BY SARAH WELK BAYNUM
Michael John Rowe is the owner of Masstaden Farm, where he breeds and owns a number of racehorses—all greys. However, he started out working with much different breeds of horses before getting into the Thoroughbred industry.
“I moved from Arizona down here to Florida probably 10 years ago. I started out with Arabian and Tennessee Walker horses,” Rowe said.
Then, about eight years ago, he acquired a Thoroughbred mare from Laurine Fuller-Vargas that helped him begin his breeding program.
“We were just trying to get our toes wet and figure out what we wanted to do. We said, ‘forget the event horses’ and decided to stick with Thoroughbreds. That’s pretty much the way it’s been ever since,” Rowe said.
But before establishing their breeding and racing program in Florida, they tested other states too.
“Joe Orseno is our trainer now after we tried Kentucky—Kentucky didn’t work very well for us. When your horses are in another state you never see them. Joe has turned the whole program around, so we’re sticking with him. We also decided after a lot of advice from people smarter than us over the years to stay in the Florida market and stay in Florida races. We keep them in Florida now and we’ll continue to breed and race strictly in Florida. Don’t go up to Kentucky or New York or whatever—you’re going to be better off staying within this state. We’re also tightly coupled with what the FTBOA is doing,” Rowe said.
Not only have things improved since working with Orseno and moving his horses to Florida, but Rowe says it’s the other horse people in Florida that have really made Florida the best place for his horses.
“The climate and the people in the Thoroughbred business are what makes Florida so great. We’ve had a lot of help and advice over the years and we have great vets from Peterson Smith who have been with us from the beginning. I’m very close friends with Richard Heysek, who [bred 2023 FTBOA Horse of the Year Speed Boat Beach] and I get a lot of advice from him. John Gleason, formerly the general manager at the former Woodford Thoroughbreds Florida division, was crucial to us in the beginning in terms of breeding, breaking, weaning and training since they are right up the street. Just the whole atmosphere and being able to see our horses, whether it’s at Tampa or Gulfstream—that’s huge. We’ve previously raced in Delaware, Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky. Being able to go to the races here has been a godsend for our operation. We went from huge losses to our oldest horse likely making $200,000,” Rowe said.
Rowe has also worked closely with Double Diamond Farm who recently broke their two-year-old.
“We’ve sent another filly there for R&R a couple times, and they have really helped us out. The late Jimmy Alexander is the one that recommended we stay in Florida, too,” Rowe noted.
All of Rowe’s Florida-bred horses have Game of Thrones names.
He has Lte Stark Winter, a 4-year-old winning filly by He’s Had Enough out of Rough Winter, but it’s Rowe’s oldest racehorse, Lord Eddard Stark (a full brother to Lte Stark Winter) that has a very special place in his heart.
“When Lord Eddard Stark broke his maiden, it was very special for us. It was just heart-stopping being able to see it right there at the track in the atmosphere. I’d say that’s the highlight of our racehorse ownership so far,” Rowe said.
Every horse they breed and race is solely owned by Rowe, his son and his father—no partners or syndicates. That makes each of the foals born at Masstaden Farm even more special for Rowe.
“The foals at our farm are born naturally out in the field. It always seems like they’re born on the coldest morning of the year for some reason. Part of the thrill of this business is looking out in the pasture and seeing a new horse standing out there. We usually know there’s a foal on the ground because the dog is aware of something going on out there. Then, we go out and check on the foal and have the vet come and make sure everything’s okay. Those are always special moments,” Rowe said.
