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is poised for a comeback. Las Vegas's Mariachi FA showing at the Breeders Cup this year.) She says the breed is part of an Arabian aristocracy that has been carefully cultivated for generations. "There's a big history to it," Brookshire says. "The Bedouins who bred these horses were fanatical about their bloodlines, which have been kept pure. All their lines can be traced to desert-bred horses." Indeed, all Arabians date back to the days of King Solomon, when men searched the desert for the best horses they could find to create the ultimate equine. "All hot-blooded horses, as we know them, are a derivative of the Arabian horse," says legendary singer Wayne Newton, Las Vegas's most famous Arabian enthusiast. "It is the oldest breed." Newton considers the annual Breeders Cup a must-see event—but he might be slightly biased. The Arabian Horse Breeders Alliance gave him its Lifetime Achievement award when Arabian Professional & the Breeders Cup first came to Las Vegas in 2007. (The Amateur "NOBODY HAS WHAT WE HAVE," PAULA GAUGHAN SAYS OF SOUTH POINT EQUESTRIAN CENTER. breeding is done through artificial insemination, involving some strategic collecting. Garehime is hopeful that Mariachi will continue the bloodline's history of breeding winners. "He is just this year starting to breed mares," she says. "He's very excited about it." Before a mare is artificially inseminated, the owner pays a stud fee, which varies widely depending on the pedigree of the father. "Stud fees average $5,000, but can be much more for a champion stallion," says Janel Brookshire, owner of Hidden Valley Arabians, north of Las Vegas. Hidden Valley is home to a mare named HV Aliah Bint Sinan, whom Brookshire considers her superstar. "Aliah is everything we could hope for in a show- and breeding-quality filly," she says of the prized mare that had her first foal this year. "The birth went very well; it was textbook. She bonded immediately with the baby, and she's been a very good mom." Brookshire was so pleased with Aliah's first filly, HV Sada Amirah, that she chose to keep her—even though Egyptian Arabians of that caliber can sell for $30,000 or more. (Aliah is on equine maternity leave and will not be 114 vegasmagazine.com Horseman's Association also named him its 1996 Breeder of the Year.) "We are in our seventh gen- eration of WN-bred horses," Newton says, referring to his initials. "We have produced to date over 96 world and national champions." At Newton's famous Casa de Shenandoah, he has overseen the breeding of hundreds of horses; each of his signature foals has a "WN" in its regis- tered name. "Many of the breeders today like to put their initials onto a horse's name so they can have credit for breeding the horse," Garehime says. (Mariachi's full name is Mariachi FA, which stands for Fiscus Arabians, the equine outfit that oversaw his breeding.) Newton's most famous stud, a Polish import named Aramus Arabian, was a three-time national champion. He sired another stallion named WN GloryOfJoy, who went on to win a national championship of his own before he sired Triolo's current pride and joy, a mare named DT GloryBea. "People don't realize that a lot of these top horses are from right here in Las Vegas," Triolo says. "We have some quality, quality animals here." Newton currently has 54 horses at his Pecos Road ranch, which is sched- uled to open as a tourist attraction later this year. The lavish, 52-acre property boasts such amenities as an equine swimming pool for exercising the horses with minimal stress to their legs. The ranch also houses a state- of-the-art Arabian-breeding operation. "We average four to six foals a year, and I personally foal each mare in one of our foaling stalls," Newton says. Casa de Shenandoah's breeding program uses both natural and arti- ficial insemination, as well as embryo transfers that allow horses to produce foals through a surrogate. The practice isn't exclusive to Arabians, but it gets results. "We've been doing that for 20-some years; it's extremely successful and safer for the horses, too," says Paula Gaughan, who breeds, raises, and trains cutting horses for sport at her ranch on the north end of town. Jokingly, she adds, "These mares can be just like a woman. You know, 'No thank you!'" photography by christina rousseau photography