Meet the Owners

Married on Valentine's Day in 1963, Rex and Nancy Dahlberg came from widely different backgrounds but shared a common love for horses. Rex grew up on a farm near Salt Lake City. Although he had a child's love for the animals, he never had a riding horse of his own. Obtaining one was going to have to wait as raising a family and building a successful real estate business came first on his list of priorities.

Nancy was born in Santa Monica and grew up on her family's ranch in Burbank. Her favorite companion was a huge 17-hand high American Saddlebred which won nearly every event she entered him in. She spent much of her leisure time riding the trails in Griffith Park.

Rex was at the races the day California-bred Crystal Water defeated Faliraki (Ire) and King Pellinore in the 1977 Santa Anita Handicap. It was an event that changed his life forever. He became hooked on the sport of Thoroughbred racing. He and Nancy bought some property in Hidden Hills that was big enough for kids and horses to run and play, and they virtually filled the corrals with horses of every description. Rex finally got his pleasure horses to ride in the mountains around Calabasas and Nancy wound up on the show circuit again, but this time as a coach and chauffeur for their two daughters, Tammy and Debbie. Son Steve was not interested in riding, but he got to paint fences and clean corrals.

It was during this time that the couple gave up golf and skiing to actively pursue their love for racing, this time as bonafide owners. They started out racing Quarter Horses as an inexpensive way to learn the business with only four or five horses at the track. This continued for only a few years before getting into Thoroughbreds full time.

Because of his love for horses and the track, Rex Dahlberg's children one Christmas presented him with a personalized license plate that said RACRREX. Years later, when he and Nancy were starting to further expand, they found a Rex Imperator colt catalogued for the 1988 CTS March 2-year-old sale and knew they had to have him. The Dahlbergs bought him and renamed him Racer Rex, in honor of Rex's vanity plate. He went on to win or place in 32 of 61 starts while earning $179,858. Racer Rex the horse became a crowd favorite at the track and made the Dahlberg's car, if not the couple themselves, easily recognizable. People would often honk at the Dahlbergs on the road as they were leaving the track and would wave and offer victory signs.

Following the purchase of Racer Rex they went on to acquire Heavy Weather who placed second in the 1986 Solano County Juvenile FillyStakes at the Vallejo County Fair and concluded her racing career winning more than $80,000.00 during a 4 year campaign. Then came Roman Cuzzin, an unraced 3-year-old purchased at the Barretts January sale in 1996. Roman Cuzzin broke the track record at The Golden Doc Ray Handicap at Hollywood Park running 1 and ¾ miles in 2:56.77 and went on to win 17 races and nearly $200,000.00 under the Dahlberg colors. (see winners circle page for further details)

By the mid-nineties, the Dahlbergs decided to pursue the breeding end of the business. They had kept abreast of the latest trends in the industry by attending educational seminars and reading all the professional periodicals. Further buoyed by the fact that the CTBA was reorganizing, the Thoroughbred Owners of California was in formation, license fee relief was on the table and a national organization was soon going to become a reality, Rex and Nancy threw their hats in the ring and became commercial breeders.

The Dahlbergs built their breeding business with the acquisition of several nice broodmares and a share in the Harris Farms stallion High Brite. Their horse business had grown so much by 1998 that they decided to purchase land in San Miguel and establish Dahlberg Farms.

Today Dahlberg Farms is home to approximately 11 broodmares, 10 weanlings and 9 yearlings and has bred race track winners such as Candy Factory and Yodelady Too (please visit winners circle for statistics) to name a few. Also included in Dahlberg Farms resume is the sale of homebred Tribal Star in the Barretts 2006 October yearling sale for $60,000.00. Tribal Star was pinhooked back into the Barretts 2007 May 2-year-old in training sale and sold for $430,000.00. "A real homerun for the pinhooker."

Nancy and Rex recall "One of our most exciting experiences as owners and breeders was in 2005 and 2006 when we were able to participate in Candy Factorys exciting race career. She won the Solana beach handicap ($125,000) at Del Mar going 1 mile in 1:33. 36 on the turf setting a new stakes record defeating California millionaire Valentine Dancer. The following summer she won the CTT and TOC handicap ($85,000) at Del Mar going 1 and 3/8 mile on the turf in 2:12.48 defeating California millionaire Memorette. We are proud to announce that Candy Factory has joined our brood mare band and we look forward to her producing future stakes winners."

Encouraging results at the Del Mar and Barrett's sales have given the Dahlbergs confidence that their breeding program is working and they are very optimistic about the future. It is amazing that their successes and deep respect for the horse has sprung from a shared love for racing and a license plate inscribed as RACRREX.