TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/974613
Actually, the timing was good. Because of the sport's problems at the time, many were looking to contract instead of expand. It turned out to be quite the buyer's market. "Yes, technically, people were getting out and there were a lot of people dispersing their stock, so there were a lot of horses and a not a lot of demand for them," the young- er Bowden said. "We thought if we were ever going to get involved now is the right time to do it. We paid pennies on the dollar for some of these horses and we wound up making a lot of money with them." The Bowdens stuck to their strategy and continued to buy up quality broodmares and then breed them to top stallions, ones owned by other farms. But that was not the final plan. They wanted to build up a band of stallions that was second to none, but re- alized there were obstacles. With Bowden still young, in his early thirties, and without any stallions other than a couple of ones that were not considered major sires, how would Diamond Creek possibly outbid the giants of its industry, like Hanover Shoe Farms, Blue Chip Farms and Winbak Farm? Bowden had a plan. While most owners did not seek out farms for their future stallions until after their careers were over or at least until they were in the midst of their 3-year-old seasons, Diamond Creek would go after a 2-year-old. "We were ready," Adam Bowden said. "We had the base of mares to support the stal- lions, which is why we spent all those years and all that money getting ready for it and to get to the point where we could support a top stallion."