Stonerside Gets New Owner
Robert and Janice McNair established Stonerside Stable in 1994 on a breathtakingly beautiful 1 947 acre piece of land near Paris in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Through their hard work and dedication, Stonerside Stable has grown into a leading breeding farm for Thoroughbred racehorses, and they have bred numerous stakes winners and champions. It is no wonder that Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and owner of Darley, would be interested in such a successful operation.
The green and white silks of Stonerside Stable have become associated with victory over the years and since its start the stable has produced no less than sixty stakes winners of which eight horses earned well over a million. Twenty Grade 1 wins, two hundred and one placings, and the list of achievements just carries on. Some of their memorable horses include the legendary Chilukki, Petit Club, Southern Truce, Raven’s Pass, Treizieme, Rythmical, Thunder Kitten, Minister’s Melody, Sahara Heat, Texas Fever, Miss Colorado, Cowboy Cal, Congaree and Fusaishi Pegasus.
Unfortunately, the McNair’s love for Stonerside Stables was put under pressure because of the couple also owning the Houston Texans, a National Football League team. Dividing their attention between the two ventures became increasingly difficult, until the heartbreaking decision to sell Stonerside Stables was made. On Monday, an agreement with the Sheik was reached, and the sale will include the breeding facility in Bourbon County, the Aiken training centre, approximately a hundred and seventy horses consisting of weanlings, yearlings and their broodmares and the almost eighty horses that are currently in training. They have not completely severed all ties to the Thoroughbred horse racing industry, with keeping their stallion interests and ownership of Cowboy Cal, and stallions Stonesider, Bob and John and Congaree. The exact details to the deal in regard to Stonerside Stables have not been released, but McNair did confirm that part of the agreement was that the staff at the stables were to retain their positions. Spokesperson for Darley, John Ferguson, confirmed that no changes were being planned for Stonerside Stables and the Darley was looking forward to working with the magnificent team that has contributed to the success of the stable.
