TDN Podcast Q & A: Jim McIngvale

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has been known for his innovative nature, his enthusiasm, his philanthropy, and for owning some fast horses. Now he's about to make his mark as a stallion owner. Runhappy, the brilliant champion sprinter he owned who won the GI 2015 Breeders' Cup, will be represented for the first time at this fall's breeding stock sales as 23 of his weanlings will go through the ring. Mattress Mack was our guest on this week's TDN podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made. Below are excepts from that interview.

TDN: Not only was Runhappy a very fast horse, he ran his entire career drug-free, as do all your horses. Why do you choose to take that route?

JM: No Lasix, no Bute, no injections. We think it's important to be transparent, genuine, and authentic. We think it helps the game when people know they're betting into an even playing field with no drugs, so we're a big sponsor of hay, oats, and water. We think that if we're going to sponsor it then we need to walk the walk and talk the talk. I guess for the last 10 years our horses have run with no drugs, no Lasix, no injections and that's the way we're going to keep doing it.

TDN: Did you ever feel that running without the benefit of Lasix put Runhappy or any of your other horses at a disadvantage over the competition?

JM: I felt like it put him at an advantage because he wasn't losing all that water weight like so many horses do and he could run back quicker and wasn't as exhausted and dehydrated after the race. I know that the human athletes, they drink water all the time through the competition and our equine athletes do the same. So, I think it put him at an advantage, not a disadvantage. I am a contrarian.

TDN: With or without the Lasix factor that we have already discussed, his offspring are sure to be well received at the sales. Might the fact that he accomplished so much without racing on medication make people even more eager to buy his offspring?

JM: That's what we're hoping, but it's certainly for the market to decide. We're hoping that he will not only appeal to horsemen in the United States, but also in Europe and Asia and South America because of his no-Lasix, no-drugs background. We'll wait and see, but Runhappy has every chance to be a good sire and I'm told he has some outstanding weanlings that are going to sell at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland, so we're looking forward to that, and then looking forward to his yearlings next year in September at Keeneland in August and Fasig Tipton.

TDN: What are you expecting from his foals?

JM: We're hoping he'll be like Bold Ruler, that he can get a great sprinter, and also horses that can go a distance. He's in Bold Ruler and Secretariat and Easy Goer's stall at Claiborne. Hopefully, he'll have some of their traits. He was a champion at six furlongs. He won two Grade Is at seven furlongs. He certainly could've won a mile race. We probably could've trained him a little differently in his four-year-old career, but he had a great career. We're looking forward to Runhappy dominating on the racetrack and in the breeding shed. So far, so good. He's been very potent in his breeding career and Bernie Sams and Walker Hancock and everybody at Claiborne like him, so the table's set. Now he's got to go out there and play the game.

TDN: You seem to keep a lower profile now than you did when you started in the sport. We don't hear much from you. Are you indeed keeping a lower profile? If so, why is that the case?

JM: I'm just working harder with the furniture business so I can afford to buy more horses. The problem with horseracing is once you get addicted it's worse than an addictive drug. My wife doesn't much like it, but my sister Laura and her husband Kelly, they love it. They're the horse trainers. My daughter Laura loves it. We are in search of another Runhappy, and let me tell you what, that's expensive. That'll make you want to get up and go to work in the morning.

TDN: You've also been quieter at the sales than you were in the past. We don't see you shopping in the $700,000-$800,000 neighborhood anymore. Why is that? You shop more in the middle market. You're shopping at Ikea, not at Gallery Furniture when it comes to horses. Why the change in that strategy?

JM: I think we're shopping at Gallery Furniture. We're shopping for quality, but we're also shopping for a really good value that's made in America. Runhappy was a great horse and we bought him for $200,000. We look to buy from $200,000 to $300,000 down to $60,000. If Laura finds a horse that she thinks is an athlete, we buy it and we see how it turns out. As you know, one out of 5,000 horses is the one that gets the money back. It's a tough game, but we're continually looking to find that one out of 5,000 who can run like Runhappy.

TDN: You made national news when you opened your furniture stores in the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey and gave shelter to so many people who were affected by the storm. A lot of people would have just looked the other way. Why did you choose to do what you did?

JM: Winston Churchill once said what type of people do they think we are? We're Texans, we're Americans. We take care of each other. The people were calling the store saying, `come get us, we're going to drown.' So, we dispatched our trucks through the high water, picked them up, and brought them in. We brought in about 500 people to both stores and housed them and fed them for three or four days. Hurricane Harvey was the worst of times for southeast Texas, also the best of times because it brought us all together across all political and economical spectrums. Whether you are right wing or left wing, rich or poor, we all helped each other. That's what I was taught to do as a child and I hope to continue to do that and leave a legacy to my children and grandchildren that the essence of living is giving.