Thirtysevenliveson, Again

Louisville takes center stage this week ahead of the GI Kentucky Derby, but about an hour away is a case study in the unpredictably of the sport and the importance of life after racing. Currently residing at New Vocations at Mereworth Farm in Lexington is Thirtysevenliveson, a horse who in his day had all the qualifications and connections to be a Derby contender.

While one of Thirtysevenliveson's half-brothers actually won the Derby and another finished third, soon this perfectly pedigreed and sentimentally named steed will be adopted out through the rehoming program to someone looking for a pleasant trail riding horse, even though he himself got his early lessons alongside a future Triple Crown winner.

The reality is, even if a horse is perfect on a paper, finding the winner's circle at all, much less the heralded one at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, requires beating the odds.

“We are dealing with a numbers game,” said Anna Ford, the Thoroughbred program director for New Vocations. “There is only one Derby winner a year out of 20,000-30,000 foals. That leaves a lot of other horses. There are plenty that go on to win other major races and go on to the breeding shed, but there are a lot of horses that need aftercare services. Most of them are not well known, in fact the majority of them aren't. It's unusual that you can adopt the brother of a Derby winner.”

Although Thirtysevenliveson's uninspiring racing career makes him the rule rather than the exception, his story–which began several years before he was even born–still makes him unique.

Countless hours are dedicated every year to solving the Rubik's Cube that is betting the Kentucky Derby, but sometimes it is for naught. Such was the case when Mine That Bird (Birdstone) romped to victory in the 2009 edition of the Run for the Roses at odds of 50-1. Finishing almost seven lengths behind him in second was Ahmed Zayat's highly-touted Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker).

Although Mine That Bird, a bay gelding who was both small and plain, had stunned the majority of the 153,563 people in attendance that Derby day, he had been the champion juvenile in Canada the year before and also went on to run second behind future Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Preakness Stakes as well as third in the GI Belmont S.

His dam also proved she wasn't a one hit wonder. Mining My Own (Smart Strike) produced a flashy chestnut colt by Even the Score the year Mine That Bird made headlines during the Triple Crown. Named Dullahan, he would go on to be a multiple Grade I winner in his own right and finished third in the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

Meanwhile, in 2013, a colt being offered at the Keeneland September yearling sale caught the eye of Zayat and his team. Hip 216 was by Giant's Causeway and out of Mining My Own–in other words, he was a half-brother to Mine That Bird and Dullahan. A large chestnut with lots of chrome, he looked more like the second of his famous siblings.

The Zayats bought him for $675,000, and he got his early lessons with none other than American Pharoah–the Zayat homebred by Pioneerof the Nile who would finally end the Triple Crown drought in 2015.

“He was always a special horse,” said Justin Zayat, Ahmed's son and the racing and stallion manager for Zayat Stables. “He was actually training on the farm with American Pharoah, and he was one of the leaders. American Pharoah was the king, but he was the runner up, along with Mr. Z (Malibu Moon) and El Kabeir (Scat Daddy). He was very highly touted.

Around the time the 2012 Mining My Own colt needed a name, Ahmed Zayat had made an unlikely friendship with Nick Modico, who loved horse racing and had been the captain–and No. 37–on John F. Kennedy Catholic High School's 2008 state champion baseball team. Modico also had Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

“He used to send my dad these messages on Twitter, and long story short my dad ended up answering him and they made a connection,” said Zayat. “He was battling cancer at the time, and my dad offered to fly him to the Breeders' Cup that year but he couldn't because of his health.

“So, my dad let him name one of the best horses in that crop. He came up with that name, and it gave me goosebumps. He loved the sport, and we wanted to honor him and give him a boost by having a horse to name and follow.”

When it was time for Thirtysevenliveson to go to the racetrack, the Zayats initially chose Dale Romans as his trainer. He was ready to debut in September of his 2-year-old year, but it still came too late in one regard. Nick Modico had died that spring, and never got to see his horse run.

“We sent Thirtysevenliveson to Dale because he had trained Dullahan, and Dale's dream has always been to win those roses,” said Zayat. “We thought it would be a good match for him. When the horse made his debut at Churchill Downs, it was special. Dale had customized baseball jerseys with the number 37 and Nick's last name on the back, and a bunch of people were wearing them in the paddock. I remember seeing people crying. It was so sad that he had passed away, but his namesake was running.”

Unfortunately, as the statistics show, at the racetrack Thirtysevenliveson was never able to show off the talent he had shown at the farm. His best finish was a second place effort in his third career start. Overall, he hit the board twice in eight starts and was retired with $21,910 in earnings.

“It turned out the horse had some physical issues, a bunch of ankle issues, over the years,” said Zayat. “His last trainer before we sent him to New Vocations was Bill Mott because we thought turf might better for him. We paid a lot of money for him, and he was a beautiful physical, but it just turns out being a racehorse wasn't in his best interest. So, we did what was right for him.”

Thirtysevenliveson arrived at New Vocations last August. After being gelded, he was given the winter off to acclimate to his new life.

“Not all of them get a few months off, but he in particular had some wear and tear from racing that just needed to calm down for a few months,” said Melissa King, the facility manager and trainer at New Vocations. “He is a big, lean horse to begin with, and they tend to deflate after they are gelded, so it just took him a little longer to pick up weight and settle into life off the track.

“He can be a little silly in the field because he is more of a dominant horse. I tend to take the excessively dominant ones and give them a more dominant friend and let them sort it out. That has helped pushed him down a peg.”

Now a 6-year-old, Thirtysevenliveson recently began his retraining, and he instantly showed his worth to those at New Vocations with his willing nature.

“I was really impressed with him under saddle,” said King. “He didn't do anything wrong. He hadn't been sat on in eight months, and he went right out there in our arena, which can be a little scary to some horses because of the flowers and other things all around, and he didn't look at anything. I think he will probably make a really good trail horse. I don't foresee him being one that is very reactive or spooky, which is very good.

“Thankfully, he has the mind for trail riding because when their legs say trail riding only and their mind says, 'I am a superstar,' it can get difficult to find a home that appreciates those superstar tendencies.”

Other things that work in Thirtysevenliveson's favor besides his mind include the fact he is big enough for both men and women to ride and is in general a lower maintenance kind of horse.

“It's nice that he is so big,” said King. “He's a good-sized horse and would make a good guy horse. We have a lot of midsized horses, and guys are usually too big for them. Even without his famous brothers, being big takes you far. He has pretty decent feet, and other than just needing a ton of food, he's a decently easy keeper.”

Those at New Vocations estimate that Thirtysevenliveson will be available for adoption between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and as with all of their horses, they will work to find him the perfect match.

“We have had Derby runners before go through the program, but we have never had a sibling to an actual winner, and it's pretty cool,” said Ford. “We are excited to see what special person gets this special horse.”

Regardless of who that turns out to be, the Zayats, who have been longtime supporters of the program, are confident that they have done the right thing for their horse.

“We have a great relationship with New Vocations,” said Zayat. “This is not our first time sending a really special horse to them–in fact they had one of our first horses that ever ran in the Kentucky Derby, Z Fortune. They do an outstanding job and the horses have a great career after, so it was a no-brainer. We need more places like that because it is important to support horses at the end of their careers.

“At the end of the day, the horses make this entire sport. Without them, none of us would be doing any of this, so we always have to take care of them. Nick's mom will still message us asking about how the Thirtysevenliveson is doing. He deserves a really good home where people are going to love him, take care of him, and have fun with him. For Thirtysevenliveson, we pray he has a good home, and going through New Vocations, we are 100% sure that he will.”