Harris Farms News

They're creating a real Tizzy down in Coalinga
By Debbie Arrington
Bee Staff Writer
(Published May 27, 2001)

Success breeds success. Just ask John C. Harris.
Three years ago, Cee's Tizzy was a handsome but relatively obscure stallion unknown outside California. The near-white horse enjoyed his home at Harris' sprawling 14,000-acre ranch near Coalinga, and his job as a stud.

Then, his son Budroyale ran second in the 1999 Breeders' Cup Classic. A year later, Tiznow -- Budroyale's younger brother -- won the Classic, horse racing's Super Bowl.

Tiznow became North America's 2000 Horse of the Year, the first time a California-bred thoroughbred earned that honor in 45 years. Between him and his brother, they earned about $7 million.

Cee's Tizzy suddenly became one popular dad.

"He's got a big career ahead of him," Harris said of his farm's star stallion. "He'll really dominate California bloodlines."

Thanks to Tiznow and other stakes winners, Cee's Tizzy became the nation's No. 1 stallion this spring, outranking hundreds of high-priced Kentucky studs. His fee jumped from $2,500 to $15,000 per mating. In prior seasons, he sired as few as two dozen foals. This spring, he has dates with 100 mares.

That's horse business. You never know.

Harris, 57, does know a lot about the horse business and agribusiness in general. To many people, his family's name means beef. Their famous feedlot on Interstate 5 about 180 miles south of Sacramento usually holds about 100,000 steers. The ranch also has its own airstrip, restaurant and hotel.

Tucked away in an almond grove away from the roadside attractions sits Harris Farms, the equine side of the operation. About 600 thoroughbreds graze on 340 acres of pasture. Another 140 acres east of Sanger is the Harris home for its yearlings. Older horses train on a private seven-furlong track.

This time of year, the farm is busy shuttling in mares to visit its 10 stallions, including High Brite, Flying Continental, Moscow Ballet, Cutlass Reality, Steinlen and Tinners Way, a son of Secretariat. About 300 mares, many of them ready to deliver foals as well as mate again, will arrive in just four months.

"Sometimes I think we're running a hospital and a horse hotel," said Harris, who gives the credit to his farm staff led by manager Dave McGlothlin, farm trainer Pier Antonsen and resident veterinarian Dr. Jeanne Bowers-Lepore.

About $30,000 goes into raising a race horse, not counting initial breeding costs. It's five years between conception and a horse's peak earnings age -- 4.

"So much time and money goes into the development of a stallion," Harris said, "and it's so long before you see a return on your investment."

Harris, a UC Davis graduate, is much more than a breeder and horse owner. He's become one of the state's top horse advocates.

A Republican, he impressed Democratic Gov. Gray Davis so much he was appointed last November to the Sacramento-based California Horse Racing Board. In the mid-1990s, Harris was chairman of Bay Meadows Race Course in San Mateo. He's also served on several racing boards across the country.

His biggest wish? "To make racing a front-page sport again."

Tiznow, who is preparing for a summer comeback and defense of his Breeders' Cup title, can go a long way in advancing that desire. "A horse like Tiznow really helps racing," Harris said. "When he wins, everybody applauds. He's America's horse."

Bowers-Lepore remembers Tiznow from his birth (he weighed almost 50 pounds more than an average foal). When he left the farm two years later, she snapped his photo, sure he was headed for greatness.

"He looked like a million bucks from the day he was born; so big, so proud," she said of the 144-pound colt. "Other horses look good, but run last. He realized early on that he liked to be in front."

Tiznow and Budroyale have eight brothers and sisters, including a new foal now with mom Cee's Song at Harris Farms. Although the big boys turned into home run hitters, their siblings have not.

"This is an inexact science," Harris said. "You can't cookbook this industry. You're always hoping for the next big horse."

HARRIS FARMS HORSE DIVISION
27366 W. Oakland Avenue
Coalinga, CA 93210
Tel: 559.884.2859 or 800.311.6211
FAX: 559.884.2855
Internet: info@harrisfarms.com