Principals

Jack and Laurie Wolf

Both longtime racing fans, the Wolfs founded Starlight Stables in 2000 when they purchased six yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale. Among the group was a bay colt by Harlan who developed into multiple Grade 1 winner Harlan’s Holiday and launched Starlight into racing’s upper echelon. Today Harlan’s Holiday continues to make a name for himself as one of America’s brightest young sires.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Jack earned a master’s degree in economics from Murray State University in Kentucky and went on to teach and become a hedge fund manager with Columbus Partners in Atlanta before retiring to concentrate on racing. Born in DeRidder, Louisiana, Laurie graduated from McNeese State University with a degree in communications and theater. The couple resides in Louisville and Saratoga Springs, New York.

Donald and Barbara Lucarelli

Residents of Duanesberg in upstate New York, the Lucarellis spent part of every summer for three decades at Saratoga Race Course, envisioning the day when they might have their own racehorses. When Donald Lucarelli’s family business, Bellevue Builders Supply, was sold in 2004, the couple decided to invest in some runners. They turned to the Wolfs, whom they had met at a party the year before, and immediately scored with Grade 2 winner Keyed Entry.

In 2006, the Lucarellis were able to enjoy their first Saratoga stakes winner and first Breeders’ Cup starter with Starlight’s Octave, who blossomed into a multiple Grade 1 winner in 2007.

Stable Manager

Jane Buchanan

Originally from County Down, Northern Ireland, Jane joined the Starlight Racing team in 2007 and is based in Lexington, Kentucky. From a family that has always been involved in racing, she completed the British Horse Racing Board Graduate Development Programme after finishing her university work with honors in French and Arabic. While in Europe, she worked for Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley operation in England and Ireland and later for Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms in Kentucky.

Additionally, she has served as an assistant to high profile trainers John Kimmel and Wally Dollase and, to broaden her skills, worked for the well known veterinary practices of Dr. Mark Cheney and Dr. Bill Yarborough. Her other positions have included three winters in the racing office at Gulfstream Park and a stint with leading pinhooker Wavertree Stables in Ocala.

Trainer

Todd Pletcher

Honored with the Eclipse Award as America’s outstanding trainer in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, Todd has shattered many of racing’s most significant records for trainers. Over those years, he has set several records for single season earnings, with his runners amassing $28,571,697 in 2007 alone, nearly $8 million more than the first such mark he set in 2005. He also set records in 2006 for stakes wins with 100, which was eight more than the mark set by his mentor, D. Wayne Lukas, and for graded stakes victories with 57, four more than Lukas’s record.

Todd began working with racehorses at age seven when he served as a hot walker for his trainer father, Jake Pletcher, at Ruidoso Downs. After graduating from the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in 1989, he went to work for Lukas and helped develop champions Thunder Gulch, Serena’s Song and Flanders. Todd took out his trainer’s license in 1995 and earned his first classic victory when the champion filly Rags to Riches won the 2007 Belmont Stakes. Other champions he has trained include Left Bank, Lawyer Ron, English Channel, Speightstown, Fleet Indian, Wait a While and Starlight Stables’ Ashado.

Bloodstock Agent

Frank Brothers

Known among influential racing participants for his keen ability to assess potential in young horses, Frank is working with the Starlight team to select the best yearling prospects at sales. The New Orleans native and Louisville resident followed his childhood interest in horses to become a trainer, eventually directing public and private stables for clients including Claiborne Farm, Lazy Lane Farms and Bruce Lunsford. He also collected leading trainer titles at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs in his distinguished career. Frank retired from training early in 2009 to focus on bloodstock work after achieving feats such as purchasing and developing 1991 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Hansel, the champion male of his generation. He also purchased and developed the talent in such stand outs as Grade 1 winners Secret Hello, Arch, Madcap Escapade and First Samurai. Grade 2 winners Mighty and Belair Beauty and Grade 3 winners Ocean Crest and Tessa Blue. With more than 270 stakes wins to his credit as a trainer, he also developed talent in homebreds and Grade 1 winners Pulpit and Oath. Frank is married to former jockey Donna Barton Brothers, who now works as a television racing analyst.

Farm Trainer

Jake “J. J.” Pletcher

A Thoroughbred trainer since 1969, J. J. gives early breaking and training lessons to Starlight’s rising stars. Since he founded the 80-acre, 96-stall Payton Training Center in Ocala with Betty Massey in 1999, he has launched the careers of numerous stakes winners, including champions Left Bank, Wait A While and English Channel and Graded Stakes winners More Than Ready, Marley Vale, Jersey Girl, Victory Ride, Balto Star and Go Deputy to name a few. Utilizing his 25 years of racetrack experience, J. J. designed Payton’s five-furlong training track with gentle turns to minimize the impact on young horses’ legs. His program starts with ground driving and riding in confined spaces prior to track work. “We try to teach them to go out there, relax and not be afraid of anything,” he says. J. J. is the father  of Starlight’s trainer, Todd Pletcher.