l
TheSunshineMan
BY SCOTT DAVIS
I t w a s a t i n y a d , n o b i g g e rt h a n
I aboutthreeby five inches,with
I words to the effectof "Experienced Farm Manager Seeking
Work." And all it did was permanently alter the hierarchyof American Thoroughbredbreeding by
transformingFloridainto a breeding
nnrxrarhnrrce
The ad, placed by Maryland
horsemanElmerHeubeck,appeared
in the classifiedsectionof TheBloodHorsein August1945.Heubeck,a
1939graduateof the Universityof
ElmerHeubeck,
oneof Florida's
Thoroughbred
pioneers,still casts
a longshadow
Maryland with a degreein animal
husbandry,had servedfive yearsas
the farm managerfor C.E.Tuttle at
CavesValleyFarm,locatedin the
heart of breedingcountryin the OId
Line State.When Tuttle decidedto
move his operation to Oregon,
Heubeck-with year-oldson (Kerry)
and wife Harriet-chose not to
move.Insteadhe paid a pricehe recallswas "just pennies"to placethe
ad that caughtthe attentionof Carl
Rose,andthe duo quicklyproceeded
to placethe Floridabreedingindustry on the map.
But it was not without somereservationsthat Heubeckleft his home
ll nearocala,Fla.
attheirQuailRoost
ElmerandHarrietHeubeck
7076
T H E B L O O D - H O R SI E D E C E M B E TR, 2 O O 2
(continuedon page7080)
SOUTHEAST
REGIONAL
tracksat OuailRoostll
Heubeck
hasbuiltnewbarnsandtwotraining
(continuedfrom p age 7076)
for Ocala,Fla.,the countyseatof Marion
County.To that point, the few breeding
farmsthat existedin the statewere on the
peninsula'ssoutherntip, nearthe racetracks.Rosehad establishedthe Ocala
area'sfirst Thoroughbredfarm, Rosemere,
in 1936,but it seemedvery little like what
Heubeckenvisioneda breedingfarm to be.
"lt scaredme," he recalledwith a grin. "lt
was mostly barbedwire fencingand Mr.
Roselet all of the animalsrun aroundtogether;horses,pigs,chicken,sheep,cattle,
and hound dogsall togetherlike Noah's
Ark. It was reallysandyand they had those
weird bugs and the palm trees-it sure
didn't look like horsecountry the way we
knew it!"
Still, Heubecknoticedthe "land rolled
properly,"remindinghim somewhatof
EasternMaryland,and he quickly built
Rosemere
into a high-powerbreedingoperation. In additionto the physicalimprovementson the property-wooden fencing
and horsebarns primary amongthemHeubeckset out to improve the quality of
the horseswhich, up to that point, were
consideredso inferior that Florida-breds
competingagainstopen companywould
receivea five-poundweightallowance.
SPECIAT
COACH
Sirein Alobomo
Leoding
Money-Eorning
Zafarrancho (Argl -Volilont, by Dislinctive Pro
. Stokes
ol $449,942
WinningMilerwithcoreereornings
o Won the$290,500Jefferson
Downs
CupS.ot Churchill
. MultipleGrodedStokes-Ploced
on turfot Colder
. Fomilyof Chompion
GlRt($l ,251,6681,
SUSAN'S
etc.
leodingsireondGl SWCOPELAN,
Feelo selecimores:$2,500
MRON THEHAT
lo Stondin Alqbomq
FirstondOnlySonof Glittermon
Glittermon - Love Cut, by Cutlass
o Brokemoidenwhiledefeoting
ot firstosking
olderhorses
. Stokes
winnerof $50,650
r Won rocesfrom6 furlongs
Io 1 1/16 miles
Feeto select
mores:$ l,5OO
Phone205.967.1162
Allen"Doc"Koslin
7080
T H E B L O O D - H O R SI E D E C E M B E 7R, 2 O O 2
"The horsesdidn't havepropernutrition
and Mr. Rosedidn't want to spenda lot of
moneybuying horses,"saidHeubeck,who
estimatedthe most moneyRoseeverspent
for a horsewas $250."He would wait until
the end of the meet in Tampa (then called
SunshineParkJand buy maresthat either
weretakenby the feedman aspaymentfor
bad bills, or onesthat weren't goingto be
shippednorth."
Rosemerestoodstallionsaswell, but initially all were remount stallions,confiscated as bounty from the Germansduring
World War II and grantedto U.S.farmsfor
use.ThoughHeubeckrecalledthat Samurai, the farm'stop stallion,was a top stakes
winner in Germany,he did not compareto
thoseofferedby CentralKentuckybreeding
operations.But with Rose'sstatureas a
major player in land constructionin the
stateand a memberof Florida'sRacing
futureas a comRosemere's
Commission,
mercialbreederwas secure.
Initially, all the farm's offspring were
sold to CharlesO'Neil, a liquor salesman
from Canadawho partneredwith Rosein
Rosemere.But within four yearsof his arrival, Heubeckhad establisheda pattern
that would becomethe foundationfor
today's2-year-oldsin trainingsales.
With Rose'sclout-"He wasthe only one
who could get the stalls he neededat
Hialeah." Heubecksaid-Rosemerewould
sendits entireoutput of yearlingsby van to
Hialeah.Numberingabout30 by the mid1 9 5 0 s t, h e y w o u l d b e a c c o m p a n i ebdy
Heubeckand departOcalain mid-November. Havingbeenbrokenand trainedon the
farm, the babieswould invariably work a
fast three furlongswithin days of their ar-
-t
SOUTHEAST
rival, immediatelycatchingthe eyeof other
horsemenand attractingoffers.By the end
of the meetthe following March, all had
found new homes.
"We didn't haveanytroublesellingthem
at all," Heubecksaid."Rose'sideafromthe
stafi was commercial,which was quite unusualat thetime. Heneverhad a realracing
stable,and he recognizedthat the best
placeto sellthemwas at the trackafterthey
showedwhat theycoulddo in a workout or
a race."
not Iong
As a result,the Florida-breds,
beforeconsideredtoo puny andpoorlybred
to compete,beganto win racesoutsideof
the state.The first Rosemerecrop to sell at
Hialeahattractedownersfrom Pennsylvaand even
nia, Chicago,Massachusetts,
Venezuela.Among that groupwas a colt
namedWerwolf, producedby Heubeck's
whose$12,500saleto
mareLeonardtown,
New YorkownerMrs.J.G.Smy'thrainedattention on the operation.Heubeck'smare,
namedaftera town in Maryland,produced
three stakeswinners for the breeder,includingWolf Gal in 1951and Meniwolf in
REGIONAL
(farright)
tothetrackeachmorning
hishorses
Heubeck
stillponies
1952.Heubecksaidthat Werwolf'ssuccess
on the track was so unexpectedthat he decidedto name all the resultantfoalsout of
Leonardtownwith similarnames.
"l bought her on the cuff," Heubeck
Iaughed,"and paid off the $500when she
won her first startfor me. Shecontinuedto
repayme with her offspring."
StksWnrs SlksWns
Srre
in specificand Ocalain generRosemere
CandS
y t r i p e.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . .1. . . 1 al wereon the map:the Feb.13,1949,edininnrhrnnlz
7
1t
tion of the Miami Herold noted, "Don't be
. . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3surprisedif Ocalabecomesthe Lexingtonof
Notebook
took note:
. . . . . . . . 7 Florida." Even TheBlood-Horse
F o r m aDl i n n e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
L i t et h eF u s e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5. . . . . . . 7 of Smyth'sdecisionto ship Werwolf and
namedDalparkto
LosS
t o 1 d i e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . 7 anotherRosemere-bred
lelfTrrra
6
6
her racing stablein Californiait was writ. . . . .4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8ten, "Sheis certainlya bravewoman...lf
T o udr ' O r
W e k i vSap rni g s. . . . . . . . . . . . , ............4. . . . . . . . . . 7 one of theseshouldwin a stakeson the
I r r n k r rN n r t h
4
5
WestCoast,she'dneeda bodyguard."
By the late 1950s,with the OcalabreedF o r t u n a tPer 0 s p e c t . . . . . . . . ............3. . . . . . . . . . 9
Gela Dannar
3
5
ing industry well established-its Needles
Orrfflankor
3
5
solidifiedthat with his KentuckyDerbywin
Ahcpni Flrrsqian
?
4
in 1956-Rose was beginningto slow
Gronmqf ick
3
4
down, and helpedHeubeckfind a farm of
Staek
his own.
T a c t i cA
ad
l v a n t a g e . . . . .3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 "He knew I wanteda farm," HeubeckreW a yW e s(tF R ) . . . . . . . . . . . ..................3. . . . . . . 4calledof purchasinghis first Quail Roost
B u c k s p | a s h e r . . . . . . . . ............................3. . 3Farm."l was down at Hialeahin the spring
S t o r mAyt | a n t i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. . . . . . 3 of 1958and he told me I'd bettercomeon
S u a vP
e r o s p e c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. . . . . . 3 backto Ocalabecausetherewas a goodone
K i s s iKnr i s . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . .2. . . . . . . . . 7and it was goingto sellreal quick."
q
Qlzin Trial
,
Namedfor its previoususe as a hunting
Itil on ka
A
preserve,HeubeckcalledQuailRoosthome
for 30 years,occupyingthe propertywith
G o l d eG
n e a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..............2. . . . . . . . . 2 cattlein additionto the 20-25mareshe and
Aazaam
I
2
Harriethad accumulated.Althoughhe exl s l a nW
d h i r 1 . .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. . . . . . . . . . 2 pectedto spendthe majorityof his time
lAhlrr
2
2
there,the entry into the Floridabreeding
L i n el n T h eS a n d . . . . . . . . ...2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 businessof anothertitan, Jack Dreyfus,
F li 9 h t . . . . . . . . . ...........2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 quickly changedthat.
Meadow
lvlinpr's lrark
2
2
The New York financier,who had been
Promicrchin
2
2
involved in racingfor just a few years,
might be for saleand,with
Robyn
D a n c e r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. . . . . . . . . . 2 heardRosemere
S w o r dD a n c e( l R E ). . . . . . . . . . ......2. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 the mindsetthat Florida-bredsoutperformedtheir pedigreeand price,traveledto
7082
I E D E C E M B E 7R, 2 O O 2
T H EB I - O O D - H O R S
Ocala. where he was introduced to
Heubeck.
"We hit it off right away," Dreyfussaid.
though,HeubecksugInsteadofRosemere,
parcel
gestedDreyfusconsidera 1,200-acre
in the northernpart of Marion Countythat
Rosehad leasedto raisehay, reasoningthat
the land would be cheaperand Dreyfus
could later obtainadditionalsurrounding
parcelswithout trouble.
Dreyfustook the advice,and in 1961let
Heubecklooseto createHobeauFarms.
"He built and ran the entirething," said
Dreyfus."And it was an absolutelybeauti
ful farm. Everythingwas first-classand everythingwas donefrom the horse'spoint of
view."
More than 40 yearslater, Dreyfusstill
considersHeubeck among his closest
friendsand callshim remarkable.
"He is brilliant in all of the details,"Dreyfus said."He is creativeand contentious,
which is a combinationyou can't find very
often."
Under Heubeck'sdirection, Hobeau
quicklyroseto becomeoneof thetop breeding and racingfarmsnot only in Floridabut
in the nation,rankingamongthe country's
top 10 in leadingmoney-winningowners
for 15 consecutiveyearsbeginningin1.962.
Duringits heydayin thelate 1960sandearly
'70s,Hobeau'searningswere routinelyin
the top five; in its bestyear, 1967,no other
ownerearnedmorethanits $1,120,143.
"We had very goodluck very early at
Hobeau,"Heubecksaid."Mr. Dreyfuswas
interestedin a racingstable,and he bought
someverygoodhorses.He doesn'tclaimto
be a horseman,but he knows numbers."
Hobeau'sbesthorseswerea combination of purchasedhorsesand homebreds,
with many of the latter tracingback to the
first horseDreyfuseverowned,BeauGar.
Dreyfusowned 25% of BeauGar when he
raced,and boughtthe remainderupon re-
SOUTHEAST
tirement, sendingthe son of CountFleet
down to his new farm to serveasa stallion.
His offspringincludedBeauPurple-"The
besthorseI everowned,"Dreyfusasserted-who defeatedfive-timeHorseof the
YearKelsothreetimes:in the 1962Suburban Handicapand Man o' War Stakesand
thenin the 1963WidenerHandicap."lt was
i10% luck but the rest was skill," Dreyfus
rememberedwith a chuckle.
Still, it was a combination of the skills of
Heubeckas farm managerand the man
they hired in 1963to be their trainer,Allen
Jerkens,that led to Hobeaurunnersupending champions,as BeauPurplehad done,
commonplace.
HandsomeBoy,a homebredson of Beau
Gar,rompedby eightlengthsover Buckpasserin the 1967BrooklynHandicap.Six
yearslater, Onion, a geldingproducedfrom
a BeauGarmare, shockedSecretariatin the
Whitney Stakes(gr. D. As if to provethe feat
simple,yet anotherHobeaucolorbearer,
ProveOut, conqueredthe mighty Secretariat the following month in the Woodward
Stakes(gr.I), andthenfor goodmeasuredefeatedRiva Ridgein the JockeyClub Gold
Cup (gr. I). Two yearslater, Hobeauagain
REGIONAL
capturedthat traditionalracewhen Group
PIanoutlastedheavy favoriteWajima.
In betweenHandsomeBoy and Onion
there were such top quality runners as
TakenAback, Winnie, and PokerNight,
and though Jerkenswas receivingmost of
the credit,the Hall of Fametrainerpointsto
Heubeckas an importantpart of the reason
for Hobeau'ssuccess.
"He's a greathorseman,"Jerkenssaid.
"He did a greatjob of preparation.Most of
the horseswere within just a coupleweeks
of beingreadyto racewhen theycamefrom
the farm."
JerkensattributesHeubeck'sveterinary
training as an important factor,describing
the farm manager'swork with the sorefootedBeauPurple.
"He would improvise-I rememberhe
built a flowing streamat the farm that he
usedto dip the horse'sfeet into. Heck, we
even had horseswho bowed tendonsand
cameback to win stakes,"Jerkenssaid,
mentioningMac's Sparkler,who in 1967
alone capturedthe Columbianaand Black
HelenHandicapsand BeldameStakes.
Jerkens,Iike everyonewho encounters
Heubeck,was impressedby his dedication,
a trait he passedon to Craig Wheeler.
WheelerbecameHobeau'sassistantmanagerunder Heubeckin1979 and assumed
the role of farm managerupon Heubeck's
Wnrs
retirementin 1987.
"He's the hardestworking man in the
ol
business,"Wheelersaidof his formerboss.
A'
"He wouldn't ask you to do anythinghe
wouldn't do himself, and with his knowledgeof horsesand farms, he did virtually
everything.He is happy only when he's
working,and he works all of the time."
Suchis Heubeck'sinfluencethat scatteredthroughoutThoroughbredracingremain men who learnedunder his tutelage.
Manny Tortora,who earlierthis year becamethe all-timewinningesttrainer in the
historyof CalderRaceCourseis one,having worked under Heubeckas an exercise
rider at Rosemerein the mid-1950s.Another is trainerJimmy Picou,who was the exyearlingsat
erciserider for the Rosemere
Hialeahfrom 1950through 1952.
"He could tell you how to ride a horse
betterthan the rider," Picou said.Also
mentioningHeubeck'sbackgroundin veterinary medicine, Picou noted how
Heubeckwas ableto get olderrunnersthat
had brokendown back to the track and
into the winner's circle. "What he did at
Rosemere
was a work of art," he said."He
knows horsesinsideand out."
With such a background,of course,it is
not surprising that a man like Elmer
Heubeckwas not contentwith a rocking
chairand gold watch when he left Hobeau.
He immediately went to work on Quail
Roost,the farm he had owned for 27 years
but, by his own admission,did very little
with while at Hobeau.Onceagainthe physiSrre
Rnrs
cal structurewas primary, but Heubeckalso
broughtalonghis broodmareband and dePenlelinrrq
Fndr rnrla Prnena^t
ln
velopedthe former wildlife habitat as a
Nnlahnnk
a4
havenfor other animalsof varying sorts.
TacticalAdvantage
50
76
"lt's a menagerie,"saidPicou."He'sentirely
Fnrmal hinnar
devoted
to animals."AgreedTortora,"He's
lchla
1'
not
only
a greathorseman,but also one of
Tnrrr d'6r
te
the bestagriculturalminds anywhere."
Flnhvn Danncr
i2
Sire
2yos 2yoRnrc2yoWnrs
And an optimist,too. In 1999,the then
Lineln TheSand..
,oI
37
Qrrrnrd flanna
/lElF
Fnrmal Dinnar
eL
82-year-oldHeubeckand his wife, Harriet,
Minar's [/ark
o5
Pahlali^l
who recentlycelebratedtheir 62ndwedding
ls lt True..
9 2. . . . . . , . . . . . 6 1 S r r a v eP r o s n e c i
43
25
15
anniversary,sold Quail Roostand purMonthrook
06
61
D o r r h l eH n n n r
65
36
14
chasedanotherparcelof land.NamedQuail
Tantieal Advenlrna
78
i3
14
Wekiva
Springs.........
(lnnnnrda'c
RoostII, Heubeckimmediatelywent to
Tr rna
7L
AC
Fortunate
Prospect.... 4 4 . . . . . . ....2. .1. . .3. 1
qq
K i s s i nK r i s
4R
S e m 0 r a n . . . . . . . . . . .. 3
. .0, ........ . . . . 2 0 . . . . . . . .work
1 2 building new barns and two training
Premiership
.47
Concerto
. 4 3 . . . . . . ....2. .0. . .2. 1
grasscourse
84
tracks:a seven-eighths-mile
N o t e b o o k . . . . . . . . . . . .5. 8. ...... . . . . . 2 5 . . . . . . . .and
1 2 one-miledirt oval. Although slowed
Gnld Alart
41,
M i s t eJro 1 i e . . . . . . . . . . .4. .2. . . . . . . . . .1.7. . 1. . 1 slightly by recent heart surgery,Heubeck
AO
tq
11
lilanko
74.
La.
still ponieshis horsesto the track every
innal
G o l d e nG e a r
74
47
momingandkeepsup with his duties."l've
(
l
R
E
)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
6
1
. . . . . . . 3. .1. . . . .0. 1
Litethe Fuse....
. 6 4. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 S w o r dD a n c e
q
Noactor
25
15
Qilrrar Rr rnk
7n
ao
alwaystrained horsesand I'll probably keep
q
Norihern Af laet
36
1A
Grnnmslick
77
42
doingit until theyput me in a box," he said.
. .1. . . . 2 5 . . . . . . . . . . 9
7 7. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 R o b y nD a n c e.r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CandyStripes
When that day comes,Heubeck-for
T o ur d ' O r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 52. 0. .,........... . 9
Misler,lolie
65
39
whom
RaceCourserecentlyinauguM
e
c
k
e
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8
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1
6
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.
. . . . .Calder
..8
Whaalnn
5?
?7
for Florida-breds-will be honC o l o n1y i 9 h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 . . . . . . . . 1 7 . .rated
. . . . . ,a
, .race
8
Rnldior
a7
Devongate.....................30...,.,..16
. . . . .alongside
.....8
Roseas men whose vision
ored
Piccolino
S t o r mA
y t l a n t i.c. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 .1.I. .......... . . . . . 8 transformedthe state'sbreedingindustry
ColonL
y i g h .t . . . . . . . . .
.65
.JO
MeadoF
w| i 9 h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 . . . . . . . . 1 0 . . . . . . . . , . 6
Aata f)annar
from virtually nothing into a powerhouse,
/lnnnnrdatc
Tr rno
Da
O
A
Birdnnfhawira
ranking secondin virtually all major cateI ite the Fuse
26
12
6
SuaveProspect
5 8. . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 M i o r a l i n nM o n n
gories."l alwaysthought Florida could do
29
R
6
Nonclor
59
?4
ls lt Trrre
12
1t
A
it," he said."The grassgrowsgood,it's a
W a yW e s(tF R.). . . . . . . . . . . . . .7. 8. ... . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 I t / a s t c r R i l l
12
14
A
nice climate,and the horsesare outsideall
Whilnarr Tnurar
nE
ea
.......6
W a yW e s(tF R ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0 . . . . . . . . 2 5 . . .year
I rrckv Nnrth
a2
L
o
s
S
t
o
|
d
i
e
r
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,
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5
7
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6 long.I alwayssaidI thoughtthat FloriHazaam
AA
at
da
will overtakeKentuckv.and I think it's
W h i t n eTyo w e.r. . . . . . . . 8. .4. . . . . . . . . .2. 4. . . . . . . 6
goingto, too."lJ
7084
T H EB T O O D , H O RTS D
EECEMBE
7 ,R2 O O 2