One of the biggest spectacles in all of sports is happening Saturday. It’s the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby and one West Hartford businessman hopes to be the winning owner, or at least one of them.
Mike Gualtieri is a minority owner of the horse, Confidence Game. It is one of the 20 horses this weekend that will be running for the roses.
Confidence Game is not your typical racehorse. He’s owned by a group of 30 people, including Gualtieri, who pooled their money to go racing.
“This was kind of a small close-knit group of friends that did it,” Gualtieri said. “None of us wanted to be individual thoroughbred owners.”
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It was at a business conference in New Orleans where, after a little socializing in the French Quarter, this group decided to take a gamble. Colleague Kirk Godby, from Texas, floated the idea of forming a stable. They agreed, and formed, “Don’t Tell My Wife Stables.”
The name was inspired by Gualtieri, on a conference call about the venture.
“We’d end the call, and he would say, ‘geez whatever you do, don’t tell my wife, she’s going to freaking kill me,'” Godby said.
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That was 2010. By now, the secret is out.
“She knows,” Gualtieri said with a laugh. “She’s coming with me on Thursday.”
The investment, though, is not what you may think. In 2010, each owner paid just $800 each for their first horse, Alcazar. Years later, the modest investments continued.
Confidence Game was purchased at a public auction for just $25,000. A steal, according to one of the sport’s top announcers.
“Twenty five thousand dollars is still a lot of money but compare that to the fact that one of the favorites in the Derby was purchased for $1.3 million,” said Keeneland Racecourse Announcer Kurt Becker.
After winning February’s “Rebel Stakes” at Oaklawn, Gualtieri is looking forward to the Kentucky Derby.
“I think he can win the horse race. I really do,” he said.
Saturday’s race marks a second chance for Gualtieri. In 2018, a horse he co-owned, My Boy Jack, finished fifth. This time around though, he and one of his 29 partners feel even better.
“I just have more of a sense of confidence in how well he’s going to run,” said Godby.
And the owners aren’t alone. Despite facing 20-1 odds, Confidence Game has the attention of Becker.
“He’s dangerous in the sense that if you leave him off your wagering ticket, you might regret it later. Because he is a legitimate contender for this race,” he said.
