From Albaugh Family Stables to West Paces Racing, meet Kentucky Derby 2024 owners
The opportunity to win the prestigious events is a key factor in many owners taking the plunge and investing in horse racing. Few races are more cherished than the Kentucky Derby, which will hold its 150th running May 4 at Churchill Downs.
This year's Run for the Roses features 16 horses with owners (or part owners) who will make their debuts in the race, while only one owner is affiliated with multiple starters: West Paces Racing.
Here's a look at the owners lineup, listed in alphabetical order by horse's name:
Catalytic
Owners: Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George Isaacs
What to know: This will be Bobo's second Derby, as she owned Simplification, who finished fourth in 2022. But Bobo, who began her career with quarter horses before moving to thoroughbreds, has a connection with another former Derby horse: Take Charge Indy. She owned the colt before selling him to Chuck and Maribeth Sandford prior to the 2012 Run for the Roses. (Take Charge Indy finished 19th in the 20-horse field that year after suffering a hairline fracture during the race.) She has a graded-stakes victory as an owner: Simplification's triumph in the 2022 Fountain of Youth Stakes, a Grade 2 event, at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
Davies is still looking for her maiden graded-stakes win as an owner, be it on her own or as a part owner. (She's been involved in five ownership groups, including this one with Bobo and Isaacs.) But Catalytic is Davies' best horse to date, marking the first one in which she's had a share to eclipse six figures in earnings.
Per Equibase, Isaacs had made a shade under $67,000 as an owner entering this year. In two starts in 2024, Catalytic has won $192,825 on the strength of a pair of second-place finishes.
Catching Freedom
Owner: Albaugh Family Stables (Dennis Albaugh)
What to know: Albaugh, who owns Albaugh Family Stables, has won 13 graded-stakes events, including five Grade 1s. Four of those triumphs came at Keeneland: two in the Breeders' Futurity (2015 and 2017) along with the 2016 Blue Grass Stakes and the 2021 Darley Alcibiades Stakes; Albaugh's other Grade 1 victory was last year's Arkansas Derby (with Angel of Empire, who finished third in the 2023 Run for the Roses). Despite the success in graded-stakes races, Albaugh Family Stables is still looking for its first victory in a Triple Crown event. His entrant in this year's Derby, Catching Freedom, will enter as one of the favorites after accumulating the third-most points (125) in the standings, highlighted by a come-from-behind triumph at the Louisiana Derby.
A billionaire, Albaugh made his fortune after founding Albaugh LLC, a pesticide and fertilizer company. An avid car collector, Albaugh has one of the largest assortments of classic Chevrolet convertibles in the country.
Domestic Product
Owner: Klaravich Stables (Seth Klarman)
What to know: Friends Seth Klarman and Jeff Ravich founded Klaravich Stables — combining the first three letters of Klarman's last name with Ravich — in 1993, with both growing up in the Baltimore area. Per America's Best Racing, Ravich left the partnership years later "to start his own stable on the West Coast." Klarman and Klaravich Stables have excelled in the past two decades, with more than $47 million in earnings and 500-plus victories. That includes a pair of triumphs in the Preakness Stakes, first in 2017 (with Cloud Computing, owned in partnership with William Lawrence) and then in 2022 (with Early Voting). Klaravich Stables is winless in three Derby tries, though, with a best finish of fifth (by Practical Joke) in 2017. Domestic Product, who won this year's Tampa Bay Derby, enters the Run for the Roses 14th in the Derby standings. Klarman is a billionaire (worth $1.3 billion as of April 27, per Forbes). He is a fan of the Boston Red Sox and a minority owner of the team.
Dornoch
Owners: West Paces Racing (Larry Connolly), R.A. Hill Stable (Raymond Hill), Belmar Racing and Breeding (Vito Cucci), Two Eight Racing (Jayson Werth) and Pine Racing Stables (Mark Pine)
What to know: West Paces Racing owes its name to West Paces Ferry Road, a street in Buckhead (a district north of Atlanta) where Cherokee Town and Country Club is located. "Most of the founding members (of West Paces Racing) were golf friends and affiliated with Cherokee,” WPR general partner Connolly told The Buckhead Paper. West Paces Racing is the only ownership group in this year's Derby with multiple starters in Society Man and the aforementioned Dornoch. With a 33% stake, per The Buckhead Paper, WPR is Dornoch's majority owner.
America's Best Racing notes New Jersey native Hill (of R.A. Hill Stable) "grew up going to Monmouth Park with his mother. When a Wall Street deal paid off 17 years ago, Hill bought his first thoroughbred and was off to the races." He's the only member of the ownership quintet who previously has had a horse in the Derby; in 2019, Vekoma placed 12th, while Tax came in 14th.
Per the Park Savoy Estate, which Cucci ran for more than a decade, his parents immigrated from Carini, Sicily, at 19 years old and settled in New Jersey. They ran their family-named restaurant, which Vito eventually took over. After college, Vito moved to Italy to study under Luigi Bugialli, a renowned chef. After moving back to the U.S., he worked in multiple hotels and got into the equine industry.
Werth, who played 15 MLB seasons before retiring in 2018, became involved in horse racing three years ago. "Horse racing picked up where baseball left off," Werth told Thoroughbred Daily News. "Its's a great industry for me to be in." Werth's horses run under the name Two Eight Racing, which was his jersey number in the major leagues.
Pine Racing Stables reportedly owns a 10% stake in Dornoch.
Encino
Owner: Godolphin (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum)
What to know:Goldolphin, the private stable run by Sheikh Mohammed (the ruler of Dubai and a high-ranking politician in the United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as UAE), is North America's highest-earning owner in 2024, with nearly $3.6 million year to date. This will be Godolphin's 13th try at a Derby win; its best finish was third by Essential Quality in 2021. Godolphin still is searching for its maiden victory in a Triple Crown race.
Endlessly
Owner: Amerman Racing (Jerry and Joan Amerman)
What to know: Amerman Racing doesn't have a win in the Derby, Preakness or Belmont Stakes yet. But it's no stranger to success in some of the sport's other prestigious races, with 18 victories in Grade 1 stakes events, highlighted by three Breeders' Cup wins (2001 Breeders' Cup Handicap, 2003 Breeders' Cup Distaff and 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf). John Amerman is a former CEO of the Mattel toy company. He's the father of Jerry Amerman. Together, the father-and-son duo founded Amerman Racing more than 25 years ago.
Fierceness
Owner: Repole Stable (Mike Repole)
What to know:Repole Stable, which is No. 4 among North American owners in 2024 earnings (more than $1.5 million year to date), is annually among the most successful stables in the nation. But despite being a consistent Derby entrant — Fierceness is set to be the stable's eighth starter in the Run for the Roses — Repole only has left Churchill Downs frustrated. Repole's best finish in the Derby was a fifth by Mo Donegal in 2022. Mo Donegal gave the stable its first Triple Crown victory in that year's Belmont Stakes, winning by 3 lengths as the race's prohibitive favorite (5-2 odds) in the eight-horse field.
Forever Young
Owner: Susumu Fujita
What to know: Fujita will make his first appearance in the Derby — and first start as an owner in a North American-based event. He founded Cyber Agent, which, according to BloodHorse, provides "internet advertising services and media services, including internet, TV, and smartphone games." One of the most popular games created by the company is Uma Musume (which, in English, translates to "Horse Girls"), which features horse breeding and horse racing.
Grand Mo the First
Owner: Granpollo Stable
What to know: Granpollo, which is making its Derby debut this year, has no graded-stakes wins as an ownership group. The stable has one victory and a 37.5% win-place-show rate (1-2-3) in 2024.
Honor Marie
Owners: Ribble Farms (Alan Ribble), Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein and Dave Fishbein
What to know:After becoming a race horse owner in 2015, Ribble Farms earned its first graded-stakes triumph last year, when Honor Marie placed first in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs. Per BloodHorse, Ribble Farms is the majority owner of the group, with "Eiserman, Silver, and the Fishbeins buying in for a percentage after" Honor Marie won his stakes debut. This is the first Derby for all five parts of the ownership group.
Just a Touch
Owners: Qatar Racing (Sheikh Fahad Al Thani), Resolute Racing and Marc Detampel
What to know: Qatar Racing has been around for a dozen years. It is a subsidiary of QIPCO Holding "and represents the racehorse ownership interests of the brothers who own QIPCO," per Qatar Racing's website. Prior to the formation of Qatar Racing, Sheikh Fahad owned and raced horses under the name "Pearl Bloodstock." (Sheikh Fahad's brother, Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, is QIPCO's CEO.
John Stewart, the founder and managing partner of MiddleGround Capital, owns Resolute Racing. Last month, Keeneland had an announcement involving Stewart, MiddleGround and Resolute Racing and a pair of its dirt sprint stakes races. MiddleGround served as the sponsor for the Grade 2 Beaumont on April 7, while Resolute Racing was the title sponsor for the Grade 1 Madison a day earlier.
A Chicago native, Detampel works for Felix Global, a human resource consulting company. According to Thoroughbred Daily News, Detampel was "introduced to horse racing by his neighbor, John Wade, a co-owner in Hunter Valley Farm" in Versailles. After watching races together in Chicago, Detampel's interest in thoroughbred ownership was piqued after a visit to Lexington with Wade.
This year marks the first Derby appearance for all three factions of the ownership group.
Just Steel
Owner: BC Stables (John Bellinger and Brian Coelho)
What to know: This will be the first Derby for Bellinger and Coelho, who founded BC Stables together. Coelho is president and CEO of Central Valley Meat Company, which is based in Hanford, California. According to Thoroughbred Daily News, Bellinger and his wife "own several companies, the biggest of which is a laboratory business that tests food products." BC Stables' first (and to this point, only) graded-stakes win came in 2019, when Here's Hannah won the Grade 3 Ballerina Stakes at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada.
Mystik Dan
Owners: Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing (Brent Gasaway) and Daniel Hamby
What to know:All three of Mystik Dan's owners are based in Arkansas. And all three are in the Derby for the first time as owners.
Lance Gasaway is part of the University of Arkansas at Monticello's athletics Hall of Fame after a stellar career as a wide receiver, hauling in 113 passes for 1,605 yards and 12 touchdowns. He earned honorable-mention NAIA Division I All-American honors in 1985 and also was a two-time first-team All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference selection (1984 and 1985). Per Daily Racing Form, he bought his first race horse "about 15 years ago" at his home track, Oaklawn.
Brent Gasaway runs 4G Racing with his wife, Sharilyn.
And Mystik Dan gets his name from Hamby's father. Hamby's father's name is Dan, and his first business was selling Mystik Tape.
Resilience
Owners: Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman
What to know: Bushnell is the executive director of Endeavor Therapeutic — as well as a therapeutic riding instructor and a mentor. Endeavor Therapeutic, located in Bedford Corners, New York, has programs "for veterans, at-risk youth, incarcerated women and children and adults with disabilities," serving 125 people a week, according to Trainer Magazine.
A Louisville native, Waldman has an extensive résumé in the equine industry, beginning his career at Fasig-Tipton in 1973 and becoming general manager in 1981. He served as Airdrie Stud's business manager from 1981 to 1984 and was a consultant and syndicate manager of Overbrook Farm from 1986 through 2009. He also was the vice president of operations and syndicate manager for Windfields Farm from 1987 through 2008.
This is the first Derby appearance as an owner for Bushnell and Waldman.
Sierra Leone
Owners: Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith and Peter Brant
What to know: The colt, among the Derby favorites, boasts the most experienced ownership group.
By far.
Tabor has been in the Derby 20 times, winning with Thunder Gulch in 1995. Magnier has appeared in the Run for the Roses on 13 occasions. Derrick Smith has 11 appearances. While Brant is listed as winless in three tries in the Derby media guide, he owned a share of 1984 Derby winner Swale. Westerberg has had one Derby starter. Brook Smith is the only member of the partnership making his Derby debut.
Society Man
Owners: West Paces Racing, Danny Gargan and GMP Stables
What to know: West Paces Racing is the only ownership group in this year's Derby with multiple starters in Society Man and the aforementioned Dornoch.
A Louisville native, Gargan is the son of the jockey with the same name; his father won the 1973 Kentucky Oaks aboard Bag of Tunes. The younger Gargan once was a jockey agent and a former assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito before he decided to become a trainer himself. This will be Gargan's first appearance in the Run for the Roses as an owner.
The same is true for GMP Stables, which is owned by Anthony Melfi. Per BloodHorse, in 2019, "Melfi sold his environmental hazardous waste company which did business in 47 states and was responsible for the cleanup after disasters such as 9/11, hurricanes, oil spills, and train derailments." He then dove headfirst into the equine industry, between breeding and owning. Last year, he opened the 100-acre GMP Farm, which BloodHorse called "a state-of-the-art equine rehabilitation center that boasts an impressive menu of therapeutic modalities."
Stronghold
Owners: Eric and Sharon Waller
What to know: The Wallers entered the industry as breeders and owners in the mid-1990s. But this year marks the first time they have a horse in the Kentucky Derby. And it comes amid its share of pain. The Wallers have had two mares die while giving birth, including Stronghold's mother, Spectator. One of the top contenders in the Run for the Roses, Stronghold has provided the Wallers two of their three graded-stakes wins, capturing the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby earlier this year.
T O Password
Owner: Tomoya Ozasa
What to know: This will be the first Derby appearance for Ozasa; all of his race horses carry "T O" as part of their name, a nod to his initials. Ozasa's horses have won more than half (9 of 16; 56.3%) their starts in the Emirates Racing Authority, which is the governing body for horse racing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Track Phantom
Owners: L and N Racing (Lee Levinson), Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom and Breeze Easy (Mike Hall)
What to know:America's Best Racing notes that L and N Racing is "a four-way partnership comprised of Tulsa, Okla. lawyer Lee Levinson; his sons Andy and Michael; and family friend and prosecutor Don Nelson." L and N has one prior Derby appearance, taking runner-up honors in 2017 with Lookin at Lee.
It will be the first Derby showing for the other three factions in the ownership group, though.
Brewster, who also has served as Bob Baffert's attorney, has a long history as an owner but still is vying for his maiden graded-stakes win. Caroom also is seeking his first graded-stakes victory but has won more than 100 races since 2000, with a win-place-show rate of 40.3% (142-112-108). Hall is now the sole owner of Breeze Easy after his co-owner, Sam Ross, died in 2022. Breeze Easy has multiple Grade 2 and 3 stakes wins, but a Grade 1 triumph, to this point, has eluded the stable.
West Saratoga
Owner: Harry Veruchi
What to know: The 71-year old Veruchi won his first graded-stakes race — after decades of ownership, which, per BloodHorse, dates back to 1982 — earlier this year thanks to his Derby entrant, West Saratoga, who captured the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes. Veruchi bought West Saratoga at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for only $11,000. "I'm not looking for a Kentucky Derby horse," Veruchi told BloodHorse. "Obviously, that is the ultimate. But I'm not looking for a graded-stakes horse. I'm looking for a horse I can have fun with, make some money with, maybe win a small stakes race somewhere. I just want to have fun."
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2024 will be Run for Roses debut for 16 horse owners
