Page 83 - September 2015

and we bred her to one of Dr. Elrod’s studs,” Ginger adds. The mare foaled twins — their introduction to the breeding business. By 1976, they’d graduated to the racing business.
Their first stakes win came in 1978 with
a mare called St. Easter (St Bar – Hot Lips, Pelican Gill). “It was the Lubbock Futurity,” Ginger says. “It was a lot of fun! It was our first real year to run horses so we thought, Well gee, this is easy! But it wasn’t always so easy.”
A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN
The racing industry can be brutal to anyone
— even Herb Graham. Yet according to his friends, Herb’s loyalty, persistence, perseverance and positive attitude, coupled with a heavy dose of business smarts, helped him succeed in any venture he pursued. “We had some really good and some really bad years,” says Roger Fagan of Tivoli, Texas, a row agent for Koch Pipeline Company, LP, who trained Herb and Ginger’s Quarter Horse runners for nearly 20 years. “At times he was advised to change trainers, but he stayed with me. And after one bad year, he said to me, ‘The only way they can beat me at this game is if they quit having it.’”
World Champion runner/ World Champion sire Moon Lark
Herb’s ability to rebound and forge ahead
after disappointment came in part from his “real job” — the businesses that have allowed him to contribute to racing in such a major way. They comprise a variety of ventures in the entertainment field: nightclubs in several states (Graham Central Station, Denim and Diamonds, and Rockin Rodeo), music festivals (Texas Thunder in Gardendale, and Country Thunder in Florence, Arizona, and in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin), and managing musical acts including Sweetwater Rain, Trick Pony and Heartland.
“He has a brilliant business mind,” Roger adds. “The phrase wasn’t around then, but he thought outside the box. He could see things in a different way and make a situation into something successful.”
In addition to the multifaceted business Herb ran in the entertainment industry, he and Ginger ran West Texas Stud across the road from their Gardendale, Texas, horse farm from 1980-1992. There they stood up to a dozen great stallions
at once, such as All American Futurity winners Rocket Wrangler and Moon Lark; Easily Smashed; Six Fols; Raise Your Glass; and Raise A Jet.
Champion broodmare sire Six Fols
From 1980 to 1992, the grahams ran west texas stud and stood these 6 great stallions all at the same time...
Herb & Ginger with Champion runner/ World Champion Sire Rocket Wrangler
Champion runner/Champion broodmare sire Easily Smashed
World Champion Quarter Horse sire Raise Your Glass TB
Leading & Champion Paint sire Raise A Jet
SPEEDHORSE, September 2015 81