Zevi, the all-time leading Thoroughbred broodmare sire of Quarter Horses, was foaled on June 1st, 1973. He was bred by Marvin L. Warner at Warnerton Farms in Lexington, Kentucky. Cornish Prince, the sire of Zevi, was a stakes winning son of Bold Ruler. Zevi’s dam, Spire, was by the 1961 Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, Carry Back. Spire won four black-type stakes races and went on to produce winners of nearly $700,000 on the track. Her most successful starter, Red Clay County, won twenty-five races including the Rainbow Handicap and River Bend Stakes. Zevi was Spire’s first and fastest foal.
Zevi raced for his breeder under trainer Charles L. Taliaferro. At age two, he won his maiden race by two and a half lengths. His final time was just off the track record for four furlongs at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. As a three-year-old, Zevi traveled east to Illinois, Kentucky, and New York. He won one race at Aqueduct, but longer distances did not suit the dark bay colt. He retired from racing with a record of ten starts, two wins, one place, and two shows, with $16,750 in earnings.
Breeders were interested in Zevi right away. His massive hip and matching shoulder made him an ideal outcross to Quarter Horse mares. He stood at Mighty Acres in Pryor, Oklahoma. His first foal crop, which arrived in 1977, included Zipp Zoro, a brown Quarter Horse filly out of Quincy Hop, by Deep Fathom. Zipp Zoro won the 1980 West Texas Derby and became an AQHA Dam of Distinction. She produced fourteen foals, all of which were winners. Five of her foals – Fodice, Lazbuddie, Zip Dash, Zipuino and Zoro Jet – were stakes winners. In total, her offspring earned $886,007 on the track. As of 2022, Zipp Zoro was ranked 44th on the list of All-Time Leading Dams by Stakes Winners.
Over the next 20 years, Zevi became a leading Thoroughbred sire of Quarter Horses in Oklahoma and the nation. His best Quarter Horse starter, Hiclass Girl, won the 1986 Heritage Place Futurity and earned $402,220 on the track. Other stakes winners by Zevi include Md Hammertime, Furr Trapper, Higher Goals, Devil His Due, Fancys Zevi, Classy Zevi, Zevis Extravance, Remarkable Reba, Sweet Relief and Sportiness. Furthermore, Mr Zevi, Zevis Rebel, Zealous, Barefootin Zev, Request By Zevi, Zevi Garret, Synchrocept, Long Gone Zevi, Mr Zevi Smith and Zevi Jet all set or equaled records at tracks across the country. Hi-Point horses by Zevi include Zevis Bum, the 1994 Mexico Hi-Point Aged Gelding; Cornish Bay Jet, the 1995 Central Hi-Point Claiming Horse; Long Gone Zevi, the 1997 Northwest Hi-Point Aged Gelding; Papas Pope, the 1999 Canada Hi-Point Distance Horse; and One Morning Star, the 2000 Mexico Hi-Point Aged Mare.
His best Thoroughbred starter, Smoky Path, won the Grasmick Handicap at Fonner Park. Other successful Thoroughbred starters by Zevi include Speedy Biz, Awesome Mego and Good Show. In total, Zevi sired 1,030 registered Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in 21 foal crops. They included 585 ROM earners, 560 winners, 44 Superior Race Award earners, 39 stakes winners and eight regional champions with $9,163,624 in earnings on the track. Missing from those statistics are his Appaloosa race winners, which included Miss Zv Bird, Zevis Giorgio, Zevis Lady Bug, Zevi’s Peppy and Zevis Scooter Bug. In addition, Zevi also sired at least twenty-eight barrel racing money earners, including Potentiallydangerous, Xyzevi, Catchinsum Zees, Fast Ze, Zees Mall Call, Zee the Wind, Aalways a Zevi, Roye Payne, Zevis Time Test and Donteventhinkaboutit.
Bugs Zevi, Iris Zevi, Malibu Nights, Son of Zevi, Sun Wind and Fire, Teton Jh, Ze Moon, Zeek the Streak, Zevi CRC, and Zevis Ace were sons of Zevi that sired Quarter Horses, Paints, and Appaloosas. However, Zevi is not known best as a sire of sires, but as a broodmare sire. Zevi is currently ranked 47th on the list of All-Time Leading Broodmare Sires by Average Earning Per Starter. Apollo and Coup de Kas are the only Thoroughbreds that outrank him on that list. When ranked by money earned, Zevi comes out on top. His daughters produced earners of $30,331,134 on the track. That puts Zevi 15th overall and makes him the best Thoroughbred broodmare sire of Quarter Horses over Beduino, Raise Your Glass, Hempen and Reb’s Policy.
Zevi’s best producing daughters were the aforementioned Zipp Zoro, Sweet Bye and Bye and Roda Marie. These mares appear on the lists of All-Time Leading Dams by Money Earned and by Stakes Winners. Sweet Bye and Bye won thirteen races including the Speedhorse Gold Cup Futurity, Bandera Six Flags Futurity, West Texas Winemaker Breeders’ Futurity, and Denim N Diamonds Handicap. She earned $324,563 on the track. Sweet Bye and Bye’s fifteen foals earned $981,222. They included Dashin Bye, Sweet First Down and Strong Hope. Roda Marie won eight races and earned $29,121 on the track. She produced eleven foals that earned $2,167,521 on the track. Her best starter, Winalota Cash, is ranked 12th on the list of All-Time Million-Dollar Money Earners. Other top producers by Zevi include Country Zevi, the dam of Country Chicks Man; Okeydokey Baby, the dam of Okey Dokey Dale; and De Elegant Zevi, the dam of De Elegant Oscar. Zevi is also the dam sire of Remember Me Rose, My Designated Driver, Profit Increase, and many others.
Zevi’s last foals were born in 1997. Today, he can be found in the pedigrees of countless racehorses, barrel horses and performance horses.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, Speedhorse Magazine, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 
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