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When Frank Stronach launched his Adena Springs Thoroughbred breeding operation with a farm in central Kentucky in 1989, few knew it would be the groundwork for one of the more remarkable runs by a breeder in the history of the Thoroughbred industry. On Monday, Adena Springs was once again named North America's outstanding breeder at the 2012 Eclipse Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills. It was an unprecedented eighth time that Stronach and Adena Springs has taken home the award for outstanding breeder since 2000. To give you a better idea of Adena Springs' accomplishment, since the first Eclipse Awards were presented in 1971, only Juddmonte Farms of Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah, which five times has been outstanding breeder, can even approach the prolific success of Stronach and Adena Springs. In 2011, horses bred by Adena Springs, either individually or in partnership, made 3,619 starts, won 496 races and had total racetrack earnings of $15,654,455. That was more than double the earnings of the next closest competitor, Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who bred horses that earned $7,308,847 in 2011. Adena Springs was the breeder of nine individual Stakes winners in 2011, including Game on Dude, who was a finalist for champion older male horse of 2011. A son of Adena Springs stallion Awesome Again, Game on Dude in 2011 scored Grade 1 wins in the Santa Anita Handicap and Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita and was a game runner-up to Drosselmeyer in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Adena Springs was also the breeders of Bourbon Bay, who was one of the top turf horses in California in 2011. The son of Sligo Bay captured the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita and added the Grade 3 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar. From its beginnings in central Kentucky, Adena Springs has gone on to expand its breeding operation with farms in Florida, New York and Canada. The Adena Springs Canadian operation has also dominated proceedings north of the border. Stronach has won an amazing 18 Sovereign Awards, which is the Canadian equivalent to the Eclipse Awards. He has been named Canada's outstanding breeder nine times and outstanding owner nine times. According to the Adena Springs web site, the operation stands more than 20 stallions at its four farms with perhaps the most notable being 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper in Kentucky. When looking at the Adena Springs stallion roster, one quickly gets a gauge on the Adena Springs breeding philosophy. Virtually all of the Adena Springs' studs provide a strong stamina influence to their offspring. That's a necessity for those looking to breed a horse with the capability to go classic distances; as well as a breath of fresh air in a time in which speed has become the dominant factor in American breeding.
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