Page 66 - June_2023

SPEEDLINES
Jeff Jones’ first racehorse was 2000 Manor Downs Futurity-G2 winner Recklessly.
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Fred Stanley gave Jeff Jones the opportunity to breed horses.
“Oh, my first horse - a futurity winner. To me that was a privilege because I was a nobody that came out of nowhere.” - Jeff Jones
The Jeff Jones/Steve Holt partnership on this line of horses has proven to be a great success, especially when we see what they did in 2021 with Empressum, winning nine of ten starts and the AQHA Champion Three Year Old and Champion Three-Year-Old Gelding titles. Then, we see what they did in 2022 with both these geldings. We have seen how Steve Holt became involved with racing through his friends, and it just so happens that these two men share a similar beginning.
Jeff Jones got his start in North Carolina, and we will let him tell us how his love of racing manifests itself in his life. “We had a small bush track here about 23 or 24 years ago, and I was invited by some friends to go watch the races and I enjoyed it,” he said.
“I really enjoyed watching the horses run. It
was about that time that the Heritage Place Sale was coming up and they told me about it. So, I decided to go get one, too. I bought Recklessly and I won the Manor Downs Futurity in 2000.”
He added this about how it made him feel. “Oh, my first horse - a futurity winner. To me that was a privilege because I was a nobody that came out of nowhere.”
The racing fever didn’t go away, and Jeff said this about his next move that took him to the breeding of racehorses. “I continued to buy and then I was fortunate to meet Fred Stanley, who was handling my insurance,” he said. “I told him I wanted to go get another horse and I want to run in the All American Futurity.
So, I went to the Ruidoso Sale and I bought a Mr Jess Perry colt with Rodney Reed. Then Fred and I got together to expand it a bit, and Fred gave me an opportunity with his mares to be a participant in them. That is where I got into the breeding part of it with Fred. It gave me an opportunity that I wouldn’t have gotten from anybody else at that time.”
When asked about the difference between buying and breeding he said, “The good thing is we get to know more about the babies when you breed them yourself and you watch them throughout the year. It gives you a good idea of what kind of individual you are going to have versus going to the sale
looking at them for about 30 minutes and you can’t determine a whole lot about them. When you get to see the baby as much as I did it makes a difference with the breeding part, and you enjoy sending your own babies to the racetrack.”
Jeff Jones went on to clarify the role Steve Holt has played in his racing interests. “Steve encouraged me to do what I was doing, and he was the one who got me the First Down Dash share. He told me, if you really want
to do good in this business, you have to go after the bloodlines. I had an opportunity with Bill Price; he gave me a chance with
his mares because of the share I had in First Down Dash. With that said, I really wanted to go to the top. I don’t have any hobbies and if I get to go to a horse race, I am happy. I enjoy the horses.
“Steve cherishes what he does, and he is going to do it correctly,” Jeff continued. “He is not going to shorthand it. I am a partner with him, but Steve makes all the decisions, and he hasn’t steered me wrong yet.”
Rodney Reed, with whom Jeff purchased a Mr Jess Perry colt at the Ruidoso Sale.
“Steve cherishes what he does, and he is going to do it correctly. He is not going to shorthand it. I am a partner with him, but Steve makes all the decisions, and he hasn’t steered me wrong yet.” —Jeff Jones
© Amy Owens
© Speedhorse Archives
© Speedhorse Archives