Robert M. Clinkinbeard, owner of Breeder’s Supply and Equipment Company in Lexington, died after a brief illness. He was 82.
A member of the racing community for more than 50 years, Clinkinbeard was a member of the Thoroughbred Club of America and the Keeneland Club.
Among the nine stakes he bred alone and in partnership were graded winners Hull and Meter Maid. The former won the 2009 Derby Trial Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs but did not contest the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Meter Maid’s big win came in the 1998 Gardenia Stakes (gr. III) at Ellis Park.
Clinkinbeard started with Breeder’s Supply and Equipment in 1954. He bought the firm in 1971, and he and his late wife, Nancy, built it into a leading animal health distribution firm.
Clinkinbeard’s survivors include a son, Edward, and a daughter, Nancy.
