Ocala’s Bridlewood Farm graduates finish one-two in Kentucky Derby

Sovereignty, left, won the Kentucky Derby on May 3, with Journalism, right, taking second. [Photo by Coady Media/courtesy Churchill Downs]

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Posted May 6, 2025 | Staff report

With HH Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin homebred Sovereignty getting clear inside the final sixteenth to win the May 3 Kentucky Derby by a length-and-a-half ahead of runner-up Journalism, the exacta included graduates of John Malone’s Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, according to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, which is based in Ocala.

The top three finishers in the derby were graduates of early training programs in Ocala, with third-place finisher Baeza an alum of Summer, April and Jeanne Mayberry’s Farm. In total, 13 of the 19 Kentucky Derby starters this year received their initial training in Central Florida, the nonprofit FTBOA noted in a news release on May 6.

“Those two horses were [trained early] down at Bridlewood Farm in Florida as roommates and for them to arrive here on Derby Day and run down the stretch together was amazing,” Godolphin USA Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan, said of Sovereignty and Journalism on NBC Sports following the race, according to the release.

Bridlewood is part of the Journalism ownership team with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, the release noted.

“I wish the exacta had gone the other way, but other than that, we couldn’t be more proud and it was a great weekend,” Bridlewood Farm General Manager George Isaacs said in the release.

East Avenue, eighth in the derby, is also a Bridlewood graduate. Saturday’s results were a culmination of foresight and plans established when Malone purchased the farm in 2013, according to the release.

“When the Malone’s purchased Bridlewood, one of the things we wanted to accomplish right out the gate was to rebrand ourselves as being a very important training center for some of the best equine athletes that get sent here for breaking and training in the fall of each year and we’ve been able to accomplish that in spades. Certainly, this weekend endorses that exponentially,” Isaacs explained.

Sovereignty and East Avenue were bred and raised by Godolphin’s USA division in Kentucky before being sent to Bridlewood last fall.

“Godolphin has historically used several farms in [central Florida],” Isaacs said in the release. “I would politely say we get the ‘A’ string—we get the cream of their crop to break and train each year. And I think our results reflect they were the cream of the crop.”

Journalism was bred and raised in Kentucky, then purchased by Aron Wellman and Brian Spearman’s Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $825,000 at the 2023 August Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. The bay colt was sent to Bridlewood following the auction.

The thoroughbred yearlings for Bridlewood and their clients were placed under the farm’s trainer, Meda Murphy, who began the process of teaching and training them for careers on the track.

“We couldn’t be any more pleased because it just reflects that we’re doing our job properly and all the credit goes to Meda Murphy and her team. John Malone and myself, we just try to provide the right tools and resources and infrastructure for each of our managers to do their jobs as well as they possibly can,” Isaacs said in the release.

Isaacs said all three derby contenders began to show promise early in their development.

“To reflect on initial impressions we had when [Sovereignty, Journalism and East Avenue] arrived would be more in Meda’s area, but I am well aware that once they were training and once they were getting a little farther along in their early training and their 2-year-old year, they were kind of elevating themselves to the top of the crop. They were showing just how smart they were and just how easily they did things,” he said in the provided material.

“Meda never asks a horse to come off the bridle. She’s more about laying a serious foundation into the horses and training them right so they have a great foundation to build on once they leave here to go to their trainers. Meda took the bull by the horns as our farm trainer back in 2017 and she’s never looked back. She has made us proud every year and the bar just keeps getting higher and higher,” Isaacs continued.

While Isaacs appreciates the significance these Kentucky Derby results have in illustrating the work done at Bridlewood, he points out that this success is widespread in the Central Florida thoroughbred industry.

“First of all, we all know that Florida is spring training central for many of the [nation’s] yearling thoroughbreds each year. And we also know the economics and impact of that as it relates to our industry and the community,” he noted.

The FTBOA was established in 1948. To learn more, go to ftboa.com