Photo: Newscom
Officially, Shared Belief, the horse that has won 10 of 11 horses, is tied for first place in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse rankings, determined by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
Owned in partnership by Jim Rome’s Jungle Racing, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, George Todaro, KMN Racing, Alex Solis III, and Jason Litt, Shared Belief was purchased privately from his breeders, Martin and Pam Wygod, for an undisclosed price after his first race. He has earned more than $2.9 million.
Shared Belief will attempt to add to that bankroll on Saturday night, when he runs for the first time outside of California. On Wednesday, the horse shipped to West Virginia to run in the Charles Town Classic. The on-site casino at the track contributes a share of its revenue to the track’s purses, and since the Classic was created in 2009, its purse has risen steadily, hitting $1.5 million in 2013.
A small track with an unusual configuration—its circumference is six furlongs (three-quarters of a mile), so horses running in the nine-furlong (1 1/8 miles) Charles Town Classic will start on the backstretch and run around the track one and a half times, or three turns—something that Thoroughbreds pretty much never do, as most tracks are configured so that races includes no more than two turns, and many races are run at distances short enough so that horses go around only one.
Though on talent alone Shared Belief towers above a field that attracted eight rivals, that configuration, along with the cross-country ship, are wild cards as he tries to get his 11th win.
“It’s an unknown,” admitted trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who also owns an interest in Shared Belief. “But we have a very athletic horse that has a big turn of foot. We think he should be able to handle that and get the job done, or we wouldn’t come. I talked to [jockey] Mike Smith, and he was quite confident the horse would do well there. [Smith] has done well there, himself, so I tend to think he knows what he’s talking about.”
Two years ago, Hall of Famer Smith won the Charles Town Classic on Game On Dude, who was owned in part by Major League Baseball’s Joe Torre.
Dazzling from the beginning of his career in late 2013, the four-year-old Shared Belief was injured early last year and missed the Triple Crown season. Returning to the track last May, he continued to reel off victories until the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, when he was compromised at the start of the race when eventual winner Bayern veered left out of the starting gate. Shared Belief finished fourth, and Bayern was controversially not disqualified.
2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and Shared Belief came back in February to beat him by a length and a half, again raising questions about whether Thoroughbred racing might have had its first Triple Crown winner since 1978 had Shared Belief remained healthy last year.
California Chrome is currently in England, prepared to run later this spring at Royal Ascot, following a second-place finish in the $10 million Dubai World Cup last month.
The morning line favorite at 2-5, Shared Belief will likely go to the post on Saturday evening (post time of the Charles Town Classic: 6:05 ET) shorter-priced than that, and while the Classic itself may not be a good betting race—unless you think Shared Belief can be beat—attracting the country’s best horse is expected to be a financial boon to the West Virginia track. Its dining room is sold out, and Erich Zimny, vice president of racing operations, expects wagering handle on the day’s other races to be up because of higher attendance and the attention the track will get because of Shared Belief’s presence.
A small track that doesn’t usually get a lot of attention, Charles Town is about an hour’s drive from both Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Zimny said that he’s seen increased regional interest in this year’s race and that approximately 30 media outlets have requested credentials, far more than in past years.
“Shared Belief looks unstoppable,” he said, “and we don’t get too many opportunities like this in this region.”
