The victory by Banks in the $250,000 Rushaway Stakes March 22 at Turfway Park came as no surprise to longtime breeder Beau Lane. Banks is the first foal out of the speedy mare Blip Says Bye, who comes from a family Lane has owned for four generations. Blip Says Bye is a half sister to stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Blip n' Th Bye, who was bred and campaigned by Lane.
Lane, who has been breeding horses for 60 years, operates Woodline Farm and Beau Lane Boodstock near Paris, Ky., with his wife Gail, daughter J.B. Orem, and son-in-law Michael Orem. They have around 30 of their own broodmares and about 25 client mares, maintaining between 150-180 head at any given time.
"I come off a little red clay farm in Virginia," he said. "And all I ever wanted to do was breed horses. I didn't know how to do it, I was buying mares for $150 and turning them out with an Appaloosa stallion. But I knew if I kept working hard enough, I'd figure it out sooner or later. So, I just kept looking for a better horse and, as I did, realized the better horses are Thoroughbreds.
"I went through Appaloosas to Quarter Horses and ended up with the Thoroughbreds because, to me, they are the best horses God ever made."
Many great horses have been graduates of his program including multiple grade 1 winners Jackie's Warrior and Carpe Diem , Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Tapitsfly, and graded stakes winners Zozos , and Farrell. Lane and his team prep all the sales horses on the farm, doing it the '"old way." They don't have any machines or walkers on the farm, choosing instead to walk the horses by hand.
Lane sold Banks to Darrs for $7,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale, a price the veteran horseman felt was a bargain.
"Being a first foal by a horse that was being shipped out (Outwork), we pushed him off to the October sale and he drew a bad time," he said. "Somebody got a great deal. We knew they did because he was a really nice colt."
Lane, who puts a lot of time into the matings of his broodmares, said he used the philosophy of Hall of Famer E.R. Bradley —"I bred a real fast mare to a classic horse. I don't always do that, but when I do, sometimes it really works."
Lane explained he liked the way the Blip Says Bye and Outwork matched up conformation wise, noting her sprinter-type physique complemented Outwork's classic-style physical perfectly.
"They really matched up physically," he said. "And I just said 'Let's see what she has.' I liked that foal (Banks) enough that the next year, I bred her to Constitution."
The result of that mating ended up being a $300,000 home run for Lane at last year's Keeneland September Sale when the daughter of Constitution —now named Misstrial—was picked up by MyRacehorse, the microshare ownership program which campaigned 2024 Preakness Stakes (G1) and Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner Seize the Grey .
Banks went on to break his maiden impressively at Turfway Park last December, winning by 5 1/4 lengths on second asking for owner Tom Lambro and trainer Joe Sharp, who recently won his first trainer's title at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots meet. A troubled fourth in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, Banks rebounded to win the Rushaway Stakes March 22 under Frankie Dettori, proving his worth in the 3-year-old division.
Lane said Colloquial, a 3-year-old son of 2024 leading freshman sire Vekoma , may be another exciting one of his graduates to watch. He ran second to Fierceness's full brother Mentee last year in a maiden special weight and recently came back to break his maiden Feb. 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack for Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing.
"He may be the best (we've ever bred)," Lane said. "We've had some good horses, but we've never raised that great horse, yet. That's what I've been after all my life, right?
"I've been doing this for 60 years and I'm running out of time. But I've still got some bullets in there."
