By Bill Finley
As the MyRacehorse syndicate continued to grow, the team there kept hearing what became a familiar refrain from some of its many partners. They wanted something more.
While the microshare concept proved to be innovative and popular, there are some limitations when you might own only a tiny fraction of a horse. With that in mind, last fall, MyRacehorse created a spinoff business, launching Edge Racing. Edge is more along the lines of traditional partnerships, which may include about a dozen owners instead of several hundred or even a thousand.
“As MyRacehorse grew and developed, people started wanting a little bit more,” said Joe Moran, the stable manager for Edge Racing, who also oversees MyRacehorse's contingent in California. “We saw people venturing off, whether going to other partnerships or going out on their own. We decided to put this new group together. We wanted to give people the sort of service and experience that comes along with owning a larger share of a horse. We wanted to let them take the next step in ownership.”
Just nine months after its inception, Edge Racing has burst out of the gate, in large part thanks to its star horse, Yes This Time (Not This Time), who is entered in Saturday $1-million GI Saratoga Derby Invitational. A winner of five straight, the colt will be facing the biggest test of his career.
“He deserves a shot to go against the best,” Moran said.
Back in the winter, Moran was scouting around for good candidates to add to the Edge Racing roster and came upon Yes This Time. He was coming off a win in a $30,000 maiden claiming race at Fair Grounds in his first try on the grass. Knowing that he was eligible for plenty of winnable races, Moran made the purchase, paying $100,000 for the colt. Edge Racing sold 10% shares in the horse and brought in six partners.
“This was a horse I found from browsing the races on a daily basis,” Moran said. “We thought he was coming off an impressive performance and we thought he had a lot of potential with his pedigree. But did I think we'd be running in a $1-million Grade I seven months down the road? Maybe not quite. He had run in a maiden claimer so he had multiple conditions left. That was really the play, to take advantage of those conditions.”
Kelly Neely was among the first to sign up for a piece of Yes This Time.
“I had had a lot to do with the Standardbred business for decades, but I wanted the real horses,” she said. “I didn't want to buy them myself. I went to sales and kept studying for about three years. I said to myself, 'Wow, I need to get involved in a partnership.' I went to MyRacehorse and after I bought a few microshares, thought I want a real percentage. They put me in touch with Joe Moran and it's been a wonderful ride.”
Edge Racing looks to keep its partners informed and involved. They hold bi-weekly Zoom meetings so that Moran can fill in each owner on the latest developments with the stable and because they own a large enough interest to get an owner's badge they can visit their horses on the backstretch any time they please.
Now trained by Kelly Breen, Yes This Time finished fourth in a Jan. 21 starter allowance at Gulfstream in his debut for Edge Racing. He hasn't lost since. After winning another starter allowance, he captured an allowance race at Gulfstream and then the English Channel S. He showed up next at Delaware Park for the GIII Kent S, which he won by a length.
“The fact that we are in this race at Saratoga and we belong in this race is overwhelming to me,” Neely said. “It's a dream come true.”
Yes This Time is one of nine horses currently owned by Edge Racing. The horses are spread around the country, in California, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Florida. The stable got off to a quick start, winning with its first starter, Escape Route (Hard Spun). He was claimed for $40,000 out of an Oct. 10, 2020 maiden claimer at Keeneland and came right back to win a starter allowance at Del Mar. The stable also includes In Due Time (Not This Time). A $95,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale, he won a July maiden special weight race in his debut. He is also trained by Breen.
While the selling of microshares will remain the company's core business, Moran said the MyRacehorse team believes Edge Racing will eventually knock heads with more well-known syndicates, like West Point, Starlight and Eclipse Thoroughbreds.
“I think we can turn this into one of the top traditional syndicates around the nation,” he said. “We've already had some short-term success. From a brand standpoint, we haven't marketed a ton. We have kept this close knit because we really want to let the people involved know exactly what they are getting into. We want to be all around the country and get people involved, to get people to love horse racing. That's our thing. We have so much passion for the game and that's what we're trying to bring to all our new owners out there.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
