John Phillips

John W. Phillips is a third-generation horseman. His journey into the industry traces back to his grandfather, John W. Galbreath who was a native of Derby, Ohio, Galbreath and born to modest means. After graduating from Ohio University, Galbreath knew he wanted to do something big.

With $100 to his name he purchased a Model-T Ford and began a career in real estate, which was quickly thwarted by the onset of the Great Depression. Not one to be kept down for long, Galbreath eventually made his way into corporate real estate and property development, creating skyscrapers across the United States and the world.

Throughout his business career he always maintained an interest in horses, opening his Ohio Darby Dan Farm in 1935. In 1949 Galbreath moved his operation to Kentucky, purchasing the iconic Idle Hour Stock Farm and renaming it Darby Dan Farm.

Galbreath’s success in business was matched on the racetrack and on the farm. He bred and raced horses that went on to win not only the Kentucky Derby (Chateaugay and Proud Clarion) but also the Epsom Derby (Roberto). He served as chairman for both Churchill Downs and The New York Racing Association, aiding the latter in the construction and management of Belmont and Aqueduct.

After his death in 1988 at the age of 90, his son, Daniel M. Galbreath took over the farm and managed it with the assistance of his nephew, John W. Phillips, until his death in 1995. 

Phillips’s reign over Darby Dan represents a continuation in the family tradition, but also some fundamental changes. Where decisions would have once come from only John Galbreath and Olin Gentry, today Darby Dan takes a larger, team-centric approach. The core of the business has also shifted, focusing on sales and boarding rather than racing. Today the farm’s operations are divided into four divisions: sales, stallions, boarding, and bloodstock agency.

The Horses of Idle Hour Farm - 1964 Photographs 

For Phillips, whose background is in law, it has always been about quality over quantity. In 2002 Phillips told Keeneland magazine, “In the years to come, I would hope that Darby Dan would be perceived as a very good farm, selling very good horses instead of a large farm selling hundreds of horses and having scores of stallions.”

In 2016 Phillips joined The Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA), stating, “For me the issue is broader than Lasix, a drug which is good for certain particular horses but is bad for the sport in my opinion; the issue is addressing decisively and immediately issues under our control that definitively negatively impact our Sport. Our world is different than a century ago. I support WHOA given its bold and rational support of HR 3084.”

Darby Dan by the numbers:

1921 the year E.R. Bradley’s Behave Yourself won the Kentucky Derby

1,000 acres

28 number of starters for Col. E.R. Bradley’s Idle Hour Stock Farm

1972 John W. Galbreath becomes the first person to ever breed and race winners of both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby

$1.35 million the amount paid to lease the European race horse, Ribot, for five years.

The Great Graustark 

Resources: 

Biles, Deirdre B. "Redefining a Legacy." Keeneland Magazine, Winter 2002, pp. 29-40. 

"Giving something back: how Darby Dan’s John Phillips treasures the legacy of Galbreath and Ribot." Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, December 12, 2017.

Haskin, Steve. "Looking Back at Darby Dan Farm." The Backstretch, November 1996, 76-79.

"Life's Work - Oral  History Project, No. 2: John Phillips." Thoroughbred Daily News, September 26, 2019.

Reed, Billy. "John W. Galbreath...A Giant of the Turf." Kentucky Derby Magazine, 1989, pp. 47-53.