The original Kentucky parcel, consisting of 640 acres located on Route 60 just outside of Versailles, was purchased in August of 1989. The oldest known inhabitants of the land were the Adena Indians, who had been attracted to the area by quality of the water in the free-flowing local springs. The farm was named after the Adenas, both as a tribute and as a commitment to perpetuate in this land the grace, spirit and strength they instilled here.
Two additional purchases in Woodford County completed the Adena Springs complex, including the 715-acre parcel in Midway, long home to our Kentucky-based stallions.
In 2005 we purchased more than 2,000 acres in Bourbon County, KY, and designed a magnificent, state-of-the-art facility for this fresh land. In August 2007, we moved our entire Kentucky operation, including the nine stallions, to Paris, KY, beginning a new chapter in our Central Kentucky history.
Adena Springs South began operation in October of 1996 with the purchase of the 453-acre Lin-Drake Farm, located just north of Ocala in Williston. In November of 1997, an additional 553 acres were purchased on nearby State Highway 318. The following June, the purchase of two adjacent tracts of land brought the total amount of acreage in Florida to 1100. The addition of these acres made it possible to raise all of the Adena Springs yearlings at one facility. 
The expansion to the farm’s current state was completed in July of 1999, when an additional 1050 acres were purchased directly across Highway 318. This has allowed us to centralize our entire regional operation in one location, as Adena Springs South now encompasses some 3800 acres of some of the best land on which to raise horses in Florida. It is here that our young racing prospects receive their early lessons on our one-mile main track or seven-furlong turf course. The training center also features eight spacious 36-stall barns, constructed with the safety and welfare of our horses and staff as number one priorities.
Like Florida, Adena Springs North in Canada is an integral part of our operation. At its core the Aurora, Ontario facility is a nursery that is home for a large segment of our mares. As such, we take great pride in the success of homebreds that were foaled there, among them Awesome Again, a Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner and Canada’s all-time leading money earner, and Basqueian, who like Awesome Again enjoyed victory in the classic Queen’s Plate, Canada’s version of the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The 500-acres that comprise Adena Springs North also makes use of its half-mile indoor training track, one-mile dirt track and a seven-furlong turf course.
When Adena Springs began operation, it was with the thought that it would be a private nursery, designed to provide horses for the Stronach Stable racing operation. These goals changed dramatically, almost from the beginning, and the focus of the farm is now epitomized by our approach to sales and stallions.
On the sales front, we are pleased by the favorable response to our innovative practice of selling mares in foal to Adena Springs stallions, with a season to an Adena Springs stallion for the following year. In its first decade, while selling predominantly young stock, our mares have produced more than 225 stakes horses and earners of nearly $100,000,000 since their purchase. Speaking directly to its quality, the sale has also produced five Kentucky Derby contenders since 2001, and eight Breeders’ Cup contenders since 2000.
The eleventh annual mare auction took place in November 2007, at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Kentucky. 101 mares were sold for gross receipts of $1,726,000. Our March sale of two year olds in training, held the past six years at Adena Springs South, is one of the industry’s rising success stories. Earners of more than $31,000,000 – including 66 stakes horses and 32 stakes winners – have graduated from this innovative auction. In 2008, 11 stakes horses have come from the sale, including multi-millionaire Eclipse Award Champion Ginger Punch.
From the start, the Stronach family has been firmly committed to offering the best stallion roster anywhere, and we are extremely proud of our success. Awesome Again and El Prado are two of the world's elite sires. Awesome Again is the only sire with four Breeders' Cup winners from his first four crops and El Prado (Ire) was the #1 or #2 Sire three consecutive years. Classic winner Touch Gold has sired four Grade I winners in his first two crops, while Champion Macho Uno is one of the leading freshman sires of 2007.
In 2006 we welcomed the first foals by Congaree and Olmodavor. Congaree is an exceptional miler and one of the most versatile horses of the past few decades. He is also the leading North American-based stallion from the famed Blushing Groom (FR) sire line. Olmodavor, a multiple graded stakes winner of $700,000, is the leading money earner by A.P. Indy to retire for 2005/2006.
In 2007 we saw the first foals by two of the most exciting stallion prospects in decades. Ghostzapper, our homebred Horse of the Year, bred exceptional books in 2006 and 2007, and his first weanlings averaged $755,000. North Light, the only Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) winner by the great sire of sires Danehill, is also Danehill's only G1 winner at stud in North America. We stood our first Kentucky Derby winner in 2007, Giacomo, whose Grade I class at two, three and four secured his place as one of the most consistent and popular horses of the past decade.
New to Adena Springs for 2008 is Awesome Again's first Breeders' Cup winner, the tough and resilient Juvenile-G1 champion Wilko; Sunday Silence's first U.S. Graded stakes winner available to North American breeders, Silent Name; and Ghostzapper's winning full brother, Aristocrat. Silent Name will stand in Kentucky, while Wilko and Aristocrat will stand at Adena South.
As if to emphasize both the breadth and depth of our commitment to the art and science of the Thoroughbred, Adena Springs/Frank Stronach was North America’s Leading Breeder from 2003 to 2007, and won an unprecedented four consecutive Eclipse Awards as champion breeder. We are the only breeder in history to win the Eclipse Award and the Sovereign Award the same year, and we achieved this feat in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Stronach Stables received Eclipse Awards as outstanding breeder every year from 2004 to 2007, and as outstanding owner from 1998 to 2000. Adena Springs also won the Breeders’ Eclipse in 2000, and is the only breeder to win this award five times. Mr. Stronach also earned nine Sovereign Awards in 12 years – most recently in 2005 – as Canada 's Leading Owner. The Adena Springs breeding program has produced three Broodmares of the Year since 2000: Baby Zip (2005), Primarily (Canada), Primal Force (2000).
Stronach Stable has bred and/or campaigned more than 225 stakes winners. This impressive collection is topped by Champions Ghostzapper, Macho Uno, Ginger Punch, Perfect Sting, and Phantom Light, and includes: Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Red Bullet; 2007 Grade I winners Ginger Punch, Sugar Shake, and Citronnade; multiple 2006 Grade I winner Spun Sugar; multiple Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Milwaukee Brew; Pimlico Special (G1) winner Golden Missile; Queen Elizabeth II (G1) winner Collect the Cash. The best of these runners have or will be returned to the Adena Springs Farms as stallions or as broodmares, ensuring the success of our program for generations to come.