POISED TO STRIKE. Tapwrit (center) readies to challenge Irish War Cry in the 2017 Belmont Stakes. The Tapit colt trained at the Malones’ Bridlewood Farm in Ocala.

No. 1 John Malone

2,200,000 acres
Leslie and John Malone acquired Florida’s historic Bridlewood Farm in August 2013. More than 100 stakes winners have been bred and raised under the Bridlewood name, including the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones. That tradition not only continues under the Malones’ stewardship but was embellished when Tapwrit won the 2017 Belmont Stakes. Not only did the Tapit colt train at Bridlewood, but the Malones own a share of the stakes winner. “We’re approaching retirement age, and we were originally thinking of a retirement place. And the thrill and excitement of the Thoroughbred industry, coupled with the opportunity to preserve such a famed operation, was an opportunity too good to pass up,” John Malone told The Blood-Horse.