Listed in: Race Horse Breeding & Sales

Pin Oak Stud LLC   [ MAP ]
PO Box 68, Grassy Springs Rd.
Versailles,KY 40383
Contact Person: Manager: Clifford Barry
Email Address: cbarry@pinoakstud.com
Website: http://www.pinoakstud.com
Phone: (859) 873-1420

THE BEGINNING

Horses have always been a part of Josephine Abercrombie’s life. An accomplished rider in her youth, she was very active and competed successfully in the Saddlebred world. In 1949, she made her first foray into the Thoroughbred business when she purchased a group of sales yearlings in a partnership that included her father, Houston oilman J. S. Abercrombie. Three years later, she and her father acquired 1,348 acres in Woodford County, Kentucky and named it Pin Oak. The original Pin Oak raised Simmental cattle, grew tobacco, asparagus and other crops, and began the business of raising Thoroughbreds. Success came quickly to Pin Oak’s budding racing stable with MAKE A PLAY winning the Astarita S. in 1953, followed by a win in the 1955 Louisiana Derby with ROMAN PATROL. Other Grade 1 winners for Pin Oak in the early years were ELOCUTIONIST, TOUCHING WOOD, TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, COOL, and GREASE.

EXPANDED VISION

In the 1980’s, Ms. Abercrombie focused on establishing a successful operation to provide bloodstock for her passion, Thoroughbred racing. She designed and developed a new farm on U.S. 60, near the original property. The new Pin Oak was a labor of love, transforming a 750-acre hunting preserve into an efficient, functional Thoroughbred nursery from the ground up. Every aspect was carefully considered and dedicated to raising good horses – planting grass and trees, building roads and fences, constructing barns and residences.

A prominent feature of the new farm included standing a select group of quality stallions, which has included prominent sires SKY CLASSIC, PEAKS AND VALLEYS, MARIA’S MON and BROKEN VOW. Recent additions to the roster include exciting young sires COWBOY CAL and ALTERNATION.

Ms. Abercrombie’s dedication to her horses at the new Pin Oak has been justly rewarded. Pin Oak’s LAUGH AND BE MERRY earned the Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Female in 1990 and two years later, future stallion SKY CLASSIC garnered the Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Horse. In 1995, PEAKS AND VALLEYS earned Canada’s Sovereign Award as Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old Colt, while HASTEN TO ADD collected the Sovereign as Champion Grass Horse in the same year. Pin Oak was further honored by its peers in 1995 as the national Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

The relentless pursuit of assembling a top-notch broodmare band continues daily but has already paid dividends as quality runners have continued to flow off the new property. To date, over 90 stakes winners have been produced or campaigned by Pin Oak, including BROKEN VOW, a homebred G2 stakes winner who anchors the stallion roster. Other Grade 1 stakes winners include MISSED THE STORM, CONFESSIONAL, SEE HOW SHE RUNS and CHANGEINTHEWEATHER.

During the past 50 years, Pin Oak has embodied excellence in Thoroughbred breeding and racing but perhaps as importantly, Ms. Abercrombie has always been an active supporter of her community and the racing industry, ensuring that her hallmark of devotion to the horse and the sport of racing will continue.