THE OWNER -- Fox Hill Farm

Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farm has been interested in Thoroughbred horse racing since he was a child. His parents were avid fans and took him along on their frequent outings to Delaware Park. Porter's interest grew through his teen years and into adulthood. Working for his father in the family's Chevrolet dealership in Newark, Delaware, Porter would make his way out to Delaware Park as often as he could get a few hours away from the office. Founded by his grandfather in 1925 and passed on to his father in 1952, the dealership is now piloted by Porter's oldest son, Richard C. Porter III (Cory).

Fox Hill Farm was born in early 1994 when Porter was introduced to John Servis by a mutual friend, Joe Viviani, the general manager of Porter’s Hyundai/Dodge dealership in Pleasantville, New Jersey. Servis and Porter got together and finalized a deal to claim some horses.

The first two horses claimed by Fox Hill were Dronetta and More Popular. In what seemed a good omen, Dronetta won the first start for Fox Hill. Porter began buying at public auction in March of 1995 at Ocala. Each year the quality of young horses purchased by Fox Hill has improved, and the taste for stakes winners became paramount for Porter and Servis. A minor setback came in 1995 when a Storm Cat filly, out of In Neon, was purchased by Fox Hill along with several other yearlings at Saratoga. The Fox Hill team of Porter and Servis decided to pinhook (resell at auction) a couple of the yearlings in hope of making a profit to offset some of the racing expenses. This filly was purchased for $205,000 and sold at Barretts for $900,000. The filly was subsequently named Sharp Cat and became a champion. Despite being happy for the owner of Sharp Cat, to have sold a future champion was a demoralizing blow and their pinhooking came to an abrupt halt.

The next blow came when the Fox Hill team was offered Thunder Gulch after he'd broken his maiden. The price of $350,000 seemed high so they chose to pass. Thunder Gulch went on to win the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and many more big races before retiring to a successful stallion career with Ashford Stud. Fox Hill also narrowly missed purchasing Tejano Run, who finished second to Thunder Gulch in the Derby.

The first big winner for Fox Hill was purchased in 1998 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Selected Yearling sale. A Brocco filly out of Moon Drone, she was purchased for $85,000 and named Jostle. She finished her two-year-old campaign by winning the Demoiselle at Aqueduct, and as a three-year-old, she became Fox Hill’s first Grade One winner. She won the Coaching Club American Oaks in July of 2000, then followed it up by winning the race most coveted by Porter at that time, the Alabama. To win the ultimate race for three-year-old fillies at the storied Saratoga remains Porter's greatest thrill in horse racing.

After taking that filly prize, Porter decided to concentrate on buying colts in order to capture a Grade One colt race, particularly the Kentucky Derby. In Rockport Harbor, Fox Hill has its first opportunity to be very competitive in the Derby -- they just need everything to go right. Fox Hill has nine 2-year-old colts which are in training in Ocala with Jeff Kirk, who broke and trained Rockport Harbor.

Fox Hill has continued to improve its selection process for young racing prospects over the 12 years of operation. Until recently, Tom McGreevy was an advisor to John Servis in the selection of the yearlings. Tom would look at all the yearlings and make a "short list" for John in the interest of time as there are over 5,000 yearlings for sale at keeneland in the September sale. Tom first noticed Rockport Harbor and Round Pond for the Fox Hill team. John Servis also loved the two and we purchased them. Tom McGreevy has since started his own equine business.

With the excellent skill John Servis provides both in selecting racing prospects and training, Porter is highly optimistic about his stable's future.