If there’s one thing the horse industry needs, its new blood to fuel the sport. The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association (TOBA) works each year to accomplish just that through its new owner seminars and breeding clinics, the most recent of which took place at Robert N. Clay’s Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky., May 29. The three-day clinic will also visit Craig Bandoroff’s Denali Stud near Paris, Ky., to learn about conformation and pedigrees.

Dozens of eager faces were intent upon the Three Chimneys employees as they orientated the newcomers to the business by walking them through the steps of the breeding process from start to finish.

“The neat thing about the horse business and the stallion business is that nobody knows where the next great stallion is going to come from, so we all have a chance,” said Case Clay, whose father, Robert, founded Three Chimneys in 1972. “It’s a lot like a sports franchise … you try and fill your barn with four or five rookies, one or two which will hopefully hit big; your veterans, which are your bread and butter; and your utility players. We have all those types of stallions.”

Anne Peters, Three Chimneys’ seasons and matings advisor, explained how Dynaformer, sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Barbaro, serves well in his role as one of the farm’s veteran sires. He is also one of the most expensive stallions on the market. Initially standing for $5,000, he now commands a fee of $150,000