In 2010, horses bred by Adena Springs Farm earned more than double the earnings of its closest competitor, and as a result, Frank Stronach’s operation was rewarded with its seventh Eclipse Award.
Adena Springs, which last won the breeder Eclipse in 2008 when it also took home a second Eclipse as leading owner, saw 533 horses it bred make 3,661 starts, with 506 wins and earnings of $13,369,852, ranking first in the earnings category for the eighth time.
The partnership of Claiborne Farm and Adele Delschneider, which ranked sixth among breeders by earnings with $4,606,322, finished second in Eclipse balloting, likely due to the success of Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Blame . Third in the voting was Brereton C. Jones, who bred the earners of $6,545,266.
In 2010, Adena Springs was represented by 15 stakes winners individually and one in partnership. Included among the farm’s stakes winners were grade I winner Stately Victor, multiple grade III winner Bourbon Bay, Canadian grade II winner Stunning Stag, and grade III winners Pleasant Prince and Game On Dude.
Stately Victor emerged as a contender for the 3-year-old classics with a victory in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). That was followed by off-the-board finishes in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), Belmont Stakes (gr. I) and Virginia Derby (gr. IIT) before the 3-year-old son of Adena Springs stallion Ghostzapper took the Ontario Derby at Woodbine.
Bourbon Bay, a son of Adena stallion Sligo Bay , won the San Juan Capistrano Invitational, San Luis Obispo, and San Luis Rey, all grade II turf events, in convincing style during a strong Santa Anita meet. He became the first horse since Kotashaan in 1993 to sweep the track’s three major turf marathon events.
Adena stands stallions at divisions in Paris, Ky., and Aurora, Canada, and at McMahon Farm in New York and Magali Farms in California.
The Adena stallion roster is headed by Awesome Again , the sire of 10 grade I winners and four Breeders’ Cup winners. Also prominent among the farm’s stallions is 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, a son of Awesome Again who was among the leading second-crop sires of 2010. Another Adena sire, Macho Again, is the sire of a grade I winner from each of his first two crops and among the leading sires of juvenile stakes winners in 2010.
Stronach, who built Magna International into one of the world’s leading auto parts manufacturers, is also chairman of MI Developments, which owns North American racetracks such as Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park.
Adena Springs was started by Stronach in 1989 on property near Versailles, Ky.
First-Place Vote Totals:
Adena Springs, 69; Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, 55; Brereton C. Jones, 43; WinStar Farm, 26; Edward P. Evans, 12; Maverick Productions, 10; Juddmonte Farms, 7; Gulf Coast Farms, 3; Ocala Stud, 2; Eugene Melnyk, 1; Pamela and Martin Wygod, 1; Voter Abstentions, 9.
