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MyRacehorse Founder Michael Behrens Joins TDN Writers’ Room

As far as marketing for a nascent, unorthodox racehorse ownership venture goes, you couldn’t do much better than a horse carrying your silks into the Churchill Downs infield as the GI Kentucky Derby winner. That’s what Michael Behrens experienced Saturday, as Authentic (Into Mischief), bought into by his MyRacehorse microshare partnership in June, fought off favored Tiz the Law (Constitution) past the Twin Spires to earn the garland of roses. Wednesday, Behrens joined the TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to explain MyRacehorse’s business model and how the startup came to own one-eighth of a Derby winner.

“I am not from the racing world, I’ve been in ad tech and marketing my whole career,” Behrens said of his background. “Growing up in Southern California, Santa Anita was 15 minutes away and that’s where we went to decompress after crazy stressful weeks. Go out there with friends, have a couple of drinks and bet a few races. I just loved it as a sport, but was always very intrigued about how we can get more fan engagement. I started looking around and [found that] people who really were energized and excited about our sport were those that had some kind of interest in ownership, either through friends or a partnership, whatever it may be. And I just left that was where we could scale, where we could get mass adoption to appreciate the sport.”

MyRacehorse, which started as a pilot program in California, went national only last July. The company sells .001% microshares in Thoroughbreds with multiple shares available and returns that are deposited into owners’ accounts and can be withdrawn via its app. Previously acquiring stakes in Grade I winner Street Band (Istan) and graded stakes winner Lazy Daisy (Paynter), MyRacehorse stepped into the deep end when buying 12.5% of Authentic after the colt finished second in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Behrens credits co-owner Spendthrift Farm’s B. Wayne Hughes with opening the door to that partnership.

“When I wrote the original business plan for this, I looked at the industry to try to figure out who had the personality, the DNA [for the idea],” he said. “B. Wayne Hughes, with his success in business and his innovation with breeding, I just loved his disruptive nature. I actually used to do marketing for Public Storage, one of his companies. I came out and took [Spendthrift General Manager] Ned [Toffey] through the idea. The next day, Mr. Hughes called me back in and we started talking. He wants the sport to continue to thrive and grow, so he loved the concept. We started partnering on a couple of deals and that relationship has only gotten stronger and stronger over time. Now he’s come in as one of our partners. Our relationship with Spendthrift and Mr. Hughes has been critical.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers reacted to all angles of the Derby, GI Kentucky Oaks and the many impressive undercard and juvenile performances we saw this week. Plus, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, they discuss the bankruptcy filing of Ahmed Zayat and wonder how it went south so quickly for the owner of the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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House Version of Integrity Act Amended and Advanced

Several hours after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) got introduced in the United States Senate on Wednesday, the co-sponsor of the existing Horseracing Integrity Act (HRIA) proposed striking all of the language of his existing bill and replacing it with the exact wording from the new Senate bill to create companion legislation that now reads the same in both branches of Congress.

In a videoconference mark-up session of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, this newly amended version of the federal bill was then reported to the full House of Representatives by a 46-5 vote.

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), who has co-sponsored three different versions of the Integrity Act since 2015 (including the current version) said that the chief differences between his original bill and the one that will now mirror the HISA backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are the inclusion of racetrack safety standards and a 3-year phase-out period for race-day Lasix usage instead of prohibiting it outright.

“While no legislation is usually deemed perfect, the agreement represented in [the amended version] has the support of the overwhelming majority of not only the horse racing industry…but also major animal welfare groups,” Tonko said.

But House members who spoke out against and voted against advancing the amended version of HB 1754 cited concerns over a lack of veterinary oversight on the new authority panel that would be created by the legislation. And several others chafed at the provision that race-day Lasix would be phased out over the objections of some horse owners and trainers.

“The intent of this legislation, to achieve uniform standards across the country, I think we all agree is a great one. We need this expertise and this help,” said Rep. Kurt Shrader (D-OR), a veterinarian. “But we can’t do it without the veterinary or medical advice being at the table on an ongoing basis. So while well-intended, this bill falls way short of its goals…. I don’t think the bill is right for prime time at this point.”

Tonko rebutted that to achieve the new compromise legislation, “significant concessions” have already been made, particularly with regard to allowing Lasix to be phased out instead of banned immediately. He added that not advancing the compromise version of the legislation “would undermine public confidence in the sport.”

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), who chairs the committee, urged fellow lawmakers just before the vote to consider that the compromise version of the HISA is the result of years of work that represents a “solution that could actually become law this session.” He also reminded dissenters that they would still have opportunities to tweak the final version when it comes up for debate in front of the full House.

“The beauty part of [achieving Congressional consensus] is this could pass the House, and then pass the Senate and be signed into law,” Pallone said. “So that’s why I do want to move it today, because of the work that Paul [Tonko] and Mitch McConnell did together on this…. But I do want [Congresspeople who spoke against the bill] to know that as we move forward to the floor, we’re certainly going to keep working on this.”

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Carava To Cease Training to Become Jockey’s Agent

Jack Carava, who saddled better than 1,100 winners in a career dating back to 1986, has announced he is trading in his stopwatch in exchange for a condition book, as he will book mounts on behalf of Tyler Baze beginning with the Santa Anita fall meet Sept. 19. Baze is returning to California following an eight-month absence.

“The time is right,” said Carava, 54, who has operated both a public and private stable in Southern California for the past 33 years. “I’ve had a lot of success with Tyler over the years and he’s probably the hardest-working jock I’ve ever known. I love training, but my stable has contracted over the past couple years and when Tyler called me, I realized this is a great opportunity.”

Carava, the son of a trainer, worked for Jerry Fanning and Joe Griffin before launching his own stable in 1987. Carava celebrated the best year of his career in 2001, sending out 74 winners from 355 starters (21%) and was the leading conditioner at the Hollywood Park Spring/Summer meeting that year and at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet in 2002. He retires with stable earnings of $32.4 million and five graded wins, including the 2006 GI Bing Crosby H. with Washington-bred Pure As Gold (Stolen Gold).

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Quality Road Filly Brings Big Money at Fasig

A daughter of Quality Road ignited a fury of bidding at Newtown Paddocks Wednesday, jumping into the seven-figure range in a matter of seconds and dropping the hammer at $1.5 million, which was the highest price of the day. When the smoke cleared, it was trainer Robbie Medina left signing the ticket on Hip 232 on behalf of longtime owner and breeder Joe Allen. (Click here for our post-sale interview with Robbie Medina)

“She had the best pedigree in the book, so Joe wanted her,” said Medina, who worked as an assistant to Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey for years before taking over training duties at Blackwood Training Center. “I have known Joe for 25 years when I worked for Shug. Joe had a team here and he asked me to go look at her and she is a beautiful filly. You can’t get a better pedigree than that. There is plenty of horse there and, as you can see she is a late April foal, so there is plenty of horse still to come.”

Bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt, hip 232 is out of Group 1 winner Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is also responsible for SW & MGSP Fort Myers (War Front). Out of GSW You’resothrilling (Storm Cat)-a full-sister to Giant’s Causeway-Marvellous is a full-sister to multiple Group 1 winners Gleneagles (Ire) and Happily (Ire), as well as MGSW & GISP Taj Mahal (Ire), GSW & GISP Coolmore (Ire) and Vatican City (Ire), runner-up in this year’s G1 Irish 2000 Guineas.

“She is a wonderful, lovely filly,” said John Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale, who consigned the youngster. Coolmore owns the best mares in the world with the top pedigrees, so, for the long term, this is great value. Wonderful, classy filly with pedigree full of black-type, just a fantastic page that is still productive. We have a couple of really well-bred fillies, but she was the pearl of the group. For collectors like Joe Allen, who race and breed internationally at the highest level, that is what they seek. It is rare that you find those fillies, but when you do, you have to bid with authority and that’s what he did. I wish him the best of luck with a wonderful filly.”

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