From the beginning, Chris Baker sought to become the best all-around horseman he could be in the Thoroughbred industry. He wanted to master not only breeding and sales but also thoroughly understand the racetrack so he could comprehend what was asked of the athlete at the game's highest level. In his 40-plus years of working in the industry, from the coast of California to the hills of New Zealand, Baker encapsulates his experience into his own business venture, Baker Thoroughbred Advisory. After spending the last 11 years as the COO of Three Chimneys Farm, Baker welcomes the opportunity to further share his equine expertise with the world through his advisory firm.
Baker speaks with BloodHorse about his new business, his tenure at Three Chimneys Farm, and how his multitude of experiences in the industry have made him the horseman he is today.
BloodHorse: Can you talk about your new venture? What are the different services you will offer to clients at Baker Thoroughbred Advisory?
Chris Baker: I'm offering advice in all aspects I have experience in—breeding, racing, and sales. People that I can see being interested are those who are new to the business and want to build a program or established people who want to improve their program to get better results. Whether they want to buy a farm and set it up for themselves or board at a farm as well as acquire the right mares, breeding those mares to the right stallions, get the best practices in place to raise their horses to meet their goals. Whether that's as a commercial breeder or a breed-to-race operation and then follow that through to the right pre-trainers and right trainers, geared to prove pedigrees and practices on the racetrack and return those proven performers to their bloodstock base that just gets better and better over time. All very client-centric and client-specific based on the needs of the client in regard to their goals, the scale they're comfortable with, and their budget. I can assist with the budgeting process.
I'll provide them with advice based on the experiences I've had, which is 40 years in the industry at a high level. I was involved in the training and racing part of the industry for 10 to 12 years and then spent the last 25-plus years involved in farm management. So I'd like to use that experience to help guide and advise people to reach their goals.
BH: What made you decide to take that leap to start your own business?
CB: I'm at a career stage and a life stage where I very much want to keep working and do meaningful things with good people in the business and operate at the high level as I have. But I want to do it in a way where I have a little more freedom in the use of my time. That work that I've enjoyed over the years that often hasn't felt like work, managing 50 to 60 employees, thousands of horses, and acres of land, there's a big-time commitment to managing a large breeding farm. I just want to have more control of my time at this stage in my career.
BH: You were at Three Chimneys for a long time (11 years). What can you say reflecting on your tenure at Three Chimneys? What are some of your achievements there that you're most proud of?
CB: Three Chimneys was a great 11 years. We were able to accomplish so many great things with the team there, Gun Runner being the pinnacle of it. Being involved with him all the way through his career as a champion racehorse and now a top sire is obviously the high-water mark for that, but we also had a lot of grade 1 winners and champion-caliber horses like Carina Mia, Guarana, Volatile, and now homebred Gun Pilot getting his grade 1 this year. Wonder Wheel was a champion 2-year-old we bred and sold as a yearling. Early Voting was a classic winner from Gun Runner's first crop.
There are many, many things to reflect on there, but I think probably what was most satisfying was working with the Torrealba family to mold and shape Three Chimneys from what had been a service model for the Clays to an equity model for the Torrealbas. Being a part of that process was very challenging but very rewarding to get right. Being part of that successful transformation was incredibly satisfying. And all those horses I named were the result of that successful transformation.
BH: And now you will have Three Chimneys as your first client. What does that mean to you?
CB: I'm very happy to have Three Chimneys as my first client. Taking on an advisory role for them shows how our relationship has changed but remains very good and positive. I appreciate their support in my new career path as much as I did when I was their full-time employee.
BH: You've had a multitude of different experiences in the horse racing industry in variety of capacities. How have those experiences shaped the horseman that you are today?
CB: Back to the beginning, as a young man born and raised in Washington, D.C., I had a grandfather who had a beef cattle farm in Southern Maryland. My father had a great interest in horses that developed into an interest in Thoroughbreds which is something I was exposed to at 8 or 9 years old. So Thoroughbreds became something of interest to me early in life. When I graduated from the University of Maryland in 1986 I went to work at Lane's End Farm for three years, from '86 to '89. And then I went overseas to New Zealand, Australia, and England, all working in racing there. When I came back to the States in '90-91 I was very racing-focused and spent six years in Southern California on the racetrack. I spent a year as an assistant to Neil Drysdale and then four years as an assistant to Richard Mandella before training on my own and moving out to Kentucky in '97.
I was very fortunate on the racetrack. I was in Drysdale's barn when he had A.P. Indy as a 2-year-old when he broke his maiden before he went on to win the Hollywood Futurity and then went on to his 3-year-old championship year. I went to work for Mandella at a time when we had Kotashaan and Phone Chatter in the barn. We just had a long list of nice horses during my time there—from Dare and Go, Sandpit, Siphon, Gentleman, Soul of the Matter, and Afternoon Deelites.
It was tremendous experience for me. I very intentionally sought out the racetrack because I felt to be as complete as possible as a horseman I needed to understand the breeding side, understand sales, and understand racing. I felt being comfortable in all aspects and being literate in all aspects of the industry was the best way for me to challenge myself and become the best horseman I could be.
BH: Since you spent a fair amount of time on the racetrack, what ultimately drew you back to the breeding side of the business?
CB: Training on my own was going OK, but then I met my wife and soon after we had a daughter. I didn't think it was the best way for me to support a family at that stage economically, as well as the nomadic nature of it. So in 1999 I returned to farm management—first at Vinery Stud when it was acquired by Tom Simon. Then I got recruited to Ned Evans' Spring Hill operation in Virginia and I was there until the end of 2011. Unfortunately, he passed away (in 2010) and we had to have that dispersal. From there, I spent two years as general manager at WinStar before going to Three Chimneys for 11 years.
My experience on the racetrack made me a much better farm manager and much better at helping breeders reach their goals because I had a better understanding of the athlete and what was asked of that athlete at the high level on the racetrack. Mr. Evans was primarily breed to race but we did sell half the yearling crop every year. That experience was great for me because the breeding and racing were so interconnected there. We stood stallions in Kentucky. It was a 360-degree business model in the industry.
For me, starting at Lane's End and seeing the business straight out of college at a high level, I just always tried to put myself with people that were successful that I could learn from and become a better horseman along the way.
Every principal I've worked for in the business, from my father to Richard Mandella to Mr. Evans to Kenny Troutt to Mr. Torrealba, has been a great opportunity for me to learn—to adapt, and mold my skills to help the principal reach their goals. What I'm going to do as Thoroughbred Advisory is really an extension of doing that as a sole proprietor.
