Alex & JoAnn Lieblong

Alex Lieblong, 63, is a native of Conway, Ark; JoAnn was born in Texas. He attended the University of Central Arkansas before being drafted into the U.S. Army. “Thank God, because I did not like college,” he said. 

Earlier, he participated in rodeos as a calf roper and clown. “Youth makes you do dumb things.” However, he was smart enough to start and operate Lieblong and Associates, an investment firm in Little Rock, Ark. He also has bank, gas and oil holdings.

At one time, he raised cattle at his 80-acre farm in Conway, but he and JoAnn both found Thoroughbreds much more interesting. They bought their first horses in partnership with Patricia and Gus “Buddy” Blass in the early ‘90s. Alex loves hanging around the barn. “Just like an oil well looks best just before you drill it, horses seem to look better in the morning before they race,” he said.

But Alex and JoAnn have their priorities. They used their private plane to fly to the 2009 Breeders’ Cup so they wouldn’t miss “Grandparents Day” at their grandchildren’s school in Arkansas. Their grandkids live next door and spend a lot of time at their farm.

Though they adore Saratoga, Arkansas is where they live and love to race. Alex is a member of the Arkansas Racing Commission, and JoAnn volunteers with the Arkansas division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America.