Editing Marion County, Florida (section)

===Mid-20th century to present===
Since the mid-20th century, thoroughbred horse farms have been established in the county. Such thoroughbred farms have become known for such race champions as [[Needles (horse)|Needles]], bred at Bonnie Heath Farm, and in 1956, becoming the first Florida-bred horse to win the [[Kentucky Derby]]. In 1978 [[Affirmed]] from [[Harbor View Farm]] won the [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)|Triple Crown]].

[[Carl G. Rose]], who had come to Florida in 1916 from Indiana to oversee construction of the first asphalt road in the state, is credited with developing the first thoroughbred horse farm in 1943. As an engineer, he had become familiar with the area's limestone, which he realized supported good pasture for raising strong horses. (Limestone also nurtures central Kentucky's noted [[Bluegrass Region]].) In 1943, Rose bought land along State Highway 200, at $10 per acre, establishing Rosemere Farm. The next year one of his horses, Gornil, won at Miami's [[Tropical Park]], becoming the first Florida-raised thoroughbred to win a Florida race. This raised the profile of Marion County in the racing world.

Close on Rose's heels, entrepreneur Bonnie Heath set up his own thoroughbred farm, producing [[Needles (horse)|Needles]]. In 1956 the horse was the state's first native-bred winner of the [[Kentucky Derby]]. (see further below). Bonnie Heath Farm is owned and operated by Bonnie Heath III and his wife Kim.

In 1978, Marion County-bred-and-raised [[Affirmed]] won the [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]]. Today, Marion County is a major world thoroughbred center with more than 1200 horse farms. There are about 900 thoroughbred farms, totaling some {{convert|77000|acre|km2}}. Ocala is well known as a "horse capital of the world."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ocalacc.com/ocala_florida/templates/tourism.aspx?articleid=18 |title=The Horse Capital of the World |publisher=Ocalacc.com |access-date=January 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925032651/http://www.ocalacc.com/ocala_florida/templates/tourism.aspx?articleid=18 |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>