Kentucky Derby: Sam-Son Family Have Feelings of 'Pride and Excitement'

In the 50th year of legendary Canadian stable Sam-Son Farms, wouldn’t it be something if a colt from one of the last crop of foals born on the Milton farm won the Kentucky Derby?

MESSIER (yep, his current owners, who are American, named him after a famous Canadian hockey player) is an actual contender, too; a very tall, strong, and fast bay colt who quickly became a stakes winner early in his career while being trained by Bob Baffert. He is currently being overseen by trainer Tim Yakteen, a former assistant to Baffert, as his old boss is currently barred from Churchill Downs.

But back to Messier, who has John Velazquez as his rider and so many owners that on the overnight list of entries for the Derby you need a magnifying glass to read them all: SF Racing LLC (Gavin Murphy), Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf), Madaket Stables LLC (Sol Kumin), Robert E. Masterson, Jay A. Shoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC (W. Gregg Slager), Catherine M. Donovan, Golconda Stable (Ben Goldberg & Elliot Friman), Siena Farm LLC (Anthony Manganaro). That’s a lot of ways to divide up the winner’s share of $1.86 million.

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Sam-Son’s family members and longtime staff will be glued to the television or tablet just before 7 p.m. Saturday night to watch how Messier will do against 19 rivals. It is quite a feat to have an Ontario-bred in the 148th Derby, since some 20,400 foals were born in North America in 2019.

And while a replica of the gold Derby trophy awaits Sam-Son Farms as breeder should Messier pull off the win in the ‘Run for the Roses’ there is much sadness that soon there will not be any more Sam-Son homebreds. The farm has been operated by Rick Balaz, husband of the late Tammy Samuel, Ernie’s daughter, for the last 14 years along with Tammy’s siblings Mark and Kim. Lisa and Michael Balaz have also been front and centre as Sam-Son owners. Dave Whitford raised the foals and planned matings while in Florida, Tom Zwiesler taught the youngsters their first lessons.

But now the breeding stock has been dispersed and the farms in Milton and Florida are a lot emptier.

Mark Samuel, who has organized a Derby party for friends, explains the mixed emotions.

“Seeing our breeding representing our legacy and our country on the world’s greatest stage generates a great feeling of pride and excitement,” said Samuel. “It also generates a tinge of melancholy as we recognize that these moments are destined now to become fewer and fewer as we wind down our operations.”

Messier was sold as a yearling for $470,000 at a Kentucky summer yearling sale in 2020. He is a son of Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker and is the first foal to race of Checkered Past, a double stakes winner at Woodbine who earned $330,000. Checkered Past is a daughter of Grade 1 winner Smart Strike, a Sam-Son-bred who went on to be a major stallion, and Smart Strike’s third dam is No Class, purchased as a yearling in 1975. That was three years after Ernie claimed Takaring, his first stakes winner.

Checkered Past’s dam, Catch the Flag, is a third generation Sam-Son bred, produced from champion Catch the Ring, a daughter of champion Radiant Ring, a daughter of 1977 purchase Gleaming Stone.

“We are thrilled for the new owners of Messier and appreciate his ‘very Canadian’ naming,” said Samuel. “We are hoping for excellent racing luck this weekend and the opportunity for him to find a way to achieve many successes in his career. It would be a wonderful tribute to a proud legacy.”

Mark remembers when the family attended the 1988 Derby when their colt Regal Classic went postward. The beautiful chestnut finished a respectable fourth behind the amazing filly Winning Colors.

“I clearly recall the excitement that our family felt back in 1988 when Regal Classic carried the red-and-gold silks in the Kentucky Derby. It was a proud day for the family and farm crew, but we also felt that he was running on behalf of all Canadians. It is that same feeling this time around with Messier. The entire family continues to take great interest in our racing operations and in the on-going successes of our Sam-Son bloodlines.”

Lisa Balaz accepted the farm’s 11th Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder in Canada on April 14, acknowledging that it may be one of the last for the farm.

There are about 20 horses remaining in the Sam-Son stable including Queen’s Plate hopefuls for this year. Mark said the family continues to be immersed in horses.

“We each have our own passions outside of racing/breeding now, my own being in the international equestrian world as Vice-President of the FEI and in the show- jumping as a breeder and competitor, but we all will retain a fondness and connection to our legacy and our bloodlines. Many of us remain connected to horse sport, however, and I’m sure we will not be strangers to the track, to the industry, and to our many friends and colleagues in the racing world.”