Pegasus Playbook – Dean Reeves

Courtesy Gulfstream Park

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, a private racing stable owned by Dean and Patti Reeves of Atlanta, GA., is one of a dozen stakeholders in the $12-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the world's richest horse race to be run Saturday, Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

The Reeveses, who formed their stable in 2009 with trainer Kathy Ritvo and campaigned 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man, are currently searching for a horse to contest the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus.

Dean Reeves shares his thoughts on the process of acquiring a participant for the Pegasus World Cup as well as participating in this unique event.

This past weekend horse racing provided some new contenders to get into the mix for the Inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup in January. Things are getting really exciting now. With horses to consider like Connect and Midnight Storm, and you add Gun Runner and his abilities, it's made us recreate our Top 10 list. We've dropped some horses, added other horses, and reworked where we think those horses would fit in the race. I think it's interesting that we've added some really nice horses to compete. And I'm excited to say that we are engaging in conversations with a handful of owners.

It's obvious now what the challenges ahead are going to be. Based on the purse and the money you spend to enter, finishing third is really going to be the break-even point. If you can't get a horse that has the potential to either win, place, or show, you're looking at losing some money. So this is not for the faint of heart.

So in that sense it's like a Chess game. There are a lot of different opinions on who is going to be the best horses to get. Certainly, everyone wants to have Arrogate, but you have to look at how other horses stack up also. I think they're all pretty close in their abilities as far as where they fit. So there is a chess match going on. You want to get the best deal you can, but you don't want to be left at the altar either. And since this is horse racing, anything can happen!

I think everyone is working hard at this point. Owners are getting a lot of calls. Right now, I'd say there are probably eight or nine slot owners who are trying to do a deal based on four or five horses. So it's kind of like musical chairs. When the music stops somebody is going to be standing there without a real contender. Fingers crossed we're in the right position.

Our team meets regularly to discuss our progress. We've had conversations about the possibility of purchasing an entrant horse outright; as well as purchasing just part of a horse; and even about just selling our position. It's about the risk each individual slot owner and horse owner wants to take. If a horse owner thinks he has a shot at possibly winning this thing, he may be more apt to buy the slot. If he wants to play it safe, maybe he waits or sells a piece of his horse, and the risk is divvied up between the slot owner and the horse owner.

There are still several weeks of negotiations that lie ahead for us all. I think this week, at least what I've heard, most slot owners have at least made contact with those folks with an available horse. So they've at least acknowledged, “Hey – I own a slot, you have a horse we're interested in, we'd like to let you know we're interested in a conversation.”

The next few weeks will uncover what lies ahead. It is certainly an exciting journey, and I'm still very optimistic and thrilled to be a part of this experience! Stay tuned for more.