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By California Thoroughbred
The business partnership between Joy Seifert and Linda Madsen has a personal thread.
They met when their children were showing dairy cattle more than 20 years ago and became fast friends, traveling up and down the state hauling both children and cows. Madsen’s oldest son later married Seifert’s youngest daughter, cementing the storybook friendship forever.
“We became in-laws, then grandparents-in-law,” Seifert said.
Almost a decade ago bloodstock agent and consultant Gayle Van Leer mentioned to the friends that they should get involved with thoroughbreds. Madsen had plenty of equine experience in the Arabian industry. Seifert had some experience in racing, as her husband once had a racehorse-turned-broodmare, but “nothing that ever amounted to more than just a horse.”
Seifert was dubious about getting into the industry; she and her family already own and operate a dairy farm in the Central Valley between Stockton and Sacramento with 2,500 cows.
“It’s a lot of mouths to feed and keeps us pretty busy,” Seifert said.
Van Leer found them a mare in Kentucky, and Madsen and Seifert were hooked.
“We got our mare and decided to breed her,” said Seifert. “Linda would go to Keeneland in January, and I would go in November—January is too cold for a California girl like me. We tried to buy one or two mares at each sale if we could and something that fit our program for almost 10 years.”
They soon decided to expand their adventure by adding stallion ownership at Madsen’s Milky Way Farm in Temecula. Sundarban, by A.P. Indy out of the Storm Cat mare Desert Tigress, came first. He has sired 42% winners, including nine-time winner Howdy, who earned $274,583, and 12-time winner Sheswildnfree. The partners then imported a pair of stallions from Chile, Passion for Gold and Dosificado.
Passion for Gold is royally bred, being by Medaglia d’Oro and out of the New York graded stakes-winning Thunder Gulch mare C’Est L’ Amour, who was also grade 1-placed. The mare’s stakes-winning half sister Passion Flower went on to produce Del Mar grade 2 winner Madeo. Passion for Gold was the champion 2-year-old and a group 1 winner in France, as well as a stakes winner in England, before his retirement with three wins in seven starts. He produced 69% winners from starters and stakes winner Por El Dia before his relocation to California.
Dosificado, who is by the late Scat Daddy out of the Chilean Broodmare of the Year Daja, was a grade 3 winner in Chile in 2015. His full sister, Dacita, a two-time champion in Chile, earned a total of $1,598,369 and a pair of grade 1 wins in the United States. Scat Daddy is well-known as the sire of unbeaten Triple Crown winner Justify.
When Madsen traveled to Kentucky in the winter of 2019, she had the opportunity to see the grade 1-winning Unbridled’s Song stallion Graydar at Taylor Made Farm. Overseas parties had shown some interest in exporting him, but management of the Nicholasville, Ky., farm was keen on keeping him in the United States. Madsen thought the chance to bring him to California was too good to pass up, and brought him to California last summer.
“We were so lucky to get Graydar here,” Seifert said. “We’re very fortunate. Linda has a fabulous contact base—she knows everybody.”
The immensely talented Graydar won five of six starts and earned $841,560. He scored first out in a Gulfstream Park maiden race at 3, then won the Donn Handicap (G1) in just his fourth start over the likes of Take Charge Indy and Flat Out. He went on a tear in 2013, first with the Donn and then the $396,000 New Orleans Handicap (G2) at the Fair Grounds, defeating seven rivals as the favorite. He rolled to win the one-mile, $400,000 Kelso Handicap (G2) in his final career start at Belmont Park. The horse who was third that day, Hymn Book, was also a Donn winner.
To date, Graydar has sired 116 winners from 184 starters, including grade 2-placed stakes winners Gray Magician, Gray Attempt, Wondrshegotthundr, and grade 3 winner Lombo. His total progeny earnings are more than $7.3 million, with his first crop just turning 4 in January. His daughter Dream Marie has won three straight races, including a January allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park.
Seifert genuinely loves the sport and loves her horses, and she is quick to point out that her involvement wouldn’t have been as successful without Madsen, Van Leer, and Milky Way Farm’s manager Johnny Alvira.
“Linda showed Arabians as a girl growing up,” Seifert said. “She comes from a horse background. And Gayle has been fabulous. She always goes to the sales with us, takes us to see the studs, and introduces us to everyone. She’s a truly great asset. Linda’s farm manager, Johnny, does a wonderful job with the horses and keeping everybody organized with the foaling and the breeding.”
And they appreciate her, too.
“Joy is the greatest person in the whole world,” Madsen said. “She’s doing this because she absolutely loves it. And we’re here in California for the long haul. We are totally dedicated to California racing and the CTBA. It’s been a difficult time, but we are seeing so many positive things happening now.”
“It’s been delightful working with Joy and Linda,” Van Leer said. “Their enthusiasm is contagious. It’s so much fun to have them around the sales.”
Seifert is a partner in nearly 40 broodmares, though because of the work at the dairy farm, she can’t get down to Milky Way often.
“But we talk about everything before we make any decisions,” she said. “Linda keeps me updated and sends everything to me.”
And the family connection keeps growing. Seifert’s eldest daughter ultimately married a man who went to school with Linda’s youngest son.
“And if it wasn’t for going to the fairs,” Seifert said, “we never would have met.”