MyRacehorse Hopes for Seize the Grey in Dirt Mile

Seize the Grey  may end up being one of the most photographed racehorses in history. It's not because he is the greatest horse ever—though the Preakness Stakes (G1) winner and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) contender is plenty talented. It's because he has more than 2,500 partners through MyRacehorse, people who have followed his every move since he was a yearling.

Besides the hundreds of partners expected to be taking photos and posting videos of Seize the Grey this week at Del Mar, MyRacehorse also sends copious photos, videos, and other updates on each of its horses. In the case of Seize the Grey, that process started earlier than usual.

Many of MyRacehorse's most celebrated purchases, such as Authentic  , who went on to win the 2020 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), occurred during the horses' racing careers. But MyRacehorse bought Seize the Grey for $300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in August 2022. The partners had a chance to see their talented runner develop from the start.

"They've seen everything from the first time a saddle went on, into his first breeze, and entering the starting gate," said Michael Behrens, founder and CEO of MyRacehorse. "I feel that the emotional connection is so high because of the longevity and having the entire maturation of his career."

Behrens said that Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables, who gave Seize the Grey his initial lessons, and trainer D. Wayne Lukas have been a huge part of that inclusivity.

"He was down at Wavertree (in Florida), and Ciaran Dunne is incredible in terms of providing the journey," Behrens said. "His videos are really in-depth."

It was also easier to arrange visits for some of the owners to see Seize the Grey earlier in his training than it is once a horse is actually racing and stabled at a racetrack.

Behrens said that Lukas has embraced the MyRacehorse concept enthusiastically and been very welcoming.

"He has been so amazing with the content," Behrens said. "I love that guy. I didn't know how he was going to react to training a horse for 2,570 people. He has just been incredible. He loves it. He and his wife (Laurie) are always so complimentary of what this has been like, in terms of how much they enjoy hearing all the joy and seeing so many people happy. Mr. Lukas has been really enthusiastic about it."

Debbie Arrington, a longtime, now semi-retired journalist who lives in Northern California, covered many races during her career and is one of Seize the Grey's owners. She had been involved with Authentic and parlayed some of her earnings from that horse into three shares of Seize the Grey.

"From afar, I got to see 'my' horse grow up online," Arrington said. "Watching the farm videos was both fun and instructive. How do you teach a horse every aspect of his future job? (With a lot of patience.) You could see Seize the Grey blossom before your eyes."

Arrington feels that the MyRacehorse experience in some ways offers more access and information than being in a more traditional ownership group. Before Seize the Grey made his first start at 2 last year, MyRacehorse sent the owners several video chats with Lukas.

"He was getting really enthusiastic about Seize the Grey's prospects," Arrington said. "He kept mentioning Saratoga."

Seize the Grey earned his maiden win at Saratoga Race Course in his second start. This year he won the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs ahead of his classic win. He drew post 6 Monday and is 10-1 in the morning line for Saturday's Dirt Mile. He comes in off a dominant, wire-to-wire victory in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing.

"It's been up and down since then; fortunately, mostly up," Arrington said. "On Derby Day, the Pat Day Mile was thrilling; I screamed myself silly. I nearly passed out during the Preakness. I'm sure my 2,569 co-owners felt the same way."

Those co-owners are receiving multiple videos every day as the Breeders' Cup approaches.

"Seize the Grey looks so good—he's really grown and filled out," said Arrington a week before the race. "He rolled around in the sand at Del Mar this morning. It was outside his barn. He's having a good time. He's a happy horse."

Events will continue through Breeders' Cup week. Behrens said MyRacehorse is offering an appreciation dinner the night of Nov. 1 to honor the owners of Seize the Grey and Straight No Chaser , a Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) hopeful owned by MyRacehorse and trained by Dan Blacker. Behrens said that MyRacehorse will have Seize the Grey's Preakness Trophy on hand at Del Mar the day of the Dirt Mile so that owners can have their photo taken with it.