As the sphere for the $2 million Preakness Stakes swings into the Pimlico Race Course homestretch Might 18, they are going to be greeted by the roar of hundreds of followers that fill the grandstand. A wall of noise will encapsulate the eight Thoroughbreds and their jockeys, but when one grey or roan colt listens shut sufficient, he’ll hear his identify being shouted and cheered not simply by his loyal supporters that traveled to Baltimore, however from hundreds extra throughout the nation.
The horse is Seize the Gray, skilled by Corridor of Fame coach D. Wayne Lukas and sired by the late Arrogate.
Bred in Kentucky by Jamm and consigned by Mill Ridge Gross sales on the 2022 The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s choose yearling sale, Seize the Gray was launched to a brand new stage of stardom because the hammer got here down for $300,000 in favor of MyRacehorse, a fractional possession app that enables racing followers a style of possession for a a lot decrease value.
“We syndicate horses to make the dream and thrills of possession out there to everybody,” MyRacehorse founder and CEO Michael Behrens stated.
Upon their buy of the yearling, Seize the Gray was supplied on the MyRacehorse app for $127 per share for 0.02% fairness. In line with Behrens, Seize the Gray will race within the Preakness on behalf of two,570 shareholders.
Behrens is aware of what it’s like to offer a traditional win to many racing followers who would have by no means dreamed of proudly owning their very own racehorse. MyRacehorse was a co-owner of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Genuine, who would return a month later to complete an in depth second within the Preakness. Seize the Gray might be their first starter within the Triple Crown since.
“There are lots of people who’re actually pumped up and excited,” Behrens stated. “It appears like an incredible race and we’re actually excited to be right here.”
One of many perks of being concerned with MyRacehorse is having the curtain pulled again on the behind the scenes of creating a racehorse. Via posts and occasions, Seize the Gray’s shareholders have had a chance to comply with each step of the horse’s profession.
MyRacehorse’s expertise supervisor, Caitlin Dunne, is aware of Seize the Gray higher than most. After MyRacehorse bought the colt, Seize the Gray was despatched to Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Fla., to start his preliminary coaching along with her dad and mom, Ciaran and Amy Dunne.
“He was type of a chubby little Arrogate colt,” Dunne stated. “I feel for a bit bit my dad acquired nervous that he would not develop.”
Regardless of his appears, Seize the Gray impressed early on along with his relaxed demeanor.
“My dad all the time says, horses which have his kind of demeanor, it is often a reasonably good factor as a result of they deal with themselves within the barn,” Dunne stated. “I feel we had an concept that he was both going to be actually, actually good or in that mid-section. You possibly can’t measure coronary heart whenever you’re on the farm, you see it once they begin racing.”
Alongside for each step of his growth from a lazy yearling to a hard-knocking racehorse have been his plentiful house owners hoping that their beloved colt would blossom right into a star. Their persistence was rewarded July 29, 2023, when Seize the Gray received his first race throughout his second begin, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race at Saratoga Race Course. Pleasure constructed as he participated on the Street to the Kentucky Derby and, though he barely missed qualifying for the Might 4 Derby, broke via with a signature victory Derby day within the Pat Day Mile Stakes offered by SAP to earn a visit to the Preakness.
“I noticed his first win from Del Mar,” remembered Mike Dusterhoff of California, considered one of Seize the Gray’s shareholders. “I by no means thought I might ever see him in individual, however I stated I used to be going to make the journey out to Pimlico and right here we’re.”
Dusterhoff is considered one of tons of of shareholders who’ve traveled from all corners of the nation to Pimlico to have a good time their colt working in a Triple Crown occasion. For Dusterhoff, initially born in Washington, D.C., Seize the Gray has created a homecoming, and the shareholder has spent the week seeing not simply Seize the Gray, however members of the family he hasn’t seen in near a decade. He was on the barn Might 16 as a part of a MyRacehorse occasion group led by Dunne.
“I adopted [Seize the Grey] round, I flew right here from Florida to be right here on the Preakness,” stated Will Diaz of Palm Metropolis, Fla. “The thrill is unbelievable.”
“I acquired into MyRacehorse as a result of I all the time cherished horse racing from the time I used to be a bit child,” stated Janice Mackenzie of Phoenix. “This has been implausible. To me, [the morning] is extra enjoyable than race day. You get near the horses, hear loads about them, find out about them. Simply see how they are going about their each day routine. That is what I like essentially the most.”
Seize the Gray has not solely supplied a once-in-a-lifetime journey expertise for a lot of of his house owners however has additionally supplied an additional particular Preakness for his shareholders who’re based mostly round Baltimore.
“I acquired into MyRacehorse as a result of it was the one manner I may get near a race just like the Preakness,” stated Baltimore’s Rob Thomsen. “Now that we’re really right here, I acquired to attend the put up place draw which is one thing I by no means thought I might have the ability to do. It is simply an incredible expertise.”
For the long-time racing followers turned house owners that traveled to Pimlico, goals are already coming true as they unlock the thrill of getting ready a horse they’re related to for one of the widespread races in america.
“(Seeing the shareholders’ expertise) has been the very best factor about him,” Dunne stated. “Seeing how a lot they love and care about him, you’d have thought they have been within the barn each single day with him. … The house owners love him like they’d love any animal in their very own house.”
Ought to Seize the Gray pull off the upset and race his manner into the Preakness winner’s circle, it should trigger a celebration that won’t quickly be forgotten, not simply at Pimlico, however within the homes of greater than 2,000 people who might be cheering their horse house.
