John Harris

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...

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...

After a flurry of activity this past week which appeared to breathe life into the idea of Pleasanton racetrack remaining open for training and stabling, potentially even for a race-meet this summer, the facility looks set to end its current tenure as a state licensed auxiliary training and stabling center midnight Tuesday. "Please be aware that as of March 25 at midnight, Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton will no longer be an approved auxiliary training facility of Santa Anita Park. The agreement between the Southern Stabling and Vanning Committee (TOC...

The Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association voted Tuesday evening to pursue a race meet this summer, according to several sources. This is in contrast to a January vote by the California Association of Racing Fairs (CARF) to not apply for race dates in 2025. Tuesday's closed session vote launches a flurry of key details and obligations to be nailed down before a race-meet can go ahead at the track, all within a relatively short amount of time. This includes a response to the facility's long-standing regulatory wastewater and stormwater discharge...

Politicians and key industry figures are pushing for Pleasanton racetrack to extend stabling and training at the facility beyond the current March 25 deadline and to potentially hold a race-meet there this summer, a vote on which could be held during Alameda County Agricultural Fair Association board meeting Tuesday. While in some quarters, hopes are high that a vote will go ahead and the extension granted, such an effort is far from a slam dunk. Alameda County Fairgrounds management argues that any extension would be made difficult because of long-standing...

Don Valpredo. a longtime breeder and owner based in California, passed away Oct. 31 while on vacation overseas. He was 85. At one time or another, Valpredo was on the board of virtually every horse racing and breeding organization in California. From Bakersfield, California, he served as the chairman of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association from 2014 to 2016 and served three consecutive one-year terms from 1986 to 1988 and remained on the board of that organization at the time of his passing. Valpredo was inducted into the California Thoroughbred...

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...