Featured Farm – Winbak Farms

3 Horses Of The Year. 13 Millionaires. 2 Little Brown Jug Winners. 2 Hambletonian Winners.

Started in 1991 as a thoroughbred farm, Winbak Farms transitioned to Standardbreds full time in 1998 and sits on 3,000+ acres of lush Maryland farmland with operations extending into Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Canada. The name signifies that change, with “Win” being a nod to the original name of the thoroughbred farm Winfield, and “bak” taking the first initial from each of the owners Joe and JoAnn Thomson’s children. “I actually credit my start in the business to a plane trip from Florida where I met Red Dodds, who was a director at Liberty Bell,” says Thomson. “He told me a lot about the business and gave me passes to the racetrack. I liked it and jumped in with both feet.”

That jump has led to winners of Triple Crown races, Horse of the Year honors from the United States Trotting Association and countless other stakes winners. And that’s just for the horses they’ve raised and raced themselves. The Winbak Farm breeding side has sold horses that have won in excess of 250 million in purse money. Thomson is most proud of how his team raises the yearlings and helps prep them for the annual sales, especially how his horses are calm and collected when young horses can often be skittish or rambunctious.

The farm’s recent graduates include Bettor’s Delight and Lady Ashlee Ann which were both inducted into Harness Racing’s Hall of Fame. They follow in the legacy of previous Winbak graduates Classic Wish (dam of Bettor’s Delight, No Pan Intended and Roll With Joe) and Rainbow Blue who were also inducted. “Knowing that the farm has bred and raised lots of champions gives us confidence that each year there will be a new set of winners and champions,” says Thomson.

The sense of accomplishment of having Winbak Farms’ horses in the winner’s circle and foaling the races next champions is great, but Thomson loves all the dynamics of barn work and managing the farm from breeding to the sales. “Every year I have high hopes for the next crop of yearlings that we will sell.”

Interested in finding out more about Winbak Farm? Visit www.winbakfarm.com or call 410.885.3059 for more information.