Tag: this is horseracing

At Wasabi Ventures Stables as much as we are excited about seeing the winner’s circle, we also are focused on ensuring that each of our horses has a safe and happy retirement. In that vein, Michele Pesula Kuegler has taken on the role of Director of Aftercare. Michele is a lifelong animal advocate, who now focuses on Thoroughbreds. In the role of Director of Aftercare, Michele has acquainted herself with numerous Thoroughbred retirement programs and has published several interviews with these groups. In the coming months more interviews will be published. Additionally, the social communication team has focused on highlighting…

What attracted you to the horse racing industry? It seems like there was never a time in my life that I wasn’t interested in horse racing. Most of my earliest childhood memories are of spending time at the racetrack with my family watching the horses. My dad worked as a groom at Philadelphia Park for over 30 years and would regularly bring my sister and me on the backside most weekends and afternoons after school to watch the races and help out at the barn. My mom also works within the industry as a journalist and writes articles for several…

What attracted you to the horse racing industry? My first memory of my love for Horse Racing was watching Secretariat win the Triple Crown in 1973. I didn’t get hooked on racing until 1978 when Affirmed and jockey, Steve Cauthen won the Triple Crown. I was a teenager who fell in love with Affirmed and I had a mad crush on Steve Cauthen too. While other teenage girls were reading Teen and Tiger Beat magazines, I was reading my subscription to TURF magazine cover to cover. I wanted to know everything about the sport. What aspect of horse racing do…

In early June, our Community Evangelist, Michele Pesula Kuegler, was invited to visit the TRF Second Chances program at Central Maryland Correctional Facility in Maryland. Earlier that morning the program had held a graduation ceremony for one of the inmates. Held on a farm near the correctional facilities, this program rehabilitates off the track thoroughbreds, while also providing a new skill set to the offenders who are chosen for this program. Currently, Second Chances houses six retired Thoroughbreds. These horses will spend the rest of their lives at this farm. Second Chances is run by Program Manager, Sarah Stein. Working…

What attracted you to the horse racing industry? I was attracted to horse racing at an early age when I started going to the track with my grandfather. As I grew older, the excitement of race day grew stronger. What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? For several years now, I have followed the prep races leading up to the Kentucky Derby. After that, I start focusing on the second season leading into Breeder’s Cup. You start seeing lots of really good races throughout the Summer and Fall. Why did you join the Wasabi Ventures Co-Owner Club?…

What attracted you to the horse racing industry? When I was 12, my aunt took me to the Fair Grounds here in New Orleans for the first time and I was hooked! The whole experience — the horses, the atmosphere, the excitement — was unforgettable. In those days, the daily race results were part of the local sportscast so I began following the sport and trying to learn a little along the way. It was a great time to be introduced to the sport because it happened to be 1973 when a certain unforgettable legend became the first Triple Crown…

What attracted you to the horse racing industry? Jim bought a horse in 2014 for barrel racing. Friends who went with him to check out the horse noticed it had raced a few times, never doing better than 5th, but had good breeding with Mr. Jess Perry being the sire’s sire. Our friend, who had his training license, talked us into letting him train her for 30 days then enter her. She won! The first race we ever entered and we went to the winner’s circle. We were hooked! What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? We…

Kind of A Big Dill (formerly known as Vineyard Harbour) is still on stall rest with hopes to have him start training by the end of March with groundwork beginning in just a few weeks. Stall desensitization has begun with bag tarps and hula hoops and is going well. Check out his previous update here.

1.What attracted you to the horse racing industry? Around the early 1980s, I went to Laurel Park for the first time with my parents. They had a friend that had racehorses. Ever since then, I was hooked. I would visit here and there a few times a year. About 20 years ago, I started visiting different racetracks to drop a wager and watch. And now it continues to a weekly event and as Co-owner and Ambassador with Wasabi. 2.What aspect of horse racing do you enjoy the most? The thrill of the emotional swing, the excitement and the thunder as…

Meet Wasabi Ventures Co-Owner Club Member and Ambassador, Lauren Floyd! She grew up riding horses in northern Virginia. Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown run sparked her interest in racing, but she didn’t become a serious fan until 2014. Lauren rode horses all through college at the University of Mary Washington and graduated in 2014 with a degree in English. Currently, she works in the software development industry in the DC area, which helps finance her horse racing hobby. She joined Wasabi Ventures Stables in May 2018 and is now one of two Maryland track ambassadors for the club. 1.What attracted you…