Ivor Godfrey Balding (23 May 1908 – 20 January 2005) was a British champion polo player, thoroughbred farm manager and racehorse trainer.

Biography

Breeding farm manager

Ivor Balding had two brothers who also played polo, Gerald Barnard Balding, Sr. and Barney Balding. He moved to the United States in 1930 where he attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. In 1936, he went to work for the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

farm of Sonny Whitney in

Old Westbury, New York Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury ...

. Three years later Whitney appointed him manager of his key breeding operation in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. During his tenure in Lexington, Balding encouraged Whitney to import Mahmoud from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he had won the 1936

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

. Brought to the United States in 1940, Mahmoud would prove to be an outstanding sire of seventy stakes winners and was the

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in N ...

in 1946 and the

Leading broodmare sire in North America The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire. The most freq ...

for 1957. Of most importance to bloodlines worldwide, Mahmoud was the broodmare sire of Natalma, dam of the legendary

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

who became the most successful

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

of the 20th Century and whom the National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history".

Training career

From 1961 to 1992, Ivor Balding was the head trainer for Whitney's racing stable during which time he earned the leading trainer title in 1966 at Saratoga Race Course.Thoroughbred Times - 23 January 2005
/ref> He died at age 96 in

Camden, South Carolina Camden is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camden is the oldest inland city in South Caro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balding, Ivor Godfrey British polo players 1908 births 2005 deaths Ivor Balding American racehorse trainers Sportspeople from Leicester Cornell University alumni People from Old Westbury, New York Sportspeople from Lexington, Kentucky People from Camden, South Carolina Horse trainers from Lexington, Kentucky English polo players British racehorse trainers