McKinzie and the Racing Ties That Bind

Every time McKinzie enters a race, or runs in a race, or wins a race—and he's won some of the biggest—John Unick welcomes the texts that light up his phone.

Those texts flow from fans of the horse, yes, but those fans are also—like Unick—friends and family of the late Los Alamitos racing executive Brad McKinzie, after whom the multiple grade 1 winner is named. 

"He's helped us all to keep in touch," Unick said. "Brad had a posse, and I was proud to be part of that group of people. With this horse, the posse is still going."

Like many in that posse, Unick has attended most of the races of McKinzie, campaigned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. McKinzie captured this year's Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course two starts back, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his first victory in that race. Baffert also was a close friend of Brad McKinzie.

McKinzie is the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 2 at Santa Anita Park. Though Baffert said he doesn't typically get nervous ahead of big races, McKinzie's connection to his late friend makes races involving the 4-year-old son of Street Sense  different in that regard.

"I've felt a lot of pressure when I run him. I don't want to let (Brad) down," Baffert said. "When he gets beat, it's a double whammy for me because the horse got beat and the namesake got beat. It's a little added pressure for me."

Brad McKinzie, a 30-year executive at Los Alamitos Race Course, died Aug. 6, 2017, at the age of 62. He served as general manager of Los Alamitos Racing Association and was a co-founder of the Finish Line Self Insurance Group, plus one of the driving forces to bring daytime Thoroughbred racing back to Los Alamitos.

He oversaw the expansion from a five-furlong track to a one-mile oval, as well as the addition of 700 stalls to accommodate Thoroughbreds following the closure of Hollywood Park and running the track's Thoroughbred meets.

Baffert met McKinzie while both attended the Racetrack Industry Program at the University of Arizona, and they stayed close after graduation as Baffert moved to training horses—initially Quarter Horses—and McKinzie gravitated to operating racetracks. Baffert said McKinzie convinced him to bring his stable of Quarter Horses to Los Alamitos to run there.

As Baffert moved to training Thoroughbreds, McKinzie enjoyed making trips to the biggest races in the country to cheer for the trainer's horses.

"I remember when Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby (G1), and I looked down at Brad and he's just crying, just crying. That's the kind of person he was," Baffert said of his first Derby score in 1997. "That's how close we were. We all have a lot of friends, but you only have about five close friends throughout your life, and he was one of them."

Unick, who specializes in insurance for the racing industry at Insurance Office of America, initially found himself across the table from Brad McKinzie. Unick was working on a worker's compensation plan for the industry in California, and McKinzie was representing Los Alamitos, which had a rival plan. Eventually, the two sides came together with a combined plan that still is in place. In the process, Unick picked up a friend.

"We had two plans out there, and we started out as competitors and then we became great friends," Unick said.

Prominent owners Pegram and Watson also were close to Brad McKinzie. Baffert recalled that after attending McKinzie's funeral in August 2017, they discussed naming a horse after their friend.

"Mike and Karl said, 'You know what, we need to name a good horse after Brad,'" Baffert recalled. "Then the next question, as they looked at me: 'Do we have any good ones?'"

Pegram recalled talking with Baffert, hearing about the progress of their young colt, and deciding he should be the one they name after their late friend. 

"If he's that good, he needs to be the one we give the name," Pegram said.

Pegram noted that naming horses after people doesn't always work out as well as it has with McKinzie.

"You waste a number of good names on some bad racehorses along the way," Pegram said. "It's been great that it worked out this time.

"It's been special. It's like still having a part of Brad around."

Baffert noted Brad McKinzie was tall and lanky, similar to the tall equine McKinzie. He also laughs, concluding they went with the right choice of the two finalist names to honor their friend.

"We didn't know if we should name him 'Big Brad' or McKinzie," Baffert said. "So I thought, McKinzie has more of a ring—Big Brad sounds like a gelding, you know? We didn't want to do that, so we named him McKinzie."

Brad McKinzie's mother, Jean, visited the equine McKinzie on the Santa Anita backstretch Oct. 30. 

"When she saw the horse, she just started crying," Baffert said. "I started crying."

The friends and family have found that sharing those emotions has benefited everyone.

"If he gets lucky and wins, there won't be a dry eye," Baffert said. "We'll all be thinking about him."

Unick noted that among all the sports, horse racing may be unique in its ability to bring people together.

"The connection to the horses is so unique in sports, and when people share that, it brings them together," Unick said. "It's such a deep bond."