Crestwood Farm

Owner-Breeder Brian Daniel Burns has passed at the age of 78 following a brief battle with cancer. Larger than life with an entrepreneurial spirit, Burns launched his own company in 1980, underwriting disability insurance for athletes. The high-profile company worked with major sports leagues like the NFL and the MLB and their players. He eventually sold the company in 2007. Burns's first foray into the horse racing game was an instant and spectacular success. He and his father Jimmy--"The name's Jimmy," he would say if addressed by the formal Mr....

For Crestwood Farm, the goal going into 2026 was all about tapping into the Gun Runner phenomenon. With two high-profile sons of the remarkable Three Chimneys sire targeting the upper echelon of the market in champion Sierra Leone ($75,000 at Ashford Stud) and multiple Grade I winner Locked ($35,000 at Gainesway), Crestwood sought to present a third son of Gun Runner that would appeal to a different segment of commercial breeders in Kentucky. A millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner, Il Miracolo (Gun Runner -- Tapit's World, by Tapit) will...

LEXINGTON, KY - The four-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale reached its halfway point in Lexington Tuesday and continued to produce figures significantly ahead of its record-setting 2024 edition. Through two sessions, 540 yearlings have grossed $33,091,000 for an average of $61,280 and a median of $30,000. At the same point last year, 544 horses had grossed $28,753,000 for an average of $52,855 and a median of $20,000. The 2024 auction concluded with a cumulative record gross of $58,575,500 and a record average of $52,206. "The second session of the...

Il Miracolo (Gun Runner --Tapit's World by Tapit) will join Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm roster for the 2026 breeding season, according to a farm release Monday. Il Miracolo will stand for $7,500 Live Foal (Payable Stands and Nurse). An earner of over $1 million on the track, the Il Miracolo broke his maiden in gate-to-wire fashion going one mile at the age of two, dominating a maiden special weight field at Gulfstream Park. At three, he won the GIII Smarty Jones at Parx, in addition to hitting the board in...

When Andrew Schwarz and his sister Wendy Schwarz-Gilder decided to turn their longstanding enthusiasm for the Turf into a deeper commitment, in 2017, the option that best matched their outlook was a modest breeding program. If that meant taking their time, patiently building each page, so be it. All they knew was that they wanted to work with others of a similar disposition: people who gave time to each other, and to their horses. Schwarz, after all, is a real estate developer in New Orleans. "And in real estate, five...

Friday's second of three under-tack previews ahead of next week's OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training witnessed no fewer than two dozen horses that broke the 10-second threshold among those who worked an eighth of a mile over the synthetic track. But it was hip 446, a filly by young Crestwood Farm stallion Caracaro (Uncle Mo) from the draft of On The Run Sales, agent, who was the fleetest of them all when stopping the clock in a slick :9 3/5 about three hours into the session. A Feb....

John Gunther's Glennwood Farm bred and raised Triple Crown champion Justify, as well as Grade I stakes winners First Samurai, Mo Town, Stay Thirsty, Tamarkuz, and Vino Rosso. The farm's recent graduates also include Grade I stakes winner Leslie's Rose and Grade I stakes performer Grand Mo The First. The pair represented the operation in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, respectively.    Tanya Gunther discussed Glennwood's 2025 mating plans, as well as hopes for new stallion Stage Raider, a half-brother to Justify, who begins his stud career this...

Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway--Private World, by Thunder Gulch), winner of the 2022 GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational S., has been retired to Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm for the 2025 breeding season. He will stand for $6,500 live foal. "We are thrilled to have Classic Causeway at Crestwood Farm," McLean said. "He was precocious at two, and a Grade I winner at three. He was versatile on both dirt and turf, with earnings over $1.5 million. His sire Giant's Causeway is a top sire of sires, with Not This Time proving...

Stakes-winning Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile--Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper), a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), has been retired from racing and will take up stud duties next year at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm. Bred and campaigned by John Gunther, Stage Raider won last year's R.A. Cowboy Jones Stakes at Ellis Park and was third in the GIII Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill Downs. "My dad and I really believe in this horse and we are excited to start him on his new stallion career," said Tanya Gunther....

An interval of 136 years between Apollo and Justify, followed by one of just five to Mage, tells us all we need to know about the way modern trainers can (and increasingly prefer to) prepare their Derby prospects. So these remain very early days for the freshmen sires, nowadays responsible for such a large portion of every juvenile crop. In this era of monster books, especially, even the rookie with most action to date has barely scratched the surface. At the moment that's Vekoma, who lies second in the freshman...

Several farms in and around Lexington, KY will be represented as part of a two-day breeding clinic hosted by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. The event, which will be held June 7-8, will take attendees to Lane's End, Mulholland Springs, Crestwood Farm and Pin Oak Stud and also includes a tour of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Educational opportunities will touch on all aspects of breeding including mating plans, foaling procedures and veterinary perspectives. Registration for this event is open to the public and available here.

Sir Winston (Awesome Again--La Gran Bailadora, by Afleet Alex), winner of the 2019 GI Belmont S., was represented by his first foal, a filly out of Pretty Clever (Hard Spun). The foal was bred by Tracy Farmer and born at his Shadowlawn Farm in Midway, Ky., Jan. 30. Pretty Clever is a half-sister to Saratoga stakes winner Can You Diggit (Tiznow). Sir Winston stands at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm for $7,500 LFSN.