People domesticated horses over 6000 years ago – and since then, horse breeding has become one of the key elements of the billion-dollar equine industry. Horse breeding farms not only guarantee the reproduction of top-notch racehorses, but they also play an essential role in the maintenance of genetic standards and in ensuring the continuity of valuable equine heritage, such as the English thoroughbred breed. Breeding farms similar to US-based Three Chimneys Farm, led by Gonçalo Torrealba, are responsible for creating potential winners that will compete in national and international events to boost the betting and entertainment industries related to horse racing.
In this article, learn about six world-leading breeding farms, including Gonçalo Borges Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm, which today stands as one of the planet’s most profitable horse breeding operations.
About Gonçalo Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm
Located in the Midway grasslands between the cities of Lexington and Versailles in Kentucky, Three Chimneys Farm is a reference in the thoroughbred industry. In 2013, the Brazilian executive Gonçalo Torrealba became the president of the operation. With his experience leading successful businesses and knowledge of the thoroughbred breeding practice, Mr. Torrealba transformed Three Chimneys Farm into one of the most influential horse breeding facilities in the world.
Three Chimneys Farm was founded over 40 years ago by Robert and Blythe Clay as a small boarding operation of only nine mares. Since its establishment, the farm has been responsible for the racing careers of some of the best studs and mares in North American thoroughbred history, such as Dynaformer, Seattle Slew, Hidden Lake, and Miss Keller.
The farm has raced or bred nine Grade 1 winners since the start of Gonçalo Torrealba’s leadership. Champion Older Male and #1 General Sire from 2022 to 2024, Gun Runner, for instance, who earned the 2017 Horse of the Year award, is a six-time Grade 1 winner. He has lifetime earnings of $15,988,500, winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), Pegasus World Cup (G1), Whitney S. (G1), Woodward S. (G1), Stephen Foster (G1) and Clark H. (G1).
Gun Runner is currently part of the Three Chimneys Farm stallion roster, along with his 4-year-old son Gun Pilot — a G1-winning millionaire —, and the other G1 winners Funtastic, Volatile, and Sky Mesa. These horses are managed by a specialized team working at Gonçalo Torrealba’s farm, and their crops have been breaking global records and perpetuating the thoroughbred lineage in the Horse Capital of the World.
Who is Gonçalo Torrealba?
Three Chimneys Farm chairman Gonçalo Torrealba is a Brazilian businessman whose career began in law and finance. At the end of 1993, Torrealba established his first business in the equine industry: the TNT Stud. The horse breeding company based in Brazil became one of the most recognized in Latin America, operating for over 20 years.
In 2013, Gonçalo Torrealba and his family decided to invest in the North American thoroughbred market.
“Partnering with Three Chimneys assures our family participation in American breeding and racing at the highest level. If it wasn’t one of the prime operations in the world, we would not have considered it. We thought it was appropriate to join families. We are a family-owned and -run business, also. Robert [Clay] and I find so many things in common, it is scary. The pursuit of excellence is something very important to us. We trust the Clay family, their business model, their vision, and the way they run their business,” explained the executive during an interview with the Thoroughbred Daily News.
Under Torrealba’s leadership, Three Chimneys Farm bred and raced top-performing horses, influencing the global equine industry ever since.
5 of the Best Horse Breeding Farms in the World
Besides Gonçalo Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm, other horse breeding farms rank as some of the best in the world. All of these companies are committed to perpetuating the ancient practice of horse breeding by taking part in this industry that is so relevant to the local and global economies. Below, read more about five other best horse breeding farms in the world.
1. Coolmore
The Irish company Coolmore Partners, considered by some the world’s largest breeding operation, has facilities across Ireland, the US, and Australia. The operation is currently owned by the Magnier family, but it was founded in 1945 by the Vigors family. Coolmore has an extensive list of equine athletes and champions. The stud Galileo, for instance, has bred at least one winner in each of the British Classic Races under Coolmore’s management.
According to the global operations ranking, Thoroughbred Racing (checked in October 2024), Coolmore has bred 285 runners in the past three years – with 57 G1 victories, 49 G2 wins, and 67 G3 wins.
2. Winchell Thoroughbreds
Winchell Thoroughbreds is a distinguished thoroughbred breeding farm that is also located in the heart of Kentucky, United States. The operation maintains friendly relations with Gonçalo Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm. Both farms worked together to manage Gun Runner’s career during the period he was named Horse of the Year in 2017, following his victory in the Breeder’s Cup Classic that year.
“Gun Runner’s ability is so obvious, and that’s what got him here,” said his trainer, Steve Asmussen, after the stallion was inducted into the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in 2024. “But what a perfect combination of two great racing families (owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys), for them to (take) the financial risk and sacrifice of running him as a 4-year-old, the confidence that they had in him to do what he went on to do”.
3. Qatar Racing
Established recently, in 2012, Qatar Racing is already a global powerhouse for horse breeding. Today, Qatar Racing is home to many equine athletes who train across Ireland, the UK, France, Australia, the US, and Japan. Many of its horses are owned in partnership with other breeding farms.
In the past three years, Qatar Racing has had 47 runners who competed in 163 runs, taking home 8 Grade 1 wins, 7 Grade 2 wins, and 9 Grade 3 wins.
4. Juddmonte Farms
One of the top 5 horse breeding operations in the world, Juddmonte was founded in 1980 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Family. The company consists of several individual farms across England, Ireland, and the US. It owned five horses named Broodmare of the Year in the US or Britain, and has bred over 100 winners in over 200 G1 races.
According to the Thoroughbred Racing ranking, Juddmonte Farms currently is the third-largest owner in the world, with 104 runners in the past three years that have joined in 345 runs, with 22 Grade 1 wins, 14 Grade 2 wins, and 41 Grade 3 wins.
5. Godolphin
Ranking number 1 on the Thoroughbred Racing global owners list, Goldophin Stables was founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 1988. The company, which was named after one of the horses that started the modern thoroughbred lineage, has grown along with Dubai, where it is headquartered. Currently, the operation has farms around the world, in places such as the US, the UK, Australia, and Japan.
By 2018, Goldophin Stables had already amassed over 5,000 victories, almost 300 in Grade 1 races. The operation has had 375 runners in the past three years, who competed in 1,479 runs – they achieved 85 Grade 1 wins, 81 Grade 2 wins, and 110 Grade 3 wins.