The Mare With The Golden Eggs

Harness racing is truly all about family, whether it's the people connected that comprise the industry, or the horses whose bloodlines are scrutinized and refined to create that ideal pedigree cross.

Jayport Farms, nestled in the heart of Oxford County, is a familiar name throughout the trotting side of Ontario's breeding industry and has been in the breeding business for some six decades. The farm is owned by 90-year-old Tom Porchak, who manages most of the day-to-day tasks while son Roger oversees operations from a few miles away.

"I worked at General Motors and have been retired for about 10 years, I’m only a couple miles from Dad but he does all his chores and whatever all on his own," Roger recently told Trot Insider. "When it’s foaling time and breeding time, yearling prep time, I come over and help Dad out, but for Dad this is what keeps him going."

The farm suffix is a combination of family elements. 'Jay' coming from sons James and Jeff, 'por' from the start of Porchak and 't' from Tom's first name.

"I don't know where my name fits in,” laughed Roger. “But Jayport was just kind of a name that had a nice ring to it."

Tom Porchak (third from L) and Roger Porchak (R) in the winner's circle with Champlain winner Jayportcashforlife at Mohawk

Starting by purchasing a Cruiser Herbert mare by the name of Naughticle in the late 1970s, Jayport Farms bred both breeds of Standardbreds before focusing solely on trotters. A number of successful and notable performers have come from the Woodstock, Ont.-area farm including Jayport Worthy Vic ($533,033, 1:57.1f), Jayport Express ($369,523, 1:56.1s), Jayport All Muscle ($267,283; 1:57.1h), Jayport Sweetheart ($172,242, 1:57.3f) and Jayport Raider ($106,025, 1:58.4f) who was exported to Italy. Jayport mares have also gone on to produce high-caliber horses such as former world champion and double-millionaire Abbey Road C (Incredible Abe - Jayport Whimsey).

While the Porchaks hold every horse that has been born on their farm and carries their family name close to them, it's clear that Jayport Worthy Vic has an extra special place in their hearts.

“Jayport Worthy Vic, was two-year-old of the year in 1985 -- this was before they had the O’Brien Awards. He raced all the open level races and was really the first good Jayport horse,” said Roger.

“He won 10 consecutive OSS races to start his career. What a special horse he was,” added Tom.

Strangely enough, the Porchaks have been following the exploits of a few pacers as of late after purchasing a pacing mare by the name of Beachy Girl in 2018. How does a trotting-based breeding operation end up with a pacing mare?

Beachy Girl, winning at Mohawk

"It’s an interesting story," Roger laughed. "Dad had three yearlings that he sold in 2018 -- he didn't do fantastic but he had a bit of money to spend before the end of the year or he would have had to give it back to the government as farm income for taxes. Instead of giving it back to the government, I said to Dad, ‘what do you want to do here, you’re 89 years old, you’ve either got to buy another horse or you have to put the money into the farm or you have to buy another stallion share, you have to do something.'"

"I told Roger I didn’t need to do much on the farm, I didn't really need another mare and I didn't really need another stallion share, but to give me a few days to think about it," said Tom.

After some thinking, Tom instructed Roger to be on the lookout for another broodmare and thus the hunt began.

"I spent a lot of time watching the Standardbred Canada Horses For Sale board and Ongait.com but we were pressed for time because the 2018 yearling sale was already done and we had to invest this money before the end of the year otherwise pay it back in taxes," said Roger. "It was getting close to December and I hadn’t found a trotting mare yet, but there was a pacing mare (Beachy Girl) that I found that I really liked."

Beachy Girl had been listed on Ongait.com for over a month at that point, with the only serious interest in the mare stemming from the Porchaks.

"I think it had something to do with the fact that she was listed on an American site and they probably were not as familiar with how her two-year-old of that year, Century Farroh, won the 2018 Grassroots Final at Mohawk by open lengths. I thought how he finished his rookie season was very impressive," Roger added.

At that time, Beachy Girl -- a Grand Circuit stakes winner herself as a two-year-old -- had produced some decent performers but nothing that jumped off the pedigree page. With enough interest in the mare and time running out, Tom and Roger Porchak persued the idea of having another pacing mare on the farm.

"We ended up calling Sanford Zimmerman of Century Spring Farms to ask about the mare. Sanford explained that the reason for selling Beachy Girl was that it was just time to move some mares around. Everything was just seeming to line up, she had a good production record and she herself was a really good racehorse so Dad and I decided to go and see her," noted Roger. "Dad really liked her -- she was a good size, she looked good and athletic and she was in foal to Fear The Dragon. We weren’t totally crazy about an Ohio sired stallion as we would have preferred an Ontario sire but Dad made a deal with Sanford and we bought her that day."

"I told Sanford I’ll buy her, and you have to deliver her to me," laughed Tom.

The timing for the Porchaks' purchase could not have been better, as Century Farroh went on to a three-year-old season that included five OSS Gold division wins, plus Grand Circuit victories in the Sombeachsomewhere Stakes, North America Cup Consolation, Simcoe Stakes and the Jennas Beach Boy at Hoosier Park.

"You couldn't believe how it felt to watch that horse race," an audibly emotional Tom added.

"She is the goose that laid the golden egg-- it was a very special time to come along for Dad," added Roger.

Thrilled with their purchase, the Porchaks enjoyed watching Century Farroh's three-year-old season with a Fear The Dragon half-sister in the back yard.

"She has great disposition and has been just a sweetheart since day one. This year, Beachy Girl had an Artspeak colt and he is very good looking as well," said Roger. "Beachy Girl's Fear The Dragon filly [Jayport Dragonfly] is consigned to the Harrisburg sale and right now is at Twinbrook Farms with Rob & Tammy McNiven. We ran into a problem because we had three colts and one filly and it wasn’t ideal for a filly to be isolated like that so we discussed the situation with Rob and Tammy and they are now prepping her and consigning her to Harrisburg."

Not just a one-hit wonder, Beachy Girl recently had a big week herself as four of her foals won in the span of seven days -- two of those at the top class of their respective tracks.

• Seven-year-old Century Chancellor won at Scioto Downs on June 7 in 1:53.2

• Three-year-old Beach Sports won at Woodbine Mohawk Park on June 12 in a life's best 1:52.4

• Beachy Dream captured the Open Pace at Buffalo Raceway on June 13 in 1:54.3

• Century Farroh won the Preferred at Mohawk on June 13 in 1:51

Clockwise from top left: Century Chancellor, Beach Sports, Century Farroh, Beachy Dream)

Such performance would make most breeders ecstatic, but the Porchaks' tone changed slightly in discussing the events of that week as Tom and Roger were involved in a situation which easily could have halted them from seeing what the future will bring for their prized mare and her offspring.

"The day that Beach Sports won and took a new lifetime mark, earlier that day Dad said he wanted to go to the bank. I offered to drive him there and as we were casually cruising into town a man ran a red light and T-boned us. Fortunately no one was injured but, had it been one of those things where it happened out in the country on a busy road, we probably wouldn't be here to tell the story. But, because it was in town he wasn’t going as fast and we are here to live to tell the tale and continue to watch Beachy Girl’s foals race.

"When things like this happen it really makes you stop and think about things, we didn't really need another mare and we really didn't need a pacing mare -- we were just in a situation where the opportunity is there and look how it turned out. She has brought a lot of joy and excitement to the farm and to the family. You get older and things slow down, it's rare you bounce back and get lucky like this," Roger explains.

The Porchak family and Jayport Farms look to have an exciting year ahead of them, continuing to watch Beachy Girl's offspring and sell their first foal from her this fall.

And while family ties are quite often the tie that binds in the harness racing industry, regardless of how you got your start, it's the love of the horse and the love of the sport that keep people going.

"As Winston Churchill said, 'There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man,' added Roger.