Saddleback Stables Thoroughbreds, LLC uses only experienced, highly accomplished horsemen who make the welfare of the horse a priority.

Tim Ice

Trainer

We were first introduced to Tim Ice at the 2011 Breeder’s Cup Championships at Churchill Downs. A short time later we assigned a couple of horses to him. We were impressed with his keen eye for conformation and his evaluation of running prospects. Tim’s barn is managed in a professional manner and he does not have a “one size fits all” approach. He conditions each horse individually and keeps an open line of communication with his owners

Tim began his career in racing at tracks in the Midwest. He worked as an assistant to Keith Desormeaux for five years. After a short hiatus he then worked for Cole Norman in Louisiana and Arkansas. He followed that with two years under Morris Nicks. 2009 marked the first time he was on his own and earned his first stakes win with Affirmed Truth in the Rainbow Miss Stakes at Oaklawn Park. By far his greatest success came with the three-year-old colt Summer Bird who won four of his nine starts and earned $2,323,040. In the third leg of the 2009 Triple Crown series, on his 35th birthday Tim won the Belmont Stakes with Summer Bird. The colt went on to win two more Grade 1 races, the Travers Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup, and was voted the American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse of 2009. Tim currently focuses on training in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Ed Essenpreis

Trainer

In keeping with the theme of owning a professional sports franchise, Ed serves as our “player development” coach. Ed and his wife, Shellye, own Essenpreis Farm. Eddie is highly respected for his horsemanship skills and his gentle, yet firm, rapport with horses. He is in great demand because of his patient, natural and low stress method of training. Eddie has been extremely successful in getting horses ready for the racetrack and breaks all of the young horses for Saddleback Stables. Ed has been breaking horses since his early days in high school and in 1973 received his license as an exercise boy. Ed and Shellye began a public racing stable in 1984. They chose to specialize in the area of breaking and starting young horses in 2004 and now only train their own horses for racing. Ed is the former President of the Illinois HBPA.

Dawn Martin

Trainer

Dawn Martin may be the hardest worker on the Fairmount Park backside. In addition to training thoroughbreds, Dawn along with her son, Chase, exercise horses in the morning, feed and muck stalls and personally transport their horses to racetracks in the Midwest. Dawn began her competitive career as a quarter horse jockey in Texas before riding thoroughbreds in Louisiana and Illinois. In the mid 1990’s Dawn earned her trainers license and started racing her own stock.  Dawn’s operation evolved into a public stable after purchasing a farm in Caseyville, IL. Sandwiched between all of her equine activities Dawn earned an engineering degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2000.