{"id":306370,"date":"2025-07-31T10:40:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T10:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306370\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:40:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T10:40:14","slug":"crane-thoroughbreds-puts-race-horses-on-the-fast-track-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/306370\/","title":{"rendered":"Crane Thoroughbreds puts race horses on the fast track to success"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a story of perseverance, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit. This is a success story about a lifelong pursuit.<\/p>\n

This is the tale of the American Dream realized. This is the tale of a local boy making good.<\/p>\n

This is the story of horses. This is the story of one man and his family\u2019s relationship with these majestic animals.<\/p>\n

This is the story of Crane Thoroughbreds.<\/p>\n

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\t\tHorses and humans have enjoyed special working relationships since the former was introduced to the Americas. (Provided photo)<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to the university of hard knocks,\u201d said Clovis Crane, the founder, owner and operator of Crane Thoroughbreds. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lifetime of trials and tribulations. A lot of failure, but a lot of success as well. It\u2019s about evolving, changing directions, and figuring out how to make things work. And paying attention to little details.\u201d<\/p>\n

Situated at 708 Greble Road, Lebanon, Crane Thoroughbreds is a 65-acre, family-owned farm that makes its living both directly and indirectly from the horse racing industry. Crane Thoroughbreds specializes in breaking horses, sales preparations and thoroughbred sales.<\/p>\n

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\t\tCrane Thoroughbreds has been breaking in and selling race horses for more than 20 years. (Provided photo)<\/p>\n

A true horseman through and through, Clovis Crane uses his experience in riding, training and owning thoroughbreds to focus on the business\u2019s specialty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe develop thoroughbreds for racing programs,\u201d said Crane. \u201cThat\u2019s our bread and butter. Other people send us horses that have never been ridden. We gentle them down so other people can ride them. Our focus is helping young horses to be better so people can handle them. You do it through a good feed program and regular routines of care.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a speculator. What I have left over, and I can\u2019t get sold, I have to do something with them, so I take them to races. But we don\u2019t want to be training horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\tAt any one time, the stables at Crane Thoroughbreds are home to as many as 100 horses. (Provided photo)<\/p>\n

Crane Thoroughbreds uses a 100-foot-by-200-foot training center, a swimming facility, and a five-eighths of a mile galloping track as part of its breaking process. Crane Thoroughbreds is located 15 minutes from Penn National Race Course in Grantville and within a two-hour drive of seven other mid-Atlantic horse racing venues.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Crane Thoroughbreds brought in a gross revenue of over $3 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is money in the horse racing business,\u201d said Crane, a native of the Grantville area. \u201cWe bought a horse named Archangel at a sale for $30,000. That horse went on to win millions of dollars. After its racing career, my client was offered $3 million for the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, there are 40 horses housed at Crane Thoroughbreds, 30 of which are thoroughbreds. In a typical year, as many as 200 thoroughbreds come through the farm.<\/p>\n

Crane Thoroughbreds does not break or train therapy horses or rodeo horses, nor does it offer riding lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hobby is buying riding horses, developing them, and re-selling them on a small scale,\u201d said Crane. \u201cI have a connection with horses, and they\u2019re a commodity. There is so much therapeutic value in horses, people riding horses or just petting horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThoroughbreds are absolutely 100 percent athletes. Horses are built to run. Animals are programmed to fight or flight. Animals that are built to run like it. Thoroughbreds are bred to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crane grew up around horses and the horse racing industry at Penn National. Before being recruited to wrestle at Purdue University, Crane rode thoroughbreds as a teenage jockey.<\/p>\n

Crane founded Crane Thoroughbreds in 2003, the same year he graduated from Purdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I graduated from college, I wanted to get back into the horse business,\u201d he said. \u201cI had saved some money and I thought to myself, \u2018I can buy a farm, develop it and resell it,\u2019 so I bought the farm where I\u2019m at. But there was no interest, so instead of selling the farm, I had to start the business and it evolved into what it is today. It was strong enough that we were able to consolidate.<\/p>\n

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\t\tThe methods Crane Thoroughbreds employs adds value to horses\u2019 lives. (Provided photo)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started, I was doing anything I could do. I was hungry to make enough money. I trained several horses. Now, we have such a good reputation that we don\u2019t have to advertise anymore. A lot of time we\u2019re too full to take business. We\u2019re not struggling to make ends meet. We were able to consolidate ourselves and now, with what we do, we\u2019re as good as anyone in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The type of breaking in that Crane Thoroughbreds provides can never be reversed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to help the horses and give them the skills and value for the rest of their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cMost people can\u2019t handle young and unruly horses. We\u2019re just a service that makes horses tempered.\u201d<\/p>\n

For additional information, go to cranethoroughbreds.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we\u2019ll do our best to get back to you.<\/p>\n

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