Edited Press Release, Mike Kane/Kentucky Downs
All the essential timing elements for Sunday have dovetailed for Houston Astros star third baseman Alex Bregman and his very promising filly Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}).
By the time Kodiac Wintergreen goes to the starting gate for the $500,000 Global Tote Juvenile Fillies S. at Kentucky Downs at 5:28 p.m. (CT), the Astros's home game with the San Diego Padres should be long finished. His day's work on the diamond at Minute Maid Field done, Bregman will be parked in front of a television to watch how the 2-year-old filly handles the one-mile race, the biggest test of her young career.
Bregman expects Kodiac Wintergreen to emerge as the second standout in his nascent and fast-growing thoroughbred stable, Bregman Family Racing LLC. Trained by Rusty Arnold and to be ridden again by Jose Oritz, she is the 3-1 favorite on the morning line. So far, No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never), with two stakes wins on his resume, is the most accomplished Bregman runner. He will try for a third stakes victory Saturday at Colonial Downs in Virginia.
Two years after Bregman, his wife Reagan and his parents, Jackie and Sam, made their first purchases at auction, the stable is emerging as a player at major racetracks.
“My family has been in love with horse racing since my great grandfather and my grandfather,” Bregman said in a telephone interview. “Everyone has loved horse racing in my family. I used to go to Albuquerque Downs with my grandfather growing up and my dad as well.”
Since Bregman, 29, made his major-league debut in 2016, the Astros have reached the World Series four times, winning twice. He is a two-time American League All-Star.
Veteran bloodstock agent Mike Akers and Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Florida, have guided Bregman as he built his roster and helped him select trainers Arnold, George Weaver and Doug O'Neill.
The stable is handled by an enthusiastic racing manager.
“That's me,” Bregman said. “I love it. It's a passion of mine. It's something that I'll love forever and something that I want to be involved with forever. I want to build something special.”
While the baseball schedule keeps him away from the track, Bregman tries to see the races unfold live.
“I normally watch them with my whole team, and we yell at the TV hoping that we win,” he said.
As a result, he has become something of a racing ambassador to the Astros.
“Some of my teammates actually have owned parts of horses that we've owned,” he said. “It's been a blast. They love it now.”
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