TDN Letter to Editor: Carrie Brogden

I am really sad to find out that the Eclipse award info with the ballots only lists Machmer Hall as having bred four graded stakes winners in 2014, even though we actually bred and foaled seven graded stakes winners and raised 10 graded stakes winners. It does not mention Intense Holiday, Stonetastic or Spellbound, because they were bred in partnership. Stonetastic was co-bred by Craig and myself, already co-owners of Machmer Hall. Not only do we have the individual graded stakes winners, we also had two Derby starters in a field restricted to 20 horses. 

In the graded stakes standings every week on the Paulick report, Machmer Hall stands #2 in the U.S., directly behind Darley (who we co-bred Spellbound with). The partnerships are included in the standings, but NTRA only uses Equibase stats that do not include partnerships for breeders using the common entities. 

I am not saying that we could possibly win an Eclipse award for this year with all the other top farms, but our results stack up huge this year to stand shoulder to shoulder with these top breeding farms. To not have all our horses included for consideration is very disappointing and sad to me that in this day of technology, the stats presented are not complete. The last 15 Eclipse awards for breeders of the year have all gone to stallion farms with name recognition and huge advertising budgets and, in order for the middle size breeder like Machmer Hall to have any sort of chance, the correct information needs to be and should be provided. 

I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but at the same time, this is my life and I think we deserve a chance. I have three goals left in my life to try to achieve in the Thoroughbred industry: to breed a GI Kentucky Derby winner, to attend the Eclipse awards as a nominee and to take a trip to Dubai for the World Cup. (We bred a second-place finisher, but I was eight months pregnant at the time and could not go!) 

I am so proud of our horses and accomplishments. Nothing gives me greater joy, bred or just raised on our farm, to watch them win. Everyone that knows me is aware that our farm does not stop with performance on the track. Everything I do and everything in my life, apart from my family and my dogs, is for the love of Thoroughbreds.

CARRIE BROGDEN, MACHMER HALL