at a national level so we're very happy with him. New York breeders have responded accordingly. We breed each of those stallions to 160 mares, 110 mares, and 100 mares between those three.  

We have a nice breeding and racing program that has produced nice maiden special weights winners, allowance winners, and stakes winners. We have horses we've bred consistently perform year after year and we're pretty happy with that.

BH: Why is this sale so important to New York breeders?

JM: First, it's a place to showcase our product. Second, it represents a chance for us to make our profit for the year. If your intent is to sell New York-bred horses regardless if your horse is New York-sired or Kentucky-sired this is the sale you want to focus in on. It's a very important week for New York-bred horses. It's a big important week for our farm. We work hard at raising these horses. It starts when you breed them and a lot can go wrong between then and now so to get them here is an accomplishment in itself.

BH: Have you noticed an influx in attendance and traffic at the sale in recent years?

JM: It's a very well-attended sale. We definitely see the same buyers from year to year within the consignment and you see a certain amount of people that are among the leading buyers in the country walking the grounds looking at horses. That's a wonderful thing. This sale has a great history and Fasig-Tipton has done a great job of providing a great venue for us to participate in.

BH: Your family has been breeding New York-breds for decades. What have your impressions been of the evolution of the New York-bred program?

JM: The program keeps getting stronger and stronger. And the breeders, my parents included, consistently have stepped up and produced a better product. We look at horses we've stood in the past or raced in the past and compare them to the horses we've brought to the sale today and we can see we've come a long way. I remember yearlings that weren't as big and forward and precocious-looking as the stock we produce now. The game has really changed. The New York tracks keep raising the purses for New York-breds and the award program is booming, so it's kept raising the standard for New York-bred horses. I think the program is looking very good for the next 10 years and even more so with the changes at Belmont Park coming.

Bucchero should be perfectly suited for the new synthetic track they're building given the results he'd had with his runners down at Gulfstream. We're looking forward to that in the next couple years.