Janis R. Whitham

2009 Record: (60-8-11-5)

2009 Earnings: $309,579

2009 Win %: 13% In-The-Money %: 40%

Born: Jan. 5, 1932 in Scott City, Kan.
Residence: Leoti, Kan., a town of about 1,300 people
Family: She is a fourth generation descendant of pioneer families that moved to Kansas from Indiana and Iowa ... Sons Jeffrey, an attorney and banker; Stewart, a banker with cattle feed and land management interests; Barth, a petroleum engineer; Clay, family finance business; and daughter Jennifer Jensik, controller for a business in Wichita, Kan.
Professional Background: Manages a large pedigreed cattle operation ... Late husband, Frank, was killed in a plane crash Dec. 15, 1993 at age 62 while on a business flight to Montana during bad weather in the family's private plane ... He was a prominent cattleman and also owned Whitham Farms and Feedyard Inc., Whit-Crop Inc., and a John Deere dealership in Goodland, Kan.
Racing Background: Whithams came into Thoroughbred racing from Quarter Horse ownership in the 1960s ... Ron McAnally has been the family's long-time trainer
Racing Career: The most successful of a long list of outstanding runners was Bayakoa, winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff in 1989 and ’90 and Eclipse Award winner as the nation's outstanding older female in those two years. Won 21 career races and had purse earnings of $2,817,524. Although she has had a rather undistinguished career as a broodmare, her legacy lives on as the grand-dam of Izarra, a candidate for the Juvenile Fillies ... Bayakoa also is grand-dam of Affluent, a homebred for Whitham who won four grade 1 stakes ... Janis and/or her husband also have raced, among others, Ibero, winner of the grade 1 Metropolitan and Cigar Mile(s), Mud Route, who beat Silver Charm in the ’98 San Diego Handicap, and, more recently Mea Domina, a graded stakes winner in 2005 and ’06. Campaigned in partnership 1991 grass champion Tight Spot, ninth in 1991 Breeders' Cup Mile ... Whitham's only Breeders' Cup starters to date have been Bayakoa and Tight Spot.