What attracted you to the horse racing industry? I believe it was a combination of several things.  First, I was born and raised on a tobacco farm in Tennessee.  We had mules to work the fields and, later on, my father bought me a horse to ride.  Thirty years later when my kids were growing up, I decided to buy both of them (and one for me) horses that we could ride together.  Second, I’ve always been a sports nut.  I use to enjoy playing and now enjoy watching all kinds of sports.  Lastly, horse racing has always fascinated me. …
READ MORE
What attracted you to the horse racing industry? Karla – As a child, I devoured books on horses.  As an adolescent, I helped care for our family’s two riding mares.  I’ve loved horses my whole life and will watch just about any event connected to them.  Thoroughbred racing is probably the most exciting because it’s such a big stage.  Many of the names involved – both horses and people – are celebrities.  Like many club members, I was hooked by the sports coverage of Secretariat.  When Bruce and I had the opportunity to travel more, we visited tracks like Keeneland…
READ MORE

Michael Keaveney

Posted on
What attracted you to the horse racing industry? I was a more casual racing fan as a youth, but when I moved closer to Monmouth Park and started attending more often, I wanted to experience that partial ownership provides. 2. What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? I enjoy handicapping the most, particularly when able to do it with groups of friends or family. 3. Why did you join the Wasabi Ventures Co-Owner Club? When looking for joining a syndicate, I wanted to find a group that was within my price range but still offered access and…
READ MORE

Chris Barnes

Posted on
What attracted you to the horse racing industry? Growing up in upstate New York, trips to Saratoga was a Summer tradition. We would always have family reunions there and from a very early age, horse racing represented fun & family. I'm lucky in that both sides of mine and my spouse's family are racing fans so that association with family has never changed.What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? I am a sports stats junkie, lover of Fantasy Football and anything sports-stats based. No sport offers the level of statistics that racing provides. Every race is its…
READ MORE

Don Walsh

Posted on
What attracted you to the horse racing industry?  I was introduced to racing by a friend who was a regular horseplayer.  On the first day we went, we split a pick 3 or pick 4 tickets that ended up winning, and it was a signer to boot. That’s all it took to get me to be a fan.  What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? I enjoy so many parts of the sport: the puzzle that each race presents to me as a handicapper; the people in the community that I have met; sometimes just being outside…
READ MORE

Brian Leckie

Posted on
What attracted you to the horse racing industry? The first time I visited a racetrack, my mother was pushing me around in a stroller at Belmont Park when I was 6 months old in 1991. While I have no memory of being at the 1993 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, my earliest memory of being at the track was rooting Julie Krone home in the upper part of the Monmouth Park grandstand at 4 years old. My uncle has been bringing me to Monmouth since I was a toddler, and I fell in love with racing immediately. My childhood basically…
READ MORE

Jeff Musgrove

Posted on
Jeff Musgrove is one of our graduate club members, meaning he buys 20% or more of our horses! What attracted you to the horse racing industry? I was lucky to have a Father and an Uncle who loved horse racing and would take me to Pimlico as a kid almost every weekend. So, I grew up loving the sport and had a goal of one-day having ownership in a racehorse. My Father and Uncle have both passed away and I have reached the goal of horse ownership as a tribute to them What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy…
READ MORE

Jenny and Dave Brown

Posted on
What attracted you to horse racing? Jenny: The very first Derby I remember, was when I was in Elementary School, it was the year Winning Colors won. Who wouldn't be hooked after that?! I didn't grow up in a racing family or near a track, so had to figure out that there was so much more to the sport than just the Classic races. That was all pre-internet and pre-TVG, so you can imagine how hard that was. On that note, I love that my girls will be able to say that they come from a “racing family”. Dave: I…
READ MORE

Tom Erisman

Posted on
What attracted you to the horse racing industry?   When I was 9 years old I remember watching the 1968 Kentucky Derby on TV and even then, it seemed more glamorous and so different from the team sports that I followed as a kid in PA.  I did not fully understand the aftermath of that race with the DQ of Dancer's Image (for butte) but that beautiful gray definitely made an impression and afterwards, I followed the triple crown races every year.  Then, after I attended my first Preakness in 1982 all bets were off!!  And since 1991 I have owned the same Grandstand…
READ MORE