Mining for Gold

LOUISVILLE, KY – As Mr. Money (Goldencents) was being saddled for a tilt in last fall's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile-he outran his 41-1 odds to finish fourth that day-owner Chester Thomas made a bold prediction to the team at Spendthrift Farm in the Churchill Downs paddock.

“I was talking to [Stallion Sales Manager] Mark Toothaker and [owner] Mr. [B. Wayne] Hughes and I told them that I thought I had a better Goldencents that hadn't run yet,” said Thomas, who races under the banner of Allied Racing Stable. “They looked at me like I was crazy. I guess I got lucky. They're both very nice.”

Nice, indeed.

While Mr. Money turns back in distance for Saturday's GIII Pat Day Mile, By My Standards (Goldencents), that 'other son' from the first crop of the aforementioned two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner, punched his ticket to the GI Kentucky Derby with a 22-1 upset in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby.

“It gives you goose bumps to think about having a horse going to the Derby,” said Thomas, a coal and energy entrepreneur and native of Kentucky. “We've been around this game for a while and it's a humbling one. You got to enjoy those highs because there's a heck of a lot more lows.”

By My Standards was purchased for $150,000 as an OBS April 2-year-old while Mr. Money was acquired for $130,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. Both were picked out by bloodstock agent Josh Stevens. Promising young sire Goldencents stands for a fee of $20,000 at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky.

“We're buying physicals, primarily,” Thomas said of his approach at the sales. “After we bought Mr. Money as a yearling at Keeneland, we liked the way he was coming along and then we bought [By My Standards] as a 2-year-old in training. They were both progressing well and we felt like Goldencents would make a nice stallion based off what we were seeing. I went ahead and bought two lifetime breeding rights to him. We think he's going to be the real deal.”

A debut second sprinting on the 'Stars of Tomorrow II' program in the Churchill slop in late November, the light switch was finally turned on for By My Standards at fourth asking on the GII Risen Star S. undercard Feb. 16. The bay broke through with a visually impressive 4 1/4-length maiden win that day, clocking his final three-eighths in a very sharp :31.57.

Bred in Kentucky by Don Ladd, By My Standards is out of the Muqtarib mare A Jealous Woman, a two-time stakes winner on the Santa Anita grass.

“The horse ran a really big race when he broke his maiden and he galloped out extremely well,” Thomas, a 60-year-old married father of two, said. “We thought he would do well [in the Louisiana Derby], but of course we were in against some tough horses and you never know coming out of a maiden. He got a nice trip and the horse was smart enough to go where the rider asked him to and the rest is history. Inside the sixteenth pole, he started edging clear on the inside and it got pretty nuts at that point.”

By My Standards has become this year's 'buzz horse' on the Churchill Downs backstretch in recent weeks, led by a six-furlong breeze for trainer by Bret Calhoun in 1:12.80 (2/5) Apr. 22. He concluded preparations for the Derby with a four-furlong move in :48.40 (12/76) Apr. 28, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.80 and seven furlongs in 1:26.60 with terrific energy.

“We're just sitting here with our fingers crossed waiting on May 4 hoping things continue to go the way the horse is going,” Thomas said. “All systems go. Bret Calhoun and his team are doing an awesome job. The horse just continues to blossom.”

Calhoun added, “Chester and I haven't been together a long period of time, but we've had a lot of success in a short period of time. He's a fanatic about racing and his horses. He loves it, has a high-energy level and makes it a lot of fun to be around. He's easy to cheer for, for sure.”

Thomas fell in love with the sport as a youngster while attending the races with his father, who claimed and bred a couple with a group of buddies. Thomas grew up in the coal mining community of Greenville, Kentucky.

“Fast forward to college, I spent way too much time at Keeneland and not near enough time in school,” Thomas said. “I decided that I was going to quit college and learn how to become a jockey's agent. My parents weren't real proud when I told them that decision and I went to Hot Springs for the meet.”

Spoiler alert: Thomas won't be hustling mounts on the Churchill backstretch this week.

“Thank god, my parents came down to spend a weekend,” Thomas said. “I was broke and rode back with them and got a job at the coal mines. I let the horses go for a while and became a coal mine operator and employed over 500 coal miners in West Kentucky. We've worked hard to make our money and we're just really blessed to be in this spot.”

A two-time leading owner at his hometown track Ellis Park, Thomas began building his stable around 10 years ago. He currently owns approximately 75 head, including a dozen or so broodmares, and acquired two more colts at the recently concluded OBS April 2-Year-Old Sale, a son of City Zip for $270,000 (Hip 429) and a colt by, you guessed it, Goldencents for $150,000 (Hip 571). By My Standards was Allied Racing's first graded winner. Thomas sold his company Green River Collieries for an undisclosed amount in 2012.

Looking ahead to the First Saturday in May, what kind of emotions will Thomas be feeling as 'My Old Kentucky Home' plays in the post parade?

“Being a Kentucky native, Oaks and Derby is a national holiday and maybe the day or two after to recuperate,” Thomas said with a laugh. “My first Derby was Gato del Sol in 1982 and I've only missed two or three Derbies when my kids were young.

He concluded, “It will be hard to keep a dry eye. It's going to be a big deal. It's going to be hard keep those emotions in, I can say that.”