Thoroughbreds a Lifelong Love for Artist MacPherson

When Red Flag crossed the wire in the Nov. 15 Bob Hope Stakes (G3) at Del Mar, the colt became the first stakes winner for sire Tamarkuz and stamped himself a possible contender on the 2021 California road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). The 2-year-old is one of a handful of foals bred by Canada native Elaine MacPherson, who is not only a Thoroughbred breeder and owner but also a respected artist whose equine paintings and sculptures can be seen at tracks across Canada and the United States. BloodHorse MarketWatch spoke to MacPherson about her lifelong love of the Thoroughbred breed and how she's created a unique breeding and training program built around giving her horses every chance to succeed both on and off the track. MarketWatch: How did you become involved with Thoroughbreds? Elaine MacPherson: Horses have been a part of my life forever. I actually have the first crayon drawing I ever did of a galloping horse. Of course, his hocks were backwards and they looked like knees. But when I was about 8—and I grew up in Toronto—my mother would always listen to CFRB, which was the radio station at the time. At the end of racing days, they would play the call to post and when I heard that, I would come to my mother and say, "My people are calling me." So I started off very early being interested in Thoroughbreds. I went to the Ontario College of Art, where I was horribly criticized for being a horse-crazy girl and all that. When I graduated I went straight to Woodbine, where I met Bruce Walker, who was the publicity director. He instantly hired me to do line drawings for the paper, the Globe and Mail, of racehorses for their upcoming season. I was 22 and driving behind buses, looking at my artwork on bus boards, and it was incredible. Right out of the gate, I can say I've had a pretty charmed life in that regard. Art is my main profession. With my paintings and sculptures, I sell them to racetracks or to Thoroughbred horse societies for their awards banquets and such. Actually, I sell a lot of bronzes to racetracks for stakes awards, and I make them limited editions, so I'm working on making more of those this year to sell to tracks. I think if you're winning a bronze, it's really nice that they have a number on them, so that is what I will be working on this winter. I also repurpose racehorses. I have a trainer, and if I feel like my horses have any potential as hunter jumpers, I give them to her and we've had some good luck repurposing horses as well. That is my other love—helping move racehorses on to another career. MW: How did you make the move from equine art to Thoroughbred breeding? EM: I used to ride dressage and I did that for about 10 years, but I always used repurposed Thoroughbreds. Then it just went on from there. My discipline at the Ontario College of Art was advertising. I went to the Jockey Club there, which is now the Woodbine Entertainment Group, and I also went to Windfields Farm and did their advertising for their stallions through Bernard McCormack. I started getting interested in breeding horses under him. So I bought my first mare, Trafalgar Miss, and bred her to Horatius and had a really crummy horse named Dear Friday that I campaigned with my dad. He was just horrible, but it went on from there. I got a little more interested in the business and I wanted to buy a farm, so I moved to Alberta and bought a horse farm here. My first big horse I bought was a mare named Shy Beauty, and I bred her to Bold Executive. She had a foal named Timely Ruckus that I sold as a yearling for CA$14,000. He ended up winning close to US$700,000. He was a sprint champion (four) years in a row, and he was a big deal. I've bred other decent horses from OK mares, but that is how I really waded into the deep end with breeding. MW: How many mares make up your broodmare band at the moment, and where are they located? EM: I have mares in Kentucky, Ontario, some in California, and some in Alberta as well. Right now I have about seven or eight in total. My husband and I also race under Valiant Ranches. We have four horses in training in Ontario, Alberta, and in California. Ontario, of course, has a great purse structure right now. I have a colt named Garth Vader who will run as a 3-year-old at Woodbine. He's got a killer pedigree, and I'm really looking forward to him. Tiz Toujours, a half brother to Red Flag, I'm sending him to California Dec. 1. I like racing in California because we have a house there and I like to just drive to tracks like Del Mar and Santa Anita Park and watch what's going on. MW: Do you choose your own matings? Or do you consult with your bloodstock agent? EM: I use Gayle Van Leer as my bloodstock agent. We've had a lot of fun together as business people and as friends. I also use Kitty Taylor at Warrendale Sales. So it's like a triumvirate. I would say in part for the matings, it's mostly Gayle and I that decide. For example, Gayle doesn't know Ontario pedigrees really well but I do, so I will pick those matings. Gayle will look at all the Kentucky horses. She's great because she will suggest four or five stallions, but she will always ask me who I like and we go there. MW: Red Flag, who is out of your mare Surrender (by Stormy Atlantic), was the first stakes winner for Tamarkuz. Did you choose that mating or was it also a group effort? EM: That was also a group effort. It was funny because Gayle suggested Tamarkuz, and I knew he wasn't super popular and I thought, "Well, he seems a little plain." But she said, "Speightstown is a bit plain, too. Let's give this horse a shot." That worked really well. Gayle usually suggests that I breed to freshman stallions. MW: Do you sell the majority of what you breed at auction? EM: We usually sell some and keep one or two to race. For example, Garth Vader—who is by Giant Gizmo—Ken Wilkins came to me at the Ontario sale and said, "If you don't need to sell this horse, don't." I think as a 2-year-old in Ontario, he will really be something amazing. It's a win-win. MW: Do you buy any yearlings at auction? EM: In most instances now, I keep only what I breed. If I really like it, I keep it and race it. If I think a horse is just OK, I usually sell, but it really depends on the horse. For example, I've had a really interesting horse out of a Point Given mare who has a great pedigree, but she had an injury as a yearling and lost her eye. She won about CA$66,000 in Alberta, which is a lot of money here. I will breed her to Souper Speedy in Ontario. It's a wonderful nick. MW: Have the pressures of the pandemic changed your breeding strategy and/or your decision-making process in terms of the sales you choose for your horses? EM: With COVID-19, here in Alberta we don't have a huge problem, but I've tried to be careful. Obviously, there is a vaccine coming up and I think 2021 will be a banner year for a lot of things. I know that it has had a psychological impact on a lot of people, but with Surrender and her beautiful Mendelssohn colt, I just wanted to go ahead and put them in the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. He's a really nice colt, he has a good mind, and I think he's the best one she's had yet. She is also in foal to Catholic Boy. I always try to look for good nicks, and I think he will be a really nice stallion. I always try to look at the positive, and I like to keep all my options open. If I have a horse that I think is a racehorse, I sell it. If I have a "pretty boy" type horse that I think will be good for a 14-year-old rider or would be good for a person who is showing horses, I try to sell them that way. On the track with my horses, I try to position them at a racetrack where I think they can get the job done. I try to play all the ends against the middle. Thoroughbreds are smart, they're willing, they have personality, and they're just amazing horses. In my program, I just want to put Thoroughbreds back into the business any way I can.