By Joe Scurto
A concrete foundation is the bedrock of any structure. Building a successful Thoroughbred partnership needs that same footing. You need rock-hard determination, the right aggregate of experience and the liquidity to maintain elasticity. Without such a concrete foundation, the tallest of ambitions can crumble, but with one in place, you can find long-term success and come out smelling like a rose.
For BBN Racing, the first scent of success came from the appropriately-named mare Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) who won over $1.2 million and four graded stakes, including the Grade I Belmont Oaks Invitational.
“When we bought our first group of yearlings in 2018, Rusty Arnold suggested we might need to get involved with a racehorse to keep our partners engaged while the first group of yearlings prepared for the racetrack. That is why we partnered with Ashbrook Farm and bought into Concrete Rose,” recalled Brian Klatsky, founding member of BBN Racing.
BBN was founded in 2018 by Klatsky, Braxton Lynch and Brendan O'Brien after planning and discussing their previous ownership experiences for several years. Their vision was to create a platform that democratizes the sport, making it accessible to a wider audience, while providing unparalleled ownership experiences.
BBN takes Keeneland | courtesy of BBN
“I used to visit Saratoga every summer and always wanted to own my own Thoroughbreds. My wife made it clear there would be no racehorses until we started a family, said Klatsky. Challenge made; challenge accepted. “Six months after our son Alex was born, I bought my first racehorse.”
That competitive spirit resides deep in Klatsky's DNA. He played basketball at Rumson-Fair Haven High, 10 minutes from Monmouth Park, and at Division III Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Klatsky also earned an MBA from the University of Florida.
A huge fan of SEC athletics, with his two sons playing basketball in the SEC, Klatsky paid homage to Kentucky Wildcat fans by naming the partnership in honor of the Big Blue Nation. He is a partner at Gold Coast Wealth Management, with O'Brien, in addition to heading up BBN.
“We don't do this for a living,” said Klatsky. “We simply want to bring people into the game. This isn't a career for us, it is a passion.”
When referring to “us,” Klatsky is talking about an impressive group of talented horse people including BBN's Racing Manager Braxton Lynch. Lynch, along with her husband Damian, own and operate Royal Oak Farm in Paris, Kentucky.
“I spent my summers prepping yearlings, and exercise riding at Delaware Park, Fair Hill and in Newmarket, England,” said Lynch. “After graduating from Trinity College, I secured a job at Three Chimneys Farm where I eventually became the director of sales.”
Lynch's lineage goes back to the Mid-Atlantic where her maternal grandparents, Harry and Jane Lunger, started Christiana Stables in Wilmington, Delaware, but her work is centered in Kentucky as is the BBN Racing operation. As a former President of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA) and current Director Emeritus, Lynch lobbied hard for the legalization of Historical Horse Racing (HHR) in the Bluegrass and was rewarded with the Governor signing a bill preserving its future in 2021.
“We started BBN with the advent of HHR in Kentucky,” said Klatsky. “We hit that trajectory at just the right time with increased purses coming and have ridden that trajectory ever since. We are Kentucky-focused and meets like Kentucky Downs are a focal point for BBN.”
Rusty Arnold's shedrow at Saratoga | courtesy of BBN
Klatsky and Lynch were brought together by trainer Victoria Oliver over 25 years ago. Prior to BBN, Klatsky had had over 100 different horses conditioned by Oliver, who started her training career at Monmouth Park and has accumulated over $22 million in purse earnings. Oliver guided the City Zip filly Personal Diary to a Grade I victory in the Del Mar Oaks in 2014 for her father, prominent racing breeder and owner G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., and won last year's GII Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs with Trademark (Upstart), making him a millionaire in the process.
The other BBN trainer is George “Rusty” Arnold. Arnold is a third-generation horseman who ranks third among Keeneland's all-time leading trainers. During his career, he has won over $84 million in purse money with 1900+ wins, including 17 Grade I winners, ranking him in the top 40 all-time winningest trainers in Thoroughbred racing history. His success with Concrete Rose, along with his connection to Victoria Oliver's father, for whom he trained multiple stakes winners like Centre Court (Smart Strike) and Morticia (Twirling Candy), cemented his role with the BBN.
The BBN team and the business model established by Klatsky and Lynch appealed to partner Artie Logan early.
“I have been involved in all aspects of the Thoroughbred industry off and on since the mid-70's,” said Logan. “I was mostly dealing with cheaper horses due to the lack of raising enough capital. I've known Rusty for over 40 years and Bo and Vicki for the last 10 years or so. Rusty had me take a look at BBN and introduced me to Braxton, Brian and Brendan. I was looking for a racing partnership that raised enough capital to buy quality yearlings, had a good business model, was transparent with good communication about our stable, regular financial statements and lastly, good chemistry among the members. Bingo, BBN was the answer. I've been involved since the beginning and the best part has been having success with our horses and meeting and developing relationships with our members and team.”
Finding the right horses to send to these accomplished trainers is bloodstock agent Glenn “Bo” Bromagen. He started walking hots for Arnold after graduating from Trinity University in 2007. The entry-level position changed as he worked his way up to groom and barn manager within a four-month period. Bromagen knew he didn't want to be a trainer, but understood the need to gain the education from Arnold's operation. He later went to work for David Ingordo and within five days of working his first 2-year-old sale, he knew he had found his calling. In addition to finding horses like Concrete Rose and Weep No More (Mineshaft) for BBN, he also serves as racing manager for his family's Ashbrook Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.
This lineup of accomplished and diverse individuals has combined to bring BBN over $4.5 million in purse earnings thus far, but aside from that is the impressive and almost unheard-of record of getting 33 of 34 of their yearling purchases to the races.
“I don't even want to say it since we don't want that run to end,” said Lynch. “Our selection team is phenomenal. We can't afford to buy the perfect horse, so we have to trust our trainers to find us the athletes. We also believe in patience with these animals and don't race them until they are ready.”
Hidden Stash | Coady Photography
In BBN's first five crops at the races, 23 of 33 have been winners (70%), including seven unique stakes winners (21%). Few can argue that something is being done right at BBN. Their second group of yearlings purchased included 2021 Kentucky Derby runner Hidden Stash (Constitution), who was a $50,000 purchase. That success led the team to purchase his half-brother Mo Stash (Mo Town) for $130,000 later that year. He has gone on to compete in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, win the GIII Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland and accumulate over $600,000 to date. Their latest crop of 2-year-olds has produced an exciting first-out winner, sweetly named Kilwin (Twirling Candy), after the candy and ice cream chain. She is a half-sister to GI Alabama Stakes third-place finisher Just Basking (Arrogate) and GSW One Timer (Trappe Shot).
“We are buying yearlings to race, so we look for athletes that can compete,” said Klatsky. “Kentucky-breds are our focus and we also look for horses that will have strong residual value as broodmares. We typically will purchase six to eight yearlings each year for our partners. The minimum investment is $25,000, which includes estimated training costs for the entire life of the partnership, which is expected to be three to four years. There is no markup on any of the yearlings or salaries for anyone, but we do retain 7.5% of sale proceeds and purses. Both Braxton and I, along with our trainers, buy in just like every one of our partners. We are equal partners and believe in what we are doing.”
Partner Gordon Priest said about this kind of approach to partnering: “As you know, many of the partnerships spawned since Cot Campbell pioneered the concept, still concentrate on shares of a single horse. The obvious downside is that, if you've landed on a stinker, it's over before you get much fun out of it. Buying seven yearlings every September is a much more sensible way to manage the risk of what is inherently a crapshoot and boost the probability that you might come up with a movie star out of that crop.”
Lynch said that there is sound reasoning for collecting a major portion of the training expenses up front. “As a partner, not having to worry about monthly bills is a terrific way to keep the experience positive. So far, we have had six groups and have purchased 36 horses and regardless of which group you are in, we are one big family. You could invest $150k in a single horse or have six years of excitement and 36 horses to root on.”
Oliver's brother and BBN partner Watts Humphrey also sees the lack of monthly invoices to pay as a selling point.
“I have been in multiple other syndicates and have been an owner, breeder and involved in the sport my whole life,” said Humphrey. “The idea that there is only one capital call for the syndicate is appealing as it is a lower-cost way to enjoy the sport and have some action.”
“A good partner for BBN is someone that is competitive, likes action, and probably participated in sports themselves or was involved with their kid's youth sports,” said Klatsky. “Some of our partners have been involved in racing and some not at all. Most have reached a point where their family is grown and they are looking to make new friends and share new experiences. Our trainers get to know our partners personally, Braxton has them out to farm, they come out to the sales and we work hard to keep them engaged. We will send out daily communications and share information on all the BBN horses.”
BBN Racing's goal each year is to invest $2 million into its annual program. This takes 40 partners, some of which are involved in all the groups and some who are new to BBN. Partners can buy in for a single share or buy multiple shares each year as well.
BBN on Oaks Day | courtesy of BBN
“We don't want to grow too big,” said Klatsky. “We want to deliver a true ownership experience.”
“We would really like to see more of the Lexington community get involved since we are so Kentucky focused,” Lynch said. “Empty-nesters or people who are local and may be retired can get most out of what we offer. We put our horses first. Every member of the BBN team is as honest as the day is long. We all, including our partners, hold the same values and that is special.”
Priest said he agreed. “My wife Liz and I had been junkies for years. We've had a box in front of the clubhouse at the Preakness for about 40 years, had been to many Breeders' Cups, made Haskell Day at Monmouth for 25 years straight, and attended quite a few Belmont Stakes. BBN is just big enough to make a party out of it, but small enough to get to mint some new friendships or get better acquainted with some partners first met at an earlier outing. Liz and I have been in every iteration, and we're just signing on for BBN VII. If I can evade the Grim Reaper long enough, I expect we'll be in BBN XXIII!”
While BBN has achieved significant milestones in a relatively brief time, the partnership's founders remain grounded and focused on their core values. They said they believe that horse racing is a special sport that deserves to be shared with a wider audience. BBN aspires to bring new fans into the fold and help to ensure the future of the sport, and they hope the foundation they have built will withstand the test of time.
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