Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
2019 Fall Partnership Spotlight
Over the past four decades, the adventure of racehorse ownership has been made more accessible by the many racing partnerships that have emerged to meet demand for a more immersive racetrack experience. Investors in Pewter Racing Stable, the Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC partnership, MyRacehorse.com, and Pocket Aces Racing have certainly experienced the thrill of racing and winning in 2019 – and in some rich and important races.
Pewter Stables was started in 1989 by the husband-and-wife duo of Greg and Kathleen DeMasi. They’ve had a long string of successes in the Mid-Atlantic region ever since, including a victory by Everything Lovely in the $100,000 The Very One Stakes on the 2017 Preakness Day card at Pimlico. Pewter Stables put another trophy in the case on Sept. 21, when Dubini rocketed from last to take the $100,000 Laurel Dash going 5 1/2 furlongs over the Laurel turf.
It was a particularly gratifying victory for the DeMasis and their partners, as Dubini overcame a serious colic episode this past spring.
“He’s been a neat horse for us for a number of years, especially the way he runs coming from so far back,” Greg DeMasi said. “He’s a thrill to watch.”
Under the care of Kathleen DeMasi, trainer of all the Pewter Stables runners, Dubini began his career with a four-race winning streak in 2017. Leading up to his Laurel Dash triumph, the 5-year-old had placed in five black-type races over the past 18 months, including a second in last year’s edition of the race. He’s now banked $344,775.
The DeMasis made the winning $162,000 bid on Dubini, a son of Gio Ponti, at the 2015 OBS March 2-year-olds in training auction. The DeMasis keep a stake in each horse they acquire and then email their stable of clients with the offer to buy in. The partnerships typically fill up quickly,
“We put up 20 percent of the funds, so we always have skin in the game,” Greg DeMasi said.
The DeMasis have been active at the yearling sales this fall as well. They purchased a Pioneerof the Nile filly at Keeneland September sale and will be making the rounds at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale in search of another stakes winner.
The Uptowncharlybrown partnership also has been a fixture on the Mid-Atlantic circuit. Founded by Bob Hutt, the stable is unique in that it almost exclusively races the progeny of the good young Pennsylvania stallion Uptowncharlybrown.
As Uptowncharlybrown has emerged as a leading Mid-Atlantic sire – his average earnings index figure rivals many top Kentucky stallions – the racing partnership that bears his name has reaped the rewards. This “direct-to-consumer” approach allows Hutt to offer shares at a much lower price point – typically $1,125 for a 1 percent stake with just $300 billed every six months for training expenses.
“The Uptowncharlybrown partnerships give the everyday racing fan the chance to race at the highest level for the lowest price,” Hutt said. “We fly under the radar, but we have been in the top 1 percent of owners the last three years.”
Flying the Uptowncharlybrown navy blue and white, Dixie Serenade won the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes in 2018 at Belmont Park. That day, she vanquished a field that included the 2017 Frizette winner and subsequent Test Stakes heroine Separation of powers as well as future Grade 1 winner Mia Mischief. After falling short of her $425,000 reserve at last year’s Fasig-Tipton November auction, Dixie Serenade is now back in training for her encore. Also back in training for Uptowncharlybrown is the promising stakes-placed Wait for It, last seen running a troubled fourth in the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special on May 17.
And then there are the full brothers – 4-year-old Midnightcharly and 5-year-old Midtowncharlybrown, out of the incredible mare Torchwood.
“I call them Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside,” Hutt said. “One can make the lead
[Midtowncharlybrown] and the other comes from off the pace [Midnightcharly].”
The speedy older sibling Midtowncharlybrown is a three-time stakes winner of $477,408. Midnightcharly also is a stakes winner and might have had a couple more wins, if not for his older brother. He finished second and third to Midtowncharlybrown in this year’s Chocolate Town Sprint Stakes and the Banjo Picker Stakes, respectively.
Shares in their 2-year-old full sister, Lula’s Roadrunner, are now available.
“She might be the best of them all,” Hutt said. “She’s bigger, stronger, and faster.”
It’s all in the family on the human side of the equation as well. Hutt initially founded a partnership called Fantasy Lane to honor the late trainer Alan Seewald, who before his passing trained Uptowncharlybrown. The Uptowncharlybrown partnership horses are now trained by Eddie Coletti, a former Seewald assistant. Coletti’s stepmother, Irene, owns Torchwood and bred Midtowncharlybrown and Midnightcharly under the Godric LLC moniker.
Big-time success also has come quickly for one of racing’s newest partnerships, Myracehorse.com.
Founded by Michael Behrens and David Kandasamy, MyRacehorse.com has helped usher in the “microshare” partnership model. The process to invest in MyRacehorse.com horses is similar to buying stocks. Shares in their offerings going for as little as $100, no additional investment is required, and proportional dividends are paid out on any profits.
Myracehorse.com is already heading to the Breeders’ Cup this year with the 3-year-old filly Street Band, who defeated four Grade 1 winners in the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion
Stakes on Sept. 21 at Parx Racing, including Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress and Eclipse champion Jaywalk.
MyRacehorse.com bought into the Istan filly after her March 23 victory in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. After a journey to the Kentucky Oaks, where she ran sixth, Street Band has risen to the upper echelon of the 3-year-old filly division. Prior to the Cotillion, she scored in the Grade 2 Indiana Oaks and ran a good third in the historic Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. She’s accumulated $742,100 in purses since Myracehorse. com joined the ownership group.
Behrens and Kandasamy hope to have similar success with another recent purchase, Lazy Daisy, who also is in the mix for a Breeders’ Cup trophy after her sharp victory in the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes on Sept. 9 at Churchill Downs. The race was a Win and You’re In event for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Shares are being offered on the Myracehorse.com for $115 for a .01 percent interest in the Oxbow filly.
“MyRacehorse is all about bringing in new owners and allowing them to purchase top Thoroughbreds with the best trainers at a low entry point,” Behrens said when the purchase of Lazy Daisy was announced. “With Lazy Daisy, fans will have the unbelievable chance to invest in a racehorse competing at the highest level of the sport.”
Pocket Aces Racing places a premium on investor involvement throughout the ownership process. According Pocketacesracing.com: “The primary goal of Pocket Aces Racing is to maximize the experience of each and every partner. Partners are invited to participate in every step of the process. Join us at the sale as we select the Thoroughbred, help name the Thoroughbred, and, of course, join us at the track for the races. Partners receive race video, winner’s circle pictures, and up-to-date, detailed information about the progress of the Thoroughbred. What we know, you will know.”
The current star for Pocket Aces Racing is Conjuring, now a six-figure earner after reeling off three straight victories, by nearly 12 lengths combined. Industry veteran Mark Wampler serves as manager of Pocket Aces Racing and selected the Gemologist mare out of the 2015 Keeneland September sale.
Wampler also found Silver Hammer at the 2016 September auction. The promising Twirling Candy colt earned a sharp secondout maiden special win for Pocket Aces Racing on Aug. 17 at Canterbury.