TK Kuegler, Founder and Managing Partner of Wasabi Ventures Stables, and his wife Michele, Director of Aftercare and Community, have purchased a 92-acre farm in Lexington. Named Serendipity Springs, it will be the new home of Wasabi and its units, Wasabi Stallions and The Horse Fund.
“We looked at a bunch of farms. We had been looking for about six months and we actually weren't going to look at it at first [this one]. But we said: 'We've looked at everything else. Why not?'” Kuegler said. “It doesn't have a lot of street frontage, but it's like a martini glass because it opens up a lot in the back, very big. It has 75 acres of undeveloped land.”
Since its founding five years ago, Wasabi's livestock operations have been based in the Mid-Atlantic, primarily at St. Omer in Forest Hill, Maryland. But as things have progressed and expanded for Wasabi, in both breeding and racing, Kuegler knew that establishing himself in the heart of horse country was the necessary next step.
“I'm a Maryland kid. I grew up in Maryland, I love Maryland, and I still consider Maryland home. But we recognize that much of the future of racing lies in Kentucky,” Kuegler said. “We spent some time in Lexington, loved it and said, ‘Maybe it makes sense to be there and breed and reproduce there. [up] farming activities there. That plan probably began to be implemented about two years ago.”
However, Kuegler emphasized that this is not the end of Wasabi's relationship with Maryland.
“I will not close Maryland. It's more like I'm opening doors in Kentucky. I don't see this as 'either' but 'both' in many ways,” he said.
Wasabi breeds the majority of its mares to Kentucky-based stallions, although they also own a large portion of the stallion Maryland Blofeld, which stands at Murmur Farms. Kuegler explained that transportation costs, along with a greater concentration of service providers and rental staff were all factors considered when moving the majority of their livestock operations to Lexington.
“We always have five or six mares there [in Maryland] support [Blofeld]. They will be in that area and they will spawn there. They don't all go to Kentucky, that's just the core base [of broodmares] will be here,” Kuegler said. “I think the other important thing is the economy. I spent $30,000 a year transporting mares from Maryland to Kentucky for breeding, but only shipped them back to Maryland to foal. I mean 90% of what I raise is Kentucky stallions, so now I don't have to spend $30,000 on shipping.
“There are very few places in the country that are as horse-focused as Lexington. We want to be a part of that.”
Looking ahead, the goal is to move about 15 mares to the farm by the end of June or early July. In the meantime, renovation work will begin on another barn and more fencing new livestock yard. Kuegler estimates that probably by this time next year, the majority of their mares will reside on the farm.
But this is just the beginning for Wasabi in Lexington.
“The vision is to also purchase another piece of property to have a training track and be able to do that from start to finish, from birth to racing to retirement in Kentucky. This piece of property is our first step. [We’ll get] This property became a world-class breeding facility and then the search continued. When we get the next piece of wealth that's right for us, [we’ll have] Kuegler said there is also racing activity here.
Serendipity Springs also offers the opportunity to expand The Horse Fund, Wasabi's aftercare partner, by providing a temporary home for Wasabi horses as they transition from the track to an aftercare facility before starting their training. new career.
“The dream here is to be a place where we can be a stopgap instead of some of the other nonprofit farms in the retirement cycle, because they're often full and already stressed. If we can take on some of that with our horses, it will help the whole system.”
When it comes to their racehorses, Kuegler plans to have Wasabi continue racing in the Mid-Atlantic through the summer before bringing the ropes along with trainer Jesse Cruz and assistant trainer Grace Smith to Kentucky. The goal is to start at Keeneland for the fall season and then move to Turfway Park for the winter.
All of these ongoing and upcoming plans are part of the 10-year vision that Kuegler shared with his team just five years ago, during the early stages of Wasabi breeding operations.
“I said, 'We're going to start slow and build to become a world-class breeding facility. We won't come in and buy a large number of mares in the first few years because we will build around that need.' Gradually, over the past three years at each seed sale, the number of purchases and the value of those purchases have continuously increased. It just keeps going a little higher and that was always the plan,” Kuegler said.
The team has accomplished a lot since Wasabi Ventures Stables was founded in 2017, and there's no doubt that the next five to 10 years only promise more growth across all of Wasabi's entities. .
“I learned a long time ago that it's much better to learn and take people along with you,” Kuegler said. “If you have a plan to try to become a world-class company, I don't know how you do that in the modern world and not have an operation in Kentucky. I don’t even know how that could happen unless you were here.”
