Meg Levy wasn’t bred into the Thoroughbred business like many of her contemporaries. Growing up in
South Florida, Levy’s foray into horses began on the backs of off-track Thoroughbreds that she rode in
riding lessons and eventually in the show ring. By the time she graduated from college, she was an
accomplished equestrian on the Florida hunter/jumper circuits and was keenly interested in a career
with Thoroughbreds.
Levy made the move to Kentucky in her early twenties and soon found her niche, working for Eaton
Sales as the first female show person on their staff. In between the sales, Levy worked at 505 Farm,
starting young horses and galloping on the track. She also worked for the high-end bloodstock
consultancy of John Finney, whose vision as president of Fasig-Tipton in the ‘70s and ‘80s is largely
credited with bolstering the sales company to the prominence it still enjoys today.
It was that unique, yet quintessential blend of hands-on experience and working for one of the
industry’s great visionaries that would ultimately chart the course for Levy’s future.
Levy opened her own consignment company in 1999 under the name Bluewater. At the time, many of
the successful businesses in the industry – both at the sales and on the breeding side – operated like
factories, churning out a high number of horses each year. Bluewater was to be the anti-establishment;
a boutique operation focusing on quality over quantity and dedicated to managing their clients’
bloodstock and portfolios the same way they would their own.
Success came early for Bluewater. Just one year after opening their doors Meg and her team sold an A.
P. Indy – Trumpets Blare yearling to Darley’s John Ferguson for $1,300,000. The very next year they hit
the seven figures mark again, selling a Dixieland Band yearling colt out of the Afleet mare Call Me Fleet
for $1,150,000 to Eugene Melnyk. That same year, Bluewater also sold, among others, a filly by Dehere.
That filly would go on to become multiple Grade 1 winner and multi-millionaire Take Charge Lady, dam
of millionaire Grade 1 winners-turned-sires Will Take Charge and Take Charge Indy.
With those first few successes, Bluewater was off and running. Since then, Levy’s operation has earned
its spot as one of the perennial leaders in the consignment arena, with 13 Grade 1 winners and more
than 100 stakes winners to date. The success has also led to an equally successful foray into the private
sales and portfolio management sector.
Today Levy’s name is one of the most respected in the Thoroughbred industry. She was profiled as one
of the 25 “Women of Influence” in the Thoroughbred Times, and is a sought-after speaker for
conformation clinics and new owner seminars. She is a member of the Consignors and Commercial
Breeders Association (CBA), the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association (TOBA), and the
Kentucky Equine Education Program (KEEP), and is an active supporter of the Thoroughbred Aftercare
Alliance (TAA) and Central Kentucky Riding for Hope, as well as a number of charities and efforts focused
on the rehabilitation and retraining of retired racehorses.
Meg and her husband, Mike, live on the property of Bluewater with their two children. Mike founded
Muirfield Equine Insurance in 1991 and more recently has become more involved with Bluewater. His
background and success in bloodstock portfolio management and equine investments is unparalleled
and offers a unique advisement perspective to Bluewater clients.
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Ryder Finney, Bloodstock Specialist - Email: [email protected]
Born into the industry that he is so passionate about, Ryder Finney may be the youngest member of the Bluewater team, but he is not lacking in experience and drive. Ryder is the grandson of the legendary John Finney, whose vision and leadership helped to shape the legacy of Fasig-Tipton while he was president of the auction house and for years after. Growing up at his mother’s Bluewater Sales farm, Ryder learned the Thoroughbred business from the inside. After attending Lawrenceville Prep School in New Jersey and the University of Pennsylvania for college, he returned to the bluegrass to join the family business, lending his keen eye for pedigrees and knack for handicapping, contributing to the farm in more ways than anticipated.
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