Sam-Son Farm is a

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

stable with farms located in

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population 132,979) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing m ...

(Canada) and

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

(U.S.). Established in the 1960s by Ernest L. "Ernie" Samuel, it began as a home for competition hunter/jumper horses. One Sam-Son horse (

Canadian Club Canadian Club () is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by Suntory Global Spirits. Popularly known as CC, Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker and Sons, an evolution of a brand around a product that took place over the second half of the ...

) won the 1967

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Individual Jumping Gold Medal and was a member of the 1968 Team Gold Medal for Canada at the

Mexico Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

(ridden by Jim Day). Sam-Son continued to send entries to international show jumping, dressage and three-day eventing events, including the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, and thereafter. In 1971, Sam-Son Farm became home to its first

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

race horse ''Race Horse'' was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn. Construction ''Race Horse'' was similar to a barque built by Samuel Hall a few years earlier, ...

and officially entered racing in 1972. Sam-Son Farm is a five-time winner of the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate from 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of for a ma ...

, Canada's most important horse race, and has won a record seven

Woodbine Oaks The Woodbine Oaks is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Inaugurated in 1956, it is the premier event for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara ...

. In 1991, the stable won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner after its horses established a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for race earnings. Under trainers Jim Day and then

Mark Frostad Mark R. Frostad (born January 19, 1949) is a Canadians, Canadian thoroughbred horse trainer. Born in Brantford, Ontario, he grew up with a father who owned a stud farm but before becoming involved in thoroughbred horse race, thoroughbred horse ra ...

(who took over in 1995), Sam-Son Farm has won ten

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Y ...

s for outstanding owner and eight for outstanding breeder. The current trainer is Malcolm Pierce. Some of their notable Thoroughbred racehorses include: * Chief Bearhart - won the 1997

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

and was named the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse and a two-time

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

; *

Classy 'n Smart Classy 'n Smart (May 20, 1981 – September 28, 1999) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Sam-Son Farm, she won five of nine career starts, including two legs of what would later be known as the Canadian Triple ...

- Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly (1984), Canadian Broodmare of the Year (1991),

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

. Dam of Dance Smartly and

Smart Strike Smart Strike (May 21, 1992, in Ontario – March 25, 2015) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. The son of the Champion sire, Mr. Prospector, and out of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame mare Classy 'n Smart, Smart Strike is a half-brot ...

Dance Smartly Dance Smartly (1988–2007) was a Champion Thoroughbred racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to win a Breeders' Cup race. She was inducted into both the Canadian ...

- undefeated in the 1991 racing season, en route to winning the

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...

, she became the only

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

to ever win the Canadian Triple Crown. She won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Filly in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and in 2003 was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

; * Dancethruthedawn - won the 2001 Queens' Plate and the

Grade 1 First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

Go For Wand Handicap The Go For Wand Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile. Inaugurated in 1954 a ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

* Regal Classic – Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt * Sky Classic - Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (1989),

Canadian Champion Male Turf Horse The Canadian Champion Male Turf Horse is a Canada, Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honour that is part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top male Thoroughbred turf horse competing in Canada. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Cl ...

Canadian Champion Older Male Horse The Canadian Champion Older Male Horse is a Canada, Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honour. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse four years or older c ...

(1991), and the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

in the United States for

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the cat ...

(1992) *

- multiple

Graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

winner,

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...

(2007, 2008), sire of

Curlin Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 ...

and

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. * Up With The Birds -

Graded Stakes Race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

Grade 1 winner, 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year. Sam-Son Farm has owned nine horses who were voted

honours: Dauphin Fabuleux (1984), Imperial Choice (1985), Ruling Angel (1985), Dance Smartly (1991), Chief Bearhart (1997-'98), Quiet Resolve (2000) and Soaring Free (2004), Up With The Birds (2013). Sam-Son Grade 1 Stakes winner,

, went on to even greater fame as a stallion. Standing at

Lane's End Farm Lane's End Farm is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army general. The land was later boug ...

in Versailles, Kentucky, Smart Strike was twice honoured as North America's leading Thoroughbred Sire. Smart Strike died on March 25, 2015. At that time, he was already the sire of 113 stakes winners, 12 champions, four Breeders' Cup winners, and two Classic victors. Following the death of Sam-Son Farm's founder in 2000, farm operations were taken over by his daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz and lasting until her death from cancer in 2008, at age forty-seven. Management of the business was then transferred to her husband and brother, with Rick Balaz in the role of President and Mark Samuel as CEO. Ownership of Sam-Son Farm belongs to the Samuel-Balaz family, consisting of Rick Balaz, Mark Samuel, and Kim Samuel. The business uses the farm in

as a broodmare installation and maintains a training facility in

. Both Ernie Samuel and Tammy Samuel-Balaz have been inducted into the

, as were Sam-Son trainers Day and Frostad. Nine Sam-Son horses have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, including Dance Smartly, No Class, Sky Classic, Chief Bearhart, Classy ’n Smart, Smart Strike, Wilderness Song, Dancethruthedawn and most recently, Soaring Free in 2013.

References

External links

* {{coord , 43.49266, N, 79.79684, W, display=title Canadian racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in Canada Eclipse Award winners Sovereign Award winners Milton, Ontario Owners of King's Plate winners