Q-RACING JOURNAL—APRIL 10, 2014—The property that encompasses the Vessels Stallion Farm at Bonsall, California, has been listed for sale.

Bill Thead, the LLC manager at Vessels, released a statement regarding the sale: "The Vessels Ranch property has been listed for sale with Sotheby’s International Realty in association with Equestrian Real Estate. The property consists of 1,390 acres and includes the approximately 275 acres on which the Vessels Stallion Farm operation is sited.

"The Vessels Ranch property is extremely valuable due to its overall size and location within ten miles of the Pacific Ocean in the county of San Diego, California. The upland portions of the property above the horse facilities have excellent residential development potential. It has been determined that it is in the best interests of the family to seek to realize the value of this property now rather than continuing to hold it for investment.

"This news does not mean the end of Vessels Stallion Farm. We remain open for business and presently have over 260 horses boarded at the Farm. It would not be unusual for a property of this magnitude to take an extended period of time to sell. Moreover, any sale transaction will have to allow several additional months for an orderly winding down of our use of the existing equine facilities and the relocation of our horses and those of our clients.

"It is impossible for us to discuss this property without thinking of Scoop Vessels. He had known and often said that there would come a time when this land would become too valuable to remain undeveloped, and that when that time came Vessels Stallion Farm would move to a more economical location. He viewed this as a natural progression much like his family’s history with the Los Alamitos Race Course property. To that end, he had made multiple trips to Texas and Oklahoma scouting for potential future locations for Vessels Stallion Farm prior to his passing. We feel confident that Scoop would agree that now is the time.

"Vessels Stallion Farm looks forward to continuing as an active participant in the horse industry as the owner of many outstanding mares and shares of syndicated stallions. Vessels Stallion Farm LLC is owned by a trust for the benefit of Scoop Vessels’ sons Kash and Colt. While we plan to maintain our current level of industry participation over the next few years, over the long term it will of course be up to Kash and Colt to determine the extent of their future in the horse business."