Jim McIngvale

Owner Lee Searing, who, along with his wife, Susan, has had a lot of good horses and won a lot of big races, but never has he experienced anything close to the two days he had last week. On Friday at Churchill Downs, C R K unveiled a serious 2-year-old in 'TDN Rising Star' Englishman (Maxfield) and the next day the Searings won the GI Pennsylvania Derby with Baeza (McKinzie), a horse they own in partnership with Robert Clay's Grandview Equine. To talk about both horses, Baeza finally winning a...

Racing has a serious integrity problem, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale believes, and that is why he has pulled the plug and is leaving the game entirely. The Blood-Horse was the first to report the story. "We couldn't compete with all the drugs and all the injections when we were running on just hay, oats and water," he said. "It was an uphill battle. Runhappy climbed that hill but the rest of them couldn't. I'm not going to damage my integrity by drugging them and injecting them. I do right by...

Even open heart surgery can't stop Jim (Mattress Mack) McIngvale from what he does best, sell furniture. On December 10, McIngvale, 73, had heart surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. Describing his condition, he told the TDN that he was in the early stages of congestive heart failure and his arterial valve was not opening and closing like it should. "So they went in and fixed the thing," he said Monday. "Thank God. The Good Lord is the infinite healer. Now I'm on the rebound. I've been here for six days...

The ninth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas June 24 to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) set a record of over $400,000, the organization said in a release Thursday. The previous record was $340,000 last year at Churchill Downs. To-date, the total raised by the group is $3.1 million, including the $110,000 accepted during the 2022 stallion season sale. "It is impossible to sufficiently thank all the staff who at the beginning promised to 'Vegas-Size' the event," said Jockeys and Jeans President Barry...

The ninth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will feature a live streamed speech from Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, the Jockeys and Jeans Person of the Year. The speech will be broadcast from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas this coming Saturday, June 24, at 8:30 p.m. PT/11:30 p.m. ET on the Jockeys and Jeans Facebook page. "Mattress Mack has always advocated for the safety of riders and horses and is one of very few who understands horse racing from the perspective of an owner,...

Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mack) made history when the Houston Astros won the World Series. He made bets that returned $75 million when they won, the largest win ever in the history of sports betting. The bets were tied into a promotion McIngvale has used many times at his Gallery Furniture Stores in Houston. If he wins the bet, his customers get free mattresses. He's great at getting publicity for himself and his stores, but never had he seen anything like what happened with this bet, the story of which became...

Kiaran McLaughlin will be presented with the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' Bill Mooney Award for displaying courage in the face of tremendous adversity. McLaughlin, long a leading trainer, has battled multiple sclerosis for more than two decades. "I'm incredibly honored to receive this award," said McLaughlin, who currently works as a jockey's agent for Luis Saez. McLaughlin joins four prior Mooney winners--the award's namesake who died after a long battle with cancer in 2017, retired jockey Joy Scott, retired jockey and owner Rene Douglas and horsewoman Martine Bellocq. "It's...

Thoroughbred owner and breeder Jim McIngvale will be honored along with Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston, broadcaster Chris Lincoln and turf writers Tom Pedulla and Mike Welsch during the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' 62nd annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Lexington. The NTWAB Awards Dinner is the organization's only fundraiser, and a portion of the proceeds of the event will fund Thoroughbred industry charities and internships for prospective racing journalists. The 2022 NTWAB Awards Dinner will be held at Malone's Prime in Lexington. McIngvale, widely known as...

Alex Bregman was 0-for-4 last Thursday night as the Houston Astros fell, 5-1, to the Texas Rangers, but the two-time All-Star will remember the day as one of the best he's ever enjoyed in sports. A few hours before the Astros took the field at Minute Maid Park, Bregman won his first-ever race as an owner with the first horse he had ever run. The feat was accomplished by Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy) in the first race at Churchill Downs, a five-furlong turf maiden for two-year-olds. "It felt like hitting...

Edited Press Release The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs stands to gain anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 based on the results of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby beneath the Twin Spires. In January, Brook Smith--a longtime supporter of the BLC--placed a $10,000 Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), pledging any winnings to the center. A Derby victory would be worth $114,000. Smith's wager was a friendly challenge to Texas-based businessman and famed sports bettor "Mattress Mack" Jim McIngvale's Future Wager bet for the same...

After placing a losing win bet of more than $2 million on Essential Quality (Tapit) in last year's GI Kentucky Derby, Jim "Mattress Mack" is coming back for more. McIngvale said that he is planning to bet between $3 million and $4 million this year on the race favorite. McIngvale has often linked huge bets on sporting events such as the World Series, the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl and the Derby to promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores in Houston. If the favorite wins the Derby, McIngvale will issue...

The fourth annual Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund TVG Telethon, held Apr. 10 and presented by Lane's End Farm, raised a record-breaking $383,945. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but it returned in 2021 to raise $339,672 in donations. Support came in from across the country including major contributions from Lane's End Farm; Lee, Aimee and Jeffrey Einsidler; Jim McIngvale; and John Hendrickson on behalf of the Marylou Whitney Foundation. TVG's parent company FanDuel matched all donations up to $100,000. This year was also the first time the...