JD Farms Dispersal Marks End of Era in Florida Breeding

Next week's Winter Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale at Ocala Breeders' Sales will mark the end of an era in Florida breeding with the dispersal of JD Farms.

Established near Ocala, Fla., in the late 1980s, JD Farms was the nom de plume for Jim DiMare and his late wife, Sheila, who operated off their 400-acre Rising Hill Farm.

The couple is representative of the smaller operations that are the backbone of any state's developing breeding program, especially in a region like Florida.

The DiMares never paid outsized sums for blue-blooded mares, nor did they send their mares to fashionable, high-priced stallions. Most of the current stock in the JD Farms herd are second- or third-generation horses from their program, nearly all of whom are products of stallions that stood at the farm. At one time, Rising Hill was home to more than a dozen stallions.

Over the course of nearly 30 years, JD Farms bred 28 stakes winners, including grade 1 winners Captain Squire and Plenty of Light, Puerto Rican champion Batavia Light, Japanese group 2 winner Go Go Nakayama, multiple grade 3 winner El Cielo, and grade 3 winner Light Dancer. As owners, they campaigned 11 stakes winners, 10 of which they bred.

Bobby Jones, the veteran Florida horseman who is handling the dispersal, said he is pleased to have been selected by Jim DiMare to sell the breeder's stock. Like many in the Florida industry, Jones served on various industry boards with Sheila DiMare, who handled most of the Thoroughbred operation as her husband was tied up primarily with DiMare Fresh, his family's large tomato and produce company that provides products and services to restaurant chains throughout the South and Midwest.

Sheila DiMare died in May of 2018 at age 80.

"I was surprised and just honored that he chose me to handle the sale," said Jones, who had dealt with the couple off and on but did not have a close business relationship with the DiMares. "He called and asked me. It completely caught me off-guard. I don't know how he picked (me) out of the crowd (of possible consignors), but he said he liked the way I carry myself around a horse sale. I'm flattered."

Jones said the couple's success was impressive, particularly considering the less-than-fashionable bloodlines they were working with. Despite their success, the DiMares operated under the radar for the most part.

"I like the word 'iconic' to describe the farm," Jones said. "They overachieved, considering the stock they worked with. That's basically it. It was a blue-collar working man's farm. They did it the hard way."

Plenty of Light, winner of the Three Chimneys Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland Race Course in 2000, is typical of the horses bred by JD Farms. Her dam, Iceycindy, was purchased by the DiMares for $40,000 at the 1992 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and bred to Colony Light, who stood at Rising Hill, yielding the future grade 1 winner.

A stakes-placed son of Pleasant Colony, Colony Light sired progeny that earned more than $15 million, including 11 stakes winners. The stallion, whose highest fee was $3,000, has also been a prolific broodmare sire, with his 84 producing daughters accounting for a dozen stakes winners and the earners of more than $9.1 million.

Dolly's Back, the dam of Captain Squire, was bought by the DiMares for $8,500 at the 1998 Ocala Breeders' Sales October sale while carrying in utero the son of Flying Chevron who won the grade 1 Ancient Title Breeders' Cup Stakes (G1).

Rainbow Fame, whose 2003 filly by Colony Light named Batavia Light won six grade 1 stakes in Puerto Rico, cost a mere $1,200 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed sale.

 While the JD Farms stock being offered at OBS—10 broodmares, a dozen yearlings, and three horses of racing age added as part of the sale supplement—does not have the cache or fashionable breeding that would generate breakout prices, Jones said the horses will be in demand because they represent the impressive broodmare band put together by the DiMares.

"They are not blue-blooded pedigrees but come from the successful program that yielded big results from limited resources," Jones said. "There are a lot of racetrack people who knew them (DiMares) and what they have done. That is about as good of a broodmare band as you have seen in a while. I was surprised when I went and looked at them. They are all beautiful, big, good-boned mares. This is an opportunity for breeders, with some upside and blue sky on the horizon. They are going to be offered in a price range to be sold."

Included in the dispersal offerings are:

• Yearling colt (Hip 486) by Chitu  out of stakes winner Prize Informant
• Yearling filly (Hip 511) by Bahamian Squall  out of multiple stakes winner Secret Request
• Wise Cookie (Hip 674), a stakes-winning mare who has produced grade 3-placed Mr Chocolate Chip in foal to Handsome Mike 
• Smooth Cookie (Hip 579), a daughter of Wise Cookie in foal to Noble Bird 
• Yearling colt (Hip 580) by Khozan  out of Wise Cookie;
• Ashley River (Hip 646), a stakes-winning mare in foal to Noble Bird.

While Jim DiMare will still have several horses, the dispersal represents the end of the JD Farms era in Florida breeding, and they will be missed, Jones said.

"For as long as I can remember, they have been part of the Florida racing and breeding community. Any time there was an event, Sheila would be there to help. I can't say anything but good things about them."