(edited press release)
Barry Irwin has purchased Jeff Siegel's interest in Team Valor and will operate the stable as its sole owner, the Versailles-based company announced July 3.
Barry Irwin expects business as usual at Team Valor, with the only major change coming as the name of the limited liability company becomes “Team Valor International” to reflect a shift in direction that has evolved over the past few years.
After 21 years as a partner in both Team Valor and the company’s predecessor (Clover Racing Stable), Siegel has decided to devote his energies to Horse Racing Television, where he has worked since 2002. Long considered to be one of the West's premiere public handicappers, Siegel currently serves as an on-air host and analyst for HRTV, a cable and satellite network owned in partnership by Churchill Downs, Inc. and Magna Entertainment.
"I'm incredibly proud of what Barry and I accomplished since 1987," said Siegel. "Together we won 170 stakes races and 21 grade I races, but at this stage of my life, I'd prefer to have one full-time job, not two. Barry was kind enough to acquire my interest in Team Valor and there is no doubt the stable will continue to flourish under his leadership."
“Jeff and I have been pals and partners since we first met in the press box in 1970," said Irwin. "During that time, the racing game has undergone elemental changes. One reason our stable has prospered is that we have been able to adapt… we’ve learned that our best chance to stock our stable with potential Grade I horses has been with a combination of buying yearlings, as well as prospecting and developing horses in foreign countries."
"While we plan to increase our buying in foreign countries," Irwin explained, "it will always be with the intent of bringing the horses to race in the United States. We are an international stable, but we live and ultimately want to race in the United States. Last weekend we won a German Group 3 with a filly we plan to run next in the Beverly D, for example and this week our South African import Alexandra Rose will contest the $1-million CashCall Mile."
Team Valor this year will race horses in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Italy and South Africa.
International Champions and group I winners raced by Team Valor have included Irridescence, Prized, Star of Cozzene, Political Ambition, Ipi Tombe, The Deputy, and Captain Bodgit.
Horses in the last year and a half have been acquired by the stable in the United States, England, France, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Brazil and South Africa.