Our History
Mill Ridge was started by Alice Chandler in 1962 and has been raising and selling racehorses in Lexington, Kentucky ever since.
From day one, Mill Ridge has benefitted from hard-working and passionate employees. It all started with three loyal employees who followed Alice Chandler from her father’s Beaumont Farm in 1962; Eugene Burgan, Henry Jackson and Joe Bates.
This team, along with manager Bill Shorter, was the very beginning of Mill Ridge Farm and was vital to the farm’s success over the next decade.
Integral to Mill Ridge and its growth in the 1970s and 1980s was a core group of people. First was Duncan Macdonald, who came from England to America in 1978. He served as Mill Ridge’s Farm Manager until 2016. Bill Thomason joined the Mill Ridge team in 1980 as Financial and Administrative Manager and worked under Alice for 28 years before joining Keeneland in 2010, where he became President and CEO in 2012. Dr. Ed Fallon and his Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary practices were instrumental in the early days and his protégé Stuart Brown took over that responsibility before joining Keeneland in July 2020. Original blacksmith Harry McKenna and his blacksmith team branched down to Charlie Biancke, who has worked with Mill Ridge for more than 30 years.
Alice’s sons Mike, Reynolds, and Headley grew up on the farm and became the fabric of its existence. While Mike chose to train and associate with great horseman like Frank Whitley, Reynolds stayed with the farm and helped execute a vision for its future. His assistance in recruiting DIESIS and GONE WEST as stallions was vital in providing international awareness and purpose. Likewise, Headley and his contribution through Nicoma Bloodstock and its client successes added to the Mill Ridge acclaim.
John Chandler was instrumental with his veterinary background, expertise, and a connection to so many European clients.
More vital members of the Mill Ridge team joined in the 1980s. Bayne Welker joined the team in 2000s and assisted with sales before joining Fasig-Tipton. Mary Miller served as Equine Operations Coordinator from 1990 until retiring in 2020. Kim Poulin joined Mill Ridge in 1993 and took over the Equine Operations role upon Mary’s retirement. Lori Bessenbacher began working with our broodmares in 2002 and now is our assistant broodmare manager. Marc Richardson rejoined Mill Ridge in 2010 as yearling manager and assumed the role of farm manager in 2016 upon Duncan Macdonald’s retirement. In 2021, Jeremy Harlow joined the Mill Ridge team and is currently our yearling manager.
