Owner Profiles
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RACING ASSOCIATION Thoroughbred Racing at Los Alamitos Race Course Owner Profiles GARY AND CECIL BARBER Residences: Los Angeles & Sherman Oaks, California Silks: Hot pink, black ‘B’, black epaulets, black cap Gary Barber is the chief executive officer at Metro-Goldway-Mayer and remains a co-chairman of the board of Spyglass Entertainment, a film production, finance and distribution company he co-founded with Roger Birnbaum in 1998…One of his most famous productions with Spyglass was “Sixth Sense’’, a 1999 film starring Bruce Willis that was nominated for six Oscars and grossed over $661 million worldwide…Born in 1957 in Johannesburg, South Africa, he also spent 8 ½ years as vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Morgan Creek Productions…Been involved in the production of well over 600 movies and television programs…Cecil Barber, who was born in 1949 in Johannesburg, came to the United States in 1979 and is a partner with his brother-in-law in Ross Morgan and Co., a property management firm…The brothers have done very well with claims in recent years, especially Cost of Freedom, a $50,000 purchase who won numerous stakes, most significantly the Grade I Ancient Title during the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet in 2008…Gary Barber also campaigned – with Team Valor – 2000 Santa Anita Derby and Robert B. Lewis Stakes winner The Deputy and 2006 Woodbine Mile winner Becrux…In partnership with Birnbaum and Kevin Tsujiharda, Gary Barber won the Grade I CashCall Futurity with Comma to the Top in 2010….The Barbers won a Del Mar record 14 races in 2008, including a three win day July 19. C R K STABLE (Lee & Susan Searing) Residence: Arcadia, California Silks: Purple, gold diamond hoop with crook Lee and brother Jim operate Searing Industries in Ontario, California, which specializes in the manufacture of welded steel tubing…Lee was born in 1948 in Inglewood while Susan is a native of North Carolina…The couple met while students at Pomona High School and celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2012….The C R K stable name carries the initials of their three children: Christina, Richard and Katherine….Lee is a huge fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, hence the name Kobe’s Back, a multiple stakes winner trained by John Sadler…Gained their richest victory in 2004 when Our New Recruit scored an upset in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Nad al Sheba in the United Arab Emirates….Have had success with claims such as Ceeband and Scooter Brown….Taken for $62,500 in March, 2001, Ceeband won the Grade II Triple Bend Handicap later that year, returning a stakes record $91.80 while Scooter Brown, who was also claimed for $62,500, won the Bold Reasoning Stakes at Del Mar and a division of the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar in 1998….Won several graded stakes with Switch between 2010-20-12, including the Grade I La Brea in 2010 at Santa Anita and the Grade I Santa Monica the following year, also in Arcadia….Lee first went to the races at age 8 with his father, who also owned horses before he passed away in 1999. HARRIS FARMS, INC. (John & Carole Harris) Residence: Sanger, California Silks: Green and white diamonds, green sleeves, green and white cap Born in Fresno, California in 1943, John Harris earned a degree in agricultural production from UC Davis….Chairman and chief executive officer of Harris Farms, Inc., a diversified agricultural production and marketing company nestled in the San Joaquin Valley that also breeds and races thoroughbreds....It was originally a cattle farm founded by his late father Jack in 1937….The farm’s horse division began in 1996…Extremely involved in all facets of racing, John Harris is a member and past steward of the Jockey Club, a former director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, past president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and a member of the executive committee and twice served as Chairman of the California Horse Racing Board… Honored as the ninth winner of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award in 2012 at Hollywood Park…As owner-breeders, the Harries have campaigned such stars as Soviet Problem, the runner-up in the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Compari, Work the Crowd, Unzip Me, Lucky J.H. and Unzip Me….Tiznow, a two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, and Cost of Freedom, a multiple-stakes winning sprinter, were raised at Harris Farms….California Chrome, the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome, was bred at Harris Farms. RACING ASSOCIATION Thoroughbred Racing at Los Alamitos Race Course Owner Profiles JAY EM ESS STABLE (Samantha Siegel) Residence: Beverly Hills, California Silks: Blue, lime green “MS’’ on back, blue and green cap Samantha Siegel is the surviving member of the stable named for her mother Jan, father Mace and herself….Campaigns Masochistic, easy winner of the Pat O’Brien Aug. 27 at Del Mar and a prime contender for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 5 at Santa Anita…Mace Siegel died October 26, 2011 at the age of 86, nine years after his wife passed away…Mace Siegel, who moved his family from New Jersey to California in 1976, owned Macerich Company of Santa Monica, which developed, owned and managed regional shopping malls….He was also a co-founder of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and served as an officer and board member for many years….Extremely generous with numerous race-related charities…The stable had three $100,000 stakes wins on the undercard of the 1989 Breeders’ Cup at Gulfstream Park…Won multiple stakes with 2-year-olds trained by the late Brian Mayberry…Campaigned Declan’s Moon, the champion 2-year-old of 2004 who completed an undefeated season with a victory in the Grade I Hollywood Futurity, defeating, among others, 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo….Declan’s Moon, a Maryland-bred trained by Ron Ellis, was purchased for $125,000 by Samantha Siegel at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic September yearling sale…Other stakes winners include 2009 Hollywood Gold Cup winner Rail Trip, I Ain’t Bluffing, Arson Squad, I Believe In You, Latin Dancer, Miss Pickums, Urbane, Golden Itiz and Include Me Out….Stable purchased first horse in 1964 at a Maryland sale and named her Najecam (Mace and Jan spelled backwards). GEORGE KRIKORIAN Residence: Palos Verdes, California Silks: Magenta, black and silver “K’’ emblems, black and silver bar emblems on blue sleeves, multi-colored cap Born in 1945 in Salem, New Hampshire, about one mile away from Rockingham Park, which lasted hosted live racing in 2010… His late father, George, Sr., was both a fan and trainer at Rockingham…Served in the Navy and spent time in Vietnam during the war before earning a degree at Los Angeles City College…Successful in real estate, he became famous for building and owning movie theatres in Southern California…Opened his first theatre complex in Palos Verdes in 1984 and saw the chain grow to over 100 before it was sold to Regal Cinema in 1997…Later opened Krikorian Premiere Theatres, which has several locations, including Chino, Downey, Monrovia, Redlands and San Clemente…Former secretary-treasurer of the Thoroughbred Owners of California… Current member of the California Horse Racing Board…First winner as an owner came with Box Office Girl in 1998…Earned pair of Grade I victories with Starrer, who won the Santa Maria and Santa Margarita Handicaps in 2003 at Santa Anita…Hollywood Story won the Grade I Hollywood Starlet as a maiden in 2005 and returned to capture the Vanity in Inglewood the following summer… Campaigned Star Billing, who defeated older rivals to win the Grade I Matriach in 2012 at Hollywood Park. JERRY & ANN MOSS Residence: Los Angeles, California Silks: Green, pink hoop and bar on sleeves, green cap Jerry Moss was born in 1935 in New York City while wife Ann is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah….Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss were co-founders of A & M Records, which was the world’s largest independent record company when purchased by Polygram in 1900….Among the prominent artists who were with A & M are Joe Cocker, Janet Jackson, The Police and fellow horse owner Burt Bacharach…Moss, who was inducted with Alpert into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 2006, later became chairman of Rondor Music, Inc….Named a member of the Jockey Club in 2009 and was a longtime member of the California Horse Racing Board…Ann Moss is well known for her work as an environmentalist and founded the Dolphin Connection, an opportunity for guests to have interaction with the marine mammals…The Mosses were honored with the eighth Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award in 2011 at Hollywood Park…Have campaigned nearly 50 stakes winners alone or in partnership, but Zenyatta is easily their most accomplished runner…Trained by John Shirreffs, the late-running daughter of Street Cry won a remarkable 19 of 20 starts, suffering her only loss in her final start – falling a head short of Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic…Aware of her extreme popularity with racing fans across the country, the Mosses elected to keep Zenyatta in training in 2010 after originally retiring her at the end of her 2009 campaign, which culminated with a thrilling victory in the BC Classic at Santa Anita….She finished with a female record $7,304,580 in earnings…Pulled a 50-1 shocker with Giacomo – who was also trained by Shirreffs and ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who was aboard Zenyatta for 16 of her wins – in the 2005 Kentucky Derby…First stakes win was with the Bobby Frankel-trained Fighting Fit in the 1983 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap at Hollywood Park…Other stakes winners raced include Tiago, Zazu, Ruhlmann, Delicate Vine, Sardula, Cozi Rosie and Galunpe.