Alfred Nuckols Jr. is a fifth-generation horseman who manages Hurstland Farm in Midway, Ky. The 2013 Farm Manager of the Year has carried on his family’s legacy of breeding great racehorses for more than a century. Hurstland has bred and/or raised more than 220 stakes winners, and nearly 60 years later, Nuckols will head to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this August to see the induction of 1956-57 champion sprinter Decathlon, who was bred by the Nuckols Brothers, into racing’s Hall of Fame.
This year, Nuckols brings a consignment of two horses to this year’s Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearling Sale, including a filly (Hip 221) by Practical Joke , who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Get Smokin .
Nuckols sat down with BloodHorse to discuss the July Sale, his family’s legacy, and the impact of the Thoroughbred industry on his life.
BloodHorse: Tell me about Hurstland Farm; how many horses do you have?…