Horse Racing Chronology
September 5, 2020
A horse I owned a share in, Authentic, provided the thrill of a lifetime when he won the COVID-delayed Kentucky Derby. The End. (I mean, surely nothing can ever top that. ???)
2019 to Present
In July 2019 I decided to respond to an ad I'd seen a few times where one could own "microshares" in racehorses for a hundred or so bucks a share-- ie, a small part of a syndicate, like owning a stock. I decided I'd do just one horse that hadn't started yet and it would be just a fun little side thing. Well, he was laid up with injury a month later, so I decided to buy into one that had already started once. Long story short, by the end the year, I had a "stable" of thirteen horses, and it was a "bigger" thing, as far as thrills, than I'd thought it would be. It kept growing.
2009 to Present
Having owned in my own racehorses, I had lost interest in following the major races by the turn of the century, and only had a passing interest in the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup. I'd always loved games, and I played a few horse and dogs games online. Then, in 2009, I discovered Simhorseracing.com. It was the most realistic racing game I'd ever come across, and I threw myself into it in a big way. So, as of 2019, I've been playing a decade (close to 30 years in game time), and I've built an international empire that I find hugely satisfying to manage all by myself. I also mentor a lot of new players, and write a lot of articles for the game. Playing is so gratifying that, if I were to win the lottery or some such, I'm not sure that I'd be interested in owning real life racehorses again.
However, due to the game, I've gradually become a fan of real life racing again, and follow the sport loosely. I was as much a sobbing mess as anyone, when in 2015 American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
1995-2002
In early 1995, I was making enough money that I felt I could put some away regularly into mutual funds. I bought a "wealth builder" software, and the projections were that by the time I was in my 60s, around the year, 2025 I would have $100,000 saved, and I could buy a few racehorses. So, I was on my way. But the wanting was so strong, and it was so far away.
The internet was new in 1995, and there weren't many webpages. But in September I found one for a partnership in Arizona that consisted of 15 people throughout North America, who had pooled their money together, for a minimum of $400 each, and bought a filly to race in Phoenix. They really seemed to love their horse, and since she was laid up with an injury, they were looking to buy a new horse and were welcoming new partners.
I was intrigued enough to call the manager, Toni. I liked what I heard and said that I was in. Eight months after putting my first few hundred dollars away in mutual funds, to begin a pathway to racehorse ownership that I had expected to take some thirty years, I was now going to be a racehorse owner. Enliven Kleven was purchased shortly thereafter, and I flew down from Denver for his first two races.
I became good friends with Toni, and ended up doing all the bookkeeping for a partnership that eventually grew to 100 people, and over the next seven years we raced 27 horses from coast to coast. It was a fabulous time. The partnership eventually disbanded for various reasons, and I was surprised at myself that I was ready for it to end. I'd done the racing thing -- the ultimate dream of my life -- and I had just hit my 40s. Now what?
1984-87
One morning I was lying in bed with my boyfriend, who was 13 years older than me and also my boss and prior high school teacher. He asked me, "What are you thinking about right now?" I said, "How I've always loved horse racing, but I'm not doing anything to become involved in it." He asked what I could do, and I told him that there was a Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona, but it wasn't something I could attend, since the tuition was something like $6,000 a year. He immediately said, "I'll help you with that." I knew then that he was looking for an easy way to extract himself from our relationship, as I was. So, since my ultimate dream of some day owning racehorses was impossible, maybe I could work in the industry. He paid for my first full year, with the agreement that it was up to me to figure out how to get the financial aid for the rest, which I did. The first summer, I had an internship with the United States Trotting Association, which is the governing body for harness racing (where horses race while pulling their drivers in a cart). My peak experience of that summer was getting to drive a Standardbred pacer for his morning jog.
Turns out, I never actually worked in the industry.
1982
In the first year of the decade, I'd joined a little international club that was for the purpose of trading horse racing memorabilia. (No Ebay then, and taking money for items was against the club rules.) Turned out, one member, Connie, was my age and lived only an hour away in Colorado Springs. She was also a regular reader of a weekly Thoroughbred racing publication, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we knew more about racing in the U.S. than anyone else in the entire state of Colorado. Colorado is very big on horses, but not so much on horse racing. Anyway, Connie's parents drove her up to my apartment and she spent the night. To this day, my friendship with her is the longest I've ever had.
In April of 1982, Connie and I took the vacation of a lifetime to Lexington, Kentucky. Neither of us were partiers and had no interest in attending the Kentucky Derby, with its circus atmosphere, a few weeks later. We were interested in the horses, and Lexington is the world capital for Thoroughbred horseflesh. We visited many major farms and famous horses during the week. All our phone calls to Claiborne Farm, where Secretariat stood stud, were met with brusque denials. "No visitors allowed during breeding season."
We attended the races at the gorgeous Keeneland in Lexington, and there we met up with another member of our memorabilia club, who was a photographer for the Ohio Thoroughbred. We lamented not be able to go to Claiborne Farm, and he said, "I'll get you in." He made a phone call, and then told us how to get to the part of the farm where the stallion barn was.
We met Secretariat. That was a peak experience of my lifetime.
1973
At the age of 12, there was nothing so wonderful as the idea of a Triple Crown winner. It hadn't happened since 1948, well before I was born. Would Secretariat be the one? He was. For me, he became the physical symbol for all things good and wonderful. In all the decades since, I don't believe a day has gone by without Secretariat crossing my mind. He is as much a part of my daily existence as The Bible is to the most devout Christian.
1972
I was an avid reader and a lover of horses, and at the age of eleven, I began subscribing to various horse magazines. My favorite was the weekly Blood-Horse, which was all about Thoroughbred racing. I read it cover to cover for the next couple of decades. As luck would have it, later that year, a 2yo chestnut colt named Secretariat debuted and swept his division by storm. He was so outstanding, he was named Horse of the Year, which was almost unheard of for a 2yo.
1971
I watched my first Kentucky Derby on TV, when Canonero II, a Kentucky-bred that had raced in Venezuela, was a shocking winner. Later that year, I memorized all the winners of the Kentucky Derby. A couple of years later, I memorized the winners of the Preakness and Belmont in one day. By this time, some day owning racehorses was the ultimate dream of my life. (As a lover of horses in general, I also very much wanted a riding horse, but that was a passion separate from racing.)
1964
At the age of 3, our family was at the local racetrack, because my father was the doctor for the jockeys that summer. (As a sidenote, he hated horses, and seeing that every jockey "had every bone in their body broken at least once", didn't improve his outlook on the equine species.) We were there before the races started, and I was so, so excited about the idea of seeing a horse race. My 3yo eyes couldn't even see where the track was, and I had no idea what a horse race looked like, but it felt enormously exciting. To my great disappointment, my father finished his responsibilities for the day and we left before I even saw a horse. I didn't see a race live until seven years later.