High in the saddle

What do Inner Mongolia and Kentucky have in common? Deep roots in the horse world and an urge to race, as May Zhou and Zhang Yuan report from Kentucky

The day before the Kentucky Oaks, a delegation from Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, stood enchanted by the sight of WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky: gentle rolling hills covered in lush grass so verdant that the ground seemed carpeted in green, the pastures dotted with trees and ponds and framed by elegant fencing, while here and there, a few beautiful horses grazed.

It was the quintessential image of central Kentucky, world capital of thoroughbred horse breeding, and racing.

There are roughly 450 horse farms in the region. The soil is rich in limestone, which is said to be responsible for the greenest grass anywhere and for producing the world's fastest thoroughbred horses.

When Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner bought the farm in 2000, it was only 400 acres. Today, at 2,700 acres, WinStar is one of the largest horse farms in Kentucky, with one of the best records.

About 500 horses live there. Of them, about 150 are studs, and of them, the most valued sire is 26-year-old Distorted Humor.

"Distorted Humor is our best stallion ever," Elliott Walden, WinStar president and CEO, told the Ordos delegation, mostly municipal government officials and executives from Inner Mongolia Yitai Desert Star Horse Industries (YTDS).

Ordos recently received approval from China's central government to develop the second national equine disease free zone. The Ordos visitors were spending a few days in Kentucky to learn about the value chain of the race horse business from breeding to the track.

The stud is key to breeding race horses, Walden told the visitors. Distorted Humor came with the farm and was initially valued at $1.25 million — 50 shares at $25,000 each.

"With the first crop, his offspring Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby in 2003. He immediately turned into a $100-million horse. At his height, before the 2008 financial market crash, his stud fee was as much as $300,000 per foal. He has 100 foals a year and generates $30 million a year.

"[So far] he has generated $500 million in stud fees," said Walden, pointing to a portrait of Distorted Humor over the fireplace mantle.

Among various trophies on display at WinStar, the Triple Crown won last year by Justify — a thoroughbred that was co-owned by WinStar, China Horse Club and two other partners — attracted the most attention from the visitors.

In 2018, Justify became the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes) in 144 years of racing history in the US. He was later sold for $75 million. His 2019 stud fee is $150,000.

In the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Justify now boasts a special room enshrining his impressive success.

Justify's achievement also propelled the co-owner China Horse Club, a relative newcomer to the game, into becoming a top player in world-class horse racing.

When Malaysian-born, Fujian native architect Teo Ah Khing and his team designed the Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse in Dubai, which opened in 2010, Teo fell in love with horses and branched into horse racing.

In 2012, Teo founded the China Horse Club (CHC) aiming to become Asia's premier lifestyle, business and thoroughbred racing club. Many of its members are from China.

"We wanted to be one of the major players," said Teo. "With that objective in mind, we assembled a team, we studied hard, we identified horses and we partnered with giants in the business."

CHC started winning races around the world in 2014. In a few shorts years, CHC has built a substantial record of success, winning more than 450 races in 13 countries, including 31 G1 feature events, the highest level of racing achievement.

CHC currently owns more than 700 thoroughbred horses and is ranked seventh in horse racing worldwide, and No. 1 in Asia.