Diane and Lou were just out of school when they were introduced by a mutual friend who knew they both loved horses. Lou was an industrious kid. While in high school he established a lawn service and sold firewood and Christmas trees. He was accumulating capital in anticipation of his parents' refusal to support an ambition that would preclude joining his father’s law firm.

While at Hofstra University, Lou worked without pay for some of the best racehorse trainers at Belmont Park. But he was most interested in pedigrees and sought to discover what combination of bloodlines produced the fastest horses. With considerable detriment to his academics, he spent most of his time at the extensive equine library adjacent to the track.

After they married, the couple leased, with an option to buy, 90 acres of fertile land in New Hampton, New York with nothing but an old farmhouse to live in. They named it Questroyal Farm, and with far more will- power than resources, they built numerous barns, miles of fences, raised two children and persevered. “We had many difficult years,” says Diane, “we did a lot of the work ourselves, but we built a successful business.”

Lou agrees that the early years were tough. “We had to break ice in the many water troughs several times each day," he says, “and we took turns watching mares about to foal throughout the night. Diane researched foal- ing procedures, and I delivered hundreds of foals with her assistance.”

They ultimately established a reputation for buying and offering broodmares with quality bloodlines at competitive prices to breeders around the world. Lou’s marketing skills advanced their business and before long they were shipping horses around the globe, often using Federal Express.

Their greatest success came with the purchase of a stallion prospect named Belong to Me. Lou says, “I loved his pedigree and put together a syndicate to purchase him.” Lou’s extensive marketing campaign was both admired and criticized. The ad copy promised that Belong to Me would be the nation’s next sire sensation.

The Kentuckians thought it impossible for a Brooklyn-born husband and wife team, raising horses in New York, to produce racehorses superior to those raised by the best and most established farms in the nation. They were wrong! The first two-year-old race horses sired by Belong to Me were the best in the world. The Questroyal syndicate rejected numerous offers before they ultimately sold him to the famous Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky. He was the most valuable sire ever sold in New York State.

Lou and Diane also had a passion for American 19th and 20th century paintings. Shortly after the sale of Belong to Me, they sold the farm in New Hampton to establish an art gallery. Lou believed that paintings from this period were under- valued. Using the same work ethic and skill set honed by their years in the horse business, their first gallery was in a small Manhattan apartment. As their business grew, they built a beautiful gallery at Park Avenue and 79th Street. Unlike galleries that sell consigned paintings, they own the paintings they sell, and offer them for resale at sensible prices. Questroyal Fine Art is now one of the foremost American Art galleries, but Lou and Diane believe that what truly sets them apart from others is their welcoming atmosphere.

If you love art, come visit the gallery at 903 Park Ave on the third floor and share a glass of wine with Lou. The gallery is open Monday thru Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Visit their website at Questroyalfineart.com.