“I love seeing them in every aspect of it – there is nothing that makes me happier. When they are in foal, when they do foal, when the babies grow up, when you are breaking them and when they are racing, there is no better feeling. It’s for the love of the game, it’s not because we are getting rich off it.
“To see the end result, even if they go on with someone else to make money and win you are just so proud of everything you have accomplished.”
Above the constant sea of whinnies from yearlings throughout Woodbine’s sales barns, Amber Mayers describes her passion for the racing industry and the breeding business with a refreshing level of candidness.
Mayers has two yearlings consigned to this year’s Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s (CTHS) yearling sale. The first yearling, named Makinmommaproud (HIP 108), is a chestnut colt by Reload out of her mare, Picture Express. The second, I’ve Got Passion (HIP 147), is a bay colt by Passion for Action, out of Sky Mother Earth. Both yearlings are watching the fray of activity around them, including other four-legged friends being shipped in for the CTHS sale happening on Aug. 28.
This will be Mayers first-time consigning yearlings to the sale, yet she is taking every moment in stride with her partner, Delano Henry. They are both decked out in Mayers Racing Stable gear, and yes, there is of course more to this story than just a simple one-stop shop breeding operation.
“I’ve always been around horses at Fort Erie [Race Track],” said Mayers, who was born and grew up in Fort Erie and by extension found herself at the border oval during her early years in life.
“I’ve always loved this, my mom (Martha McKee) used to be an assistant for Frank Passero,” said Mayers. McKee also worked as assistant for trainer, Rita Schnitzler. Additionally, Mayer’s uncle, Bill Pratt also trained horses with her aunt.
When she was 16, Mayers moved up to Woodbine on her own. Working in the industry for the last three decades, Mayers has held a plethora of positions, including grooming horses for various trainers at Woodbine. “I did most of the years, I would say, cumulatively with Katerina Vassilieva. I used to groom Big Bazinga, and I did the whole Derby trail with him. I travelled all over North America with him,” said Mayers.
Mayers also worked as an assistant for trainer Mike Pino. Additionally, she also used to pony for Kevin Attard and Donny Macrae.
It’s safe to say, Mayers has walked many paths in this industry and prior to breeding horses, she also trained from 2010 to 2023.
Mayers now pinpoints why she decided to venture into breeding horses.
“I always wanted a farm. Things are so expensive down here, so I kind of had to shift gears a little if I wanted to get anywhere. So, we decided to buy a farm further away which makes it hard for racing. We decided we would get a couple of mares, start breeding and maybe buy some weanlings and flip them for yearlings. Then whatever I keep, or I want to keep, Alison Crook will be my trainer, and I’ll just stay as an owner for them because it’s too hard to train from that far away,” said Mayers.
In November 2020, Mayers moved to a 60-acre farm in Chelmsford, outside of Sudbury, Ont. Just for general reference, that’s about a four-hour drive north from Woodbine Racetrack. Mayers’ farm, her slice of heaven, is called ‘New Beginnings,’ marking a new chapter for the trainer-turned-breeder.
Mayers’ picturesque farm is home to a handful of horses, including a small band of her own broodmares.
“Currently, I have three mares in foal of my own. I’m very fortunate to have managed to get my hands on Olivia Rose’s mom,” said Mayers. “So, I have a Reload colt on the ground out of that mare right now and I have her back in foal to Reload. I have a Munnings (To Sing My Song) mare in foal (to Reload) – first-time mare never had any foals to race yet. And then I have another mare, it’s [Makinmommaproud’s] mom. It’s Picture Express. She is unraced, but she is out of Giant Causeway mare. She is pretty well bred.
“That’s my stock at the moment, I would like to get some more but we’ve got to wait and see how the sale goes.”
Picture Express, while unraced, is the daughter of graded stakes champ and renowned sire, Silent Name. The five-year-old mare was bred back to Reload.
“We really like the Reloads. So, we try to keep with Sherry. She is super easy to deal with and she just makes things so uncomplicated,” said Mayers in working with well-known breeder, Sherry McLean.
McLean owns and operates Northern Dawn Stables Inc. and has stood Reload for several years. To date, he’s sired graded stakes winners, Candy Overload and Patches O’Houlihan, and multiple Black-type stakes winners such as Red River Rebel, Poulin in O T, and Foolish Games.
Olivia Rose’s dam is Malibu Sunrise, out of Eliza’s Kiss by the late sire Malibu Moon. Malibu Moon, who passed three years ago, is the sire of multiple graded stakes winners south of the border, and of course, the sire of 2013 Kentucky Derby champ, Orb.
Last spring, Mayers acquired Malibu Sunrise.
“I sent her right away to get bred to Reload and then we foaled this spring with our first foal for her. So, we’ve had her over a year and a half now,” said Mayers, who is excited for the young prospect based on success of the dam’s three-year-old daughter, Olivia Rose.
Overall, Mayers is loving the farm life and explains what the average day looks like at New Beginnings.
“Our typical day on the farm is we get up, we check all the horses, do our feeds and make sure everyone has water inside and outside. We feed them, we muck them, and we turn them out. If anybody needs extra attention, we give it. That’s basically if nothing goes wrong – that’s how the day starts, and you hope for the best with that,” said Mayers.
Mayers indicates that expanding her breeding business, or at least a certain part of it, is something she’s also thought about.
“Actually, I have owners that have broodmares. I have horses for Gordon Colbourne, and I have horses for Ricky Sikand, who has horses consigned right now with Sherry. And he has been so loyal – he’s moved with me from down here [Woodbine] to up there,” added Mayers.
“We do all his breeding for him, we foal his babies, we break them, and we get them to the racetrack for Steve Attard. I’d like to expand that aspect of it and get more clients, if possible.”
Back at Woodbine, Makinmommaproud is calling out to the other yearlings stabled on the premises. Mayers looks on fondly, knowing that Wednesday afternoon in the sales ring will mark new beginnings for both the chestnut colt and bay colt in the next stall over.
The hard work, over long days and many months of getting the young prospects to this stage is in the rearview mirror. Now, Mayers, like many Ontario breeders at the sale, must patiently wait to see where their yearlings find their footing, either with a new owner or returning buyers in the industry. And then, it’s onto the next phase, the conditioning and training of these yearlings into two-year-old racing prospects.
It’s a lengthy process, where patience is key, but given Mayers’ love and commitment to the industry there’s no doubt she’s in it for the long haul.
Over 200 yearlings have been consigned to this year’s CTHS sale. The sale will begin on Aug. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion.
FEATURED PHOTO: Amber Mayers and Delano Henry with Makinmommaproud (Hayley Morrison Photo)
IN-LINE PHOTO 1: Delano Henry and I’ve Got Passion (Hayley Morrison Photo)
IN-LINE PHOTO 2: Amber Mayers’ farm (Amber Mayers Photo)
IN-LINE PHOTO 3: Amber Mayers, Delano Henry and Makinmommaproud (Hayley Morrison Photo)
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