Glen Hill Farm

To say that 93-year-old Leonard Lavin, the founder of Glen Hill Farm in Ocala, Fla., is still actively involved in racing would be an understatement. “My grandfather is still doing well, but he was quite upset by a story in the Racing Form that said he was 91,” his 35-year-old grandson Craig Bernick, who now runs the farm, said. “He’s proud to be 93.”

Bernick says his granddad watches all their horses’ races. “He let me know that he watches more when our horses don’t do well,” Bernick laughed.

Marketing Mix doesn’t fit that category. “She’s the best horse that we’ve had in at least 40 years,” Bernick said, noting that Glen Hill has had top horses before, mentioning Convenience who raced in the early ‘70s. “She’s the best horse that we’ve had in at least 40 years,” Bernick said, noting that Glen Hill has had top horses before, mentioning Convenience who raced in the early ‘70s. Glen Hill also campaigned Header Card, Relaunch and One Dreamer.

Bernick took over Glen Hill Farm in April, 2008, and said the farm now races 30 horses and keeps about the same number of broodmares. He said he’s learned a lot in the last five years. “I think, at the beginning, in my rush to change things, I might not have understood how much work had been done to get us to that place. But I do understand it now. We enjoy ourselves. We’ve spent the summer every year at Del Mar since I was 16. My granddad still lives in Chicago and we get to see him a lot.”

Marketing Mix will likely get him to Chicago again if she returns to run in the Beverly D., a stakes she finished second in last year. “She makes us look smart,” Bernick said. “But we’re not really smart. We have 30 horses in training, and she’s the only one who gets people to call us.”