People tend to say that Ron Winchell is a very lucky person.
Those who know him best will take it a step further.
“Ron has a lot of luck,” said Winchell Thoroughbreds racing manager David Fiske, who has worked for the Winchell family for about 40 years. “But, like his dad, he makes his own luck. It doesn’t happen by coincidence.”
Whatever might be Winchell’s recipe for success, it’s surely working rather wondrously these days on all levels. Be it his gaming business in Las Vegas or his horse racing operation, Winchell is enjoying the kind of prosperity more apropos of a fictional tale than a real-life story.
Echo Zulu captures the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar
In horse racing, whenever success is mentioned, Winchell will quickly deflect it with a mention of how frequent the ups and downs can be.
“It’s all downhill from here,” Winchell said. “We can only go back from here. Success in the horse racing business is fleeting. Sometimes you can be minutes away from things falling apart on you.”
Yet if involvement in Thoroughbred racing can be akin to an elevator ride, then Winchell’s fortunes are locked in place at the penthouse level right now.
Just consider what’s been happening in Winchell’s life lately.
Through his Winchell Thoroughbreds, which includes approximately 50 active runners trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, he owns three of the sport’s top stars.
Midnight Bourbon trains ahead of the Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse
It starts with the 4-year-old Midnight Bourbon who was second in last year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) and Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1).
Then there’s Epicenter , one of the leading 3-year-old Triple Crown candidates, and the undefeated Echo Zulu , who was the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner and champion 2-year-old filly of 2021.
Compounding the excitement of the moment, all three will be running March 26: Midnight Bourbon in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) at Meydan Racecourse; Epicenter in the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots; and Echo Zulu in the $400,000 TwinSpires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2).
“That doesn’t happen often,” he said about Saturday’s stakes, which will find him and his wife, Kristen, traveling to Dubai. “Especially when you look at the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks trails. It’s hard enough to get one horse on one of those trails, so when you get one on each of them that is a highly viable contender, that’s pretty special.”
As humble as Winchell might be, with each of his three Asmussen-trained horses a top contender in their race, it’s the kind of magical day that happens rarely-if ever-for most stables.
“How can you not be excited about Saturday?” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “To have horses like that with the expectations they have, it’s incredible.”
Then there’s Winchell’s breeding operation. He currently owns a 50% share of two of the sport’s elite, record-breaking stallions in Tapit , who stands at Gainesway in Kentucky, and Gun Runner , who now calls Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky home.
Ron Winchell leads Tapit into the winner’s circle after the 2004 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack
Tapit, who won the 2004 Wood Memorial (G1) for Winchell, is North America’s all-time leader with progeny earnings of more than $181 million. A revered three-time champion sire, he has produced 28 grade 1 winners.
Meanwhile, Gun Runner, who was a $15.9 million earner and 2017 Horse of the Year for Winchell, Three Chimneys, and Asmussen, set a record for first-year sires in 2021 with progeny earnings of $4.3 million, breaking the mark set by Tapit and then Uncle Mo . He also became the overall leader among sires of 2-year-olds.
“Stallions that can do that tend to be the great ones,” Fiske said.
Among Gun Runner’s four graded stakes winners last year were Echo Zulu and Winchell’s Gunite , who won grade 1 stakes in back-to-back days at Saratoga Race Course in the Spinaway Stakes and Hopeful Stakes, respectively.
“You can’t script it any better. You want to have access to the best stallions, so it certainly helps our breeding program when you have access to Tapit and Gun Runner,” Winchell said. “It’s kind of fun when you walk down the barn and there’s a Tapit, another Tapit, a Gun Runner, a Tapit, a Gun Runner, a Tapit. We have access to something that a lot of people don’t and that helps build our success when you have stallions like that. A lot of our mares are Tapit mares and they happen to fit very nicely with Gun Runner. Tapit has a little more stamina influence and Gun Runner has more speed and that works.”
Asmussen chuckles remembering a comment Winchell made a few years back referencing Tapit’s status as a champion sire.
“Ron told me that to continue at the level where we were, we would need a few more Tapits and, wow, is he ever executing that plan,” Asmussen said. “How can you put it into words? Tapit is the all-time leading sire. Everyone gets in line behind that. And now Gun Runner has set a record, starting off better at stud than anyone else ever has. The probability of that happening once is tremendous, but twice? A Gun Runner cross with the Tapit mares has been greatly successful and that’s been part of Ron’s plan.”
Winchell’s Midas Touch also involves purchasing Kentucky Downs racetrack with his business partner, Marc Falcone, in 2018. Located near the Tennessee border in Franklin, Ky., Kentucky Downs has become one of the sport’s most popular tracks with horsemen and fans through its huge purses and large fields for its turf-only meet in September. The six-day 2021 Kentucky Downs meet generated a record all-sources handle of $74,088,532, easily smashing its previous record of $59.8 million in 2020.
“Kentucky Downs is the marriage of my two businesses: gaming, which is what I do in Las Vegas, and horse racing. When Historical Horse Racing came to fruition in Kentucky that was an opportunity for me to put the two of them together and make a difference with the Kentucky Downs property,” said Winchell, whose businesses also include more than a dozen gaming taverns in Las Vegas, construction, and real estate development.
“The meet has grown with each year and we are trying to do what’s best for the horse racing industry. Obviously, through HHR revenue, it’s pumped a lot of money into the Thoroughbred industry’s purses. I see nothing but bright lights and success for Kentucky racing going forward.”
Winchell and Falcone are also partnering with Keeneland through their ECL Racing Management on the construction of the Cumberland Run Harness Track in Corbin, Ky., and a Cumberland Mint wagering facility in nearby Williamsburg.
All told, it’s a rare wave of success at the highest levels of the sport.
“In this game, success like this doesn’t happen that often. We’ve had periods with multiple good horses, like when we had Tight Spot , who was the champion turf horse of 1991, Olympio , and Sea Cadet . They were all grade 1 winners who earned more than $1 million,” Fiske said. “But this moment in time is unprecedented in our operation. To have everything going so well in the racing, breeding, and racetrack front is crazy.”
Winchell credits much of his success to his late father, Verne, who built a fortune primarily through the Winchell Doughnut House and Denny’s Restaurants chains. A prominent West Coast horseman, Verne made trips to the racetrack family events. Ron has pictures of his pregnant mother, Joan, carrying him in winner’s circle photos and remembers numerous childhood days at the races.
“I have been going to races for as long as I can remember,” Ron said. “I have a lot of memories of going to Santa Anita Park with my dad. As I got older, he treated me more like a partner than a son. We did everything together, especially in the latter part of his life. We went to sales together. He was very impactful on my life. He chased the Kentucky Derby for probably 50 years and since he passed away in 2002 (at the age of 87), I’ve picked up the chase for him.”
The lessons Ron learned from his father involved both racing and business.
“I don’t think you could be around Verne and not learn something. He was a font of knowledge on many fronts,” Fiske said. “Ron got dropped into the deep end of the horse business when his father died. I had probably spoken to him very little in the 10 years before his dad died. Right after that was the 2-year-old year of Tapit and Cuvee , and right out of the gate he had to negotiate some stallion deals and then later steer us through the financial crisis of 2008. Thankfully he had an education in racing and business that most people do not get. Ron has had his hand on the tiller for the last 20 years and we seem to be getting better all the time.”
A hallmark of Winchell’s success involves teamwork and consistency. Aside from Fiske being a key part of the operation for four decades, Verne Winchell began sending young horses to Keith Asmussen to be broken at Asmussen’s Texas training center when their sons Ron and Steve were young boys.
“We don’t do things that much different than a lot of people. A lot of people have homebreds and go to the sales. They have advisors and use analytical data, like we do,” Fiske said. “How is it that we have come out with the quality of horses that we have? I’m not sure but I wish I could bottle it. A key part is that we have a team and everyone is allowed to do their thing. Ron recognizes what he knows and doesn’t know, and where he fits in. We don’t interfere with Steve’s training too much. He’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason. No one messes with me much at the farm. Dr. Dave Lambert at Equine Analysis Systems has been caring for our horses for about 20 years. Steve’s father, Keith, has broken all of our horses for a very long time.”
Even now, all of Winchell’s young horses follow the same path as they did decades ago, beginning their careers at Keith Asmussen’s Laredo farm before heading to Steve Asmussen’s barn to begin their racing career. Earnings of $26.7 million for Winchell Thoroughbreds since 2003 attest to how well that formula has worked.
Steve Asmussen breaks the training win record last summer at Saratoga Race Course
“Ron is very consistent with everything he does and he makes you feel like you’re part of a team that has been together for as long as I can remember,” Steve Asmussen said. “He’s always gathering information and his success is a reflection of how intelligent he is. It’s wonderful to be a part of this.”
For Winchell, who will turn 50 March 29, there’s a comfort zone working with Steve Asmussen, who started decades ago as a third-string trainer for the Winchell family in the Southwest in the early days of what has become a Hall of Fame career.
“We have a very good comfort zone with Steve and he’s done a great job for us,” Winchell said. “He can be very honest about a horse. If you pay a million dollars for a horse, Steve’s not afraid to hurt your ego and tell you he’s not a good horse. That honesty is very beneficial in telling you what you have.”
The long-standing and highly successful bond between Winchell and Asmussen may have been reflected in the Aug. 7, 2021 card of racing at Saratoga Race Course.
While Asmussen trained Breeders’ Cup winners Untapable (2014 Longines Distaff, G1) and Tapizar (2012 Dirt Mile, G1) for Winchell the victory by Winchell Thoroughbreds and L and N Racing’s Stellar Tap, a 2-year-old son of Tapit, at the Spa fits into a monumental category. It was Asmussen’s 9,446th career victory, crowning him as the sport’s all-time leader in wins.
“To have the record happen the way it did with Stellar Tap, it was a religious experience for me. That was not by chance,” Asmussen said. “For me to say how fitting or rewarding it was, it was a far bigger thing than that. To achieve a record I had chased for my whole life with a horse Ron Winchell owned and my dad started with defies words.”
Winchell’s Super Saturday could be memorable in its own way. In a trio of stakes, worth more than $13 million, Winchell and Asmussen have horses who will either be the favorite or one of the top choices in the wagering.
The longshot of the bunch, if that word applies, would be Midnight Bourbon, a handsome 4-year-old son of Tiznow who is coming off a third in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1). Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, he was bought for $525,000 from the Warrendale Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and has earned $3,197,970.
Epicenter, a son of Not This Time , was last seen winning the Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) to secure a spot in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Bred by Westwind Farms out of the Candy Ride mare Silent Candy and bought for $260,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he is a 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Louisiana Derby.
Echo Zulu figures to be heavily favored when she makes her eagerly awaited 3-year-old debut in the Fair Grounds Oaks that could serve as her springboard to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) if she turns in a big effort.
The champion Gun Runner filly out of the Menifee mare Letgomyecho was bred by Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby and bought by Winchell for $300,000 from the Betz Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
While each of the trio was purchased at a sale, with a pipeline to Tapit and Gun Runner and about 30 mares at Winchell’s Corinthia Farm in Lexington, Ky., the likelihood of homegrown success at the racetrack and sales down the road seems inevitable.
Already Winchell has sold a son of Gun Runner out of the unraced Tapit mare Time to Tap, a full sister to Eclipse Award winner Untapable, for $975,000 to Repole Stable and St. Elias through the Gainesway consignment at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“We all know how great Tapit is, and we had very high expectations for Gun Runner. As a racehorse, he was unbelievable. When you look back at his past performances, which I saved on my phone, he got a little better with every race,” Winchell said. “We were looking at the big picture with him. He started late so people looked at him differently than us as a stallion. So to get the results he did as a freshman sire, it’s pretty amazing. You could take Echo Zulu out of the mix and he still would have been the top freshman sire. Tapit broke the record for freshman sires and now Gun Runner has broken the record. We asked his offspring to go a short distance at Saratoga, and they were successful, but they are set up to go longer. It’s going to be fun to see where we go from this point.”
With that in mind, as high as the ceiling may be at this point in time for Ron Winchell’s investments in Thoroughbred racing, it may soon be time to raise that roof even higher.
