Spring

Some of the loveliest signs of Spring, in Ocala, are the new foals. Breeding race horses in Ocala has a rich history.
Highway construction expert, Carl G. Rose, was among Florida's first horse-breeding pioneers. He knew the limestone under Ocala's soil was not only good for building roads, it built strong horses. He bought hundreds of acres in central Ocala for racehorses breeding and encouraged others to make the gamble.
Mid-western oil wildcatters, Bonnie M. Heath II and Jack Dudley, came to Ocala in the mid-fifties and hooked up with trainer Hugh Fontaine, who convinced them to buy a sickly colt called Needles, so named because of his many visits to the vet. To their astonishment, in 1956 Needles won both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, becoming the first Florida-bred racehorse to win "Classic" races.
Today land, not horses, is the thoroughbred horse breeder's greatest potential risk or reward. Now, Ocala Florida, one of the world's top racehorse breeding regions, is losing its heritage farms as unplanned urban sprawl engulfs rolling pastures and many of the signature farms of Ocala's early breeders have been replaced by businesses, homes, colleges and shopping malls.

Sunshine, inexpensive land and homes, and favorable tax laws for retirees have made Marion County very popular.