Jess Jackson, Vintner Turned Racehorse Owner, Dies

Jess Jackson (right) greets his jockey Calvin Borel and his horse Rachel Alexandra in the winner's circle after she took the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in September 2009.
Enlarge Mike Groll/AP Photo

Jess Jackson (right) greets his jockey Calvin Borel and his horse Rachel Alexandra in the winner's circle after she took the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in September 2009.

Mike Groll/AP Photo

Jess Jackson (right) greets his jockey Calvin Borel and his horse Rachel Alexandra in the winner's circle after she took the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in September 2009.

Jess Jackson, the founder of the Kendall-Jackson winery who became a leading racehorse owner in his later years, died of cancer Thursday in his Geyserville, Calif., home. He was 81.

As a California vintner, Jackson built a multimillion-dollar empire on chardonnay with his popular Kendall-Jackson brand before moving into the horse-racing business with his Stonestreet Stable.

He owned two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, then bought Rachel Alexandra, who became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness, the second leg of racing's Triple Crown.

Rachel Alexandra went on to beat the boys again in the Haskell Invitational and the Woodward Stakes on her way to Horse of the Year honors.

She retired in the summer of 2010 and was bred to Curlin in February.
"We have been anticipating this introduction for some time now," Jackson said at the time. "Imagine what possibilities those two superhorses might produce."

The superfoal is due next February.

The 'Mountain Man' Of The Wine World

A familiar figure in wine country with his strong-boned face and shock of white hair, Jackson packed three careers into his long life: He retired from a law practice to build his wine company, then jumped into horse racing.

He was known as the "mountain man" in the California wine world for his enthusiasm for the high-end grapes produced by the state's rocky slopes. A fixture on Forbes magazine's list of richest Americans in recent years, he was engaging and scholarly in person, liable to launch into a detailed description of grape propagation or a discourse on American history.

Jackson was born in Los Angeles in 1930 and raised in San Francisco, spending summers picking grapes in wine country.

After earning a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, he built a career as an attorney in the San Francisco Bay area, specializing in land-use and property rights law.

Jackson's wine career began when he bought an 80-acre pear and walnut orchard in Lakeport, ostensibly for relaxation. But it wasn't long before he felt the lure of winemaking. He converted the orchard into a vineyard and founded Kendall-Jackson Winery in 1982. (Jane Kendall was his first wife.)

A slight accident helped boost early success when the fermentation "stuck," meaning less of the grape sugar was converted to alcohol and the wine was a little sweeter, a plus for soda-loving Americans.

KJ Vintner's Reserve became known for consistent quality in a moderate price range, and the privately held company went on to sell millions of cases a year. Jackson later established Jackson Family Wines with his second wife, Barbara Banke, which included a number of high-end brands, including Cardinale and Lokoya.

The Lure Of The Track

Jackson raced thoroughbreds for a time in the 1960s with an uncle but didn't enter the sport on a larger scale until 2003. He named his horse farms and racing operation Stonestreet Stables after his father; Stonestreet was also Jackson's middle name.

In 2004, he spent nearly $22 million to buy 95 horses, mostly broodmares.

Jackson bought a 31 percent interest in Curlin in 2007 in a partnership, then later bought another partner's share that gave him 80 percent ownership. Curlin won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic by four lengths that year and earned Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and outstanding 3-year-old.

Jackson also made his mark on the sport in other ways, becoming a forceful advocate for developing a league featuring older horses, to keep them running instead of being shipped to the breeding shed.

Throughout his career, Jackson never entirely lost his taste for law, going to court when he felt it necessary to protect his interests.

He once tangled with wine giant E. & J. Gallo in an unsuccessful copycat label lawsuit.

In 2005, Jackson filed a suit accusing former advisers of fraud for inflating prices that he paid for horses. He eventually reached settlements with several of the parties.

That prompted Jackson to push legislation in Kentucky to protect horse owners by preventing agents from profiting from undisclosed payments and commissions. It was signed into law in March 2006.

Jackson is survived by his second wife, five children and two grandchildren.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/21/135614798/jess-jackson-vintner-turned-racehorse-owner-dies?ft=1&f=1001

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