Barbara Banke - cover profile - Strength, stamina & class - three attributes that describe not just Stonestreet Farm’s vibrant owner but also her farm’s mission to produce winning racehorses
/![Barbara Bankeby Denise SteffanusStonestreet Farm's mission is to produce winning racehorses with "strength, stamina, and class"—three attributes that also describe Barbara Banke, Stonestreet’s vibrant owner.In 2011, Banke took over Stonestreet's reins when her husband, Jess Stonestreet Jackson, died at age 81 from cancer. A worthy successor, Banke had worked shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as the two built their empire of fine wines and fast horses, including Horses of the Year Curlin (twice) and Rachel Alexandra, who together earned a combined six Eclipse Awards.Under her leadership, Stonestreet has won 35 graded stakes as Stonestreet Stables and has shared 15 graded stakes wins with 45 partnerships through the end of September. Stonestreet has been the leading breeder of yearlings at auction for the past five years.Banke also became chairman and proprietor of Kendall-Jackson Wines (now Jackson Family Wines)—an international domain of wineries based largely in California and extending to Oregon, Chile, Australia, France, Italy, and South Africa. Jackson wines graced tables in the White House during the Reagan administration when Nancy Reagan offered her favorite wine, Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, to distinguished guests from around the world.Banke wasn't the typical horse-crazy girl while growing up. She remembers going on a few trail rides, but her involvement with horses began in 2005 when she suggested Jackson find something to absorb his boundless energy."I just felt that he needed some hobby because he was sort of driving us all crazy around the winery from being a micromanager. (Banke laughs.) He had been in the horse business with his uncle a while before that. He really wanted to get back into it," she said.The two founded Stonestreet and purchased an Unbridled's Song filly, Forest Music, in the summer of 2005 and turned her over to trainer Steve Asmussen. In her first start for Stonestreet, she went gate to wire in the Gr2 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga, giving Stonestreet its first graded stakes winner. After the race, Asmussen prophetically told the media that it was "a sign of things to come."Asmussen certainly was right about that.Plunging head first into the racing industry, Stonestreet purchased Buckram Oaks Farm—450 acres of prime bluegrass land outside of Lexington—for $17.5 million that same year and renamed it Stonestreet Farm. Months later, Stonestreet purchased 650 acres in Versailles, Ky., and established a yearling division there.When asked why the Buckram Oaks parcel appealed to her, Banke, who litigated land-use cases before the United States Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in her former profession, did not give the expected answer citing investment strategies, the spring-fed limestone ponds coveted for raising horses with good bone, and other legal points."It’s a beautiful, beautiful place," she said. "And it’s really convenient because it’s close to Keeneland (Racecourse and Sales) and close to town; and it’s very scenic. The barns were beautiful. The ponds were beautiful. So it had a lot of improvements, and it was something that we thought would be a good home in Kentucky. I’m really glad now that we went there."Broodmare BandStonestreet started to populate its broodmare band, with an eye to transition its fine racemares into outstanding breeding stock of future Stonestreet runners and sale prospects. Banke called her strategy "mare-centric" and said, "That’s our focus, and that’s really fun. It’s fun to raise fillies for me because I know that they have a great career when they’re finished. It’s a nice thing to do."Retired from racing at the end of 2005, Forest Music became the cornerstone of Stonestreet's breeding operation, producing graded stakes winners Kentuckian, Electric Forest, and Uncle Chuck, plus winner MacLean's Music—who sired 2017 Gr1 Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing in his first crop—plus three other graded stakes winners.Banke called Stonestreet's broodmare band "unparalleled," and the names on the roster are a stellar list: homebreds My Miss Aurelia, 2011 champion two-year-old filly; Lady Aurelia, 2016 Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year in Europe; and Gr1 winners Dreaming of Julia, Tara's Tango, and Rachel's Valentina (daughter of now-pensioned Rachel Alexandra).Among the other broodmares: Bounding (Aus), New Zealand’s champion sprinter and champion three-year-old filly in 2013; D' Wildcat Speed, Puerto Rican Horse of the Year and champion imported three-year-old filly in 2003 and the dam of Lady Aurelia; Dayatthespa, 2014 champion female turf horse; Hillaby, 2014 Canadian champion female sprinter; and eight other Gr1 or Gp1 winners.Seventeen of Stonestreet's broodmares have produced graded-stakes winners. The latest starlet is Gamine, the three-year-old Into Mischief filly out of Banke's mare Peggy Jane. Conditioned by two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert, Gamine won the Gr1 Acorn Stakes by an incredible 18-3/4 lengths in 1:32.55, slashing the stakes record time of 1:33.58 and just a fifth of a second slower than the track record of 1:32.24 for the mile. Next she took the Gr1 Test Stakes by seven lengths, installing her as the 7-to-10 favorite going into the Gr1 Kentucky Oaks, where she finished third after a tough stretch duel with winner Shedaresthedevil. The Oaks was Gamine's first two-turn race.Ready to Repeat, a More Than Ready gelding produced by Stonestreet's Christine Daae, placed in the Gr1 Summer Stakes over the turf at Woodbine in Canada on September 20. After maintaining a comfortable lead all the way to the stretch, eventual winner Gretsky the Great cut in front of Ready to Repeat, causing the gelding to change course. Stewards disallowed a claim of foul. Banke sold Ready to Repeat for $60,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale.Banke is excited about Stonestreet's Irish filly, Campanelle, who is expected to join the band at the end of her racing career. Banke gave $243,773 for the Kodiac (GB) filly at the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale."[Barbara Banke] loves coming to Royal Ascot every year, and she wanted to buy two or three fillies who could run there," said Stonestreet's agent Ben McElroy. "Campanelle looked like she'd fit the bill, and she did."Undefeated in three starts, Campanelle earned a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" berth when in August she won the Gr1 Darley Prix Morny—Finale des Darley Series in France. She is expected to start in the Gr1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 6 at Keeneland, her home track."We bought her as a yearling, and she’s now a Gp1 winner in Europe," Banke said. "And she’s going to be a great broodmare in her future, hopefully a long way from now."Banke's philosophy is simple: "We try to get the best mares, or if we don’t buy the best mares, we try to buy the best fillies and race them and go from there. And, of course, then we breed them to great stallions," Banke said.Although Stonestreet does not maintain a stallion division, it holds interests in eight stallions: leading sire Curlin and his sons Jess's Dream, out of Rachel Alexandra, Union Jackson, out of Hot Dixie Chic, and 2017 champion two-year-old Good Magic, out of Glinda the Good; Racing Hall of Fame member Ghostzapper, 2004's Horse of the Year and champion older horse; Gr1 winners Carpe Diem (2015 Blue Grass Stakes) and The Factor (2011 Malibu Stakes); and multiple-graded stakes winner Kantharos.Banke said that, at present, she has no interest in standing stallions. But she added, "Maybe. Never say never."The stallions in which she owns an interest are spread among several well-respected farms that specialize in standing stallions. Each of those farms, in turn, has developed its own client base over the years to which they promote the stallions, in addition to running ads designed to attract newcomers into the Thoroughbred industry."A lot of these places have great clientele. It’s a whole focus area," said Banke. "Not that we couldn’t do it, but it would require a different orientation on our part."We have a very good relationship with the stallion farms that stand our horses. It’s a different type of business; you have to have a different level of staffing. …We compensate the stallion barns for standing the horse, and usually it works out better if the stallion barn has an interest in the horse. So that’s worked for us with all of them," she said.In the 10 years since Banke took over Stonestreet, she has sold 470 yearlings at auction for gross receipts of $108,828,200. Stonestreet has dominated the market as leading breeder of yearlings for six of the last seven years, and second-leading breeder in 2015. Stonestreet has topped the overall breeders list for the past three years. Its gray Tapit colt out of Tara's Tango was the sale topper at this year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale when the hammer fell for $2 million.Testing for SaleBanke was perplexed by reports that bisphosphonate—a drug to combat fractures in humans with osteoporosis—was being administered to young racing prospects destined for sale. When she learned that testing could only detect the drug if it had been administered within 30 days, Banke sought a way to assure buyers that Stonestreet’s sale horses were raised free of bisphosphonate and other hidden drugs."We’re trying to raise racehorses," Banke said. "We don’t want to raise them for looks necessarily, although obviously that’s desirable. We want to raise them for durability, for speed, for the ability to go out and compete. So we don’t want to give them anything that would jeopardize that. Our reputation is very important to us."Banke worked with Dr. Scott Stanley, former director of the University of California's Kenneth L. Maddy Laboratory—which studies the effects of drugs on equine athletes—to design a testing program that would follow Banke’s young horses from February of their yearling year to the sale ring."If we test from the beginning with the horse, and we keep testing until we get to the sale, the buyers could have confidence that these horses had not received anything like that," Banke said.Equine Biological PassportDuring her discussions with Stanley, Banke also learned of his pet project, adapting the principles of the Athlete Biological Passport in human sports to equine sports. The goal of the project is to monitor changes in a horse's biomarkers to detect effects that indicate doping, even if the methods and substances used by a cheater—including so-called designer drugs—are not otherwise detectable.In layman’s terms, testing via a blood sample would establish a baseline level of certain natural peptides and proteins (biomarkers) in the blood. If these levels change in some abnormal fashion in a particular horse, it’s an indication of something going on inside that horse. Stanley said a good analogy is the CBC (complete blood count), where changes in certain factors in the blood indicate conditions or diseases."So instead of developing new tests for every new drug that comes along, which is what we’ve always done, this is a process where we would develop a test for these biomarkers that would be indicative of drugs in those classes," Stanley explained. "So we could look for designer drugs; we could look for new FDA-approved drugs; we could look for old drugs that have been off the market but brought back."In late 2018, Stanley accepted a professorship at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center and brought his project, renamed the Equine Biological Passport, with him. In July 2020, Stonestreet donated $100,000 to further that research.Banke said the project will benefit horses not only in detecting drug use but also in tracking their health over time."Knowing how horses have been treated in the past will inform people at the track as to whether that horse might be at risk, or whether the horse has had different treatments given to it," Banke said. "And then it would be important to facilitate accurate testing for the horses to see if they’ve been given something that is illicit or they may have, on the other hand, [been exposed to] environmental contamination."The rumor of designer drugs overshadows success in the industry. Throughout the history of horseracing, trainers with an exceptional win record have been rumored to have "special juice" that makes their horses run faster and farther. The ability to prove or disprove such rumors would be a giant step to regain the public’s confidence in the sport."That’s important because it gives us an advantage so we can be on the alert for something new because the bad guys seem to be one step ahead of the current testing regimes. So we want to get out in front of it if we can," Banke said. "If you can distinguish between illegal substances and treatment protocols, it will help to preserve the reputation of the good trainers—and most of our trainers are good. I think we need something that will bolster the reputation of horseracing and make everyone aware that we’re trying as best we can to keep it clean."Stanley predicted that it will take about two years to implement the Equine Biological Passport in race testing, during which time regulators will have to adopt rule changes to allow its use to disqualify horses from competition. In the meantime, regulators could implement the program in out-of-competition testing to detect trainers who might be cheating."It could be an application to determine that someone was using something systemically that they shouldn’t," Stanley said. "Then the regulatory body would have the right to go back and test all their horses and find out if they could determine what was being used."Stonestreet Training CenterBanke wants her horses to be raised and developed as naturally as possible, from foal to retiree. On Stonestreet's website, she states:"Our program values minimal human intervention and a good balance of proper nutrition, handling, exercise and rest. We enhance the development of youngstock and strive to exemplify excellence in every action."Until December 2012, the only hole in that lifelong program for her horses was yearling training, and Banke felt that starting her racing prospects properly and bringing them along safely was an important phase over which she wanted more control. Establishing her own training and rehabilitation center in Florida was the answer. So Banke purchased the 230-acre vinery in Summerville, Florida, near Ocala, then added another 120 acres to form Stonestreet Training and Rehabilitation Center. The center also is open to outside horses.The training center has a seven-furlong dirt track, a three-quarter mile turf course, and a European-style turf gallop. Three covered European freestyle walkers, a vibration platform, and an underwater treadmill help young horses to develop their muscles, older horses to freshen up, and layup horses to gently return to normal activities through enhanced rehabilitation techniques.Most of Stonestreet's horses start preparing for their careers at its training center with a staff that specializes in breaking and training youngsters while employing Banke's preferred methods. She emphasizes the advantage of nurturing a competitive spirit in her youngsters by placing them in similarly talented peer groups. A few of Stonestreet's yearlings go elsewhere."Last year we felt we had too many, we kept too many, and we were going to put a few through the two-year-old sale," she said. "We sent one homebred to Eddie Wood; actually, we sent a couple to him to put in the two-year-old sale. And one of them was Cazadero."Wood owns and operates Eddie Wood Training Center in Florida, as well as acts as an agent for two-year-old sales. At the time, he told Banke, "You don’t want to sell this horse." She took his advice.Banke kept the Street Sense colt with Wood for the remainder of his prep work, then sent him off to Asmussen at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. In Cazadero's debut maiden special weight there, he broke on top and obliterated his opponents with a front-running 8-3/4-length win, followed by a win in the Gr3 Bashford Manor Stakes one month later. Banke thanked Wood for his good advice."[Eddie] is fabulous, she said. "It was nice of him to tell us not to sell the horse because the horse would have done very well at that two-year-old sale. Unfortunately, [Cazadero] came up with a little hairline [crack] in his last start (the Gr2 Saratoga Special Stakes on August 7), so he’s off for a little bit, but he’ll be back."As disappointing as that piece of racing luck was, other graduates of Stonestreet Training Center won five graded stakes and four listed stakes in August: Campanelle, Rushing Fall, Red King, Chaos Theory, Joy’s Rocket, Wink, Hendy Woods, Domestic Spending, and Halladay—the War Front colt owned by Harrell Ventures who wired the $400,000 Gr1 Fourstardave Stakes on the turf at Saratoga.About 75 elite runners have come out of the Stonestreet Training Center. The list includes 2019 Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar—winner of the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Turf and four other grade-one stakes for career earnings of $7,085,650; 2017 champion juvenile Good Magic; dual Eclipse winning female Unique Bella; Preakness Stakes winners Oxbow and Cloud Computing; 2011 Gr1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Regally Ready; 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winners Rushing Fall (2017) and Sharing (2019); plus a roster of Stonestreet's solid runners.Giving BackA large part of Banke's busy schedule is devoted to serving on committees and boards in her two signature industries, plus participation and philanthropic support of a long list of charities and educational initiatives in the community. Banke also is a global ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.She is a member of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, which appointed her to the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2016, a position she continues to serve.In 2013, Banke joined the Board of Trustees of the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. Three years later, she accepted her champion filly Rachel Alexandra's induction into the Hall of Fame. Her trainer Steve Asmussen, who campaigned Rachel Alexandra and Curlin, was inducted during the same ceremony.Under her trusteeship, the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in 2018 launched a $20-million project to revamp the Saratoga Springs, New York, site with state-of-the-art interactive exhibits, a 360-degree theater screen, and a redesigned website packed with historical information. Banke served on the redesign committee for the project, which was concluded in 2020, with the reopening on September 5.Banke also is a member of the board of directors for the Keeneland Association and the Breeders' Cup Ltd.She served on the Jockey Club Board of Stewards from 2016-2020, during which time she was a featured speaker at its Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on August 13, 2017, in Saratoga Springs. She talked about unifying factions within the sport and the need for standardized rules, medication and testing."To win in the long term, we must demonstrate to both new and future racing fans that our industry acts with integrity and elevated standards of care to protect the health of our athletes," she said. "The morass of conflicting state medication thresholds and rules is too confusing and slow to change."But the challenges and changes coming at us in the racing industry are fast and furious. I admit that I'm not a patient person, but I know that our industry does not have the luxury of time to waste. A robust future is available to us in an increasingly global business environment. We must foster consumer confidence and make the world stand up and take notice of our American horses."We have a great deal to celebrate about the sport of racing, but we must build a strong, unified voice to bolster the global reputation of our American-bred horses. We must craft our narrative and rebuild the foundation of integrity to establish trust with audiences old and new."War on RacingSince 2013, when People for Ethical Treatment of Animals invaded Asmussen's stable with an undercover operative, who manufactured trumped-up lies and fake videos to discredit racing, the industry has been under attack from animal rights activists who want it permanently shuttered. The mainstream media latches onto each reported death on the racetrack, and conspiracy theorists within the industry spin a web around each high-profile medication violation.While the war on racing rages on, the only point that factions within the industry seem to be able to agree on is that racing needs to change if it hopes to survive. Without the public's trust and confidence, horse racing's future will be a short one.Banke's advice is that everyone involved needs to hear out others' views and then compromise on the most workable solution. She said that if we work together, we can get a lot done to improve and preserve racing."I think the federal legislation will pass, and I think it’s a good thing," she said. "I think banning race-day medications would be a good thing, and we’ve taken steps toward that. So I think we need to fit in with the rest of the world. And the rest of the world loves to say that we use race-day medications, and our breed is not quite as strong. But they’re very interested in our broodmares and breeding stock. I think by enhancing our reputation, we can again take the lead in the world because we do so many things very well."She said the key to success is to treat all the athletes who are the backbone of the sport—horses, jockeys, and the people who work with the horses—well. She emphasized sharing viewpoints and actually listening to what others have to say."I think the jockeys have a lot to say, and we need to listen," Banke said. "And we need to make sure everyone is well treated and an advocate for the sport."She also expects transparency from regulators, track management and other entities."I do think people need to listen and hear whatever issues there are, and there are quite a few issues," she said. "And as you go forward, if you have a new track surface or a new maintenance regime or new rules or whatever, they need to listen to the people who are actually in the trenches and try to make the rules work. All of that needs to happen. I think if we can do that more, it will be beneficial for everybody."The Stonestreet LegacyLooking over all the horses that have borne the Stonestreet mantle of excellence, Banke did not hesitate to name her favorite, Curlin. Rachel Alexandra gave her unprecedented thrills when she toyed with the country's best three-year-old colts in the Gr1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga in 2009; but Curlin impressed her the most.Stonestreet bought a partnership interest in the Smart Strike colt after watching him destroy rivals by 12-3/4 lengths in his debut maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park in 2007."The first one that really, really, really impressed me was Curlin," she said. "And how could you not be impressed? He was just fantastic, and it was fantastic to be a part of his racing career. Trouble free, and he never missed a day of training. He never had a bandage."He was so funny because he would fall asleep in the saddling paddock and take a little nap. He did that in Dubai as there were fireworks going off all around him. Then he woke up and went out and won the race."That race was the world's richest—the $6-million Gr1 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup in 2008—when he dominated the world's fastest horses in a 7-3/4-length win."We spent a lot of days watching him train over there, and it was just a really magnificent experience," Banke said. "I’d do it again in a hot second if I could get someone to go over there. We’re working on it."Thousands of feature articles and news stories have been written about Banke, who is considered among the world's most prominent and successful women. But she said there is one thing journalists haven't written about her."I’m a good grandma," she said. "I have seven grandchildren and three children. My son and his wife are very prolific. They keep going for a girl, and it hasn’t worked. They have four boys. And my daughter has three. She has twins, and one of the twins is a girl. I love them all, and I say, 'I’m a good grandma.'"A toast is in order. Hoist your Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay to Barbara Banke. Kudos!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/517636f8e4b0cb4f8c8697ba/1603541759741-HSJ1ZLBPTSUUIQ4PV5RK/20_0917_Barbara+Banke_mw-5712.jpg)
By Denise Steffanus
Stonestreet Farm's mission is to produce winning racehorses with "strength, stamina, and class"—three attributes that also describe Barbara Banke, Stonestreet’s vibrant owner.
In 2011, Banke took over Stonestreet's reins when her husband, Jess Stonestreet Jackson, died at age 81 from cancer. A worthy successor, Banke had worked shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as the two built their empire of fine wines and fast horses, including Horses of the Year Curlin (twice) and Rachel Alexandra, who together earned a combined six Eclipse Awards.
Barbara with husband Jess (with trophy) celebrating after Rachel Alexandra won the Woodward Stakes in 2009.
Under her leadership, Stonestreet has won 35 graded stakes as Stonestreet Stables and has shared 15 graded stakes wins with 45 partnerships through the end of September. Stonestreet has been the leading breeder of yearlings at auction for the past five years.
Banke also became chairman and proprietor of Kendall-Jackson Wines (now Jackson Family Wines)—an international domain of wineries based largely in California and extending to Oregon, Chile, Australia, France, Italy, and South Africa. Jackson wines graced tables in the White House during the Reagan administration when Nancy Reagan offered her favorite wine, Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, to distinguished guests from around the world.
Banke wasn't the typical horse-crazy girl while growing up. She remembers going on a few trail rides, but her involvement with horses began in 2005 when she suggested Jackson find something to absorb his boundless energy.
"I just felt that he needed some hobby because he was sort of driving us all crazy around the winery from being a micromanager. (Banke laughs.) He had been in the horse business with his uncle a while before that. He really wanted to get back into it," she said.
The two founded Stonestreet and purchased an Unbridled's Song filly, Forest Music, in the summer of 2005 and turned her over to trainer Steve Asmussen. In her first start for Stonestreet, she went gate to wire in the Gr2 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga, giving Stonestreet its first graded stakes winner. After the race, Asmussen prophetically told the media that it was "a sign of things to come.
Asmussen certainly was right about that.
Plunging head first into the racing industry, Stonestreet purchased Buckram Oaks Farm—450 acres of prime bluegrass land outside of Lexington—for $17.5 million that same year and renamed it Stonestreet Farm. Months later, Stonestreet purchased 650 acres in Versailles, Ky., and established a yearling division there.
When asked why the Buckram Oaks parcel appealed to her, Banke, who litigated land-use cases before the United States Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in her former profession, did not give the expected answer citing investment strategies, the spring-fed limestone ponds coveted for raising horses with good bone, and other legal points.
"It’s a beautiful, beautiful place," she said. "And it’s really convenient because it’s close to Keeneland (Racecourse and Sales) and close to town; and it’s very scenic. The barns were beautiful. The ponds were beautiful. So it had a lot of improvements, and it was something that we thought would be a good home in Kentucky. I’m really glad now that we went there."
Broodmare Band
Stonestreet started to populate its broodmare band, with an eye to transition its fine racemares into outstanding breeding stock of future Stonestreet runners and sale prospects. Banke called her strategy "mare-centric" and said, "That’s our focus, and that’s really fun. It’s fun to raise fillies for me because I know that they have a great career when they’re finished. It’s a nice thing to do."
Retired from racing at the end of 2005, Forest Music became the cornerstone of Stonestreet's breeding operation, producing graded stakes winners Kentuckian, Electric Forest, and Uncle Chuck, plus winner Maclean's Music—who sired 2017 Gr1 Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing in his first crop—plus three other graded stakes winners.
Banke called Stonestreet's broodmare band "unparalleled," and the names on the roster are a stellar list: homebreds My Miss Aurelia, 2011 champion two-year-old filly; Lady Aurelia, 2016 Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year in Europe; and Gr1 winners Dreaming of Julia, Tara's Tango, and Rachel's Valentina (daughter of now-pensioned Rachel Alexandra).
Among the other broodmares: Bounding (Aus), New Zealand’s champion sprinter and champion three-year-old filly in 2013; D' Wildcat Speed, Puerto Rican Horse of the Year and champion imported three-year-old filly in 2003 and the dam of Lady Aurelia; Dayatthespa, 2014 champion female turf horse; Hillaby, 2014 Canadian champion female sprinter; and eight other Gr1 or Gp1 winners.
Seventeen of Stonestreet's broodmares have produced graded-stakes winners. The latest starlet is Gamine, the three-year-old Into Mischief filly out of Banke's mare Peggy Jane. Conditioned by two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert, Gamine won the Gr1 Acorn Stakes by an incredible 18-3/4 lengths in 1:32.55, slashing the stakes record time of 1:33.58 and just a fifth of a second slower than the track record of 1:32.24 for the mile. Next she took the Gr1 Test Stakes by seven lengths, installing her as the 7-to-10 favorite going into the Gr1 Kentucky Oaks, where she finished third after a tough stretch duel with winner Shedaresthedevil. The Oaks was Gamine's first two-turn race.
Ready to Repeat, a More Than Ready gelding produced by Stonestreet's Christine Daae, placed in the Gr1 Summer Stakes over the turf at Woodbine in Canada on September 20. After maintaining a comfortable lead all the way to the stretch, eventual winner Gretsky the Great cut in front of Ready to Repeat, causing the gelding to change course. Stewards disallowed a claim of foul. Banke sold Ready to Repeat for $60,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
Undefeated Campanelle ridden by Frankie Dettori wins The Queen Mary Stakes on day five of Royal Ascot 2020.
Banke is excited about Stonestreet's Irish filly, Campanelle, who is expected to join the band at the end of her racing career. Banke gave $243,773 for the Kodiac (GB) filly at the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.
"[Barbara Banke] loves coming to Royal Ascot every year, and she wanted to buy two or three fillies who could run there," said Ben McElroy (who purchased the filly). "Campanelle looked like she'd fit the bill, and she did."
Undefeated in three starts, Campanelle earned a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" berth when in August she won the Gr1 Darley Prix Morny—Finale des Darley Series in France. She is expected to start in the Gr1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 6 at Keeneland, her home track.
"We bought her as a yearling, and she’s now a Gp1 winner in Europe," Banke said. "And she’s going to be a great broodmare in her future, hopefully a long way from now."
Banke's philosophy is simple: "We try to get the best mares, or if we don’t buy the best mares, we try to buy the best fillies and race them and go from there. And, of course, then we breed them to great stallions,"
Although Stonestreet does not maintain a stallion division, it holds interests in eight stallions: leading sire Curlin and his sons Jess's Dream, out of Rachel Alexandra, Union Jackson, out of Hot Dixie Chic, and 2017 champion two-year-old Good Magic, out of Glinda the Good; Racing Hall of Fame member Ghostzapper, 2004's Horse of the Year and champion older horse; Gr1 winners Carpe Diem (2015 Blue Grass Stakes) and The Factor (2011 Malibu Stakes); and multiple-graded stakes winner Kantharos.
Banke said that, at present, she has no interest in standing stallions. But she added, "Maybe. Never say never." …
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