Three Diamonds Farm

Working with family can be tricky. Two families working together? Kirk Wycoff and his son Jordan, and Meg and Mike Levy with their son Ryder Finney have found a way, enjoying continued success with their Three Diamonds Farm. “I think it had a lot to do with a great team, bouncing ideas off each other,” Jordan said. “It’s a collective effort.”

It’s been a successful one for nearly 15 years.

On January 23 at Gulfstream Park, their five-year-old horse Tide of the Sea captured the Gr3 William McKnight Stakes by three-quarters of a length wire-to-wire—quite an accomplishment in a mile-and-a-half turf stakes. The massive son of Turf Champion English Channel follows the success of Gr1 United Nations Stakes winner and $1.5 million earner Bigger Picture and near $700,000 Gr2 Bowling Green Stakes winner Cross Border. They helped Three Diamonds top $3 million in earnings the last three years. They’ve already topped $300,000 this year before the end of January, thanks to Tide of the Sea’s victory and Cross Border’s third-place finish in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational—a half-hour after Tide of the Sea’s victory in the McKnight.

The common denominator for Tide of the Sea, Bigger Picture and Cross Border is that they are older turf routers. “We know the grass can be kinder on them—more conducive to a career going into their five or six-year-old season,” Jordan said. “The turf is kinder on their bodies.”

So the Wycoffs, Meg and Ryder seek them out. And they work very hard to succeed. Meg was an accomplished equestrian who became the first female show person for Eaton Sales. She opened her own consignment company, Bluewater, in 1999, and sold a $1.3-million yearling a year later.

Kirk Wycoff is the managing partner of Patriot Financial Services in Rachor, Penn. Jordan, 32, works with a different banking firm. Three Diamonds Farm isn’t a physical farm; the Wycoffs use the Levys’ Bluewater Farm in Lexington, Ky. Meg is the owner, specializing in physical evaluation of prospects and with lay-ups; Mike runs Muirfield Equine Insurance while getting more involved with the farm. Ryder, 29, is their bloodstock specialist. At any time, they have 20 to 40 horses in training, not including their babies in Ocala, Fla. They do pinhooking, claiming and racing.

“The Levys are my second family,” Jordan said.

His first family, Kirk and Debbie, have been in racing for a long time. “My dad was in the Thoroughbred business,” Jordan said. “He trained on his own at Penn National in the 1980s. Then he and Mom messed with show jumpers, pinhooking them. That’s how they got started.”

The Wycoffs dove back into racing in 2011, claiming a horse with trainer Mike Trombetta. Three Diamonds Farm claimed Jimanator for $20,000 at Saratoga on August 15, 2011, and he won the Gr3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park 3 ½ month later.

Not long after, Three Diamonds Farm went to trainer Mike Maker. “Mike is good with horses who mature with age,” Jordan said.

Jordan was an aspiring golfer—good enough to get a scholarship at Rider University—but his father gave him an ultimatum one summer. “I was a sophomore in high school, and I caddied in the morning and practiced golf in the afternoon,” Jordan said. “My dad said I had to get a real job when I was 17. He said you could do that or go to Kentucky and learn the horse business. It was a pretty easy choice.”

He drove to Lexington and had the good fortune to meet the Levy family. “I learned both trades: horses and equine insurance,” Jordan said. “I did that every summer all the way through college.”

Ryder said, “Jordan used to come down and stay with us to learn about the business. Because we were so close in age, we got really close.”

The Wycoffs work hard to succeed in racing. “Me and my dad get up at 4:30 or 5:30 every morning,” Jordan said. “We look at past performances at every track we have money at: Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park, Santa Anita, Turfway Park and New York. It’s a good way to procrastinate a couple hours in the morning.”

Ryder said, “The Wycoffs are very precise people. They’re very precise with their numbers. They’re both very good handicappers. They say, `We like these horses on paper.’ My mom’s role is a lot of physical inspection. She did that when I was younger—before I was trusted with that kind of thing. She tells them which ones she likes. She runs the farm. One of her largest contributions with Three Diamonds is lay-up situations. She is instrumental in figuring out what’s wrong with them.”

Asked about working with his mother, Ryder said, “We’ve very similar. We see horses similarly. She raised me to think like she does about horses, which is a blessing. She’s one of the best horse people in the world. I think we get to experience things together that most mothers and sons don’t. I’m very blessed.”