by Jeff Lowe

With trainer Larry Jones set to wind down his stable over the next year, owner Rick Porter has started the transition by hiring Jeff Barkley as his private trainer.

Barkley will move from Evansville, Indiana, to oversee Porter’s base at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland. Barkley, 47, worked for Jones for about three years earlier this decade. He opened his own stable and was based at Prairie Meadows this summer.

Jones will continue to train about a dozen horses for Porter this winter, including graded stakes winners Honest Man and Kodiak Kowboy.

“Jeff has trained under Larry for over two years and trains and takes care almost exactly as Larry Jones does,” Porter said on his stable’s Web site, rockportharbor.com. “He has learned Larry’s ways of doing things and believes in his methods 100%. … Jeff has been looking for a break like many young trainers. I am giving him that break because I strongly feel he has the horsemanship, work ethic, and character to be a big success.”

Jones trained Grade 1 winner Hard Spun and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) runner-up Eight Belles for Porter.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer