Herb Moelis, a pioneer in growing industry support for Thoroughbred aftercare and a longtime owner/breeder, died Oct. 6 at his beloved Candyland Farm in Delaware. He was 91.
Moelis was a New York businessman before he and his wife Ellen bought Candyland in 1986. They would make their biggest contribution to the Thoroughbred community in 1989, when they contacted Allaire duPont about hosting a fundraiser at their farm to support a Mid-Atlantic aftercare initiative. The Moelises were responding to a letter from duPont published in the Maryland Horse magazine that implored Mid-Atlantic horsemen to create and fund an organization similar to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in New York.
The Moelises and duPont organized a stallion season auction with five stallion seasons sold through a silent auction in the living room of the Moelises' home on Candyland in 1990. The fledgling event raised $15,000.
"Listen, even to raise $15,000 was a lot of money at the time," Moelis told BloodHorse in 2015. "The event was strictly a local thing in the beginning, held in the middle of the winter when there wasn't a lot else going on. It eventually increased and became the event of the year."
The auction grew into the Thoroughbred Charities of America, and its impact was felt immediately.
"You don't know what you've done," said one owner of a small rescue operation when she spied the Moelises in the lobby of a movie theater a couple of years after their fundraising started.
The event gained momentum and supporters. Eventually, TCA was incorporated as an endowment to support charities involved in rescue, aftercare education, and research.
In 2000 the TCA joined forces with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, which had been holding its own stallion season auction fundraiser. TCA retained the name of the event. By 2008 TCA officially became the charitable arm of TOBA.
Since its inception, the TCA has raised more than $26 million and provided support to more than 200 organizations.
"Herb Moelis was a visionary for sure," said Mike McMahon, president of TCA. "Before the formation of TCA, there was not a broad discussion about the aftercare of racehorses. 'Aftercare' wasn't even in our lexicon yet, but our founders knew they needed to help provide Thoroughbreds with an appropriate retirement from racing. Thirty-two years later the Herb's vision for TCA has helped thousands of Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them."
The Moelises also were passionate about the horses they bred and raised, and they ran Candyland Farm together. They named the farm Candyland after the board game to entice their grandchildren to come visit them and named paddocks after features in the game, like Gumdrop Garden or Field of Dreams, according to Mike Palmer, who has been working with the Moelises managing their farm for nearly 30 years.
The farm name is whimsical, but they were serious owner/breeders. Since 1999, they bred and/or raced more than a dozen stakes winners. They campaigned grade 3 winner Cat Be Nimble and as an owner/breeder raced stakes winners Five Star Deputy, Five Star Dream, Scary Bob, The Funky Express, and Time to Dream. They also bred multiple Japanese graded stakes winner American Boss.
"He loved to be at the barn every single day with his dog. We would talk for hours," said Palmer. "Neither Herb or Ellen treated me like an employee. They treated me like family, and he was a friend."
A funeral service was held Oct. 9 in Larchmont, N.Y. He was interred at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, N.J.
