Arthur B. Hancock, III
The eldest son of Arthur B. "Bull " Hancock Jr. (1910–1972) and the grandson of Arthur B. Hancock (1875–1957), Arthur, like his brother Seth, grew up immersed in the horse industry. Coming to age on Claiborne Farm as a fourth-generation horseman, Arthur’s earliest equine education was homegrown. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Arthur shifted his focus trackside and began working with trainer Eddie Neloy. After working with Eddie for a year, farm life called and in 1970 Arthur began running Stone Farm.
A 100-acre farm at the time of his arrival, Arthur’s experiences at Stone Farm covered all aspects of farm management. After several years at the farm, Arthur purchased the property and continued adding to the acreage until it reached its present-day size of 2,000 acres.
Like his father before him, as well as his brother—who had taken over Claiborne—success soon followed. In fact, Arthur was the first Hancock to achieve the top prize: winning the Kentucky Derby, an accomplishment that eluded the Hancock family for nearly one hundred years. Stone Farm won the Kentucky Derby in 1982 with Gato Del Sol. Trained by Eddie Gregson and starting from post 18 at odds of 21-1, Gato Del Sol was a surprise winner—sprinting to the finish to win by 2 ½ lengths under Eddie Delahoussaye.
The dry spell had lifted. In 1989 Stone Farm brought home another Derby win, this time with Sunday Silence. Though the horse began with a rocky start, he blossomed by age three. “He was weedy in the beginning,” Hancock once told the Los Angeles Times. “He reminded you of a skinny teenager.” Despite his wins and awards—taking the Derby, Preakness, and Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1989 and receiving Horse of the Year the same year, Arthur had a difficult time selling him. Due to a little-known pedigree and an unfortunate conformation, American breeders simply weren’t interested. America’s loss turned out to be Japan’s gain.
Purchased by Zenya Yoshida of Shadai Farm for ¥1.65 billion, Sunday Silence began his illustrious Japanese stud career in 1991. At the time of his death in 2007, Sunday Silence’s offspring had won 143 graded races, including 28 group I races had covered more than 2,000 mares in Japan.
Again in 2000, Stone Farm advanced to the winner’s circle, this time with Fusaichi Pegasus.
Whether it’s forgoing the family farm, being an outspoken voice on performance enhancing drugs, or pursing a career in music, Arthur has followed his own path and found both success and fulfillment in the process.
Arthur and his wife Staci are founding members of Water Hay Oats Alliance, a grassroots organization whose members support legislation to create a national, independent, non-governmental agency to oversee medication policy and enforcement in American racing. Staci and Arthur have six children.
Stone Farm by the numbers:
1977 Arthur purchases Stone Farm
4 Eclipse champions
3 Kentucky Derby winners
2,000 acres
More than 100 stakes winners
Resources:
"Blood Brothers and Bluegrass." Sports Illustrated, October 30, 1989.
Bolus, James. "Claiborne steps out of racing." The Courier-Journal - from "The Bluegrass" special section, October 19, 1972, pp. 1-2.
"Gato Del Sol Dead." Blood Horse, August 8, 2007.
"Sunday Silence: The Star No One Wanted." America's Best Reacing, January, 2017.