WinStar launches 'First Recruits' contest for Colonel John's first crop

WinStar launches 'First Recruits' contest for Colonel

John's first crop

WinStar Farm has launched a campaign to promote the first crop of foals from

their multiple Grade 1-winning stallion Colonel John. The campaign, dubbed

"First Recruits," features a contest using Facebook where the general public can

cast votes -- by clicking the "Like" button -- on photos of 32 Colonel John

foals that were selected by an expert panel. The contest consists of four

rounds, and a winner will be made based on the highest number of votes.

Visit

www.winstarfarm.com/coloneljohnrecruits.html

to view the lineup of 32 foal

photos and cast your votes.

"We're fortunate to have a great fan base and breeder base here at WinStar,

and we're going to continue to strive to grow the sport of horse racing through

both," said Robert Hammond, director of bloodstock at WinStar. "When we got

around to breeders this spring and discovered how good Colonel John's first

foals are, we thought an interactive contest like this would be a great and

different way to promote the foals, while offering something fun for our

10,000-plus Facebook fans and WinStar Stablemates members."

WinStar reached out to all owners of first foals by Colonel John to enter

into the contest by submitting photos. Once photos were received, a panel

including Dan Pride of Fasig-Tipton, Tom Thornbury of Keeneland and Donna

Brothers of NBC and ESPN reviewed the photos and selected the top 32 foals

solely on looks. No information was given, including breeder or pedigree.

The first round of voting for fans runs from now until Sept. 15 at noon (ET).

The 16 foals with the most "Likes" will advance into the "Sweet 16" round, and

all previous votes will carry over. The following rounds will be the "Elite 8"

round from October 1 and "Final Four" round from Oct. 15. All votes reset to

zero after the top four have been established, and on November 1 at noon the

foal with the most votes from the "Final Four" round will be honored as the "Top

Recruit" and winner of the contest.

WinStar will have a prize drawing for all voters who participated. All foal

owners who entered will also receive prizes that will vary based on how far each

foal gets in the contest. The grand prize for the owner of the "Top Recruit"

will receive a free season to Colonel John in 2012.

The significance of the starting number of 32 represents the number of US

Army service members in Colonel John Geider's first platoon. Geider, the

original Colonel John, is personal friends of Kenny Troutt, Bill Casner and

family, and is the namesake of the popular racehorse and stallion.

For more information about the contest, including rules and prizes, visit

the

website or call Robert Hammond at

859-873-1717.