The Dec. 10 issue of BloodHorse profiles the new generation of men and women poised to carry the industry forward, and we've included a sample here. Visit the website to order the magazine for the full list.
Gatewood Bell
Age: 35
Bloodstock Agent
Tracing his Thoroughbred roots back to his grandfather, Gatewood Bell named his bloodstock agency Cromwell Bloodstock, after John A. Bell's company that was started by Thomas Cromwell, the first editor of BloodHorse.
Gatewood Bell is the son of Jimmy Bell, president of Darley USA, but is making his own mark on the industry after starting out working for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, being a jockey agent for Fernando Jara, and working with his uncle's Nicoma Bloodstock.
"Working with good people and trying to buy nice horses…it’s my dream," he said. "It's a fun lifestyle and a fun game. It's like a hobby for me every day."
Bell has proven it’s more than a hobby, however. He’s introduced many people to the sport through racing partnerships under the Hat Creek Ranch umbrella and is quickly putting together a solid track record of savvy purchases for clients such as Everett Dobson. Dobson’s Mastery , whom Bell bought for $425,000 as a yearling last year, won Del Mar’s Bob Hope Stakes (gr. III) Nov. 19 and headlines the Dec. 10 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity (gr. I).
"Getting Mr. Dobson is a dream break," Bell said. "He put faith in me. It took a lot of guts for him to ask me to assist him."
Although he jokes that "I just hope to stay solvent," Bell is also a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a U.S. representative for the Goffs sales agency.