Ken and Pat Walker are top notch in the Prairie State

For six decades Ken and Pat Walker have been the stalwarts of the Illinois harness racing breeding scene.

Operating first in Maple Park, IL in 1974 before moving their operation to Sherman, IL in 1991, Walker Standardbreds have consistently been the top breeding farm in the Prairie State, and one of the finest found anywhere in the Midwest.

Over the years the Walkers have bred 2,812 horses in a state where the legislature has forever dangled a carrot of “better days are ahead,” to the Illinois horsemen.

“We’re surviving,” Pat acknowledged. “The situation that harness racing here finds itself in puts us in a really bad spot, but we have some nice horses that we’ve bred, and we are still raising horses. Doc (husband Ken) is still doing his vet stuff, we have 65 mares, and as a family we manage the whole farm.”

Besides Pat and Ken, their daughter Kristy lives on the farm, and the Walker’s ex-son in law, Andy Patterson, works as their farm manager. As well, their oldest daughter Debbie lives close by to assist when needed.

“It doesn’t matter that he is 92,” Pat said of her husband. “He was in the breeding shed every day. And this year, during the time the yearlings were being prepped for our (August) sale, I took on the task of painting the stud barn. It took me four weeks to get most of it done, but I still have a bit more to do—it’s an ongoing process.”

The Walkers offer their yearlings under the moniker of Fox Valley Standardbreds, and many of their foals carry the “Fox Valley” name forward throughout their careers, after selling at their annual Land of Lincoln Sale in early August each summer. This year they had 67 yearlings, most of them sired by one of their four stallions, including the standout Somestarsomewhere (by Somebeachsomewhere) p, 2, 1:49.2 ($478,435).

“He’s a powerhouse,” Pat said of the stallion, who is out of the Art Major mare Lovely Assistant. “Tom Simmons trained both him and Time To Roll (another Walker stallion), and when you have a horse like him that wins, and then his sons and daughters are winning, that’s huge. He produces the kinds of horses that look good and perform well; they have great confirmation and on top of that, they really want to be racehorses.

“This is the third year I think he’s going to be named pacing stallion of the year in Illinois again,” Pat continued. “He’s a character. He hates staying in the barn, and if he isn’t the first horse to breed, or breed at all that day, he wants to tear the barn down. But he’s nice with people. He also has a great semen count so you can breed a lot of mares with him from one collection.”

Somestarsomewhere, who first stood in the Prairie State in 2019, has been the leading sire in Illinois since that time, with 222 registered foals and 127 performers who have earned $3,343,667. Some of his top progeny include Fox Valley Landen p, 4, 1:47.4 ($201,2013); Fox Valley Kia p, 2, 1:51.2 ($188,647); Fox Valley Leah p, 3, 1:51.3 ($157,771); Guitar Man p, 3, 1:50.2f ($107,412); Hypeyourbestieup p, 3, 1:52.1 ($139,689), etc. This spring he bred 91 mares at the Sherman facility.

Somestarsomewhere was named 2022 and 2023 Illinois Pacing Stallion of the Year. His first year he produced the Illinois conceived and foal champion pacing colt Fox Valley Langley p, 2, 1:52 ($57,480) and divisional champion Fox Valley Kia p, 2, 1:51.2 ($131,052) a 2-year-old filly pacer. That first year alone his performers earned $607,423 from 20 winners, with eight pacing in 1:55 or faster.

Somestarsomewhere was purchased by Ron Burke for $110,000 at the 2011 Harrisburg sale and won his 2-year-old Breeders Crown elimination in 1:49.4, becoming the first 2-year-old to break the 1:50 mark, before being purchased by Clinard Properties for $90,000 a year later and transferred to the barn of Illinois trainer Tom Simmons to begin his 4-year-old campaign. He joined the Walker team in 2019.

Time To Roll (Rocknroll Hanover) p, 3, 1:50 ($803,625), another Walker stallion, was also trained by Simmons and owned by Clinard Properties, who paid $105,000 for the pacer in 2013. Out of the champion Real Artist mare Kikikatie, Time To Roll first stood in Indiana in 2018, and then to transitioned to the Walkers in 2019. He has 157 starters who have earned $8.3 million, including Roll Em p, 4, 1:49.1f ($428,288); Rose Run Vision p, 4, 1:50s ($484,332); Somebodyslilly p, 3, 1:50s $(345,649); and Roll With Time p, 3, 1:50.4s ($339, 585), among others.

The Walkers also have Yankee Skyscaper (by Artiscape) p, 3, 1:49 ($916,661), who has been at their farm since 2008. Out of the Jate Lobell mare Skyfire, Yankee Skyscaper to date has produced 423 registered foals, with 315 performers who have earned $15.8 million, including He’zzz A Wise Sky p, 5, 1:48.3f ($777,504), Fox Valley Gemini p, 6, 1:49.2 ($757,249); Fox Valley Charm p, 6, 1:50.2f ($443,905), and Ice Scraper p, 5, 1:48.3 ($408,215), etc.

Their lone trotting sire is Southwind Chrome 4, 1:50.1 ($243,882), a son of Chapter Seven, out of the Striking Sahbra mare Counter Pointe. His first crop will race as 2-year-olds in 2025.
“We sold our first crop from Southwind Chrome this year, and for the climate, they sold great,” Pat reported.

While the Walkers are extremely familiar with the ups and downs that comes with breeding horses, no one could have predicted the devastation their farm incurred early last Spring, when a deadly tornado ripped through their property.

On Friday, March 31, a tornado touched down in Lincoln and moved east where it smashed several of the Walker’s broodmare barns and ripped apart numerous pasture fences. The 24-stall broodmare barn had mares with babies, as well as mares getting ready to foal, while the 30-stall infield barn also had every stall filled with mares and foals.

“We were right in the middle of the breeding season, and we had all these mares and babies that were thrown off kilter,” Pat recalled. “But the response from the community was amazing, and despite losing nearly half of our barns, we were able to rebuild mostly everything. Our barns were insured for what it cost to rebuild them which was over one million dollars.”

In the aftermath of the tornado, Pat said she realizes how lucky they were to not have lost any lives—either human or equine.

“We were so fortunate in retrospect,” Pat admitted. “There have been many cases where in a situation like ours, both people and horses lost their lives.”

Besides their equines, the Walkers also breed and show AKC champion German Shepards.

“We’ve got some great dogs—those who are champions both here in the US and Canada,” Pat offered. “You don’t make a great deal of money showing but in the breeding end we are able to sell the pups for good money. It is a good hobby, and we stand champion stud dogs and are affiliated with the German Sheppard Dog Club of America.”

Ever strong and resilient, Pat says she and Ken are still joined at the hip after all these years. That is likely one of the keys to the couple’s success both in the horse business and in the marriage department.

“He always thought he was the lucky one and I felt the same,” she said. “We’ve had a great adventure of a life.”

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink