B. Wayne Hughes

"We were very saddened to learn of the passing of B. Wayne Hughes, who has left an indelible impact and legacy on our sport as a breeder, owner, and industry innovator for the past 20 years. Foremost of his many achievements was his restoration of Spendthrift Farm to its grandeur and success as an internationally preeminent breeding operation, led by such prolific stallions as Malibu Moon and Into Mischief. Moreover, Mr. Hughes believed that breeders were the 'backbone of our industry,' and created programs that re-established the owner/breeder relationship, such...

B. Wayne Hughes, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who resurrected Spendthrift Farm and turned it into one of the leading stallion farms in North America, died Wednesday at his residence on the farm surrounded by his family. He was 87 years old. Born Bradley Wayne Hughes on Sept. 28, 1933, in the small town of Gotebo, OK, he was known by his middle name since childhood. The son of a sharecropper who fled Oklahoma's Dust Bowl and resettled in California shortly after he was born, Hughes grew up poor in...

The shocking loss this week of the young gun Laoban, preceded just days earlier by that of the venerable Malibu Moon, could not fail to renew the kind of questions we should all keep asking themselves about how a stallion can make an enduring reputation. Both had started out in a regional program, having shown only marginal eligibility for a stud career on the racetrack, before quickly earning migration to Kentucky. If that was just about all they had in common, then their different roles on two of the biggest...

Spendthrift Farm's foundation stallion Malibu Moon (A.P. Indy--Macoumba, by Mr. Prospector) passed away Tuesday in his paddock at the Lexington farm he has called home for the past 13 years. The 24-year-old, who was still in active stud duty, died of an apparent heart attack. "It's a sad day for us. This is our first loss of this kind. It's tough," said Spendthrift owner & president, Eric Gustavson. "You really develop a love for these beautiful, majestic animals. Even with Into Mischief taking over the mantle as 'top stallion' at...

This time, it's not just the Susans that have a black eye. You'll forgive me a little hesitation before addressing the 146th running of a race that can seldom have been staged in so febrile a context. Two weeks ago, I was incautious enough in this column to hope for just a nice, boring Derby, after the rancour of 2019 and the dismal postponement of 2020. Then, last week, I asked why even his own industry had been so ungenerous to a trainer who had now won four of his...

A pair of Spendthrift Farm homebreds stamped themselves as 3-year-olds to watch for the second half of the season with recent jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performances. Following Sea (c, 3, Runhappy--Quick Flip, by Speightstown) earned his 'Rising Star' badge with a flashy maiden win at second asking for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on the GI Arkansas Derby undercard, good for a gaudy 97 Beyer Speed Figure. The bay was hustled to the front by Joel Rosario in the six-furlong affair and was pressed on his inside through an...

The buying team at Spendthrift Farm had it down to two different 2-year-old colts from the first crop of the late Harlan's Holiday at the 2007 OBS March Sale. Did they ever pick the right one. Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday--Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek), winner of the GI CashCall Futurity and the back-to-back reigning champion general sire, got the final nod of the pair, bringing $180,000 from B. Wayne Hughes's operation following a :10 2/5 breeze. The striking blaze-faced bay--standing the 2021 season for $225,000 at Spendthrift Farm--graces the cover...

Spendthrift Farm, Ashford Stud and Three Chimneys Farm are suing The Jockey Club in federal court over the "stallion cap" rule that went into effect in 2020, alleging that the 140-mare breeding limit now being phased in amounts to a "blatant abuse of power" that acts as an "anti-competitive restraint" and threatens to disrupt the free-market nature of the bloodstock business. The plaintiffs contend that the stallion cap "serves no legitimate purpose and has no scientific basis" while alleging that the nine stewards of The Jockey Club who voted to...

B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm has acquired a 50% ownership interest in graded stakes winner Keepmeinmind (Laoban). The 3-year-old colt was second behind Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and third behind that subsequent champion in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile before concluding his 2-year-old campaign with a win in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. He currently sits second on the GI Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 18 points. "We are delighted to be a part of such an exciting young racehorse as Keepmeinmind, and thankful to...

Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile--Pomeroy's Pistol, by Pomeroy) has been retired from racing and will begin stud duties this year at B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm. The 4-year-old, a $1-million Keeneland September purchase, was campaigned by Spendthrift and Albaugh Family Stables and was trained by Bob Baffert. He won the 2019 GII Los Alamitos Futurity and 2020 GIII Robert B. Lewis S. and Shared Belief S. He was also second in the GIII Los Alamitos Derby. Thousand Words retires with four wins and a second from nine starts and earnings...

Business is booming at Spendthrift Farm. The once-defunct stallion station has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the past decade, thanks in large part to a superstar stallion, a deep-pocketed owner and the steady hand of an experienced general manager. Ned Toffey has seen it all since B. Wayne Hughes purchased Spendthrift in 2004, and he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Toffey talked about the explosive growth of the farm, what makes Into Mischief special,...

Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk new sire Authentic, recent purchase Monomoy Girl and the farm's thriving operation.