From Houston and the rail at Ruidoso Downs to Kentucky horse country.
the harrell family.
who we are
New Mexico summers, and a father who loved the races.
Curtis Harrell grew up in Houston. Every summer, his family made the drive to Ruidoso Downs in the mountains of New Mexico, where Texans went to escape the heat. Curtis's father, Eddie, would take small pieces of claiming horses. Curtis and his two brothers learned to handicap the races and spent hours at the rail watching the action unfold.
Eddie founded Citation Oil & Gas Corp in 1981, naming the company after the 1948 Triple Crown winner. Curtis joined in 2002. Together, they built it into one of the largest privately held oil and gas companies in the United States, focused on the acquisition of long-life, mature oil and gas properties.
where it started.
But along with the oil business, there was always another passion in the background. They had dabbled in the racing business for years and were never quite able to leave the sport behind. In 2009, the family decided to fully commit. Eddie and wife Sandra, along with Curtis and his two brothers founded Alto Racing, named after the small town of Alto, New Mexico just five miles from Ruidoso Downs. They initially hired Dick Mandella and campaigned horses on the West Coast. Within two years they had moved to the East Coast and engaged Todd Pletcher, who has trained for the family ever since.
Clay, Curtis and Connor Harrell
The reason we're here.
edDIE harrell
Eddie Harrell passed away in 2017. In the years leading up to his death, his health had declined and the Alto Racing stable was scaled back. After losing him, Curtis and his wife Beth faced a decision: step away from the sport or stay in and grow their involvement.
They stayed. Curtis is direct about why: to honor his father. The experience of being in this business had given the Harrell family so much more than it had cost them, and Eddie was the one who had established that tradition.
Reverie Farm is the next frontier. Curtis sees the farm as what his father would have wanted—the next generation of the family deepening its commitment to a sport Eddie loved. It comes, Curtis says, with a responsibility: to the land, to the horses, to the sport. To do it right.
Harrell Ventures, the family's racing stable, was founded in that spirit.
Curtis & Beth Harrell
Connor, Clay & Hannah
Harrell
Curtis and Beth Harrell are based in Houston, where Curtis runs Citation Oil & Gas, a company he has led for 24 years with the same consistent philosophy: a long-term focus anchored in tradition, the responsible stewardship of their assets with an uncompromising standard of excellence.
Reverie Farm operates the same way. Curtis and Beth are in Kentucky regularly and intend to spend more time there as the farm develops. The historic house at the end of the drive—a structure that has stood on this property since the 1700s—is being restored as the family's residence and a place to entertain guests.
That is the commitment of people who intend to be here. They are not investors in the farm. They are its owners, in the fullest sense of the word.
All three Harrell children went to Vanderbilt—the inspiration for the family's black and gold racing silks. Connor, the oldest, came to racing while playing baseball there during the years Alto Racing was just getting started. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and played 5 1/2 years in the organization before retiring from the game. Now in commercial real estate development, Connor works very closely with Curtis and serves as his right hand for all things horse related. Connor is married to Sydney and they have two children, Foster and Hollan.
Clay followed his Vanderbilt education with an MBA from Kellogg. As an investment banker, Clay brings valuable business and financial skills to the farm operation. Clay is married to Julianna and they have two children, Lane and Madden.
Hannah, the youngest of the three, lives in New York City with her husband David. Her role at Reverie includes client relations and marketing, including branding and our social media presence.
The Harrell family has been competing at the top of the Thoroughbred business since 2009: buying yearlings at the major sales, campaigning graded stakes winners, and producing stallions with partners like Three Chimneys Farm, Gainesway Farm, Stone Farm, Starlight Racing & Black Type Thoroughbreds.
Harrell Ventures maintains 20-30 horses in training with horsemen like Todd Pletcher, George Weaver, Brendan Walsh and Steve Asmussen. While Harrell Ventures previously targeted colts, the acquisition of Reverie Farm means they will take on more fillies to add to their breeding program.
