by Dave Briggs

On the other end of the phone connection, Art Zubrod sounds like he is at peace. In about a week, George Segal’s Brittany Farms will sell its final yearlings at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale after 39 years in the business. Not long after that, Zubrod, the lone farm manager in Brittany’s history, and his wife, Leah Cheverie, the long-time office manager, will be off on new adventures.

“Both my wife and I are quite ready for this,” Zubrod said. “We purchased a house [in Louisville] in April, not too far from our kids and the barn that my sister runs. Both of my daughters work for her and all three of our grandkids ride.

“I think I’m over all the sentimentality. The last thing that came together was [placing Brittany’s] trophies [in the Stable of Memories] at The Red Mile. I had sleepless nights about it. I did not want to have to auction them. It would’ve crushed me. It would have crushed all of us.”

After Brittany sells 13 of its own yearlings and three as an agent at the sale, it will mark the end of an incredible run as one of harness racing’s greatest breeding operations. Though, Zubrod and Cheverie have had plenty of time to prepare for the end and plan for what’s next. Brittany’s closure has rolled out slowly since being announced in January of 2023. Though, Segal and Zubrod did opt to close the farm one year sooner than the original target of 2025.

“That was our initial plan, but as things unfolded, we could see that it didn’t have to wait until 2025 and that 2024 would work,” Zubrod said. “We’ve still got a couple of months of work to do, here and there, but it really has been a blessing that we got it done a year earlier.

“[Segal is] 86 years old and he knows it’s time for him to start slowing down. And he’s certainly not quitting, just slowing down and preparing for the future. I think his family is happy about it.”

Brittany’s exit from the game brings with it a nice full-circle moment. Zubrod said they are proud to be selling the first crop of Perfect Sting, a horse they raised and raced to great success, including a freshman year that was, literally, perfect.

“I’m extremely happy with the ‘Stings,’” Zubrod said. “Just in the last couple of days, I’ve come to the realization that they actually followed in his footsteps in their maturity phase, because Sting was always a nice colt from the time he was born — correct and what not — but he never looked an athlete. Then, by the time of May, June of his yearling year, he filled out and started getting a little more leg and had a keener look in his eye. Damned if [his offspring] aren’t doing the exact same thing. I’m really excited about it.

“I think with this sale we’ll bow out nicely.

Zubrod said Stingman, Hip #34 is “extremely nice… Then, I’ve been looking around to see who is selling around us and, daggone, there’s a real good bunch of [Perfect Sting’s] selling in the first half of the sale on the first night. It’s a really stellar bunch of horses.

“They are very strong and athletic in the field. You can’t ask for anymore.”

Zubrod also highlighted Watchfire, Hip #178, a Bettor’s Wish colt out of Shining Beauty.

“The first foal out of that mare was also a Bettor’s Wish [named Skylight] and Leah and I talked and we had decided early on that we were going to buy a really nice Bettor’s Wish and train it,” Zubrod said. “Then, when this colt was born — the first one out of her — he was just stellar. He was as good as a weanling foal as I had ever seen. So, we made George a very substantial offer to buy half the horse, with the intent that he would go into training and if something came along that we didn’t want to train him then we’d put him in the sale. Anyway, we were so excited about him. We sent him to Chris Ryder and he was excited about him. Then, it was one thing after another – a foot, a this, a that. He looked great on the racetrack, but he just never could get over the hump. I mean, he’s racing. We sold him and he’s racing, but he’s not what I had hoped for.

“Then, the next one [Bettor’s Wish filly Bytheliteofthemoon] turned out nice, but [Watchfire] is a killer. Everything you’d want. He’s a real long-legged colt and real smart and loves going out in the field and showing off for people. The only thing about him, he’s got a lot of white and we were so concerned that he was a daggone Sweet Lou. When he was born, we had his DNA done right away.

“This colt is from a family where we hadn’t seen white in it for several years and if there was it was always a hind pastern or a front hock or something like that.”

Zubrod also highlights two Chapter Seven colts – Hip #82 Steinbeck and Hip #186 Silverstein.

“They are both really top-of-the-line colts, who perform in the paddock and I think they will do well,” Zubrod said.

“The Bettors Wish colt [Rays Wish, Hip #715], he’s a real snappy colt. Somebody is going to be real happy that they bought him. And, the Sting out of Beautiful Candy [Sting Candy, Hip #583] is a real nice filly. She is just now coming into herself.”

Brittany was founded in 1985 when Segal purchased Bill Shehan’s Clermont Farm. The end will come just shy of the farm’s 40^th anniversary, but that’s okay with Zubrod.

“It’s funny, I’d always said that I’d die with my boots on, because I do love this and I still love it, but I woke up about two-and-a-half or three years ago… we hadn’t had any rain for three or four weeks and I was just consumed with that,” Zubrod said. “I got to thinking about all the damn things I worry about that I had absolutely no control over and it takes away from your life and the joy of your life.

“So, I said, ‘Well, I know one way to solve that problem’ and Leah was finally coming around to the idea of retiring. She was always adamant that she didn’t want to retire, she wasn’t ready to retire, but that changed and then once we got into it… we really enjoy, we’ve always enjoyed spending time with the grandkids, but we really look forward to spending more time with them.”