J.D. (Jim) Squires

Born: April 3, 1943, Nashville, Tenn.
Residence: Versailles, Ky.
Family: wife Mary Anne
Education: Degree in political science from Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University)
Professional Background: Journalist ... Former editor of the Chicago Tribune ... Former Tribune bureau chief in Washington, D.C. ... Former editor of the Orlando Sentinel ... Campaign spokesman for Ross Perot's 1992 presidential bid ... While Squires was with the Tribune, the paper won seven Pulitzer Prizes ... Author of several books about journalism and politics, as well as "Horse of a Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females and the Fastest Derby Winner Since Secretariat" ... Is seeking a publisher for a novel about the Thoroughbred industry and for a collection of short stories about the horse industry set in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico
Racing Background: Squires became interested in horses as a child through family members who had horses ... Later raised Arabians, Paints and American Quarter Horses ... When moving to Chicago, he called a real estate agent to find a home for him and two cutting horses. The agent was his future wife, Mary Anne ... He bought a farm adjacent to Richard Duchossois' Hill ’n’ Dale Farm in Barrington Hills, Ill. ... Raised three national champion reining horses ... Left the Tribune with $1 million severance package that enabled the couple to move to Central Kentucky ... They began breeding Paints and Quarter Horses at their Two Bucks Farm in Versailles ... Became interested in Thoroughbreds while serving on Kentucky Racing Commission from 1993-1998
Breeding/Racing Operation: Annually breeds about 10 broodmares at his farm and consigns most of the resulting foals to weanling or yearling sales ... Purchased his first Thoroughbred mare, Lichi, in foal to Groovy, for $8,000 at the 1992 Keeneland November breeding stock sale ... Purchased Regal Band, by Dixieland Band, privately from Darby Dan Farm; he bred her to Maria's Mon, and she produced 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, whose time of 1:59.97 is second only to Secretariat's 1:59 2/5 as the fastest Derby of all time ... Keeps up with whereabouts of the horses he bred … In April, claimed Resurgence, Monarchos’ older half-brother, by Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Black Tie Affair, for $10,000 at Lone Star Park in his 51st race. The gelding is now a children’s riding horse in Idaho. Another half-brother to Monarchos, Morava, a stakes-placed son of Secret Hello, is a ranch horse in Oregon … Bred Cotton Blossom, winner of the grade 1 Acorn Stakes in 2007 and third in 2006 Juvenile Fillies from another Dixieland Band mare, For Dixie … Paid $77,000 for For Dixie, in foal to Gilded Time, at the 1994 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. “That is one of the Dixieland Band mares I started in the Thoroughbred business with,” Squires said about For Dixie. “She is the most gorgeous, dominant, big beautiful mare on the farm.” Her third foal was Dixiechickadee ... Because he thought Dixiechickadee was the best foal out of For Dixie, he bred the mare to another son of Unbridled, Broken Vow. The resulting foal was Cotton Blossom. “She was the best horse I ever took to a sale,” Squires said about the filly ... Dogwood Stable purchased Cotton Blossom for $210,000 at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale … For Dixie also is the dam of grade 3 winner Vicarage, by Vicar Squires … In addition to Cotton Blossom, the Squireses have three other stakes horses from their crop of 2004 – Canadian Derby winner Footprint, Miss Atlantic City, and stakes-placed Across the Border … Concentrates on lower end stud fees when selecting stallions for his mares and notes that most of his horses, including the stakes horses, were bred on fees of $15,000 or less … “It can be done, but you’ve got to work at it, and you’ve got to have a good piece of ground and a lot of luck,” he told Daily Racing Form … Sold Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies contender A to the Croft as a weanling for $45,000 at the 2005 Keeneland November sale … She subsequently was purchased for $55,000 by trainer Ken McPeek as agent at the 2006 Keeneland September yearling sale … Sold Heartwarmer, dam of A to the Croft, for $27,000 at the 2005 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.