Harris Farms

Grade I winner Eight Rings (Empire Maker) has relocated from Harris Farms to Rancho San Miguel and will stand at the new farm for a 2026 fee of $6,000 with a live foal guarantee, it was announced by press release. The son of Empire Maker claimed his elite-level win in the GI American Pharoah Stakes for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert as a juvenile and went on to be placed in four other graded contests--namely the GI Bing Crosby (second); GIII Native Diver (third); GII San Antonio Stakes (second); and...

Uptown Rythem (Speightstown--Listen to My Song, by Unbridled's Song), who previously stood at Harris Farms, has been relocated to stand at Rancho San Miguel in Central California for the 2026 breeding season. He will stand for $1,500, live foal guarantee. From extremely modest crops, Uptown Rythem's Average Earnings Index of 1.19 is among the best in California. His unraced dam is a half-sister to the dam of 2017 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes winner La Coronel (Colonel John) from the extended family of 2025 GI Blue Grass Stakes...

Just over 20 minutes had passed when Darren Filkins dislodged the irritant in his craw concerning the future of Harris Farms without its eponymous captain, John, who passed this July. "People were talking dispersal," said Filkins, about Fasig-Tipton's recent digital sale of around 90 Harris homebreds. "I even corrected people yesterday. 'Oh, I heard you're shutting down Harris farms.' 'Nope.' I don't know where they heard it. We're not shutting down Harris Farms. We're committed to being in this." Sitting at a table in Del Mar's backstretch cafeteria and presiding...

The Major Reduction of Harris Farms closed Tuesday afternoon with 75 horses sold for $1,045,000. The sale offered horses of racing age and broodmares, including those with foals at foot. Nu Pi Lambda (hip 50), in foal to Liam's Map, sold for $200,000 to Hinkle Farms to top the session. The winning City Zip mare is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner and course record setter Deterministic (Liam's Map). She was offered carrying her first foal on that proven cross. The sale led off on a high note, with...

Bidding commenced Aug. 14 and runs until Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m PT for the major reduction of Harris Farms on Fasig-Tipton Digital, according to a press release from the platform on Thursday. Ninety entries are catalogued as part of the reduction of leading California owner and breeder John C. Harris who participated in all aspects of the Thoroughbred business until his passing at the age of 81 in July. The reduction consists of breeding and racing stock.  Included in the catalogue are: Nu Pi Lambda (City...

On Wednesday came the news that Fasig-Tipton will offer a digital auction, to run Aug. 14 through Aug. 19, of 90 horses owned and bred by the late John Harris, who passed away in July aged 81. Harris leaves behind a towering legacy of Thoroughbred breeding and ownership in the state. The sale signifies a major reduction of Harris Farms' bloodstock and not a total dispersal, however, with the operation expected to continue with a smaller footprint going forward. Harris's reduction sale will take place just over a month before...

Fasig-Tipton will offer 90 horses as part of a major reduction of Harris Farms, the Thoroughbred operation of leading California breeder and owner John C. Harris, who passed away in July at the age of 81. The auction will be conducted as a standalone sale on its digital platform from  Aug. 14 through 19. "John Harris was a pillar of racing, both in California and nationally," said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales.  "We are honored to be entrusted with the reduction of Mr. Harris's breeding and racing stock,...

Darren Filkins has been unanimously voted to fill the vacancy on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) created by the recent passing of John Harris, the group announced Monday. The CEO of Harris Farms since January 2022, Filkins has held a variety of agriculturally centered positions before joining Harris Farms, and is a known face in California. "I'd previously worked with Darren through some difficult issues and was impressed by his intelligence, forthrightness and integrity--two characteristics welcomed on any industry board," said TOC Board member...

John C. Harris, one of California's most respected leaders in agriculture and Thoroughbred breeding, has passed away peacefully at the age of 81. Born July 14, 1943, Harris was a lifelong resident of Fresno County. He attended local elementary and high schools before earning his degree from UC Davis. He proudly served his country in the United States Army. Harris was a passionate farmer, rancher, and businessman who dedicated his life to stewarding the land and advancing California agriculture. As the driving force behind Harris Farms, one of the state's...

Santa Anita's 16-day Autumn Meet concluded Sunday, Oct. 27 with Juan Hernandez on top of the jockey's standings, Bob Baffert winning the trainer's title and Harris Farms leading all owners in wins. For Hernandez, a 32-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, this was his seventh riding title at Santa Anita. He finished the meet with 25 wins from 103 mounts (24%), which was 10 more victories than runner-up Umberto Rispoli. Hernandez also led all jockeys in purse earnings with $1,566,410. His biggest wins came in the GII Oak Leaf Stakes aboard...

Grade I winner Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) has been relocated to California and joined the roster at Harris Farms for the 2025 breeding season, a release announced Monday afternoon. A winner at the highest level on turf and dirt, and only the third American 3-year-old in history to accomplish the feat by winning the GI Travers and GI Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes, he has two crops of racing age with 65% starters, 26% winners, and one stakes winner, El Catolico in Puerto Rico as of Oct. 21. He also...

A MGISW and sire standing at Harris Farms in Coalinga, California, Smiling Tiger (Hold That Tiger--Shandra Smiles, by Cahill Road) was euthanized Aug. 1 after succumbing to a condition which affects coordination called ataxia, according to reports from several horse racing media outlets on Friday. The 17-year-old was responsible for nine crops, which amounted to 561 foals and currently 199 winners. Accounting for a champion (Ace Korea), a graded winner (Spiced Perfection) and a dozen black-type winners, Smiling Tiger currently has 74 juveniles to his credit. He stood at the...