When you love a sport as much as Terry Lovingier loves horse racing, the time and effort you put into it is irrelevant. That’s why when you ask Lovingier where he finds the time and energy to be chairman of the board of directors of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, secretary of the Purebred Owners Association of California. breeder of California, owner of a thoroughbred breeding operation and President of the Purebred Breeders and Owners Association. Breeder of the Year, he just laughed and said he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t like it.
Lovingier is a major proponent of California horse racing, one of many at the forefront of efforts to keep horse racing alive in California. His passion began as a rancher and owner of a large thoroughbred ranch near Warner Springs called Lovacres.
“I love procreation, I love having children,” Lovingier says. “I enjoy watching them grow up. I don’t think there’s any more joy than to breed, give birth and raise a child and it all goes well. They’re just like your kids.”
Since then, he has expanded his activities, actively engaging people in the sport through investment partnerships. He estimates he has about 30 active current partners or more.
“I have a lot of friends who enjoy racing,” says Lovingier, “but they don’t want to own the whole horse so they just buy parts to participate. They like the experience to have more chances and chances of winning and I encourage them to do that. And above all, I’m happier when I have friendships and close friendships.”
Lovingier has no problem with huge partnerships that offer fans small stakes in horses.
“I think it could be great for horse racing,” he said. “It gives people the opportunity to have something and participate in it. It thinks it’s a good thing as long as you don’t rush into it thinking you’re going to make any money. I mean You can. It’s all gambling, it’s just what scale you want to play.”
Then came Lovingier’s involvement in ending horse racing management. He has been with the California Purebred Breeders Association for 12 years.
“CTBA’s charter is to promote livestock,” Lovingier said. “I think our ancestors did it right by the ‘cross-breed’ rule. You buy mares in Kentucky, bring them out here, pet the young and then cross-breed again with a California stallion and then you have a Cal-bred.”
Lovingier believes the Cal-bred program is essential to keeping horse racing in California.
“In each level, there is a position for each horse,” Lovingier reasoned. “You just have to find the right spot for them. Cal-bred levels give you the ability to compete and don’t necessarily do that with all the million dollar horses; but if your horse hits the mark that’s fine, then you can.”
The lover better knows a good horse when he sees one. His family is from Oklahoma although Terry grew up in Lakewood, California, where he developed his love for horses at an early age.
“About five years old, in Lakewood,” Lovingier recalls, “my father had precious horses in our backyard on union land that my father took care of. I helped him take care of the horses.”
Fast forward to 1990, when he and his father and brother bought a ranch outside Waco, Texas. It was on the ranch that they raised the Streakin Flyer, a horse that won the 1996 All-American race, the Kentucky Derby of Quarter. But at the time, Lovingier was working and raising a family in California, and trips back to Texas began to follow him.
“Flying there and then driving there became a bit too much for me because the last hour was on dirt roads at the time,” he recalls. “So we moved everything back to Murrietta just so the government prioritized management of my property. We had very good well water in the valley and before 2005, the construction of the houses was broken and they were famous on my farm because they needed water. I see, it was for the good of society, so from there they moved us to our current location in Warner Springs.”
That’s where he began building Lovacres, a beautiful 600-acre estate where he began investing in and breeding Purebreds.
“There could be 50 to 60 productive mares and then I built a retirement pasture, so I could have 20 or 30 more there,” he notes. “It’s really a great asset; the horses are stress-free and they just do well”
He has brought some excellent stallions to Lovacres: Ghost boss , Smokem and Oscar Nominated . But no success is as quick as Thirsty .
“He did something this year that you’ve never seen,” Lovingier said. “He was a model in 2008 and he surpassed all the stallions that have ever come to California in progeny income for 2-year-olds and he still has plenty of crops behind him.”
In 2021, Stay Thirsty’s first crop in California, he led the Cal-bred 2-year-old’s wallet earnings, in terms of winners and race wins. Overall, Stay Thirsty’s 2021 wallet income exceeds $5 million, which is one reason Lovingier was named California Breeder and Purebred Owners Association California Breeder of the Year.
“It means a lot because there are so many good breeders here in California,” Lovingier notes. “You have to work very hard to get there. We breed them, we breed them and then we spend two more years just to get there. So it means a lot. “
Raising horses is not Lovingier’s only source of income. He’s also in the oil business.
“I have a company that maintains refineries,” says Lovingier, “and I have five recycling units that recycle asphalt and concrete. I have a degree in civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine and I used it in the environmental business, but also in the oil and gas company.”
Lovingier achieved exactly last year when his Cal-bred Finneus Named the 2021 Cal-bred Men’s Champion and At Spa named the 2021 Cal-bred champion. He won the Graduation Share at Del Mar in 2021 with his pony Rock N Rye . When he’s not watching his ‘infant’ race, he’s the power secretary for California’s Purebred Owners.
“The TOC charter is to represent owners in horse racing, whether they are Calorie hybrids or not,” Lovinger said. “I’ve been fortunate to work under Mike Pegram, Nick Alexander, and now Gary Fenton. The TOC board is full of really good people. Things are happening.”
Lovingier is not involved in all horse racing apocalypse scenarios, especially in California.
“We’ll be fine here,” Lovingier pointed out. “If you look at the fields here, you can see that the percentage of Calorie crossbred horses is now higher than ever. Probably because there are larger mares here now. Maybe not much. like 10 years ago, but definitely a higher caliber.”
Lovingier credits the breeders themselves for improving the quality of racehorses in the Golden State.
“I think the livestock associations and the ranchers themselves, Tommy Town and myself, George Krikorian, Nick Alexander, Harris Farms, and Legacy Ranch … are all committed to the race,” Lovingier said. speak. “They’re trying to compete at a higher level and they’ve raised the bar where we’re competing. All you have to do is look into the special first-age weight bonus program. Cal -breds are getting more wins among those at open company.”
Lovingier is also proud of the efforts that have been made in California to help purebreds after they retire from competition.
“You can always improve things,” says Lovingier, “but the truth is that if you sit somewhere and talk horse racing with someone, they won’t realize that there’s a cent or two out of every dollar. bets are on reincarnation. That word needs to get out. Let people know that we love our horses; that we take care of them. That message is good but we are. can always do a little better with it.”
So what is Lovingier’s vision of the California horse race moving forward?
“If you look at Del Mar and how well they are doing, people still love horse racing. Now that we are putting more effort into protecting our horses, it will continue to move forward. All we have to do is continue to pursue it and protect our horses.”
This press release has been edited for content and style by the BloodHorse Staff.
