Rec Sports

How horse racing at the Kentucky Derby is being taken over by fans

How to read a horse racing form at the Kentucky Derby Kirby Adams visits with Churchill Downs’ Kevin Kerstein to find out the basics of reading a racing form. Shared horse ownership models are making thoroughbred racing accessible to those outside of the traditionally wealthy ownership sphere. Partnerships and LLCs allow groups to pool resources, […]

Published

4 weeks ago

April 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Shared horse ownership models are making thoroughbred racing accessible to those outside of the traditionally wealthy ownership sphere.
Partnerships and LLCs allow groups to pool resources, sharing the costs and potential profits of owning and racing horses.
This trend has contributed to a new class of horse owner, from retired teachers and Ford workers to doctors and lawyers.

A retired JCPS teacher, a Ford worker, a youth sports coach, some UPS employees, and a few doctors and lawyers, along with roughly 30 others, beamed from the winner’s circle at Keeneland in early April.

Bourbon Breeze had charged late down the stretch at Keeneland on April 10 to pull off her first victory of the 2025 spring racing season.

The ragamuffin crew cheering and beaming from the winner’s circle in Lexington hadn’t just bet on the filly to win the race. They were all the racehorse’s owner, and this win meant they got a piece of the purse.

“Awesome day for Motley Crew Stables,” Mick Motley, co-founder of Motley Crew Stables and co-owner of Bourbon Breeze, said in a text message after the win.

Motley, a retired JCPS teacher, is no newcomer to the horse racing world. For nearly three decades, he’s actively owned and raced horses with a slew of friends and family in a space usually reserved for the rich and the blue bloods of the thoroughbred world.

“We’ve found a way to survive for 30 years, and nobody’s ever lost a whole lot of money, and certainly nobody’s ever made a whole lot of money, but we have experienced all the highs and lows like any other owner,” Motley told The Courier Journal.

Motley and his crew, a registered LLC, aren’t alone.

Since the 1990s, horse racing, dubbed the “Sport of Kings,” has evolved through various ownership methods that allow everyday people to more easily participate in the sport. No longer do you need to have a ton of money to own part of a thoroughbred. Instead, people can join models such as a partner LLC, like Motley Crew Stables, that allows groups of people to buy in and then share profits from a winning horse, or a partnership, a company that purchases and manages racehorses for a group of individuals who share the costs and profits of the horse.

With the growth of partnerships, a new class of horse owner has emerged over the past 15 years or so. This “alternative” method to ownership means no one individual is saddled with the thousands, or millions, of dollars it can cost to buy, train and race a thoroughbred.

“It’s really a sharing of the risk, and it’s a sharing of the upside,” said Terry Finley, CEO and president of West Point Thoroughbreds, a horse racing partnership that helps clients become thoroughbred owners.

“The world of racing, it’s such a fascinating world,” Finley added. “You’ve got kings, you’ve got CEOs, you’ve got movie stars, you’ve got athletes, you’ve got billionaires, you’ve got people who own pizza shops and bars and teachers. It just runs across the across the spectrum.”

And high-level success is not unfathomable for people who get into the horse racing world through a partnership or other shared ownership ventures.

In 2024, Motley Crew Stables won a race at Churchill Downs Racetrack during Wednesday of Kentucky Derby Week. After winning on a prominent race day, the excitement from the group of owners was palpable as they overflowed the winner’s circle, forcing Churchill Downs officials to corral them on the track for their victory photo.

In 2022, West Point Thoroughbreds’ clients were owners of Flightline, who won the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.

This year, Finley and team are hoping to replicate that success with Sandman, who won the Arkansas Derby on March 29 and punched his ticket for the Kentucky Derby, held this year on May 3.

“It feels like anybody can get in now … I think myself and anybody else in our group, we’re living proof that you can get into the horse racing business,” Motley said.

‘It’s a journey’

Historically, owning a racehorse would be a daunting endeavor for the roughly 500 active clients at West Point Thoroughbreds, but the partnership model has made the sport feel accessible for the people who share ownership of some 145 racehorses.

“It’s very similar to other investments and other structures outside of racing; you’re much more powerful when you get a group together and you can pool your resources,” Finley said. “That’s really at the heart of partnerships, the ability to pool your resources to increase your chances to get the one, or hopefully more than one, horse that makes it all worthwhile.”

In 1996, Motley Crew Stables started with roughly 30 co-owners and $30,000, half of which was used to claim the group’s first horse, Phony Prospect.

Motley said he likes to keep his group to no more than 40 partners at a time and always wants to keep positive cash reserves from share buy-ins and horse winnings, so members aren’t expected to have regular payments for the horse. Anytime the horse wins purse money, it rolls into the group’s operating budget.

“It’s very accessible, and once you find that out, you still get the same thrills as those guys running … on Derby Day,” Motley said.

Tim Sanders, a worker at Ford and a semi-recent addition to the crew in the last seven years, has put in no more than $4,000 since joining.

For him, like many others, horse racing is an investment, not a “get rich quick” opportunity, and something he hopes to remain part of for a long time.

“It’s not a sprint, it’s a journey,” Sanders said. “You’ve got to be in it for the long haul to be able to enjoy the fruits of the labor.”

And the “long haul” may be key for a sport that has seen gradual decline in attendance and on-site gambling from fans as new forms of sports gambling have popped up across the country.

“I just shudder to think what our sport would be without partnerships … I think our industry probably would be in tatters without partnerships,” Finley said.

Sanders and Motley’s love and passion for horse racing began on the backside of Churchill Downs Racetrack.

As teenagers, both spent time around Angel Montano Sr., one of the winningest trainers in Kentucky in the 1970s. Sanders grew up across the street from the track, and Motley would walk and groom the horses. That access introduced the men to the unbridled spirit for which Kentucky horse racing is known and created a life-long fixation.

As they got older, their love for horses, and the sport of racing, never faded. Motley would go on to co-found Motley Crew Stables in 1996 and Sanders would join another horse ownership group before making his way to Motley’s team about seven years ago.

“It changes lives,” Finley said of horse racing. “It captivates people. It gives them a whole new world to jump into and to explore.”

‘The sport of little paupers’

For some, like Gene Palka, going into horse racing wasn’t a lifelong affair.

After he retired from the U.S. Army and moved back to Kentucky with his wife, Cindy, they bought three pleasure horses within three months, then decided the next step was to go in on a racehorse.

“When we came to Kentucky, it was nice, but there was something missing,” Cindy Palka said. “And then once we did invest in that first one and you do OK, you’re like, ‘I really like this.'”

One investment of about $10,000 into a horse 15 years ago was all it took for the Palkas to be hooked. Now, they spend their retirement traveling to racetracks around the country to watch their horses, even making a showing at the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs Racetrack in 2018.

“We are not kings and queens, but we can be among them, and the horses have been our pathways into these incredible venues,” Gene Palka said.

As they watched their newest horse, Ivory and Ebony, barrel down the track at Keeneland on April 7 during its rescheduled opening day, the Palkas couldn’t help but gawk at their pretty filly, who placed second in the fifth race.

“You have euphoria,” Cindy Palka said after the race.

But it’s not all joy. The Palkas have dealt with everything, from serious injuries of their horses to a win at Laurel Park in Maryland, after which they watched the same horse be handed over to a new owner who bought it just before the race started.

Through it all, the sheer pleasure of horse racing ownership and the community they’ve found along the racing circuit has kept them in the sport.

“We’ve had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Gene Palka said.

The highs and lows of the sport, Sanders, with Motley Crew Stables said, hit the same whether you’re the ruler of Dubai or a Louisville born and bred blue-collar worker.

With the pinnacle of horse racing just around the corner, Motley, Finley, Sanders and the Palkas gear up to spend long days at the track, in the paddock, lingering on the backside and enjoying the world of horse racing.

“It’s not just the sport of kings; it’s the sport of little paupers like us,” Motley said.

Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_.

This story was updated to add a video.

Rec Sports

Column: recording memories and making relationships | Sports

With the end of the school year also comes the end of the competition season for the year 2024-25. The last two months since becoming the Sports Editor for the Times-Journal have flown by for me. Spring is a hectic time in the world of sports. You have so many sports happening at the same […]

Published

16 minutes ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Since March 17th my job has been to cover sports in DeKalb County and I can tell you that this has been the most fun and this is the most rewarding job that I have ever had. You don’t cover sports as a job but you record memories for kids and their families that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. As I sat here in my office, I looked at the sports page from the September 10, 2006, weekend edition of what is now the Jackson County Sentinel where a photo was taken of me pouring water on my head coach Freddie Tidmore after we defeated Arab. Things like that make this job fun, having the opportunity to capture a moment for kids now that will last a lifetime.

Another aspect of this job is the people you meet and the relationships you make. In the last two months, I’ve met people from every community in DeKalb County and made relationships that will last a lifetime. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from parents and coaches about how excited they are to see someone covering sports in DeKalb County like it should be covered. Every sport, every school, and every athlete should be covered by the Times-Journal, DeKalb County’s oldest enterprise.

The job so far has been full of outstanding stories in just a short period of time. The state championship run of the Collinsville Panther soccer team, Fort Payne’s run in the baseball playoffs, and the soccer match of the year in my opinion. The match between two rivals Collinsville and Crossville that went to double overtime and needed penalty kicks was outstanding to see.

When I took this job there were certain things and people that I looked forward to covering. And two of the coaches that I was looking forward to the most stepped down my first seven days on the job. First, Glen Hicks at Sylvania and most surprisingly, Robi Coker at Fort Payne.

As spring has ended and school is now out for summer. I turn to cover summer play dates that begin in two weeks for our county basketball teams and then all eyes will begin to focus on the date August 21. That is the Thursday of week zero and the first DeKalb County football game of the season. Geraldine will host Sardis and Fyffe will travel to Montgomery to take on Maplesville. I can’t wait.

Football season this fall will be new to me. I will cover games for the first time as a writer and will also be on the airwaves with the Friday Night Football Blitz for the second year. I look forward to recording special moments and telling stories for our country.

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Rec Sports

More than a game: youth basketball program thrives in Santa Ana

With decades of history and a growing partnership with the LA Clippers, Santa Ana’s youth basketball program continues to bea pillar of the community—offering quality coaching, character development, and unforgettable experiences to hundreds of young athletes each season. The City of Santa Ana’s Boys Basketball Program, active since the early 1980s, serves nearly 500 youth […]

Published

40 minutes ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

With decades of history and a growing partnership with the LA Clippers, Santa Ana’s youth basketball program continues to be
a pillar of the community—offering quality coaching, character development, and unforgettable experiences to hundreds of young athletes each season.

The City of Santa Ana’s Boys Basketball Program, active since the early 1980s, serves nearly 500 youth ages 3–14 each year. Designed to be both accessible and impactful, the league provides a supportive environment where players develop basketball
fundamentals and life skills that extend far beyond the court.

“Basketball brings me peace” shared participant Hugo Garcia, who attended his first NBA game this year thanks to the program.

The program expanded in 2008 to include Jr. Mighty Mite and Mighty Mite divisions for children as young as three years old. In 2015, the Boys Basketball Program was revamped and modernized into the one that exists today with an active Jr. Clippers division thanks to a partnership with the LA Clippers. In 2019, the Santa Ana program was even named a Jr. NBA Program
of the Year finalist. In recent years, the partnership has expanded and now provides uniforms, clinics, camps, and game tickets for
participants.

With the LA Clippers set to return as an annual Title-Level Partners at the upcoming Fiestas Patrias 2025, Santa Ana’s basketball program continues to build community, grow champions, and create lifelong memories for its youth.

2025 Season Highlights

The program emphasizes affordability and inclusivity while fostering a love of the game. Younger divisions focus on fun and
teamwork without scorekeeping, while upper divisions—C, B, and A (Grades 3–8)—compete in a 10-week season that culminates
in playoffs and championship games during the season’s closing ceremonies. Division winners go on to represent Santa Ana in the
Orange County Municipal Athletics Federation Tournament.

2025 Division Champions:

Division C: Team Bulldogs, coached by Fred Olmos
Division B: Team Trojans, coached by Sam Macias
Division A: Team Wildcats, coached by Mark Mondragon

Each player received a jersey, shorts, and trophy. This season, the partnership focused on a larger community impact beyond
just the youth basketball program. The Clippers hosted 3-on-3 tournaments, giveaways, fan experiences, and attended multiple
city-wide events. 40 program participants attended an NBA game at the new Intuit Dome. The LA Clippers even extended
discounted ticket offers for additional Santa Ana residents to attend the NBA game as well. Over 200 Santa Ana residents cheered on the Clippers against the Dallas Mavericks on April 5, 2025!

At the annual All-Star Day in February, held at Godinez High School, the Clippers set up a community photo booth and
more than 140 youth took part in a Jr. NBA Skills Challenge. The event also featured team photos and exciting matchups for each
division.

Additional Program Highlights This Season Included:
• A motivational talk from Police Chief Robert Rodriguez about responsibility and teamwork.
• A Sportsmanship Award, with 13 skateboards donated by Suavecito and presented to players chosen by their coaches for positivity, hard work, and dedication.
• The fan-favorite Coaches vs. Staff Game, a fun, music-filled event at Jerome Center celebrating volunteers with friendly competition and community spirit.

The heart of the program lies in its volunteer coaches—many of whom are former players who’ve returned to give back.

“The youth sports program let me become the coach I never had,” said Coach Andres Morales, who has been involved for 23 years and currently coaches six teams across the boys’ and girls’ leagues.

“What’s taught on the court—trust, respect, loyalty, commitment, communication—can be used in life.”

To support these coaches, the City provides background checks and training to ensure a safe, encouraging environment for all youth.

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Rec Sports

Burke receives Twins grant to help with youth baseball, softball field renovations – Mitchell Republic

BURKE, S.D. — The youth baseball and softball fields in Burke are receiving a significant, and much-needed facelift, thanks in large part to a $15,000 matching grant from the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. Burke received the grant from the Twins’ Fields for Kids program. According to the Twins, “The program makes matching grants for renovation […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Burke received the grant from the Twins’ Fields for Kids program. According to the Twins, “The program makes matching grants for renovation projects that will make community ballfields safer, more accessible, and a better home for youth baseball and softball teams to play on.”

Before receiving the matching grant, Burke had to raise $15,000 on its own, with renovations aimed at building new dugouts, building new fencing and doing concrete work for the dugouts.

Amber Horn, in charge of economic development for Burke, said discussions for renovations began in early 2024 and work started after the summer play ended in 2024. She said renovations needed to happen because of the age of the diamonds and said the Twins grant was a way to help with the project.

“We had not done anything at our baseball and softball fields since the 1980s,” Horn said. “It was a needed project. I was going through a list of grants, and that one popped out to me because we had the capability of doing it.”

Horn said that since the ballfields were built, little work has been done to modernize the facilities. While smaller projects have aimed to improve limited aspects of the diamonds, no large undertaking was done before this round of new renovations.

Initially, the original plan was to renovate the dugouts and fencing, but then it became clear that new concrete pads needed to be poured for the dugouts. To help raise some of the funds for the renovations, Burke came up with a plan to get the community directly involved with the project.

The new dugouts feature a block facade and members of the community had the option to become a permanent part of the dugout.

Dugout bricks.jpg — The back of the new Burke youth baseball and softball dugouts shows engraved bricks purchased by community members to help with renovation costs.

“We got engraved brick that we installed on the back of the dugouts so community members could purchase a brick for a set cost that was then installed on the dugout,” Horn said. “So we have a really nice memorial or (tribute) on the back of all four of our dugouts.”

Horn said former school classes, families, past players and other community members have purchased bricks. Renovations are also almost complete, with new roofs currently being installed on the new dugouts.

The projects are part of a renewed effort to improve access to baseball and softball in the town of about 600 residents in Gregory County. Horn said she hopes these new renovations will encourage more youth to get involved with baseball and softball in Burke.

“We’re hoping to continue that on into the older ages. We’re very lucky that last year, our amateur team started back up again,” Horn said. “We’ve not had an amateur team in town for quite a few years, so we’re just trying to continue the life that we have down in those fields, because it is a true joy to have in the city. And it’s always fun to have something going down at the field pretty much every day in the summer.”

Nathan Swaffar is a sports reporter for the Mitchell Republic. He joined the Mitchell Republic in July 2024 after graduating from the University of Kansas in May of 2024 with a degree in journalism and a minor in history. He covers a variety of prep and collegiate sports throughout South Dakota including USD Football.

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Rec Sports

Register Kids for Swim Lessons at MHS Pool

Aquatic and Youth Sports Director Deb Mortonson, from the Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA, announces once-a-week, Youth Swim Lessons will be offered in June and July, at Morrison High School, 643 Genesee Avenue, Morrison, IL. Call today to register. The fees are $27 for YMCA members and $47 for nonmembers. Contact Mortonson at 815-535-9622 or […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Contact Mortonson at 815-535-9622 or email dmortonson@srfymca.org.

Dates are Tuesdays, June 3, through June 24; Tuesdays, July 1, through July 29, 2025.

Pre-K Swim Lessons will be held from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m.

School Age Swim Lessons will be held from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m.

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Rec Sports

Bruce Raymond Beaney | News, Sports, Jobs

Bruce Raymond Beaney of Peconic died on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Riverhead, New York, in the presence of his loving family. He was 80 years old. Bruce was born in Lake Placid on Nov. 19, 1944, the oldest child of William and Loretta Beaney. Bruce was a graduate of Lake Placid High School where […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Bruce Raymond Beaney of Peconic died on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Riverhead, New York, in the presence of his loving family. He was 80 years old.

Bruce was born in Lake Placid on Nov. 19, 1944, the oldest child of William and Loretta Beaney. Bruce was a graduate of Lake Placid High School where he starred in both hockey and baseball.

After high school, Bruce attended Norwich University in Northfield Vermont where he majored in business administration and became a legendary defenseman on several championship Norwich Hockey teams. For his many accomplishments, the Norwich Athletic Department later inducted him into their hall of fame three different times — once as an individual and two times as a member of different championship teams. Many of his teammates were his close lifelong friends. It was during his college years that Bruce met the love of his life, Barbara (Froehlich) who would later become his wife.

After college, Bruce taught for several years as a math teacher at Lyndon Institute in Lyndon Vermont. Eventually, Bruce and Barbara moved to Brookville, Long Island, where Bruce coached hockey, sold real estate and took over operations of the home farm of the Froehlich Standardbred horse racing team, Farmstead Acres.

Bruce and Barbara raised two daughters, Kim and Kristin (Nikki). Bruce took great joy in attending all their sporting events no matter how far away.

Bruce and Barbara eventually moved to Peconic to live on the beach. Bruce loved to host his children and grandchildren at the beach for birthdays, fourth of July and other holidays. “Poppi” loved to cook on the grill, watch the kids play in the water and take them out to breakfast.

Bruce is survived by his wife Barbara, his daughters Kim Rowe (Gary) of Brookville, and Kristin “Nikki” Chisum (Jamie) of Wayland, Massachusetts. He is also survived by his brother Bill Beaney (Judy) of Lake Placid, his sister Cathy Barkin (Ken) of Portland, Oregon, and Jeff Beaney (Anne) of Scarborough, Maine. He leaves behind his grandchildren Kyler and Teegan Rowe, Grete, Luke and Hadley Chisum, as well as many cherished nephews, nieces, and grand nephews and grand-nieces.

The family has made the final arrangements private. If desired, friends can make memorial contributions to the Lake Placid Youth Athletic Association (https://www.lpyaa.org/) or Acadia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Riverhead, (https://www.acadiacenter.com/)

DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold is serving the family.

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Rec Sports

LA Galaxy Defender Maya Yoshida Participates in Fireside Chat To Inspire Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Youth About Careers in Sports

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / May 22, 2025 / AEG’s LA Galaxy, hosted a fireside chat with team Defender and former captain of the Japanese National Team, Maya Yoshida, designed to inspire local Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth about career paths with the sports industry. The event was held at […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / May 22, 2025 / AEG’s LA Galaxy, hosted a fireside chat with team Defender and former captain of the Japanese National Team, Maya Yoshida, designed to inspire local Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth about career paths with the sports industry.

The event was held at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, on May 1, 2025 in collaboration with the Little Tokyo Service Center and Terasaki Budokan, as part of API Desi Heritage Month.

The discussion centered on the role that cultural identity plays in shaping careers and personal journeys, particularly within the high-performance world of Major League Soccer.

Yoshida, who joined the Galaxy in 2023, shared insights into his experience representing Japan on the international stage, navigating cultural expectations, and the importance of representation for young athletes of AANHPI descent.

“This event is about creating a space where AANHPI youth can see themselves reflected in sports-on the field and behind the scenes,” said Yoshida. “I and the LA Galaxy are proud to honor and uplift my community by sharing these stories.”

Following the fireside chat, attendees participated in a dynamic soccer clinic at Galaxy Park in Carson, CA, where they had the opportunity to train with Galaxy coaches and play alongside their peers.

The event is part of the LA Galaxy’s ongoing commitment to celebrating the diverse communities that make up the fabric of Southern California, and to providing meaningful opportunities for youth engagement, cultural appreciation, and community building.

For more information about LA Galaxy’s community initiatives, visit www.lagalaxy.com/community.

AEG’s LA Galaxy, hosted a fireside chat with team Defender and former captain of the Japanese National Team, Maya Yoshida.