A Director on the Woodbine Board, John Fielding, may not be a household name on the Thoroughbred side of racing. Be that as it may he is quite well known and accomplished in Standardbred racing circles. A two-time leading Standardbred owner in the United States, John is best friends and venture partners with Fred Hertrich with whom he owned a couple of Standardbred mares in the late 1990’s.
The partnership between John and Fred has since flourished and today they own 90 Thoroughbred mares and have shares in almost 30 Thoroughbred stallions while continuing to own and race Standardbred horses with trainer Jimmy Takter (plus breed with one Standardbred mare) throughout North America.
Watercress Farm sits on 400-acres in Paris, Kentucky and is home to the pair’s commercial Thoroughbred breeding operation. Together with Farm Manager, Shane Doyle, and pedigree advisor Rob Tribbett, Fred makes most of the decisions with regards to the breeding stock. With ample success under their belts including breeding successful UK stallion Shamardal, John assures that the best is yet to come with their more recent pairings.
Read more about Watercress Farm venture
John resides in Toronto with his wife Pat and together they have six adult children ages 20 to 30 who are all very supportive but not involved in the horse racing business. Away from the track, John is the owner or principal of several successful businesses including Array Marketing, a global retail merchandising service with clients such as Estee Lauder, Chanel, Sephora, MAC and more. John serves as a Principal at Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewing & the New Amsterdam Brew Pub, NovaCore Communities, and StudentHousing.ca and is Chairman or a Director on a number of various boards including his private investment firm, Ethoca Limited.
A lover of the game, John Fielding does dabble in racing Thoroughbreds too, currently partnering on horses with US based trainers Todd Pletcher and Bill Mott and with local trainers Paul Buttigieg and Catherine Day Phillips, the latter with whom he owns 2016 Oaks winner Neshama with partners Carnagie Hill Stable and David Anderson.
“Dave picked her (Neshama) out with Catherine and I was asked if I wanted to partner on the filly. Catherine is a very accomplished trainer who is very conscientious and is on top of everything. As an owner you want that kind of care for your horses and I am very comfortable in knowing that I am going to get the best when it comes to care.”
© 2016 Catherine Day Phillips Racing Stable
