Loran - Smith
Loran
LEXINGTON, Ky – This area of the Appalachians has always been becoming to the consciousness of any sojourner— mainly because of bluegrass pastures and thoroughbreds as far as the eye can see. Kentucky horse country is as fetching a country there is. The “Horse Capital of the World,” locals say. Fenced-off pastures, little hoss colts ramb unctiously kicking up their heels, and two-lane, tree-lined roads meandering through the countrysides that are synonymous with bliss, fulfillment, and inspiration.
In addition, aficionados of the world’s best bourbon come here to enjoy distillery tours. Once upon a time, Kentucky basketball was considered as good as it gets, but any corner of the country (even the streets of New York City) can produce a basketball super star. But you can’t just fence off a plot of land and grow bluegrass—just like you can’t just build a barn, buy a racehorse and start winning races. Even if you are well heeled, you don’t necessarily find yourself in The Winner’s Circle.
I have just spent time at Jonabell Farm as the guest of a former Georgia walk-on football player, Dan Pride, who majored in history, of all things, in Athens. He also had the good fortune to marry a talented Rome, Georgia, native, Beth Hackett Pride, who has just finished her first novel, “Back to Blue Holly.” They are settled in at Jonabell Farm in a classic colonial-style home and enjoy life to the fullest—which includes trips to their retreat near Blue Ridge in the North Georgia mountains, to horseracing venues across the country, and, as often as possible, the hedges of Sanford Stadium.
A native of Nashville, Dan was a better- than-average defensive back, whom Vince Dooley recruited to Athens as a preferred walk-on. He made the travel roster but suggests that he did not “get any rave reviews as a football player.”
He did enjoy walking the beautiful UGA campus, “meeting interesting people,” and finding the right person to partner with in marriage—although they met at Oxford, England, in a UGA continued from page
studies abroad program. His supportive wife had a lot to do with his pulling up stakes at Hammond School in Columbia, S.C., where he was coaching and teaching following graduation from Georgia. When he struck out for Lexington with little more than raw faith, he was, nonetheless, confident that he could find a job in thoroughbred racing. Beth eagerly encouraged him to pursue his dream.
He answered an ad in the Lexington Herald-Leader where a stable was looking to hire a groom. He was embarking on a journey that had enraptured him since the age of four. He had an uncle, Harvey Pride, who fox hunted a lot and had a serious affection for horses. He gave Dan a pony at that tender age and the love of horses was forever ingrained. Even when he was playing football for the Bulldogs, Dan knew something was missing in his life. While he enjoyed the game and today can’t wait for an outing between the hedges, he was always anxious to ride his quarter horse that he bought while in Athens.
Owning a horse is one thing, but maintaining it is another. When he purchased his steed, he had no barn and no budget to feed his prized possession. That is when enterprise and blind faith accommodated his first venture into the horse business. He knew that a local car dealer, Heyward Allen, owned a farm in Madison County and paid him a visit. He knocked on Heyward’s door and offered him a deal. If Heyward would stable his quarter horse, Dan would do odd jobs around the farm.
Dan was interacting with a seasoned deal maker who liked the college student’s proposal. Chester, Dan’s chestnut quarter horse, had found a home. That deal pales in comparison to the multi-million dollar deals that are part of Dan’s function today as the Managing Director of Godolphin Farms.
In the beginning, Dan was eager to muck stalls and hotwalk horses, volunteering for any assignment. He was learning the thoroughbred business literally from the ground up. To say that he has succeeded famously would be an understatement. He travels the world in his executive role with Godolphin today— even to Dubai where the owner, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, makes his home.
As a boy, the Sheikh rode bareback races with his friends on the sands of Jumeirah Beach in Dubai and attended his first race while enrolled at Cambridge, England. In one of Godolphin’s press releases, you note that the Sheikh’s passion for horses “grew into a major investment in bloodstock and has resulted in the growth of the world’s largest and most global racing team, as well as the successful stallion operation, Darley.”
Godolphin has thoroughbred operations throughout the world from Dubai, Ireland, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, and the United States. The most successful of the sixsome is Dan’s operation here in Fayette County, Kentucky.
That does not surprise his Bulldog pal, Keith Mason, of Atlanta who co-founded West Paces Racing in 2019, a racing partnership whose horses have raced in major tracks across the U.S. and at Royal Ascot.
“Dan Pride,” Keith says, “is one of the most powerful leaders in the thoroughbred horse industry. He exercises quiet servant leadership and always puts his team and horse out front. The results speak for themselves. His team at Godolphin is a consistent winner in all categories in the industry from breeding, racing, and earnings annually. He and his wife, Beth, have become one of our family’s closest friends.”
This has been a year of rewarding highlights for Dan and Godolphin. In May, they won the Kentucky Derby, the signature race in thoroughbred racing. Many rich men have spent many millions of dollars with hopes of winning this celebrated race. Many have failed so Dan Pride is not about to become overconfident about Godolphin’s latent good fortune. Sovereignty’s capturing of the roses at Churchill Downs was not the end of the story.
Trainer Bill Mott did not feel it was a sound plan to run Sovereignty in the Preakness, which eliminated any chance of winning the Triple Crown. “The health of the horse is paramount with us,” Dan said as we rode through Godolphin properties on a pleasant Kentucky day. “We just couldn’t take a chance.”
Then it was a return to glory when Sovereignty won the Belmont, which this year took place at Saratoga while a multi-milliondollar renovation is taking place at Belmont Park in New York. Sovereignty later won the Travers Stakes, the oldest classic distance race in the U. S., making it an unforgettable year for Godolphin.
For the better part of two days, Dan drove us through the Godolphin properties, which include Jonabell Farm, Stonerside Farm, and Gainsborough Farm. We reminisced about his football life as Georgia Bulldog, his gratefulness that his commitment to following his dream has come to fruition. Make no mistake, he is one happy Dawg.
