It was an unforgettable day for the 2,570 MyRacehorse shareholders who own shares in Embrace the gray as he plunged Pimlico Race Course runs through May 18 en route to capturing the Preakness Stakes (G1). It was also a very special moment for the father/daughter team who played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing the story of the arrogant pony to life.
MyRacehorse is a fractional ownership app that sells shares of their horses to allow racing fans to experience horse ownership at a fraction of the cost. Perks that come with buying shares include behind-the-scenes access through online posts and live events, many of which are hosted by experience manager Caitlin Dunne.
“When he won, I thought ‘Oh my God, he just won the Preakness!’ I was so happy, I cried,” Dunne said. “Then immediately my brain thought, ‘Oh my God, he just won.’ It was pure panic because I knew we were going to have 200 people trying to get into the winner’s circle.”
The reality of the enormous task she was about to accomplish set in as Dunne raced to the winner’s circle to talk to security and plan how to attract more on-site shareholders into the circle. of the Preakness winner. All were successful.
When jockey Jaime Torres jumped off his horse, the black-eyed Susan wreath was removed and Seize the Gray left for the testing barn, Dunne helped organize more than 100 shareholders to take photos in front of the famous dome.
The MyRacehorse owner fills out the winner’s circle after Seize the Gray’s victory in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course
“It was amazing, there were so many people there,” Dunne said. “Kids from 10 years old to people in their 80s and 90s. It was really something special. Everyone hugged each other and just met each other. You would have thought they had known each other for years.”
While the mass celebration ensued, there was one person Dunne felt was absent from the party: her father.
Ciaran Dunne and his wife Amy operate Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Fla. Over the past three decades, Wavertree has developed into one of the country’s preeminent training and breakthrough facilities. There, Seize the Gray learned how to race after MyRacehorse purchased him for $300,000 at the 2022 The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s select sale of the year.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas compared the Preakness winner’s circle to a high school pep rally when more than 100 people began chanting “Seize the Gray.” Dunne pulled out her phone and called her father.
“I told him ‘don’t say anything, just listen’ and I held up the phone,” Dunne recalls. He heard people chanting.” “I brought the phone back and said ‘did you hear?’ He started tearing up and getting emotional about it.”
“I was lucky enough to have so many people visit the farm last year on various tours,” her father said, recalling this moment. “To see their excitement when they were young horses with nothing much to get excited about and to see it all come to fruition was pretty cool.”
Ciaran Dunne at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic two-year-old training sale
Seize the Gray was part of the first group of horses that Ciaran trained for MyRacehorse. Caitlin began working with the ownership group in 2021. She presented the idea of training their horses to her father because the group needed a facility that would allow for an on-site experience for shareholders.
“When we first talked to (MyRacehorse founder) Michael (Behrens) and he explained their whole program was based on an experience instead of selling it as an investment, it was hard to understand,” Ciaran said. I got it.” “Our whole business is based on return on investment or horses that are doing well. You don’t know what he means by experience.”
It took some persuasion and reassurance from his daughter, but eventually Ciaran agreed and had an eye-opening experience.
“We started doing tours and saw the joy people had in coming here and seeing what we take for granted every day,” Ciaran said. “When you see how far people are willing to go just to have a little time up close and personal with horses and realize that for them, it’s not all about money and meaning, it’s so cheery.”
Organizing MyRacehorse has brought back many memories for Ciaran as one of his first jobs was organizing tours of the Irish National Stud and Gardens in Tully, Ireland, where his father tended the Japanese Garden Copy.
“(My dad) spent most of his life telling everyone around him the story of the gardens,” Ciaran said. “It felt like we were running all the way back to where we started. Last year, my sister was in town for one of the MyRacehorse tours. She arrived and giggled when she found out what that doesn’t happen’ It seems like we’ve been doing that in Ireland for a long time.”
Members of the MyRacehorse organization watch Seize the Gray take a bath at Pimlico Race Course
While Ciaran showed off hundreds of MyRacehorse shareholders around his facility, one thing that wasn’t on display in the fall of 2022 was the talent that Seize the Gray will one day possess.
“He was a little bit retarded both mentally and physically,” Ciaran said. “A lot of horses have a growth spurt in October/November. He didn’t really, he was a bit tired. Probably at Christmas we were a bit worried whether he would grow or not.”
“I think (MyRacehorse) sent six horses that year to my dad and Seize the Gray never stood up and said ‘I’m that guy, I’m the best horse here,'” said Caitlin. That would be a sign that it’s the best horse in the stable.”
Caitlin has spent most of her life pursuing swimming, which she competed in at the Division I level in college. It wasn’t until she graduated and the Covid-19 pandemic hit that she began taking on a larger role in the thoroughbred industry. She started riding at her parents’ farm and worked with several horses. One of them eventually reached the 1st division Hot Charlie who liked Seize the Gray did not immediately become a future star.
“Usually (the best horses) don’t give you any problems, they’re very easy-going and laid-back,” says Caitlin. “It was always (Seize the Grey). He never gave us any reason to think about him, which is a good thing in the grand scheme of things.”
Seize the Gray will enter the spring of his 2-year-old season as work begins to progress. Being the type of horse that gets bored easily, Seize the Gray will grab it and pay attention as soon as it starts something new. As his training intensified, he began to show a readiness for races and a skill set that suited a particular trainer.
“We said at the time that he was a horse that would really suit Wayne’s program because he was a horse that thrived on work and routine,” Ciaran said.
Now a year later, Seize the Gray is a classic winner with a shot at becoming the horse’s first since justification in 2018 to capture multiple jewels of the Triple Crown as he plans to compete June 8 in the Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
Caitlin was working hard to prepare to host more Seize the Gray shareholders at the track that weekend.
“My job is to compile all these beautiful experiences for people to come to,” says Caitlin. “(Horse racing) is supposed to be entertaining. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s something you do and share with people.”
Caitlin Dunne photographed Seize the Gray to share with her MyRacehorse shareholders
“One of the things she learned around the warehouse and in sales was to think on her feet,” her father said. “When things don’t go as planned, she doesn’t panic and is able to adjust. We’re very proud of her and a lot of the feedback we get from (MyRacehorse) owners is that she How did he help?” them and how she goes above and beyond to make the experience more rewarding.”
“It’s important for me to show them all the fun things and show how well the horses are cared for,” says Caitlin. They all became ambassadors for the sport.” “Try to make each owner feel like they are the only owner in the world, even though there are 2,500 of them.”
