Dawson Finds Gold Mine With Rich Strike

The horse owned by a man who had won less than 10 races in his life defeated a horse owned by one of the most successful owners in the business, Ron Winchell, a man whose runners have bankrolled more than $28,000,000.

"As far as my career in horse racing, I think it just started," said Richard Dawson of RED TR-Racing.

You could say that again.

When Dawson's Rich Strike  rocketed up the rail at odds of 80-1 to blast by race favorite and Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby winner (G2) Epicenter  in the final yards of the 148th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), the owner who had never had a horse win an allowance race just captured the biggest race in the country.

Semi-retired after a lengthy career in the oil and gas industry, Ohio-based Dawson is a relative newcomer to the racing industry, purchasing his first horse in 2019. He currently counts five horses total in his stable, with Rich Strike being his only active horse in training.

"What planet is this?" said Dawson. "I feel like I have been propelled somewhere. I'm not sure. This is unbelievable. I asked my trainer up on the stage, I said, 'Are you sure this is not a dream? Because it can't be true.' He assured me this is real. I said okay."

Dawson and trainer Eric Reed dropped a claim for Rich Strike in a $30,000 maiden claiming race at Churchill Downs last September. Although they liked the son of Keen Ice  , the horse they lost the shake on—the horse they really wanted—was a colt named Twitchy.

Twitchy never ran again for his new connections. Rich Strike, a stellar 17 1/4-length winner that day under the Twin Spires, won the Derby.

"I didn't get into this to win the Kentucky Derby, although I'm not giving the trophy back," joked Dawson.

"But I got in it because I loved it, and it was interesting," said Dawson. "It was fun. I was at a point in my life where I had the time and the energy, wanted to go to the farm, wanted to go—and I learned the business. And Eric was so great about teaching me. If I asked him a stupid question, he didn't say, 'That's a stupid question.' He would just, he would give me a great answer and truthfully, I would learn from that. And that's how we built what we built."

Dawson put his faith in Reed when the trainer told him last fall that Rich Strike had the potential to be a Derby contender and he never questioned the trainer's decisions in getting his colt to the starting gate Saturday. Even when Reed was adamant about keeping little-known Ohio-based jockey Sonny Leon aboard Rich Strike.

"A month or so back we had a conversation (about jockeys), like most people," said Dawson. "You're looking at options. And (Reed) said if you get in the Derby I want to stick with Sonny. I said, yeah, I would never, ever change at this point. I said I may not change my socks let alone—my jock, you know?"

Dawson also played his hand in the breeding game recently. Cognizant of Rich Strike’s potential, Dawson made sure to breed his one and only broodmare to the colt’s stallion, Travers Stakes (G1) hero and the conqueror of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah  , Keen Ice.