Taylor Made 40-Year Event Helps Old Friends

Taylor Made Farm celebrated its 40th year as a family-run Thoroughbred breeding and sales operation April 9 with a mix of art and charity.

More than 150 people attended a cocktail party and auction at the Headley-Whitney Museum, where unique items including a mahogany shadow box with a halter worn by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah   and special California Chrome   "experience" package that included a visit with North America's richest Thoroughbred—a title he claimed after winning the Dubai World Cup presented by Emirates Airline (UAE-I) last month. California Chrome will enter stud at Taylor Made after the 2016 racing season.

Five items auctioned during the party raised $21,100 for the Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center near Georgetown, Ky. The California Chrome package was the highest-priced item, bringing $8,500. The package included a personal tour of Taylor Made Farm, a visit with California Chrome, a one-night stay at Lexington's new 21c Hotel, dinner at Malone's steakhouse, and a shadowbox featuring a California Chrome halter and one of his shoes worn in Dubai. The American Pharoah shadowbox was the second-highest-priced item at $6,400.

Other items sold were framed photos shot by the late Tony Leonard of Secretariat with a lock of the Triple Crown winner's hair and of Silver Charm and Touch Gold in the 1997 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) with locks of their hair, too. The Headley-Whitney museum is currently running an exhibit of some of Leonard's images that feature U.S. Presidents, celebrities, Thoroughbred industry leaders, salt-of-the-earth horsemen, and many of the greatest Thoroughbreds seen since the late 1960s.

Of Taylor Made's 40th anniversary, farm president Duncan Taylor said his brothers Ben, Frank, and Mark have been blessed with long-term success because of the lessons they learned from their father, Joe Taylor, who ran Gainesway. 

"I always tell people I won the lottery the day I was born," said Duncan Taylor. "We had a dad and mom who taught us to work hard and take pride in our work." Siblings don't always make the best business partners, but the Taylors also learned early on from their father that by working together they would accomplish so much more than working apart.

"One of the best techniques he taught us was the tongue-tie," said Taylor. "You don't always have to speak the first words that come to mind." The Taylors give credit to their religious faith, as well, believing it has helped attract good people and allowed them to build a strong team over the years.

"Again, our parents taught us that God is in everyone and how you treat them brings that out, brings out the best in people," said Taylor.