Baers Relishing Incredibolt's Derby Trail Journey

When Incredibolt came into the stretch of the $500,000 Virginia Derby March 14 trailing four horses, his breeders, Deann and Greg Baer, wondered which of his past performances would be replicated. Would the 3-year-old son of Bolt d'Oro repeat the brilliance he showed in last year's Street Sense Stakes (G3) and earn a trip to the Kentucky Derby (G1), or would he repeat his inexplicable last-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3)? "The world stops for the duration," Deann Baer remembered. "For those few contested minutes, it is the most exciting and nerve-racking experience." Incredibolt, purchased for $75,000 from the Burleson Farms 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale consignment, didn't leave his connections in suspense for very long. "Jockey Jaime Torres just did an amazing job of guiding Incredibolt around and between the four leaders," Deann said. When the Pin Oak-campaigned son of the Spendthrift stallion extended his lead to 4 lengths, he demonstrated that the outlier had been his lackluster performance in the Holy Bull. The Baers could tentatively relax and savor a victory for another graduate of their breeding program. And the 50 qualifying points earned the Riley Mott trainee a berth in the Kentucky Derby. The Baers' road to Churchill Downs began in 2007. "My husband is a veterinarian, and a client of his had a few Thoroughbreds. I happened to have lunch with her and just listened, and the next thing I know we were at a sale at Keeneland. I don't believe I've missed a sale since then. I sat in the back row and observed every type of conformation, every nuance of the pedigree," Deann explained. "That the learning curve is so steep, there is so much to cover, that you just have to almost dive in every day to make progress." Deann brought her marketing degree into play as well. "There are so many resources to continue educating yourself," she said. "Our home was filled with sales catalogs. It never ends, but we love it. It is fascinating." Some well-meaning friends warned the Baers that the Thoroughbred business was tough, the competition cutthroat, and they were unlikely to succeed. But the Baers' experience has proven to be the exact opposite of this dire prediction. "We really have been blessed," Deann explained. "That so many people we have met at the sales have gone out of their way to share their knowledge". This includes the big farms like Coolmore, Darby Dan, WinStar, and Spendthrift. The Baers have had success breeding to first-year stallions. "For their marketability, the market will gamble on a first-year horse, because you never know what the new stallions will produce," Deann said. The Baers were relative newcomers to the art and science of raising race horses, acquiring their first Thoroughbred mares in 2007. "We decided early on that we had to be realists," Deann explained. "We decided to breed for the sales ring, selling most of our crop as weanlings. It is thrilling to see them come back through the ring as yearlings, to see how they have developed. We are delighted when a weanling we sold for a reasonable price comes through the ring for a good profit. That's a good deal for everyone." The Baers' due diligence bore early fruit. "Bluewater Sales consigned a weanling for us to the 2015 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale," Deann said. "By Overanalyze out of our mare Adore You, she sold for $60,000." The 2-year-old, now named Piedi Bianchi, broke her maiden in her second start at Del Mar and later placed in two graded stakes. Winning stakes in every one of the five years she competed, the mare was eventually named the Indiana Horse of the Year, and the Baers the Indiana Thoroughbred Owner's and Breeder's Association /Indiana Breed Development Breeders of the Year. Piedi Bianchi earned $829,497, long a record for a Hoosier mare. The Indiana-bred mare that surpassed her, Corningstone, tallied earnings of $979,978 was also bred by the Baers. Adore You has proven to be a very successful mare for the Baers. At the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, her Outwork weanling was purchased by Ted Campion for $140,000. Named Outadore, the colt won the 2021 Animal Kingdom Stakes at Turfway Park and placed in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), eventually earning $1,041,481 across 22 starts. "When we started, we never expected to breed horses that would compete in the Breeders' Cup races," Deann mused, "and now with hard work and God's blessing, we now might have bred a Derby contender. It is unbelievable!" The Baers have been supporters of the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program. Initially, they kept some horses on their Columbus, Ind., farm, "but we retired at the end of 2022," Deanna said. "We did keep some mares boarded in Indiana, but most of the mares are now in Kentucky. We have been so blessed to be able to send our Kentucky mares to Scott Mallory and Lyn Burleson. These gentlemen have been so gracious, allowing me to stay involved in all aspects of our horses' development," Deann said. Incredibolt was born and raised at Burleson's farm. "We had bred Sapphire Spitfire (dam of Incredibolt) to Bolt d'Oro the previous year, and that foal was so good, we bred back to him, which we normally wouldn't do," Deann said. "We actually bred her back to him a third time, but we lost the foal at birth." Every aspect of horses, whether on the farm, in the breeding shed, the foaling barn, or the racetrack, is rife. "On the same day as Incredibolt's victory in the Street Sense, we lost another mare's foal. You learn to savor the good times," Deann continued, "Ups and downs, tragedy and triumph, that's just the nature of the horse breeding business." On the first Saturday in May, it is a sure thing that the Baers will be in the stands to cheer on Incredibolt, and all the people who help him achieve his destiny as he attempts to gallop into history.