Vinery Stables

2009 Record: (168-27-25-22)

2009 Earnings: $775,582

2009 Win %: 16% In-The-Money %: 44%

Owner(s): Dr. Tom Simon
Residence: Simon is a retired corporate attorney. He practiced law in Frankfurt, Germany, and resides primarily in Mallorca, Spain, and at the farm near Lexington, Ky.
Professional Background:
Web site: www.vinery.com and www.vineryracing.com
Racing Career:
Breeding/Racing Operation: Simon campaigns horses in the United States, Europe and Australia as Vinery Stables ... In 2009, the stable stars have been Kodiak Kowboy and Friesan Fire, who are both owned in partnership with Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farm ... Kodiak Kowboy, a 4-year-old son of Vinery stallion Posse, has won six graded stakes throughout his career. His big wins this year came in the G1 Carter Handicap and G1 Vosburgh Stakes. He also finished second in the G1 Forego Stakes ...At two, Kodiak Kowboy finished third in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as the first Vinery-owned runner to compete in the Breeders’ Cup and was named Canada's champion 2-year-old colt of 2007 ... Friesan Fire, who was bred by Simon's Grapestock LLC, has three graded stakes to his credit in 2009, including the G2 Louisiana Derby. The A.P. Indy colt was the post-time G1 Kentucky Derby favorite but finished next to last after suffering a hoof injury at the start of the race. He then finished off the board in the G1 Preakness Stakes and was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his front left leg and a non-displaced chip fracture in his right front fetlock. He returned to the work tab in Sept. Friesan Fire's dam, Bollinger, was a Group 1 winner in her native Australia for Vinery ... Vinery Stables currently has approximately 50 horses in training ... Other graded stakes winners to represent Vinery as owner include Celtic Melody and Lantana Mob...Vinery was founded in 1986 by Ben and Elaine Walden, who sold majority interest in 1998 to George and Kay Hofmeister. They, in turn, sold it to Simon in 1999, who retained the farm's name. Since that time, the Kentucky farm has been relocated to Spurr Road near Lexington, Ky., on what was formerly the North Ridge Farm broodmare division ... General Manager of Vinery is Tom Ludt ... “Tom Simon’s whole program, which somewhat differentiates us from most stallions farms, is to take a significant interest in the stallion,” Tom Ludt told Thoroughbred Times. “We’re not a minority partner. We have probably 50 percent or more in most stallions. He believes philosophically, since you own such a significant interest in the stallion that you need to assist the horse. Some farms just breed and sell. We don’t breed very many, if any, [of our own] mares to our stallions. We support the breeder by going to the sales ring and buying the yearlings and then racing them.” … Since 2004, Vinery has invested nearly $12 million in racehorses by its stallions and 86 percent of its runners have become winners. From those winners, almost 25 percent have won/placed in stakes races....In addition to its Lexington farm, Vinery has a farm in Summerfield, Fla., that includes a state-of-the-art training facility featuring a seven-furlong dirt track, 3/4-mile turf track, Aqua-Ciser and European Equisizer. In September, 2009, Vinery announced they were launching a new sales division based at the Florida Farm that would offer consignments at selected two-year-old in training sales ...Vinery Kentucky is home to 11 stallions. Its most recent addition, multiple G1 winner Pioneerof the Nile, competed in the 2008 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile and finished second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. …Vinery Florida is home to five stallions, including the recently added Miamonides ... Vinery has had eight starters as a breeder in Breeders' Cup races, individually or in partnership, including 1999 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Artax, who was co-bred with Carondelet Farm.