Art Preston
A resident of The Woodlands outside Houston, TX, Art Preston entered the thoroughbred world in the late 1970s when he bought a piece of a $10,000 claiming horse named Old Sew and Sew, a son of Ole Bob Bowers, who became famous as the sire of the legendary John Henry.
With his brothers J.R. and Jack Preston, Art established Preston Stables in Lexington, Kentucky and then campaigned under their Prestonwood Farm banner in the heart of central Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass region. Their best horses include Da Hoss, who won the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and returned two years later to win another Mile, and Groovy, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), Eclipse Award champion sprinter in 1987 and a member of the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The brothers also campaigned 1999 Eclipse Award champion older male Victory Gallop, best remembered for spoiling Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid in the 1998 Belmont Stakes (G1).
Preston Stables' top star is Flat Out. Winner of the Suburban (G2) and Westchester (G3) in 2013, Flat Out is a two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park. He finished third in the 2013 edition of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then won his last start in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aquaduct.
Preston and his brothers – Jack and the late J.R. – have partnered on numerous ventures involving gas and oil as well as real estate, thoroughbred operations, cattle ranches, restaurants, and geothermal power generation companies. Preston’s companies “have developed and sold numerous oil and gas assets in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan and Appalachia, with cumulative sales prices (including production revenue) in excess of $1 billion.”
They turned out to be the perfect primer for their thoroughbred interests. “In the oil business you get a dry hole and lose 80% of the time,” Preston said. “It’s like racing—if you persevere, you 'may' hit the big one.”
A resident of The Woodlands outside Houston, TX, Art Preston entered the thoroughbred world in the late 1970s when he bought a piece of a $10,000 claiming horse named Old Sew and Sew, a son of Ole Bob Bowers, who became famous as the sire of the legendary John Henry.
With his brothers J.R. and Jack Preston, Art established Preston Stables in Lexington, Kentucky and then campaigned under their Prestonwood Farm banner in the heart of central Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass region. Their best horses include Da Hoss, who won the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and returned two years later to win another Mile, and Groovy, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), Eclipse Award champion sprinter in 1987 and a member of the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The brothers also campaigned 1999 Eclipse Award champion older male Victory Gallop, best remembered for spoiling Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid in the 1998 Belmont Stakes (G1).
Preston Stables' top star is Flat Out. Winner of the Suburban (G2) and Westchester (G3) in 2013, Flat Out is a two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park. He finished third in the 2013 edition of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, then won his last start in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aquaduct.
Preston and his brothers – Jack and the late J.R. – have partnered on numerous ventures involving gas and oil as well as real estate, thoroughbred operations, cattle ranches, restaurants, and geothermal power generation companies. Preston’s companies “have developed and sold numerous oil and gas assets in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan and Appalachia, with cumulative sales prices (including production revenue) in excess of $1 billion.”
They turned out to be the perfect primer for their thoroughbred interests. “In the oil business you get a dry hole and lose 80% of the time,” Preston said. “It’s like racing—if you persevere, you 'may' hit the big one.”