2005 Hall of Fame Inductees
Josephine Abercrombie
Josephine Abercrombie
At the age of seven, she was introduced to American Saddle Horses and as a young woman would become a record holder at Madison Square Garden for prizes won in a single season. The horse show circuit led her to major competitions in Louisville and Lexington, captivating her on her first visit to the Bluegrass in the 1940’s. In 1949, she took an interest in thoroughbred racing and set up a racing syndicate involving her father, the late Houston oilman, J.S. Abercrombie, an uncle and a couple of friends to purchase sales yearlings for training and racing. Doing quite well in racing, she and her father acquired a 1,348 ac. Farm in Woodford County, Versailles in 1952, establishing a thoroughbred-breeding farm and calling it “Pin Oak”. This farm was the former Hartland Farm that had been owned by U.S. Senator Johnson Camden. Over the next 23 years the farm expanded to 3,100 ac. Also becoming a farming operation, raising Simmental Cattle, growing tobacco, corn, hay, straw and asparagus. But horses were its mainstay.
MAKE A PLAY winner of the 1953 Astarita Stakes and ROMAN PATROL winner of the 1955 Louisiana Derby were both Pin Oak yearling purchases. Champion 2yo filly in Italy, GREASE was purchased as a three-year-old and would go on to win three graded stakes in France and place 2nd in the Coronation S.-GS in England before retiring to the farm and becoming a graded stakes producing mare. Home-bred stakes winners include 1976 Preakness winner ELOCUTIONIST, 1982 English St. Leger winner TOUCHING WOOD, champion older mare in Italy MEDI FLASH< COOL (Manhattan H.-G1, etc.), TREEE OF KNOWLEDGE (Hollywood Gold Cup Invitational H.-G1, etc.), MOUNTAIN KINGDOM (G2), RIGHT ON (G3), FRENCH FRIEND (F3), MR. WASHINGTON, INTERCEPTED, MAISON DE VILLE, PORT OF MECCA, PUSS N BOOTS, TONKA WAKHAN, CIRCLE PLAY TIME and WEDDING PICTURE.
After 35 years Pin Oak took a turn in history when Ms. Abercrombie, in 1987, began developing a new Pin Oak just down the road from the original farm. The new farm, once a 750-acre hunting preserve, became a labor of love – building roads, planting grass, constructing barns and residences. It opened late in 1988 with the exclusive intention of raising Thoroughbreds.
The 1990’s were a most exciting decade for Pin Oak as owner/breeder when LAUGH AND BE MERRY won the Eclipse Award as champion turf female and as co-owner of SKY CLASSIC when he won his Eclipse Award for champion turf horse. It was also a momentous time when PEAKS AND VALLEYS received the Canadian Sovereign Awards for horse of the year and champion 3-year-old colt and HASTEN TO ADD the Sovereign Award for champion grass horse highlighted by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) recognizing Pin Oak Stud as the state and national Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year in 1995.
Other prominent stakes winners produced at the new Pin Oak Stud include CONFESSIONAL (G1), MISSED THE STORM (g1), CHANGEINTHEWEATHER (G1), BROKEN VOW (G2), ROCK AND ROLL (g2), AFRICAN DANCER (G3),
BEWRAY (g3), CERTAINLY CLASSIC (G3), DAYLIGHT SAVINGS (G3), FEDERAL FUNDS (G3), GREEN MEANS GO (G3), LOOK DAGGERS (G3), SUSURRATION (G3), WINGED VICTORY (G3), BEDANKEN (G3), EQUALITY (G3), GLARING.
To date, Pin Oak mares have produced over 70 stakes winners. Past and present notable mares include Miss Carmie, Mandera, Grease (Ire), Imaflash, Star in the North, Beau Cougar, Missed the Wedding, Great Finesse, Secret’s Halo, Strike a Baland, Wortheroastsingold, Meteor Colony, Danka, Wedding Picture, Wedding Vow, Weded Bliss and Whisper Who Dares.
There has always been an emphasis on stallions at Pin oak. Today, the stallion complex is the home of BROKEN VOW (multiple graded stakes winner), CHANGEINTHEWEATHER (2yo G1 SW), MARIA’S MON (champion 2 yo colt), PEAKS AND VALLEYS (Canadian horse of the year/champion 3 yo colt) and SKY CLASSI (4-time champion).
For fifty years, Pin oak has been an accomplished breeding and racing operation, but many still recall it as “the asparagus farm”, “the cattle show spott” or just simply as “Miss Josephine’s place”. However remember, Pin Oak has always been actively involved in its community, state and racing industry.
Herbert Graham
Herbert Graham
Herb and his wife, Ginger, operate Graham Farms in Gardendale, Texas. The farm has been home to many top American Quarter Horse stallions such as the Champions and leading sires Rocket Wrangler, Moon Lark and Easily Smashed. With one of the largest bands of broodmares in the nation, the Grahams soon became leading breeders.
Active in the the entertainment business for many years Graham was able to get a sponsorship for a major futurity from a brewery and in 1983 ran the first Graham Farms Futurity at Val Verde Downs in Del Rio. Before the return of pari-mutuel wagering to Texas, the Graham Farms Futurity consistently hit the $250,000 mark and had a $325,935 purse in its third running in 1985. One of the most popular races in the nation, the Graham Farms Futurity assumed Grade I status. In the 11 years which Graham Farms co-sponsored the race, the Graham Farms Futurity paid out $3,160,437. The Graham Farms Derby, a companion race for the Graham Farms Futurity, paid out $923,195 over 11 years, bringing the total of the Graham Farms races to nearly $4.1 million.
Herbert Graham partnered with Bobby Cox in the 1990’s and sponsored the West Texas Winnermaker Futurity. The futurity was $50,000 added with estimated purses of $100,000. The first year, 1994, the West Texas Winnermaker Futurity was run at Bandera Downs, 1995 and 1996 Manor Downs and 1997 Retama Park.
In the early 1990’s, the Graham’s turned their interests from Quarter Horse racing to Paint racing and soon began to dominate that sport. The Graham Paint Futurity is a race which is restricted to horses sired by stallions which they own. The race soon became the largest Paint race in the nation. With Raise A Jet standing at Southwest Stallion Station in Elgin, Texas and Texas Hero standing at Lazy E Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma, the Grahams have two of the hottest sires in the nation. In 2002 held at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, the $75,000 added Graham Paint Futurity had a purse of $143,759.
Herbert Graham worked extensively with the late Pinkie Ruden to get pari-mutual racing passed and was one of the original 10 to invest $10,000 to start pari-mutual racing in Texas. Herb has been long active in various horse racing associations and active politically on the state and national levels.
D. Wayne Lukas
D. Wayne Lukas
Lukas took many of his skills that he honed as a basketball coach and applied them in his approach to training equine athletes. After living in Laredo and El Paso Texas for many years, Lukas settled in California in 1972 and began training Quarter Horses before making the switch to thoroughbreds in 1978. He has now become the most successful trainer in the history of the Breeder’s Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, with 17 wins from 134 starts and earning of $18,128,000. Lukas has trained a record 21 Eclipse Award Champions, including three that were Horse of the Year. He has also saddled the winners of more than 550 graded stakes, nearly 1,000 total stakes and he has won more than 4,000 races from over 22,000 starts.
Over the years, D. Wayne Lukas never lost his love for Texas and Texas horse racing. Mr. Lukas has continually donated his time, talents and money to many of our efforts to improve our industry here in the Lone Star State. Most recently, he was asked to visit with the members of the Texas Thoroughbred Association at their annual meeting. In typical fashion, Mr. Lukas was instrumental in raising thousands of dollars to support the TTA education fund. As the keynote speaker that evening he gave a call to legislative action that drew a standing ovation from the entire audience. On many occasions he has answered the requests from other Texans to host politicians at high profile racing events around the country.
Mr. Lukas’ tireless dedication to the sport of horse racing and state of Texas makes him a perfect candidate for induction into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Miss Princess
Miss Princess
Woven Web aka Miss Princess, was a highly efficient racing machine, who began her racing career at Mexico City in March 1945. Winning four of six starts, from a quarter mile to five furlongs, Woven Web equaled the world record of 27.2 at 550 yards while south of the Rio Grande. Later running under the name “Miss Princess” on tracks sanctioned by the American Quarter Racing Association, she won 10 of 10 official outs and set a world record of :22 flat that stood for 33 years as the track mark at Del Rio, TexasPerhaps though her most famous race was against a seemingly unstoppable “Shue Fly”who throughout the 1940’s nothing on the Quarter tracks could touch her. A three-time world champion, she met and defeated all who tried. On October 27, 1946 Woven Web won a decisive victory in the Eagle Pass Championship, clocking a :22.6 over a track no better than good. However, so as far as Kleberg was concerned, nothing would be proven until Woven Web ran at Shue Fly. That match took place on May 3, 1947 and was one of the most anticipated races of the time. Miss Princess was ridden by Pat Castile of Rayne, and Earl Southern of California rode Shue Fly, both to pack 111 pounds. Miss Princess pranced up the track and circled in front of the packed grandstand in the post parade while Shue Fly strode with confidence under the talented hands of a California jockey. From the time the gates flew open the Texas mare bolted to the front with the New Mexico mare a wink behind. Miss Princess was ahead at each of the distances and and equaled Shue Fly’s record of :22.3 winning by half a length of daylight. Miss Princess was kept at the King Ranch and was run against anything that was brought in, and won everytime she was sent with Castile to the post. She finally retired in mid-1948 when there was simply nothing else to conquer or prove.*
*The Quarter Racing Journal, April 1991