Prominent owner/breeder Marie Jones, who built one of the country's most accomplished breeding and racing programs with her late husband Aaron, died Aug. 5 peacefully at her home in Eugene, Ore., according to Taylor Made Farm.
Jones dedicated 55 years of her life to the Thoroughbred industry and because of the Joneses commitment to excellence produced and/or raced generations of elite racehorses, including Hall of Famer Ashado, 2013 champion sprinter and influential sire Speightstown, 2000 champion older mare Riboletta, 2011 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and 2010 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Drosselmeyer, and numerous other graded stakes winners whose influence continues to shape the breed. Their legacy continues today through horses like Ted Noffey, the 2025 Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old male. The Joneses also raced and stood grade 1 winner and successful sire Forestry.
The team at Taylor Made noted that Jones's passing marks the loss of not only an industry icon, but also a cherished friend and longtime partner. The Joneses were among the farm's earliest major clients, placing their confidence in Taylor family's operation during its formative years. Beyond their business relationship, the Joneses became like a second set of parents to the Taylor brothers and loving grandparents to their children.
The Joneses also played a pivotal role in the early success of Taylor Made Stallions, providing financial backing during its founding years, most notably through the purchase and management of Saint Ballado.
"The Jones breeding program set a standard that few will ever equal. Aaron and Marie believed in quality, patience, and doing things the right way," said Frank Taylor, the farm's director of new business development. "They produced champions, but more importantly, they built a legacy that changed the Thoroughbred industry. We were incredibly fortunate that they trusted Taylor Made from our earliest days, and Marie will always hold a special place in the history of our farm."
Throughout her life, Jones was known for her integrity, generosity, and unwavering commitment to the Thoroughbred industry. Her influence extended far beyond the winners' circle through the horses she bred, the relationships she built, and the example she set for generations of breeders and owners.
"I think her happiest place in the world is at the farm," said Katie Taylor-Marshall, after Ted Noffey won the 2025 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). "She has a golf cart at her farm, and when she comes into town, we buy pounds and pounds of carrots and peppermints, and we just drive around in the fields and see her horses. Her mares are very broke to golf cart peppermints and carrots, and she loves all over them."
Jones grew up riding horses but did not get involved in the Thoroughbred industry until she and Aaron got involved together in 1979. Together they bred 418 winners that included 98 black-type performers. The cream of their foal crops include 52 stakes winners, of which nine are grade 1 winners and four of these elite winners were named Eclipse champions.
Aaron Jones, who found success in the Oregon lumber industry, became the first big client for Frank Taylor when he was 16. Together, they built the Joneses breeding program while the Joneses later underwrote the farm’s first forays into standing stallions. Family patriarch Joe Taylor, the longtime farm manager at Gainesway under owner/founder Clarence Gaines and his son, John, avoided standing stallions because he did not want to compete against Gainesway. The avenue to standing stallions opened for Taylor Made after Gainesway was sold in 1990 to Graham Beck.
“Mr. Jones told us, you find the horse you want to buy and I’ll pay for it and then the farm is in for 20%,” Frank Taylor recalled. “That is the kind of people they were.”
Saint Ballado, a graded stakes-winning son of Halo, became Taylor Made’s first stallion. He would sire 68 black-type winners (9% from foals) that included 26 graded winners and three champions.
After Aaron died in 2014, Mari's commitment to the horses never waned.
"She was definitely a horse woman," said Taylor-Marshall. "About five years ago, me, my husband, and my brother were pinhooking a couple of yearlings out of Dad's backyard. Mrs. Jones was in town seeing her horses. We had picked her up and were dropping her off at a house she has on the same property. She asked us, 'Where are you going?' I said, 'Well, I have to go down the barn and clean stalls. She said, 'Oh no, I'm not gonna let you do that by yourself.' She came to the barn and cleaned stalls. She's incredible."
Frank Taylor added that she also had a deep love and respect for the people working at the farm.
"She was old-school. When she visited, she's got a pocket full of hundreds, and everybody she sees that's working on the farm, she gives $100 and thanks them," he said. "She's just so generous and just a class act. And, she was a very, very good horse woman. She had a good eye and good intuition."
Taylor Made extends its deepest condolences to the Jones family, their many friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing Marie. Her legacy will continue to inspire the Thoroughbred industry for generations to come.
