The Catesby Clay Family Interview, featuring: Catesby; Elizabeth; Brutus, III; and Catesby "Chris", Jr.
Patriarch of Runnymede Farm, Kentucky’s oldest continuously operated Thoroughbred establishment, Catesby W. Clay’s Kentucky roots run as deep as they come. Catesby is the great-great grandson of General Green Clay, an early surveyor of what would eventually become Kentucky. Green, who was born in Virginia, became one of the state’s richest landowners. Cousin of Henry Clay, Green went on to have seven children, including emancipationist Cassius Marcellus Clay. Runnymede’s story begins, though, with Green’s grandson (Catesby’s grandfather) Col. Ezekiel Clay who founded Runnymede in 1867.
The importance of family and tradition are paramount to Catesby and this is evidenced through the Clay family’s dedication to the farm. "Runnymede has always been committed to raising the very best Thoroughbreds we possibly can," said Catesby. "Breeding horses is more than a business for us—it's a family tradition that's been a way of life for generations of Clays. Everything we do is a testament to my grandfather, Ezekiel Clay, and his dedication to the breed. That aspect of Runnymede will never change." After sixty years of leading the farm, Catesby stepped down in 2009 to farm chairman, passing the torch to his son, Brutus J. Clay, III.
Catesby’s emphasis on family applies to both his own, as well as the incredible horse families he developed throughout his Runnymede tenure. With an impressive past to live up to—horses like Hanover, who retired in 1889 as the highest money earner in the United States and went on to become the nation’s greatest sire for four consecutive years; Miss Woodford the first American horse to earn $100,000 and still today considered one of the greatest American fillies; and Ben Brush, not only a Kentucky Derby winner (1896) but also a foundational sire—Catesby had work to do.
By the 1960s and through the 1970s, Catesby, with the assistance of Howard Noonan, began turning out stakes winners. Horses of that era included: Terrible Tiger, Angle Light, and Plankton. By the 1980s Catesby was focusing Runnymede’s efforts on improving his broodmare bands and met Martin O’Dowd in the process. In 1986 Catesby hired O’Dowd for a farm manager position and over the next three decades, O’Dowd dedicated his career to the Runnymede broodmares. Under his care, Runnymede was able to boast ten Grade 1 winners and numerous Grades 2 and 3 winners. If he had to pick just one horse that stood out the most during his time at Runnymede, O’Dowd recalls Lady Eli. She won nine graded stakes wins, five Grade 1s, at two she took home the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the Eclipse Award for Champion Female Turf Horse.
Catesby, now 95, and his wife Elizabeth have eight children, all of whom are involved in the farm in one way or another. In a 2006 Blood-Horse interview he expressed his wishes for the farm to remain in the family. “This isn’t a hobby,” he said. “I’d like for the family to continue on a basis where it contributes to their livelihood.” At the time of publication, it was yet to be decided who would lead the operation but in the years since, his son Brutus has worked hard to make that wish come true.
Brutus, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina, quickly put his business acumen to work. A diversification was paramount, as his leadership role coincided with the start of the Great Recession. He added broodmares, renovated aging facilities, and made additions in order to board clients’ mares. Like the horsemen before him, tradition is important, but Brutus understands the importance of new ideas. In a 2016 interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Tom Eblen Brutus discussed his ideas for the future. “It seems every third generation has to come up with another plan,” Clay said. “Now I’m the third generation and I have to come up with another idea. Who knows, it might be renewable energy.”
Runnymede by the numbers
- 5% average number of Graded Stakes winners produced at Runnymede (national average is 1%)
- 365 acres
- 1887 Hanover wins Belmont Stakes
- 1896 Ben Brush wins the Kentucky Derby
- 1920 Ezekiel Clay dies
- 75-125 number of horses housed at Runnymede – including retirees
Resources:
Eblen, Tom. “Go behind the gates of Kentucky’s oldest horse farm as it turns 150.” The Lexington Herald-Leader, December 2, 2016.
Shulman, Lenny. “Feats of Clay.” The Blood-Horse, February 4, 2006, pp. 751-754.