The seeds of Straight Up G's defeat were sown early, as Highland Ghost, under Flavien Prat, gunned to the early lead from his rail post position with Straight Up G lapped on him to the five sixteenths pole, where he took the lead but was immediately tackled by the winner leaving the quarter pole.

“The main thing was hoping somebody went with the favorite, I mean that horse got away with an easy lead last time and we thought that if somebody goes with him, I told Drayden to make sure he gets a good jump out of there and be right off their heels,” said Mullins. “It worked out, the one horse went with the favorite and I think kind of softened him up and gave us the opportunity to get by.

“It's kind of waiting game most of the time, so we will just enjoy the moment now and see what comes up for him. Obviously, he's pretty versatile. I think he can go one turn, two turns and he may even like the turf. With these kind of Cal-breds you have to jump wherever you can and I think he's proved that he can.”

Bred in California by Glenn Porter and owned by Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal, Fast Draw Munnings is out of the Bedford Falls mare Zuzu's Petals. A first-out maiden winner going 5 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos Sept. 17, Fast Draw Munnings was most recently third, beaten 5 ¼ lengths by gate to wire winner Straight Up G in the one mile King Glorious Stakes versus statebreds Dec. 12 at Los Alamitos.

Off at 4-1 in a field of six California-bred or sired sophomores, Fast Draw Munnings paid $10.40, $3.80 and $2.10.

“The main thing was to get a good break and hopefully (Straight Up G and Highland Ghost) battle like they did and just sit off of them and bide my time,” said Van Dyke. “That was exactly how it played out and we got lucky with the win. I knew it was going to be a good battle because (Straight Up G) kicked on when I asked my horse to go, but my horse dug in. I've always loved this horse, he's kind of a hard-headed horse, he doesn't give you all that he has but he showed what he could do today and I'm proud of him.”

In his fourth career start, Fast Draw Munnings notched his first stakes win and second overall victory. With the winner's share of $110,000, he increased his earnings to $170,600.

Straight Up G, off at 4-5 with Ricky Gonzalez, finished 3 ¼ lengths in front of Finneus and paid $2.60 and $2.10.

The second choice at 9-5 with John Velazquez, Finneus paid $2.10 to show while finishing 17 lengths clear of longshot Agador Spartacus.

Early pacesetter Highland Ghost tired badly and was distanced while checking in last.

Fractions on the race were 23.56, 48.01, 1:13.52 and 1:39.78.

Run as Saturday's third race, the Cal Cup Derby was the first of five stakes for California-bred or sired horses on a 10-race card.

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There is no trace of conceit in her voice, nor is there any want of adulation in the aftermath of her milestone moment, the one delivered by Silent Causeway, the filly she also owns, in the stakes race on the penultimate day of the 2021 Woodbine Thoroughbred meet.

“Just like Snoop Dogg talked about on the day he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I'm proud of me,” started Krasauskaite, referencing the rapper, songwriter, actor, businessman and entertainer. “Winning my first stakes race, the La Prevoyante, I am very proud of that accomplishment.”

One the 38-year-old is still trying to wrap her head around.

Purchased at the 2018 CTHS Ontario yearling sale for $4,000 from breeder Michael Deegan and consignor Bernard McCormack, Silent Causeway was testing the stakes ranks for the second time. Last year, she missed by a nose in the Algoma Stakes.

Runner-up finishes, usually requiring a photo finish, were nothing new for the dark bay who gave Krasauskaite her first training win last June.

Ahead of the La Prevoyante, she spent quality time with her filly and offered up encouragement, actions and words she hoped would spur on the four-year-old to victory.

“We ran in the Algoma in 2020 and she just missed winning. With her, it always seems it's almost. That she has the talent, but something was missing. I had to find the solution, to stop missing by a nose or a hair, or a head-bob. I realized that she just wanted more attention from me. We call her 'Diva' for a reason. She's very needy, kind of like, 'Look at me. I'm special. Me, me, me.' So, I said I will give her that attention. I went into the stall, massaging her, rubbing her legs – she doesn't need that, but she likes to be pampered. It's a spa day. For two weeks, I just gave her that attention and put all the focus on her. And I kept telling her a couple of days prior to the race, 'Stretch your neck, stick your tongue out if you have to.'”

As it turned out, she wouldn't need to go the extra mile.

Sent off as the 9-2 third choice in the field of 10 in the race for three-year-old Ontario-sired fillies, Silent Causeway was at the back of the pack into the first turn. After a quarter-mile in the 1 1/16-mile race, she still had nine rivals in front of her.

Summer Sunday, the multiple stakes-winning champion contesting her final race before heading to Ireland to become a broodmare, then struck the front and led the group through a half-mile in :47.72, as Silent Causeway moved into ninth spot.

November Fog, the slight 2-1 choice, engaged Summer Sunday around the turn for home and seized command while jockey Justin Stein, aboard Silent Causeway, had his charge rolling down the lane.

Fourth and gaining at the stretch call, reached in 1:38.59, Silent Causeway went on to notch a two-length victory in a time of 1:45.62.

Flanked by her two daughters, Karoline, 10, and Deolina, 7, at the rail, the trio energetically, enthusiastically and exhaustingly cheered the filly home.

The decibel level grew louder in the final strides to the finish line.“It was awesome,” recalled Krasauskaite. “The girls were screaming louder than me when she was running down the lane. When she switched leads, I knew that it was going to be okay. That's the first thing I was looking at. I said, 'Switch leads, honey!' And she did. She kicked into another gear and this great feeling came over me. To be able to share that moment with my girls, to have them right beside me, it's something I will always remember.”

Convincing herself it actually did happen wasn't anywhere near as easy as Silent Causeway's winning performance.

It took tangible proof of the win for Krasauskaite to, in racing parlance, make it official.

“When she won, I didn't believe it,” she said of the daughter of prominent Ontario sire, Silent Name (JPN). “I was in shock for two days. I wasn't sure it was really real. “I fell asleep at about one o'clock in the morning because I couldn't sleep. When I woke up, I thought to myself, 'Okay, this is a nice dream, but you still have to work, Laura.' It was this confusion and you wonder if it really did happen. And then I saw the trophy that was right beside her picture, and then I realized, 'No, it's not a dream. This is real.'”

Silent Causeway and Justin Stein power down the Woodbine homestretch to capturing the La Prevoyante Stakes.

It was a goal Krasauskaite wanted to achieve the moment she took out her trainer's license four years ago.

She still has the note she penned to herself on that day.

“That's what I wanted the second I held my trainer's license in my hand for the first time. I wrote a note to myself saying that I have to go up. I don't want to stay steady. I want to go places. So, with my goals, I thought that I would start things with winning an Ontario-sired stakes race. I worked hard for that dream. I bought a nice horse for $4,000, and she won by nine lengths for me last year. I knew that I had a nice horse, but I felt that I had to spend time with her, to be patient and give her everything that she needed. She had a good two-year-old season, but when she turned three, everything just came together for her. I had seven people call me after she won that race so easily, and I said no to everyone. I looked at her and I knew that this was my chance.”

A chance she never considered not taking. Just as she did when she made her way to the Woodbine backstretch over 20 years ago.

In 1998, Krasauskaite, along with her family, came to Canada, specifically Etobicoke, Ontario, not far from Woodbine. The young girl who had developed an affinity for horses in her native Lithuania, studying them, riding them and doing some jumping, eventually headed to Woodbine hoping to land a job.

Recollections are many, including the first day she traversed through the expansive Toronto oval backstretch.

“I do remember the first day I went there,” she said with a laugh. “No English. All I knew was, 'Hi, bye, and thank you.'”

Her command of the English language and love of Thoroughbreds grew exponentially.

She was an exercise rider for 20 years for a few trainers, including John McKenzie, and bought her first horse, Sweet Shobiz, for $500. The daughter of Nobiz Like Shobiz finished second for Krasauskaite, which led her to buy a yearling, Vision of Future, in 2016, who would provide her first win as an owner.

Silent Causeway, however, is undoubtedly the star of her barn.

“I bought her blind. I really liked the bloodlines in the catalogue. The mare didn't race, but I really liked Silent Name, so I decided I'd take a chance.”

A low-risk gamble that has paid off handsomely. In 15 career starts, Silent Causeway is 3-5-1, with earnings in excess of $175,000 (CDN).

A horse, just like her trainer, who embodies the spirit of the jockey silks that accompany her every time she races.

The colours, turquoise and white, are partnered with a warrior astride a horse with a sword held aloft.

“I like turquoise and white because it reminds me of an ocean. When you want to get away and be by the ocean, you see that white sand and blue, blue water that gives you that feeling of calm.”

The image emblazoned on the silks is an homage to her native land.

“The warrior on the horse, with the sword in the air, that's my heritage. That's my people. It is a symbol of strength. We are very stubborn people from Lithuania, and we don't stop working until we achieve what our dreams are. Every time I look at that symbol, it keeps me going.”

And make no mistake, Krasauskaite is just getting started.

Less than 24 hours after the big win, there were moments, even if it was a brief thought, of loftier goals to consider.

There was also a glass, or perhaps two, of celebratory bubbly.

“The first thing I did after the race was call my girlfriends and tell them it was champagne night at my place. So, they all showed up and we had a great night. I called my parents too. My dad screamed very loudly and my mom started crying. It's a great moment, not just for me and for my horse, but for all the people who have supported me, including the people of Nobleton, where I live.

“But now, I'm finally down from cloud nine, and I will turn my focus to next year. We have two months to rest, but there is still a lot of planning. I have two broodmares that I'm planning on breeding and bumping up my bloodlines. Hopefully, we have some babies that can grow up to be stakes winners at Woodbine. One of them, Tell the Duchess, had one of her offspring, Duke of Love, win first-time out for [trainer] Josie Carroll. Hopefully, she can produce many more of those in my stable.”

There are other dreams Krasauskaite will continue to chase, including one of the sport's most high-profile gathering of racing's biggest stars.

“My biggest goal is to have a horse in the Breeders' Cup. I don't care if it takes me two years, three years, four years, five years, maybe even 10 years. I will be there one day. It's my goal and it's my dream. I'm not going to stop until I find that horse who will take me there. I don't want to spin left on the same circle. I want to go outside of that circle, to make Canadians proud, to make Woodbine people proud, to make my family and friends proud.”

The journey to where she finds herself now hasn't been without its hurdles. Yet, even in the lowest of times, Krasauskaite refused to throw in the towel.

“My friend told me, 'Don't quit.' I told her not to worry about that. I'm too stubborn to quit. I will never quit until I achieve what I want. It's in my blood.”

Just like the determined warrior symbolized on her eye-catching racing silks.

“I'll say, like Snoop Dogg said, 'I'm proud of me.' I'm proud of me for not quitting. I went through bad days, stressful days, no money days and I'm proud of me for not stopping, not giving up and thinking positively. I didn't stop and I never will.”

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The Kentucky-bred son of Will Take Charge out of the Curlin mare Dreamy Blues was a $100,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale. He broke his maiden at second asking in Japan, and won a weight-for-age contest before traveling to Dubai for the UAE Derby.

France Go de Ina finished sixth that day after breaking poorly. The colt will enter quarantine on April 27, and fly to the U.S. on May 5.

Cat is finally out of the bag, but done correctly by Sponichi this time haha France Go De Ina is headed to the Preakness Stakes! Didn't get a good break in the UAE Derby but the Preakness should fit him well, plus a gate boy! He enters quarantine on 4/27 & we depart on 5/5 for US https://t.co/6Zr3ReFm7J pic.twitter.com/p0AnwdxHOT

— Kate Hunter • Marugai Racing • ケイト ハンター• まるがいレーシング (@KeibaKate) April 23, 2021

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All jockeys and valets are required to test for COVID-19 at Los Alamitos.

Smith was listed to ride morning-line favorite Astute for trainer Richard Mandella in the G1 Starlet Stakes on Saturday, but will now be replaced by jockey Flavien Prat.

Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith has tested positive for Covid-19 & as a result will not be on his mounts this weekend @LosAlRacing. @BritneyEurton spoke with @mikeesmith10 who shared he is in good spirits. All of us at @TVG send Mike well wishes as he recovers! pic.twitter.com/fjjq7acF19

— TVG (@TVG) December 4, 2020

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The nominating committee was established through the collective efforts of leading Thoroughbred industry stakeholders, including Breeders' Cup, Churchill Downs Incorporated, Keeneland Association, and The Jockey Club. It is composed of seven independent members with diverse backgrounds: Len Coleman (co-chair), Dr. Nancy Cox (co-chair), Katrina Adams, Dr. Jerry Black, Gen. Joseph Dunford, Frank Keating, and Ken Schanzer.

The board of directors will consist of nine members, five of whom will be selected from outside the equine industry. Four members will be selected as representatives of various equine constituencies.

“The HISA will ensure that Thoroughbred racing is conducted with the highest integrity and safety standards under the aegis of the bill's established authority,” stated Co-Chair Coleman. “With this goal in mind, the aggregate expertise of the board of the authority and its standing committees must span a wide range of areas from equine health and track management to regulation and lab testing standards.”

“The nominating committee recognizes our responsibility to select the most qualified and dedicated individuals to comprise the board of the authority and its standing committees,” said Co-Chair Cox. “We are committed to this critical task and to the betterment of racing.”

The seven members of the nominating committee bring their own unique expertise and experiences to the role:

• Len Coleman (co-chair) is the former president of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. Coleman joined Major League Baseball in 1992 as the executive director of market development. Previously, Coleman was a municipal finance banker for Kidder, Peabody & Company and served as commissioner of both the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and Department of Energy.
• Dr. Nancy Cox (co-chair) is the vice president for Land Grant Engagement and the dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky. Prior to that, she served as associate dean for Research and director of the Experiment Station at the university. Cox championed the formation of the UK Equine Initiative (now UK Ag Equine Programs), recognizing the importance of the horse industry and its significance to Kentucky.
• Katrina Adams is the immediate past president of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), following two consecutive terms as the USTA's chairman and president. A successful professional tennis player, Adams was elected vice president of the International Tennis Federation in 2015 and was appointed as chairman of the Fed Cup Committee in 2016.
• Dr. Jerry Black is a visiting professor at Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine and is an emeritus professor and Wagonhound Land and Livestock chair in Equine Sciences at Colorado State University. He is the former president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and former chair of the board of trustees of the American Horse Council.
• Gen. Joseph Dunford is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and was the principal military advisor to the president, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2019. Prior to becoming chairman, General Dunford served as the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
• Frank Keating is the former governor of Oklahoma. Prior to that role, his career in law enforcement and public service included time as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, U.S. Attorney and state prosecutor, and Oklahoma House and Senate member. He served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, associate U.S. attorney general, and general counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Ken Schanzer served as president of NBC Sports from June 1998 until his retirement in September 2011. He also served as chief operating officer. During Schanzer's tenure, he secured the television rights to the Triple Crown races and Breeders' Cup for NBC. Before joining NBC Sports, he served as senior vice president of government relations for the National Association of Broadcasters.

The next order of business for the nominating committee is to develop a list of candidates to comprise the board of the HISA Authority and its standing committees. The board will solicit input from equine constituencies, and interested parties who would like to suggest recommendations may do so at horseintegrityandsafety@gmail.com.

The HISA, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on September 9, 2020, will focus on the integrity of Thoroughbred horse racing and the safety of Thoroughbred racehorses and jockeys by requiring national, uniform safety standards that include anti-doping and medication control and racetrack safety programs. Identical legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Congressmen Andy Barr (KY-06) and Paul Tonko (NY-20). It was passed in the House on September 29, 2020.

The HISA Authority will be an independent, non-governmental regulatory body, run by an independent board, responsible for improving current regulations and bringing a new level of transparency to Thoroughbred horse racing.

The Anti-Doping and Medication Control standing committee and the Racetrack Safety standing committee will each be composed of seven members. For both committees, the majority of the members will be independent and selected from outside the equine industry. A minority will be industry members selected to represent the various equine constituencies.

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After all, as the Democratic nominee for Kentucky's U.S. Senate seat in 2008, he gave Mitch McConnell the closest call of the Senate Majority Leader's long political career.

“Oh sure, even in politics there's a common thread,” said Lunsford, comparing it to horse racing. “I went into a race that nobody thought I could win. I was 25 points behind; I was tied with two weeks to go. It was like the stretch drive. It was fun, exhilarating, and I got to meet a lot of people. Mitch and I still have a decent relationship today. I think he respected what I did, and I saw where he was quoted as saying the only time he'd had his people write a concession letter was in the race with me. Because two weeks out, it looked like we were going to win.”

The 72-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist from Louisville has been many things: Founder of a Fortune 500 company, investor in a myriad of start-up companies, producer of movies, partner in the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park and Hurricane Bay water park. He worked in state government as Kentucky's commerce secretary. Now Lunsford would love nothing more than to add classic-winning horse owner and breeder.

Art Collector, out of Lunsford's mare Distorted Legacy, is his first Preakness entrant and his second in the Triple Crown, following Vision and Verse, the 1999 Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up to Lemon Drop Kid at odds of 54-1. Art Collector — who is 4- for-4 this year, including the $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby and Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass (G2) — was supposed to be the first Kentucky Derby starter for Lunsford and trainer Tommy Drury.

Within days of being fulfilled, that Derby dream was derailed when Art Collector sustained a minor and fleeting, but untimely, foot issue. A month later they are back on solid ground for another swing in the Triple Crown.

“It's the only thing you work on, probably, that you spend weeks and days and everything to get ready and it lasts two minutes or less,” Lunsford said. “So a lot of stuff is just outside your control. I do like the way this horse runs. They all have to get out of the gate. We've seen a lot of horses over the years who are really good break bad and it takes them out of the action. This horse has not shown a propensity to do that. If he gets in the flow and we get a fair trip, I've got to like our chances to hit the board. Anything above that gets to be gravy. But a lot of the handicappers all of a sudden are picking him. So I don't know exactly what that means.”

Lunsford wonders how the Derby might have been different had Art Collector been in the field, given that his horse and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. logically figured to put more pressure than the front-running winner Authentic faced in his absence.

“The good thing is that speculation doesn't matter, because we're going to get a chance to run against each other,” Lunsford said. “I'm hopeful both have a good trip, and I'd love to see them down the stretch together. I'll take my chances.”

Lunsford grew up in Kenton County in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati, his dad a union shop steward who wound up buying a small farm. Young Lunsford got interested in horse racing while attending the University of Kentucky and going to Keeneland. In the summers he'd go to Ellis Park with his fraternity brother and close friend Greg Hudson, whose dad owned horses.

A CPA who also received a law degree from Northern Kentucky University, Lunsford in his early 30s was Kentucky's commerce secretary under John Y. Brown. In that capacity, he helped bring United Parcel Service's worldwide air hub to Louisville and was involved with launching the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.

A few years later, Lunsford got into horse ownership by claiming a couple of cheap horses with his pal Hudson.

“The good news or bad news, whichever way you look at it, both of them won about $100,000,” he said. “So we thought this game is easy. We found out later it's a little more complicated.”

A couple of years later, Lunsford wanted to get involved in the breeding side of racing. He purchased one of his first broodmare prospects in 1994, paying $500,000 for a 3-year-old filly out of the Greentree Stable dispersal upon the advice of Claiborne Farm head Seth Hancock.

“You know Bruce, he wanted action,” Hancock recalled. “We said, 'Well look here. You can have your cake and eat it too. Greentree is dispersing these things, and here's a pretty good racemare who's got a great pedigree. You'll have some fun running her and maybe we can make a pretty decent broodmare out of her.' ”

That half-million dollar filly, Bunting, had one win out of 13 starts for her prior connections, but she also finished second in Keeneland's Ashland (G1) and Pimlico's Black-Eyed Susan (G2). In four starts for Lunsford, she won a Gulfstream Park allowance race before being retired to Claiborne Farm. She proved far better than pretty decent as a broodmare.

Bunting's first foal was Vision and Verse, who won the Illinois Derby G2) and also was second in the Travers Stakes while earning $1 million. Her 11th foal was a filly named Distorted Legacy, a minor stakes-winner who placed second in Belmont Park's Flower Bowl (G1). Distorted Legacy's second foal was Art Collector.

Until Art Collector, Lunsford's home-run horses came around 15 years ago.

His $160,000 yearling purchase Madcap Escapade won 7 of 9 starts and more than $1 million, including Keeneland's Ashland G1), and finished third in the 2004 Kentucky Oaks. The Frankie Brothers charge was being pointed for the 2005 Breeders' Cup Sprint against males when she suffered a career-ending injury. He sold a half-interest in Madcap Escapade at auction for $3 million, staying in for the other half, to another trusted advisor, John Sikura, with whom Lunsford also boards mares at Hill 'N' Dale Farm.

The Brothers-trained First Samurai, purchased as a yearling with his friend Lansdon Robbins of Louisville, won his first four starts in 2005, including New York's Grade 1 Hopeful and Champagne before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The winner of Gulfstream Park's Fountain of Youth (G2) upon the disqualification of Corinthian for interference, First Samurai's Derby aspirations ended when he was injured in Keeneland's Blue Grass. He retired to a stallion career at Claiborne.

Lunsford also bred and sold Golden Missile, winner of the Grade 1 Pimlico Special in 2000, then sold that horse's mom, Santa Catalina, for $1.35 million five years later. He also bred and sold Canada's 2006 Horse of the Year Arravale, a two-time Grade 1 winner.

For all his success, Lunsford knows well how difficult it is to just get to the championship races, let alone win.

“Just like the experience at the Derby,” he said. “All things went right, and then he winds up getting what is almost like an ingrown toenail. You're talking about creatures that have large bodies and small legs. And things happen. Seth Hancock told me one time, you've got to learn to take the hard blows in this business… My good friend Don Dizney told me that it's the lows that make the highs so good. There's a lot of truth to that. If you can win 15, 20 percent of your races, they cover you pretty well. It's like the baseball player who bats .300.”

Lunsford today is chairman and CEO of Lunsford Capital, a private investment company he founded in 2003. The companies he has founded include Vencor, a Fortune 500 company now known as Kindred Healthcare, and its spinoff real-estate company Ventas; Atria Communities, the third-largest assisted-living company in America; and Valor Healthcare, Inc., a company that develops and operates outpatient clinics for military veterans under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I was a start-up guy,” he said. “Now what I do is I invest in people that I think have it. I tell people I don't invest in financial statements, I invest in people. When I realize they have the skillset, we try to give them the things they need to do to make it work.”

Drury is an example. Lunsford one day this summer asked Drury what he had going on for the week. The trainer mentioned the various trips he'd be making up and down the highway to Belterra Park and Ellis Park.

“He said, 'Man, we've got to get you to the point to where you're not bouncing around so much,'” Drury recalled. “He said, 'Better-quality horses is going to do that to you. We need to sit down and talk.'

“And that's the kind of guy Bruce is. He's always willing to help others. Always willing to try to help you reach your goal and get to the next level. It's like the Blue Grass,” Drury continued, referencing Art Collector giving him his first graded-stakes victory. “It took me a long time to get to that. He knew that and I think he was genuinely happy for me. He's got a heart the size of Texas. It makes you want to work that much harder and want to win that much more for people like that.”

Lunsford said that at this stage of his life, he only wants to do things that are fun and challenging.

“The thing I've done well is I've built a really nice staff,” he said. “The guy who runs the whole real-estate company which is assisted living and apartments, his dad was my barber. His son Brian (Durbin) is like my right-hand man. Every time I get out of Jerry's chair, I say, 'I just can't tell you how he's changed my life.' I have a team of about six people of his quality. I've built a team of people where, if I drop dead tomorrow, they can keep it going.”

Lunsford laughed when asked if he's an under-the-radar Shark Tank.

“I can relate to everything they do, except I don't have as much money,” he said.

So maybe a Shark Tank Lite?

“That's right,” he said. “You know I was in the movie business for a while with Ed Hart, had about 10 movies we made. We had a lot of fun. Made a little money, lost a lot of money. But I will say one thing: I was in the two toughest business anybody can be in: the horse business and the movie business.”

Making having a horse of Art Collector's caliber even more satisfying for the father of daughters Amy, Cindy and Brandy and grandfather to six is sharing the experience with his significant other, Eleanor Porco.

“I have a lot that I enjoy in life, because I like action a little bit,” Lunsford said. “I don't think I'm an action junkie or anything. But this is one of those things where my friends are able to enjoy it. My two best friends are still alive. I mean, we're at the age where that could not be true. The whole idea of having a horse of this quality and at a time in my life when I've really got a great soulmate with me has just really turned it into a great blessing.

“There are only so many interesting things you can do in life. Outside of having your children and things you do as a kid, sports and otherwise, when you're older, it's harder to keep it exciting. I'm 72 years old and my life is still exciting.”

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