Visiting Claiborne Farm

 

If you could pick any thoroughbred farm in Kentucky to visit, which would it be? Many would choose Claiborne Farm because of its history of excellence, and so it was for me.

I traveled from my home in New Jersey to Louisville, where I got to see Horse Racing Nation’s headquarters for the first time. The next day my wife and I drove to the Lexington area and took the scenic Paris Pike to Claiborne. I should note that I was making this trip to Kentucky, thanks to my other employer, in recognition of my 30 years of service.

The trip to Claiborne Farm turned out to be everything that I had hoped for and more. At the top of my list was to get the opportunity to pay my respects to Secretariat, who is buried in the farm’s horse cemetery. I never had the opportunity to see the Meadow Stable star in person, neither at the track nor in his later years in Kentucky. My father got to see him in the inaugural running of the Marlboro Cup, but I was not included in that trip. My brother stayed at his Ohio college during the summer of 1973 and he travelled to Chicago to see Big Red run at Arlington Park. The trip to Claiborne would be as close as I would get to Secretariat.

We met up with Kevin, a hard-working third generation Claiborne groom, who would serve as our tour guide. His grandfather and father had lived and worked at Claiborne and Kevin had grown up there. After high school he, too, began working with the horses. Kevin is currently the groom and handler of three of the stallions including Blame and Parading.

It was great to see how many racing fans turned out to see the farm on that warm summer day. We began by visiting the two stallion barns, although most of the Claiborne sires were in their individual paddocks, a few remained in their stalls. Seeking The Gold, the now retired sire of 85 stakes winners, came to the door of his stall to say hello. We saw the famous stall where Bold Ruler, Secretariat, Easy Goer, and Unbridled had lived. Their brass nameplates shined so brightly that you could see your reflection.

We took a very short walk to Orb’s paddock and were treated to a visit by the 2013 Kentucky Derby winner. All it took was the crinkling of a peppermint wrapper to get Orb to trot over. Kevin then took him out of the paddock, turned him, and let all of us pet him and pose for photo-ops. Orb particularly liked when women said hello. I had seen the Phipps/Janney runner up close prior to the Preakness and Belmont, so it was pretty cool to get see him at Claiborne, too. I fed him a mint when he went back behind the gate.

 

Next we headed over to the paddock of War Front, who Kevin had nicknamed, “The Sire on Fire.” The name is based on the enormous success that this son of Danzig has had in recent years. Kevin explained that at Claiborne they do not allow any of their stallions to breed to more than 120 mares, a number which is far below some of the other popular sires. That means that War Front has to cover three mares a day during the spring breeding season. With a stud fee of $150,000 The Sire on Fire has an estimated value of $50 million. I think each of us was hoping that some of War Front’s value would rub off when we got to pet him.

Last stop was the Claiborne cemetery where the first headstone you see is Secretariat. I had thought about this moment and decided that I would leave a mint for him on his monument. Kevin explained that every month, since he died in 1989, a dozen roses were placed on his grave. Apparently Penny Chenery insisted that Secretariat be embalmed and buried in a casket and that that is an extremely unusual request.