Wanting to concentrate on his NFL team when it comes to sports ventures, Texans owner Bob McNair has sold Stonerside Stable, which he founded with wife Janice in 1994, to Darley, the global breeding operation owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“Janice and I have loved every minute of owning Stonerside,” McNair said, “but I have a duty to the Houston Texans now, and it has become increasingly difficult to focus on both.
“An important aspect of the deal to us is that the Stonerside staff, who have worked so hard for the family and contributed so much to our success, have been assured that their futures are secure.”
Included in the transaction will be approximately 80 horses in training plus another 170 or so broodmares, yearlings and weanlings, as well as the main 2,000-acre farm near Paris, Ky., and the training center in Aiken, S.C.
The McNairs will keep one horse in training, 3-year-old graded stakes winner Cowboy Cal, and retain homebred stallions Congaree, Bob and John, and Stonesider, as well as their other stallion interests.
“Sheik Mohammed is delighted to have been given this opportunity,” said Darley representative John Ferguson. “Stonerside has bred some great horses in the past, and we are confident it will continue to do so.”
