07/30/2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Christine Jones Self-Nominates for 2025 FTBOA Board of Directors
Four-Decade Industry Veteran Offers Proven Leadership and Collaborative Vision to Florida’s Thoroughbred Community
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Morriston, FL (July 30, 2025) Christine Jones, Director of Stallion Services at Pleasant Acres Stallions, today announces her self-nomination for a position on the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) Board of Directors. With more than 40 years of dedicated service to Florida's thoroughbred industry, Jones brings a unique combination of operational expertise, industry relationships, and collaborative leadership to help address the challenges facing the state's breeding community.
"I want to serve on the FTBOA Board because I understand both the business and operational sides of breeding and believe I can help bridge the communication gaps that are fragmenting our industry," Jones stated. "My four decades in stallion services have given me deep insight into what drives success - from bloodline decisions to market positioning."
"The support I've received from 107 FTBOA members in good standing - including breeders and stallion owners across Florida - who signed an in-house petition on my behalf – is both humbling and motivating," Jones added. "It reinforces my belief that our industry benefits when we have collaborative leadership that truly represents all segments of the thoroughbred community."
Overwhelming Industry Support:
Since January 2025, an impressive 107 FTBOA members have endorsed Jones' candidacy through an in-house petition – demonstrating extraordinary industry confidence that more than triples the 35 signatures permitted on the official application. This exceptional grassroots movement reflects the thoroughbred community's strong belief in Jones' leadership abilities and their enthusiasm for her collaborative vision on the Board.
Boots on the Ground Leadership:
Being "boots on the ground" and earning the respect and trust of breeders throughout Florida, Christine brings with her an understanding of the hardships and successes of breeders - both large operations and backyard small operations. This grassroots perspective is invaluable in addressing the real challenges facing Florida's diverse breeding community.
"I've worked alongside everyone from major commercial breeding operations to first-time mare owners with a single broodmare," Jones explained. "The challenges may differ in scale, but the passion and dedication remain constant. Whether it's a farm managing 200 mares or a backyard breeder with their first foal, everyone gets representation and support."
This hands-on experience gives Jones unique insight into the economic pressures facing different segments of the industry. She understands how stallion fee structures impact small breeders differently than large operations, how incentive programs can make or break a breeding decision for smaller farms, and how the lack of educational resources can prevent newcomers from achieving success. Jones emphasizes that it is crucial that Florida retain its current breeding base while also actively recruiting new participants to ensure long-term industry growth.
Capitalizing on Florida’s Breeding Excellence:
Jones reiterates the critical importance of promoting Florida-bred BY Florida-stallions success stories as a transformative opportunity for the industry's future.
"We absolutely value Florida-Breds by out-of-state stallions - they're vital to our economy," Jones explained. "However, we're missing the powerful marketing potential of showcasing our complete breeding ecosystem. When winners are both bred in Florida AND sired by Florida stallions, we're telling a compelling story about our industry's true capabilities."
This strategic focus represents economic empowerment and industry validation. Florida-bred BY Florida-stallions success stories prove the state can compete with traditional powerhouses like Kentucky, New York, and California while keeping every dollar in-state - from stallion fees to breeding operations to foal development.
"This approach validates our local stallions, attracts mare owners from other states, and demonstrates to potential investors that Florida is a destination, not just a satellite location," Jones noted. "We're proving Florida has the infrastructure, expertise, and bloodlines to compete at the highest levels."
The economic impact extends beyond individual transactions to create jobs, generate revenue, and build generational wealth within Florida. This transforms the state's positioning from "a good place to breed" into "a complete thoroughbred powerhouse" - exactly the narrative needed to drive sustained investment and growth.
The Urgent Need for Competitive Stallion Retention:
Jones also addresses the alarming trend of quality stallions leaving Florida for states with more attractive incentive packages. "We're losing valuable breeding assets to places like New York and Louisiana because of their impressive stallion owner incentives and breeder incentives," Jones explained. "When stallions relocate, we lose not just the immediate economic impact, but the long-term potential for Florida-bred BY Florida-stallions success stories."
This stallion migration represents a significant threat to Florida's breeding ecosystem. States like New York are offering comprehensive incentive packages that benefit both stallion owners and breeders, creating a competitive advantage that Florida struggles to match. Each departing stallion takes with it breeding fees, mare bookings, and the potential for future winners that could have elevated Florida's national reputation.
The incentive structures in competing states creates a powerful draw - stallion owners receive attractive financial benefits for standing their horses there, while breeders get enhanced rewards for using those stallions – rewards that sometimes outweigh the expense of transporting their mares. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle that makes it increasingly difficult for Florida to compete for quality breeding stock.
"We need to examine what other states are offering to both stallion owners and breeders, then work to somehow develop competitive retention strategies that address both sides of the equation," Jones noted. "This isn't just about keeping stallions here - it's about creating an environment where the entire breeding community sees Florida as the premier destination for their investment."
Working Hand-in-Hand with Industry Experts:
Jones brings proven people skills and extensive industry relationships to facilitate meaningful dialogue benefiting everyone from stallion managers to mare owners to racing interests. Her hands-on experience encompasses daily operational challenges including managing breeding schedules and navigating industry politics. Her extensive industry network is complemented by her collaboration with equine marketing and public relations experts who provide essential research, statistical analysis, and evidence-based promotional strategies for the stallions, the farm, and the broader industry. This collaborative approach, grounded in both industry relationships and professional expertise, enables her to advocate effectively for all segments of Florida's thoroughbred industry.
Historic Recognition: First female recipient of the Florida Farm Manager of the Year Award (1998), nominated by industry peers in a then male-dominated field.
Recent Honor: 2024 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Managerial Award recipient from Godolphin.
Operational Excellence: Transformed Marablue Farm from a 50-horse operation to nearly 700 horses under her management.
Current Role: Oversees stallion selection, mare pairings, breeding appointments, and breeder education at Pleasant Acres Stallions.
Industry Mentorship: Dedicated significant time to educating first-time breeders on pedigree analysis, stallion-mare matching, foaling procedures, and sales selection strategies.
Stallion Acquisition Success: Successfully brought top-quality bloodlines to Florida including Champions Dream (Justify), Mr Fisk (Arrogate), Verifying (Justify), Doppelganger (Into Mischief), and Simplification (Not this Time).
International Expansion: Extended Florida stallion bloodlines to the Southern Hemisphere, demonstrating global breeding market expertise.
Client Relations Excellence: Maintains 24/7 availability for breeders and owners, earning continuous praise on social media for dedication, honesty, and seamless service delivery.
Industry Advocacy: Committed to promoting Florida-bred BY Florida-stallions success stories to elevate the state's national breeding reputation.
Crisis Management: During the challenging 2025 breeding season when decoupling fears and industry reservations created widespread uncertainty, Christine worked collaboratively with her marketing team and stallion owners to develop innovative incentives and reassurances that directly addressed breeder concerns. This proactive leadership approach resulted in Pleasant Acres Stallions achieving their best breeding season to date, demonstrating her ability to navigate industry crises while maintaining stakeholder confidence and driving business growth.
FULL BIOGRAPHY:
Christine began her lifelong love of the thoroughbred industry as a child where she assisted her father – a prominent owner and breeder in Canada. She spent countless hours at the racetrack with the family-owned racing business and was even privileged to be stabled in the same barn as Secretariat when he won his last race at Canadian International. Spending time at the track around exceptional athletes such as Secretariat and Northern Dancer certainly gave Christine the "bug" to spend her life around thoroughbreds. As the child of a horse breeder, Christine learned to appreciate the importance of pedigree analysis and bringing together the best stallion and broodmare combinations for breeding excellence.
After coming to Florida, Christine's husband moved his small family to Marablue Farm in Reddick, Florida where he was hired as General Manager. Sadly, he passed away and she found herself as a single mother with two young sons. Christine is tenacious and she never allowed the loss to stop her or slow her down as she was a role model for her boys who were left without a father. She got up every day and pushed forward with hard work and dedication. Soon, the owner of Marablue Farm noticed how proficient Christine was around the stallions, the mares, and the staff. She was quickly promoted to her late husband's job as General Manager. She oversaw all operations of the farm and soon she took it from a small private business to an outstanding commercial operation.
When she was first promoted, the farm was standing Proud Birdie. Soon, Christine campaigned for the addition of several other exceptional stallions of their time including Tactical Advantage and Songandaprayer. The farm grew from 50 horses total to almost 700 – including stallions, broodmares, training horses, yearlings, and weanlings. Christine oversaw the entire operation.
Today, Christine is the Director of Stallion Services at Pleasant Acres Stallions. Each year she works with various agents where she carefully selects and campaigns the best stallion bloodlines for Florida breeders. She handles the pairing of stallions for each client mare, she books all mare breeding appointments, she writes all the reports for the Jockey Clubs and the stallion owners, and she works directly with each individual stallion owner, as well as the syndicates. She keeps her phone by her side every day of the year and takes calls from breeders and owners at all hours of the day to make sure the operation runs smoothly. The clients of Pleasant Acres Stallions continuously praise her all over social media for her dedication, her honesty, and her hard work. The consensus remains the same – "Christine Jones bends over backwards to make sure our mares get on the books, and she makes the experience for us seamless and stress-free!"
Christine is dedicated to the expansion of the thoroughbred industry in Florida. She spends a lot of time working with first-time breeders teaching them about pedigrees, the matching of broodmares and stallions, foaling, and the selection of sales for their foals and horses. She continues to encourage breeders and educate them so that their experience is positive. Last fall she dedicated her time to bring in top quality bloodlines including Champions Dream (Justify) and Mr Fisk (Arrogate). Previously she worked to add Verifying (Justify), Doppelganger (Into Mischief), Simplification (Not this Time), Chess Chief (Into Mischief), Magic on Tap (Tapit), and Curlin's Honor (Curlin) to the breeding barn for Pleasant Acres Stallions. She has also expanded the stallion bloodlines to the Southern Hemisphere for two stallions this year. Her goal remains steadfast – top quality stallions to fit every budget.
Christine Jones was the first female ever to be awarded the Florida Farm Manager of the Year Award in 1998. The nomination came from her peers in the industry – which at the time was male-dominated. Christine is highly respected in the Thoroughbred industry and this year she received the prestigious 2024 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Managerial Award – presented to her by Godolphin. Moving forward, Christine would like to offer her services and good will to FTBOA to serve as a member of its Board of Directors.
NOTE: As per FTBOA’s Website: "Voting packets will be mailed/emailed to FTBOA members eligible to vote on Wed., Sept. 24, 2025, and voting will close upon the FTBOA Annual Meeting being called to order on Oct. 24, 2025." *If you don’t receive a packet soon after Sept. 24, 2025, please reach out to FTBOA and request one so your vote for Christine Jones will be counted.
