Harris Auerbach
At 78 years of age, Dana Halvorson is looking to move out of Washington State and live permanently at his farm in Ocala, Florida. He leaves behind a decades-long, storied career in the bloodstock world in Washington. He also leaves behind a state breeding industry in free-fall. Between 2005 and 2025, the number of mares bred dropped 94%, from 1214 to 70. Only two major farms remain in the whole state. "The West Coast has just taken a beating," said Halvorson, president of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association...
The 51st annual Global Symposium on Racing, hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, will include a panel titled "Strength in Numbers: Innovative Approaches to Boosting U.S. Thoroughbred Breeding" to address the ongoing issue of declines to the foal crop. The session will bring together leaders from racing and breeding to discuss ideas to reinvigorate regional Thoroughbred breeding programs. Panelists will highlight successful models ranging from innovative incentive programs to targeted policy reforms, with an emphasis on collaborative, multi-state efforts. Featured panelists include, Paul Ryneveld, Director, Horse...
California-breds have long been the backbone of California racing. Since 2014, they've represented between 45% and 50% of all starters at Thoroughbred race meets in the state. Over half of all horses currently stabled in Southern California tracks are understood to be Cal-breds. A shrinking foal crop in the state, however, means that racing secretaries will have to rely on fewer of them than is currently the case over the next few years. Modeling performed for the TDN suggests there will be a combined 290 fewer Cal-bred runners competing in California...
Some 47 years ago, a horse by the name of Bravo Bravo won his first start off a claim by the Auerbach Family of California, setting in motion a long and successful career in the racing and breeding business, both at home in California and in Central Kentucky. The matriarch of the family is the widely respected Madeline Auerbach, who among other accomplishments founded and is the former Chairperson of CARMA (California Retirement Management Account), a funding arm for retired race horses in the state. In 1996, Madeline Auerbach and...
Harris Auerbach, a long-time Thoroughbred industry stakeholder who campaigned California's all-time leading sire Unusual Heat, is rolling out a new breeding and sales operation called HorsePAUER Enterprises, the owner of PAUER Consulting said in a release Tuesday. HorsePAUER will operate as a subsidiary of Auerbach's main company and offerings include stakeholder development, breeding stock portfolio management and bloodstock/matings consultations. Auerbach launched PAUER Consulting earlier this year which brought together a wide-array of services under the umbrella of strategy and special projects expertise. PAUER's clients include major universities, charitable organizations and...