NEWS
Shively offers his first Dixiana consignment
Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:31 AM
by Whitney Harrod
Dixiana Farm, a commercial broodmare operation in Lexington, celebrated its first ever consignment under owner William Shively, who bought the operation in 2004.
Dixiana offered six yearlings at the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of selected yearlings with three reported as sold through the ring and a Tiznow colt sold privately for $150,000 for total receipts of $360,000.
Two other yearlings did not meet their reserves, including a Henny Hughes filly on a final bid of $145,000.
“I think we did very well. It was a learning experience—a new experience for the owner, but not so much for the guys at the farm,” Dixiana Farm Manager Terry Arnold said. “It was nice to see our signs out here again, and it was nice to work with some of the people on the farm who have done sales before.”
Arnold said Shively, a former insurance executive, is a horseman at heart who has been in the horse industry for about ten years. He rides horses for pleasure and enjoys the competitiveness that comes with racing and selling top Thoroughbreds.
Shively added to his Dixiana property with the acquisition of Woodlynn Farm and Domino Stud the past two years. Now named Woodland Farm, the former Woodlynn property is home to Dixiana’s yearling and sales prep divisions. Shively also used the Woodland name when purchasing broodmares last year. The ranked fourth among broodmares in 2008 with 61 broodmares purchased for a total of $6,014,500.
Dixiana has a rich heritage dating back to the 1800s. Charles Fisher purchased the farm in 1928 and it remained in his family for 60 years.
“They had a lot of good horses in the past. They raised Sweet Doll and Domino,” Arnold said. “When you walk around the farm, you can feel a lot of the history. The racetrack and the training barn have an old feel to them.”
In addition to consigning its horses to local sales, Dixiana has gotten involved from a marketing standpoint as title sponsor of this year’s Breeders’ Futurity (G1) on October 10 at Keeneland Race Course.
“Mr. Shively wants to be part of the whole industry, so stepping up and being a sponsor felt like that would get the name of the farm out there and back into regular conversation,” Arnold said. “He wants to be a part of racing as well as a part of selling.”
Shively bred 2008 champion sprinter Benny the Bull in the name of his Tomaka Hills Farm in Florida.
Whitney Harrod is a Thoroughbred Times editorial intern
