Family heritage is alive and well at Midland Acres

Legacy matters to Jake Mossbarger, and it’s no wonder.

The 37-year-old Bloomingburg, Ohio native is carrying on the tradition of helping to maintain Midland Acres, one of the Buckeye State’s largest harness racing breeding facilities, and one which was established by his late grandfather, Dr. Don “Doc” Mossbarger in 1965.

“I always had an interest in the horses, but growing up on the farm, I really didn’t know anything different,” Jake admitted. “It became pretty normal to me pretty quick.”

Jake is the only son of Jay and Brenda Mossbarger. Jay, along with his brother, Dr. John Mossbarger, and Dr. Robert Schwartz, are the team that have morphed Midland Acres into one of Ohio’s biggest Standardbred breeding facilities, with seven stallions (Bit Of A Legend N, Fear The Dragon, Long Tom, Monte Miki, Ready For Moni, Summa Cum Laude, & Yankee Cruiser) and 137 foals born at the facility in 2024.

Jake attended Miami Trace High School, graduating in 2006, before pursuing a degree in biology and graduating from Capital University in 2010.

“I knew that I was always going to come back to the farm in one facet or another,” Jake said. “After I got my degree, I had bought two broodmares, and on January 1, 2011, I moved to Richmond, Indiana, to oversee the stallion station that we had there. School was over and it was sink or swim time for me. We had a 160-acre facility there, which I ran on my own for six months. I was feeding broodmares and weanlings and keeping an eye on the place, basically getting my feet wet to learn how to live on the farm on my own. At that point in time, I had a guy who helped but I was the only person living on the farm.”

Midland Acres had purchased the Indiana facility prior to VLTs being passed by the Ohio Legislature, and then sold the property once the Buckeye State program came to fruition.

“We had bought the Indiana Farm because they had a great program at the time,” Jake explained. “You could be Indiana sired, or Indiana sired and foaled, and the resulting foal would be eligible to all kinds of stakes over there. We wanted our foals to be eligible to their fairs and stakes program.”

After six months, Jake returned home, and he and his father Jay would than make trips back and forth, with horseman Bob Warner overseeing the property on a daily basis.

“Bob was a big asset to our operation over there,” Jake acknowledged. “Growing up, I had watched everyone doing their various jobs, and I helped out and got in there and did some things, but when it’s just you and you’re responsible for everything, you think about things a little differently. It put pressure on me that I needed and opened my eyes to the real world of time management and responsibility. In those six months I graduated from being a kid and became an adult—it’s a good thing when the times comes, and you need those things to take place in your life.”

Jake stresses that he sees his responsibility as carrying on the tradition set by his grandfather.

“I’m carrying on what is already here, what was established by my grandfather, who took a great risk back in the mid-1960s, when he changed his vet practice to go into the horse business full time,” Jake admitted. “It was a substantial endeavor for him, and I’m just here to pick up the pieces of the operation and keep them together. It’s probably been easier for me, as my parents and my uncle have put together a good foundation for me to work on.”

Jake says he feels deeply responsible for continuing to grow the Midland moniker.

“The emphasis here at Midland is always going to be on my grandfather and what he did, and continue to grow the business,” Jake said. “We are a very family-oriented farm, and we have the old school attitude work ethic, and are also working to integrate a kind of new school approach into the business as well.

“For instance, our business used to be much more labor intensive but now we have machinery and technology to do things,” he continued. “Horsemen are now able to make online entries; we have foal alerts and foal monitors; and we no longer have to stack hale bales by hand; and we have the online sales that can benefit you in certain situations.”

Jake knows that “certain situation” better than anyone—as he purchased his first broodmare through Ongait.com.

“I bought a mare named Full Fledged for $3,400,” he recalled. “I was sitting in the Capital University Library when I purchased her online. She’s produced some nice horses for us.”

Full Fledged ($558), a daughter of Grinfromeartoear, did not do well on the racetrack but made up for it in the breeding shed. Her third coupling with Big Bad John produced the 2013 foal Queen Ann M (named in honor of Jake’s grandmother), a serious Ohio Sires Stakes contender (OSS), and winner of $374,337 lifetime. She took a 2-year-old mark of 1:55f; a 3-year-old mark of 1:53.2f; and a career mark of 1:52.3f at age 5.

Queen Ann M has since entered the breeding shed, producing this year’s fastest freshman of all time, Sippinonsearoc (by Downbytheseaside), who paced in a blistering 1:48.2 on Aug. 13 in an $80,000 Kentucky Sires Stakes (KYSS) at The Red Mile with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Ron Burke. He also took a mark of 1:52.3 in a $50,000 OSS at Scioto Downs on July 13. This bay colt has four wins in five starts this season and $116,400 in earnings to date.

The second mare Jake purchased was Margie Seelster 6, 1:55.1 ($247,483), a daughter of Angus Hall whose first foal was Pinkman (by Explosive Matter), who went on to earn $2.8 million and record a 3-year-old mark of 1:51 in his Hambletonian triumph on Aug. 8, 2015.

“I have yet to duplicate those two accomplishments,” Jake laughed. “It was definitely beginners’ luck.”

Jake said he has seen Midland evolve over the 13 years he has been involved with the operation on a fulltime basis.

“With the horses, we used to run a lot of quantity, and now the quality of horses we breed is much higher,” he stated. “The world is continuing to evolve and with me being part of a younger generation, that will continue to happen. My dad and John know certain things need to happen and they’re supportive of me getting those things done. I love the farm, the work, and the family. My ultimate goal is to keep the farm successfully intact and pass it on to the next generation.

Passing the farm on to future generations should not be an issue for Jake, who is already a father to three children and is expecting another this November. He and wife Tara are the proud parents of Marlee, 6; Ella, 4; and Jace, 2.

“Family means a lot to us, and without it, there would not be a Midland Acres,” Jake said. “I feel fortunate to have been allowed to come in and work at such an already high established family farm.”