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George and Lori Hall
of Annestes Farms
George
Hall was born in New York City, and his wife Lori is originally
from New Bedford, Massachusetts. The couple originally purchased
Annestes Farms for recreational purposes, but the business grew
from a decision to send their first runner, Keeneland Kat, to
the farm for breeding.
A
graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania, George is the
president, founder and majority shareholder of the investment
company Clinton Group, Inc. He is heavily involved in charitable
work, serving as a board member of the New York University
School of Medicine Foundation and helping to create its Head and
Neck Cancer Research Laboratory. In recognition of his
philanthropic efforts, George has been awarded the university's
prestigious Sir Harold Acton Medal. He also established the Hall
Institute of Public Policy, a forum for academic research and
debate in his home state of New Jersey. He has been an active
supporter of the Monmouth County Unit of the American Cancer
Society, hosting an annual summer event for cancer patients in
Monmouth County and their families.
George's
grandfather introduced him and his brother to horse racing when
they were children. The Halls entered racing in 2004 with the
purchase of four yearlings for a combined $180,000. Two of them
became stakes winners under the tutelage of Kelly Breen:
Keeneland Kat captured the 2005 Sorority but suffered a
career-ending injury while finishing third in the Frizette S.
(G1) and Fagan's Legacy, named for George's grandfather, took
the 2005 Pilgrim S. The Halls have a small number of horses in
training with Breen. Besides West Side Bernie, they currently
campaign such stakes performers as Atomic Rain and Bold Union.
In
a February 2010 "Star of the Week" feature in the
Thoroughbred Daily News, George was quoted as saying "last
year was our fifth in the business, and we had two horses in the
Kentucky Derby - I think that is a tremendous
accomplishment."
In
a March 2011 Thoroughbred Times article entitled "Halls
Continue Quick Success as Breeders", reporter Jeff Lowe
describes the Hall's success as breeders. Lowe says "The
first two broodmares they bought at public auction have produced
homebred stakes winners, including their biggest triumph in
racing on Saturday, March 26, 2011 with Pants On Fire's upset
victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby. Pants on Fire,
appropriately, is by Jump Start and out of the Cape Town mare
Cabo de Noche. The Halls bought her in foal to Thunder Gulch for
$120,000 from Book 3 of the 2006 Keeneland November breeding
stock sale. The same day, they went to $100,000 for the Expelled
mare Sala de Oro, in foal to Yes It's True. A few months later,
Sala de Oro produced a filly named Truth and Justice, and she
went on to win three stakes races in 2009 as a
two-year-old."
We
thank our friends Lori and George for inviting us to visit their
beautiful farm for Freedom Fest 2011!
the
Hall family pets
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