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Women In Racing
MEG LEAVITT....farm owner, breeder, and lifelong horse lover
Meg Leavitt--along with her husband Allen--have created one of the strongest breeding operations in place today in North America in the form of Walnut Hall.
Meg was bred to be in the harness business. She grew up in a harness racing family, with her mother Katherine setting the world record of 1:59.9 for a trotter and a lady amateur driver, when she guided Margaret Castleton to that historical clocking.
Meg’s father—Colonel H.W. Nichols—was Chairman of the Board of Tattersalls and The Red Mile, and he served on the Board of Directors of the Grand Circuit. Her great grandfather, L.V Harkness originally purchased the 400 acres of Walnut Hall way back in 1892—which later became a top breeding operation of Standardbreds—standing such notables as Peter Volo and Scotland.
Meg's grandfather was Dr. O. F. Edwards—who purchased Guy Axworthy as a 14-year-old, and developed him into a top stallion, as he sired 12 of the first 14 Hambletonian winners.
Today, Meg's Walnut Hall manages ten stallions, playing host to five at their home base in Lexington. Those five are Cambest ($7,500 fee), Garland Lobell ($10,000 fee), Like A Prayer ($6,000), Valley Victory (private), and Victory Dream (private). Blissfull Hall stands at Nandi Farm in Pennsylvania for a fee of $6,000; while Royal Troubador stands at Indiana’s Genesis Trotters for $5,000; and Striking Sahbra calls Westwind Farm home in Ontario, for a $10,000 fee. Pro Bono Best ($4,000 fee) and Conway Hall both stand at New York’s Morrisville Equine Institute.
Walnut Hall has been fortunate to capitalize on the strong bloodlines it carries and holds in their over 100-year-old barns. Garland Lobell—the striking black stallion with the small star and the lone white hind ankle—is one of the farm's top sires. His sophomore son Andover Hall won the World Trotting Derby in 2003, while his three-year-old daughter Cameron Hall brought home a Breeders Crown Championship.
Other top progeny include Angus Hall, a winner of over $830,000 and Conway Hall, voted 1997 freshman trotting colt of the year, and sire of sensations Pizza Dolce and Broadway Hall. To date his get have earned over $38 million.
Valley Victory needs no introduction as his reputation proceeds itself here. The sire of Continentalvictory, Muscles Yankee, Act Of Grace, Lindy Lane, Bullville Victory, and Valley Victor all speak of the ability of their mighty sire to pass on his greatness to his sons and daughters.
On the pacing side of the Walnut Hall Stallion Barn Cambest still remains the fastest Standardbred of all time, siring the winners of over $9.5 million in 2002. His best include Camotion, Blissfull Hall, Color Me Best, Aquatic Yankee, Pro Bono Best, and Monsoon Hall, to name a few. His two sons Blissfull Hall and Pro Bono Best are also under Walnut Hall management, albeit at alternative locales.
The vision that Meg and her husband had nine years ago when they married has come full circle. The couple is continuously upgrading their broodmare band, and with their current genetic pool of top-bred stallions, it looks like Walnut Hall will continue to be strong force in North American breeding program and keep Meg busy for many more years to come. |
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