Longtime owner/breeder and magazine publishing executive Peter Callahan died May 9 in New York, according to family members and trainer Kenny McPeek, whose nearly two decades with Callahan included campaigning 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver. He was 82.
"He was a real special man to work with. He was as much a father figure to me as a client," said McPeek, who bought Swiss Skydiver at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $35,000.
"We had a lot of good horses over the years and had a lot of fun together," he continued. "(Swiss Skydiver) proved to be a good filly at 2 but what she did at 3 was unbelievable. A guy like Peter deserved that."
Swiss Skydiver would be named 2020 champion 3-year-old filly, go on to win a third grade 1 in the 2021 Beholder Mile Stakes (G1), and retire with more than $2.2 million in earnings. Callahan would later sell the filly to Katsumi Yoshida for $4.7 million through Runnymede Farm's consignment at Fasig-Tipton's 2021 The November Sale.
in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
First reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, Callahan had been suffering with a brain tumor. His daughter, Carolyn Callahan, said the family will have a celebration of life but that time is needed first to regroup after a rough couple of months.
"He was loved by many, and he loved a good party, so it will take us awhile to plan something befitting of the man," she said.
Aside from Callahan's success in publishing and with other entrepreneurial ventures, he became an enthusiastic participant in Thoroughbred breeding and racing. He told BloodHorse in 2020 that getting involved in horses had not been at the top of his wish list but he was guided to it by business partner and mentor the late David Gellar. With Gellar's help, Callahan built a career that included becoming the principal owner of the National Enquirer for 10 years, owning a stake in Daily Racing Form, and owning numerous trade magazines. In the 1980s, Gellar approached Callahan with an offer to buy into three horses.
"You have to be lucky in life and have some mentors that help you along the way. Mr. Gellar was one of those mentors for me," Callahan told BloodHorse. "I'm not sure what I'd have been doing without the mentors I've had. I wouldn't be living the life I'm living, I'm sure of that."
Callahan quickly embraced all the challenges and excitement Thoroughbred breeding and racing offers. The native of Astoria, N.Y., in Queens, had an Irish father and an Italian mother. He used to say it was his Irish side that attracted him to horses, according to Carolyn.
"He loved being an owner, he loved being a breeder, he loved being around the people, and he loved the horses. He loved all of it," she said. "I have joked in recent years that aside from his grandchildren, the horses are what he cared most about."
Callahan enjoyed extraordinary success as a breeder during a nearly four-decade association with the Clay family's historic Runnymede Farm in Central Kentucky's Bourbon County. With Runnymede, he co-bred grade 1 winners and millionaires Agnes Digital (who was Japan's 2001 champion older horse and an earner of more than $8 million), Awesome Gem, and Collected . He also bred in New York on his own Palace, who won the 2014 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) and Forego Stakes (G1) on his way to earning more than $1.5 million.
"In his original career he was a certified public accountant, so he was a numbers person. He loved the statistics," said Carolyn. "He always said, if you were smart on the breeding side, it can keep you going on the racing side, from a business perspective. He was a real student and very good at the bloodlines."
Swiss Skydiver would take him to the pinnacle of racing as an owner. The daughter of Daredevil became the sixth filly to win the Preakness over 2020 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic .
"The Swiss Skydiver experience breathed new life into him and it was the thrill of his life in the horse business," said Carolyn.
"At this stage of life, there aren't many things that reach the level of true enjoyment, but this is one of them. I wish something like this could happen to everyone," Peter Callahan told BloodHorse after Swiss Skydiver's Preakness win. "I can tell you, I feel for the people on the other side of the equation. I've had my fair share of close finishes, but to win by a dirty nose is unbelievable, especially on such a stage."
One of those close losses for Callahan was with Beautician, who got passed right before the wire by She Be Wild in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). These tough losses, the years when the breeding program was not as a successful as hoped, and the victories all provided important lessons that Callahan shared with his children.
"They had some great years, some OK years, and some not-so-great years, but that is what he taught us—that you had to look at it for the long haul," Caroyln said.
"Over time he had more free time, and much of that time was spent on the Thoroughbred industry," she continued. "He read about the industry, watch the races from the couch if he couldn't go to the races. He was crazy about the whole thing, and he has encouraged us to keep it going. Above all, he lived every day to the full and was a great example of that."
