Brook Smith | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tiz the Bomb Running For Churchill’s Backside Learning Center

Owner Brook Smith admits that his wager–a $10,000 Derby Future Wager bet on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) at 10-1–was not the smartest bet he's ever made. But that's not the point. The bet was meant to raise awareness for the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs and, who knows, perhaps make over $100,000 for an organization that is meeting the many needs of the track's backstretch workers.

Smith, who operates the Rocket Ship Racing, LLC, stable, has been a longtime supporter of the backstretch center and helped spearhead the “Purses For a Purpose” program in which owners donate a percentage of their earnings to the Churchill facility. But he wanted to do more. Inspired by Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who is known for his charitable nature and for making large bets on races and sporting events, Smith made the $10,000 bet on Tiz the Bomb, who races Saturday at Gulfstream in the GIII Holy Bull S., in the second round of the Derby Future Wager. Should he win the GI Kentucky Derby, the payoff will be $114,000, all of which Smith will donate to the Backside Learning Center.

“We as Thoroughbred owners are in unique spot,” Smith said. “We need to do everything we can to support the industry and support those that are there in the trenches. That's what is beautiful about racing. Yes, it's nice to win big races once in a while, but it's also going out to the track in the mornings and seeing the dedication and care from these people. It's not an easy life to live on the backside and have young families on the backside. The Backside Learning Center covers a lot of bases for those folks in that community. I was shocked when I heard how small their annual budget was. They are scratching quarters together.”

The Backside Learning Center is just one of several initiatives Smith supports, among them programs that work to better the lives of those living in Appalachia.

The seeds for the bet were planted when McIngvale bet $10,000 on Smile Happy (Runhappy) in the first round of the Derby Future Wager at 8-1. McIngvale chose Smile Happy because he is by Runhappy, who he owned and promotes relentlessly.

Smith does not own any part of Tiz the Bomb, but the colt came onto his radar when he bought Tiz the Bomb's half-sister, Bel Rosso (Free Drop Billy), for $180,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings sale.

“We generally don't spend that kind of money,” he said. “We usually spend in the $100,000 range. But she was just so impressive coming into the ring.”

The more of Tiz the Bomb he saw the more he liked. After winning the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the GII Bourbon S., he was a fast-closing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“I do like the horse as a a handicapper, though I won't call myself a handicapper,” he said. “The second-place finish in the Juvenile Turf and the move the horse made was just crazy impressive. I believe he is special. If he takes to the dirt like I think he is going to, I think we'll be talking about him being one of the Derby favorites after Saturday.”

Like McIngvale, Smith is a bit of a character. His graying hair flows down his back and his inner circle includes celebrities like Emeril Lagasse. He figures if McIngvale can be called “Mattress Mack” he can be called “Bourbon Brook.” He is a part-owner of two bourbon distilleries, Castle & Key Distillery and Barrell Craft Spirits.

“I'm not going to say that I'm Mattress Mack, but I thought 'why let him have all the fun?'” he said.

He has never met McIngvale but says he “wouldn't mind stirring it up” with him.

“If he's back at the betting windows I'll be back at the betting windows too,” he said. “This will not be the last bet like this that I make.”

He'll have a better idea after the Holy Bull if he made a good bet or not.

“The reality is, with any of these horses in the future bets, they all should be 50-1 because one bad step and it's over,” Smith said. “It may seem foolish to bet the kind of money I did on a future wager but I hope it can raise awareness for the Backside Learning Center. And they could wind up getting a lot of money out of this. It is all for a good cause.”

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Brook Smith’s Splashy Claims To Support Churchill’s Backside Learning Center

Long-time supporter of Churchill Downs' Backside Learning Center supporter, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and owner of Rocket Ship Launch Pad Racing, Brook Smith made headlines when he claimed three horses for $100,000 each out of Saturday's fourth race at Churchill Downs. All three will be enrolled in the BLC's Purses for a Purpose program. A percentage of each horse's winnings will be donated to the program to support BLC's mission to build community and enrich the lives of backside workers and their families.

The BLC is the only organization of its kind in the country. Based at Churchill Downs, the BLC serves equine workers throughout the Louisville and Kentucky areas. The organization provides comprehensive educational programming and social services to this important community which serves as the backbone for Kentucky's Thoroughbred industry.

Smith proposed the concept “Purses for A Purpose” to the BLC about three years ago, as a mechanism for owners and trainers to directly support the organization.

“When launching RSLP Racing, beyond the excitement of doing things a bit differently–making a splash, thoughts immediately went to supporting those that make horse racing possible, the backside,” said Smith. “RSLP will give 4% of the purses of its runners to support the Backside Learning Center. At present there are eight RSLP horses and growing. It's time we all contribute to those who are making the industry great.”

“We are so fortunate to have Brook in our corner,” said Sherry Stanley, executive director of the BLC. “Since we met him about five years ago, he has brought some incredibly innovative and strategic ideas to us with the goal of helping us build sustainability. He has always recognized the critical role of this organization, which plays a key role in the success of the entire industry by supporting those who work behind the scenes and are its true unsung heroes.”

Click here for more information on how to become involved with Purses for a Purpose.

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Smith’s Unusual Claim to Benefit BLC

Owner Brook Smith, who made headlines when he claimed three horses for $100,000 each out of Saturday's fourth race at Churchill Downs, will enroll all three of those horses in Churchill's Backside Learning Center (BLC)'s Purses for a Purpose program. A percentage of each horse's winnings will be donated to the program to support BLC's mission to build community and enrich the lives of backside workers and their families. All three horses are to be trained by Jeff Hiles.

Smith has operated a small stable for more than 20 years, but is building a new operation called RSLP Racing, which is slated to eventually become a partnership. He has been a long-time supporter of BLC and was the person who initiated the concept of Purses for a Purpose in order for owners and trainers to directly support the organization.

Click here for more information on how to become involved with Purses for a Purpose.

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For Owner Brook Smith, There’s a Method to His Madness

As the field loaded for Saturday's fourth race at Churchill Downs, Brook Smith could feel the butterflies churning in his stomach. He had just made one of the biggest bets of the meet, a $300,000 flyer. He hadn't bet to win, place or show but that three costly but unproven 2-year-olds were headed to bigger and better things. In less than a minute, he might be proven right but he also could have been proven very wrong.

“This wasn't some rich dude or someone who has some money in his pocket that was just shooting from the hip,” Smith said. “That's not at all what was going on here.”

What was? It turns out that it was a case of an owner who was not afraid to do something different and didn't care if some concluded he was naive, foolish or some combination of the two. Looking to build up his new stable, RSLP (Stands for Rocket Ship Launch Pad) Racing, Smith claimed three horses out of the pricey maiden claimer, paying $100,000 for each one. He claimed the winner, Just Call Ray (Mohaymen), the fifth-place finisher Versatile (Violence) and Braggadocio (Fr) (Caravaggio), who was 10th and last.

“I can't lie and say my adrenaline wasn't pumping,” he said. “If not, you're not alive. I thought, OK, I have signed on to this. What will be will be. At least for now, with the way the race turned out, it looks like we hit it somewhere in the middle.”

With Bill Denzik as his trainer, Smith has operated a small stable for two decades, but only recently decided to get more involved in ownership. He said RSLP will eventually become a partnership, but, for now, he is looking to build up his numbers and lay a foundation for the future. He hired Denzik to be his racing manager and brought in Jeff Hiles to train for him.

He also runs a handful of horses under his own name and won Saturday's second race at Churchill, an allowance race worth $102,000, with Lovemesomeme (Paynter), a 3-year-old plucked out of the 2019 Keeneland September sale for $8,200.

Smith said he will return to the sales later this year, but did not get everything in place for the RSLP stable in time to shop at recent 2-year-old sales. That's why he went shopping in the $100,000 maiden claiming race.

Entering Saturday, RSLP had already claimed four older horses at Churchill for a combined $180,000, but Smith was just getting started. He wanted some younger horses to complement his growing stable, so he focused in on the $100,000 maiden claimer, which was run at five furlongs.

“He wanted to get in and play ball and young horses are where it is at,” Hiles said. “We thought, let's take a shot with these 2-year-olds. You never know what you are getting.”

There was a case for claiming Just Call Ray. He had been a competitive fifth in a maiden special weight race in his debut and was dropping in class. Versatile and Braggadocio, both first-time starters, seemed a bit like a reach. Versatile is a homebred who was owned by Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC and trained by Ian Wilkes and was dismissed at 25-1. Braggodocio was bet down to 9-2 and, like Just Call Ray, was trained by Norm Casse,

“The thought with these horses that we claimed, and especially with the 2-year-olds was, why not?” Smith said. “We didn't claim three out of a $100,000 race because we thought it would be fun and cute or some kind of stunt. We were serious about this. I have worked very hard for the dollars in my pocket.”

Smith said he considered claiming several horses in the race, but went for ones that came from connections that he respected, people who were used to dealing with good horses.

“If we end up with a zero out of it, that's the risk you take,” Smith said. “Or you could get a stakes horse. If you look at that race, you had some well-bred horses from professional connections. We claimed them off people who take the business seriously and would have their horses prepared. Anything could happen, but these are ready made 2-year-olds.”

Though the results of the race were something of a mixed bag for Smith, he said was very happy with the way things turned out. He predicted that the last-place finisher, Braggadocio, will turn out to be the best of the three.

“I'm not so sure that I don't like the one who finished last the best,” he said. “What can you tell from one race? He came from a wide post and never really had a chance to get into it. He's a big strong horse and with his breeding he looks like he will be a route horse on the grass. Are you always going to pick the right ones? No. Did we pick the right ones? Time will tell.”

Smith said he will look to claim a few more horses this summer and that he will also be active at the yearling sales. If someone cards another $100,000 maiden claimer, he won't be afraid to take another shot.

“I understand that what he did was different, but there are a thousands ways to approach this industry,” Hiles said. “The best is yet to come.”

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