Page 92 - Speedhorse April 2021

Carrying
on a Legacy
“He’s very knowledgeable about the bloodlines and very keen on the mare power that goes back to the family of mares they’ve had throughout the years.” - trainer Juan Aleman
O ver his lifetime, Robert Kirk Gentry has observed and learned from two highly successful entrepreneurs and
role models — his father, Robert; and uncle, Bruce — how to build and maintain prosperous enterprises. As it has in other family business ventures, the knowledge he’s gleaned has served him well in the family’s racehorse venture.
“I’ve been involved all my life,” says Kirk. “I spent a lot of time going to auctions and races with my father growing up and taking care of the horses — doctoring and foaling them out — while I was in high school and college. Back then you hauled them around to be bred, so I was on the highway a lot.”
In addition to his working experience, Kirk has absorbed his predecessors’ knowledge of pedigrees and successful crosses. “He’s very knowledgeable about the bloodlines and very keen on the mare power that goes back to the family
of mares they’ve had throughout the years,” says California trainer Juan Aleman, who has trained for the Gentrys for more than a decade.
Born in Lubbock in 1956, “Kirk” attended Texas Tech and the University of Texas, graduating with a degree in general business. Not long after that, he entered the family businesses, now the hands-on partner among his two sisters, LaDanna Gentry of Lubbock and Robbi Force, who lives near Austin.
Texas Breeder Kirk Gentry
perpetuates the program his father and uncle began nearly six decades ago.
by Diane Rice
Robert and Kirk Gentry, Jockey Shaun Bridgemohan, Robbi Force and Cynthia Gentry
90 SPEEDHORSE April 2021