Former Drag Racer Jordan Finding Rush With Horse Racing

Former professional drag-racing driver Landon Jordan is a self-described "adrenaline type of guy."

So when he was looking for a new endeavor a couple of years ago to channel that desire for excitement, Jordan jumped into a sport he'd followed casually since he was a teenager—horse racing.

"I can remember being 17, 18, 19 years old when they had a horse track in Weatherford," said the resident of Mansfield, Texas, just south of Arlington, in a phone interview and referencing the old Trinity Meadows. "I went over there and watched those horses run. That track closed, but then Grand Prairie opened. When Lone Star Park opened, I got more into coming out and watching the horses race. I always enjoyed it.

"For years I had show dogs, mainly French bulldogs and English bulldogs. I'd kind of done that, had some dogs in Westminster and what not. I thought I'd try something different. I went to Lone Star and started paying attention to the racing program, kind of watched some of the better owners, who they used, that nature."

Jordan said he learned from his early mistakes in the dog-show world to find the right trainer first. His research led him to two well-known trainers. He first contacted Bret Calhoun, and they hit it off so well he never called the second trainer.

"Bret explained to me that there are three ways to do this deal," he said. "You can buy horses of racing age. You can buy (yearlings) at an auction or you can claim. I think Bret decided for me—and I agreed—that the best option was to purchase them out of the 2-year-old sales and see how they do as 2- and 3-year-olds."

Jordan, who owns several management companies dealing primarily in real estate and healthcare, buys under the name Mansfield Racing. Last year he bought a pair of 2-year-old fillies: Lady Got Moves, a $100,000 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase; and, Jj's American Diva, bought for $55,000 at the OBS June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

"He ended up building quite a stable in a short period of time," said Calhoun. "We're pretty excited about what he's got in the barn. He's been very patient for a new owner. He's let us bring his horses along at the pace they needed to be. Hopefully in the next couple of months we're going to turn quite a few of them loose."

Jordan's 2021 2-year-old purchases, Lady Got Moves  and Jj's American Diva , became Jordan's first starters at his home track. Though they haven't won, they've run well.

"They're fillies that were kind of late-maturing," Calhoun said. "They're going to be horses he can go watch run regularly, and they're going to win some races. I think the best is yet to come with this next crop, his 2-year-olds this year. I think there's a lot of upside to what he's got in the barn right now."

Jordan's stable includes the sales-topper at the April 6 Texas Thoroughbred Association 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, a $200,000 Louisiana-bred daughter of Free Drop Billy   named Free Drop Maddy . She debuted June 10 at Churchill Downs, breaking a step slow from the rail then setting a resolute pace only to give way late to finish second behind a filly with a prior start.

The goal for Free Drop Maddy is the $150,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity July 17 at Lone Star Park.

"We like her a lot," Calhoun said. "We knew we didn't have her 100% the other day. She'd gotten sick about a month and half ago, and we missed a couple of works. But she's very, very fast. She's in the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, and that's something that's important to Landon and me as well. So we wanted to get a race under her belt. We knew she could potentially win that day. But she drew the 1 hole and didn't get away as good as we'd have liked. Usually she's really quick from there. End of the day, it set us up very well for the sales futurity at Lone Star Park."

Jordan also bought the highest-priced colt at the TTA sale, going to $125,000 for a Kentucky-bred son of McCraken   named Release McCraken, who is training at Lone Star.

Calhoun also facilitated Jordan's buying last year of a piece of the now 3-year-old filly Hidden Connection  after her debut victory by 7 1/2 lengths at Colonial Downs and before she won Churchill Downs' Pocahontas Stakes (G3) by 9 1/4 lengths. Hidden Connection finished fourth in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, then this year lost the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks by a nose to then-unbeaten champion Echo Zulu  before finishing off the board in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

"I got to go to the Breeders' Cup the very first year I was in it," Jordan said of horse ownership. "And that probably hooked me more than anything. It was a great experience, going out to California and watching the race. It was fantastic."

Jordan encourages all new owners to do their homework, as they would for any business venture.

"Before you jump in, do your research and contact somebody who knows what the heck they're doing," he said. "The first thing Bret did was meet with me and walked me through the way this was going to work. Shortly after that he got me ahold of (bloodstock agent) Josh Stevens, and Josh buys the horses for me. Because to be quite honest, I wouldn't know a good horse if it ran over the top of me.

"With a little bit of time, you'll get more knowledge. You'll learn. But I would certainly recommend getting involved with somebody who knows what the heck they're doing so you have a good experience, which I have so far."