One of our Claim To Fame Racing Club partners, who has been in many racing partnerships over the years, texted me Monday morning:
“Have you come down off the high of yesterday?”
My simple response: Nope!
Anyone who tells you they don’t “get” horse racing has never been in the winner’s circle right after a horse they own just won a race. Our club had its second win overall, and first at our “home course,” Gulfstream Park, last Sunday, October 18. That followed a strong 3rd place finish by Swaggish, whose backstory I profiled here recently, and the 2nd place finish of Pioneer Prince for our crew last weekend.
Our growing, 4-horse stable has now placed in the money in 7 of our last 10 races (70%), and not finished worse than 5th in any of them. We’re working hard, plotting strategically, and having a lot of fun doing it. And as I told our partners in our club communication earlier today, we’re just getting started.
Jockey Edwin Gonzalez provided his usual expert ride, and our Trainer Sam Wilensky, and his staff (including father and veteran trainer Herman Wilensky) had our mare Ninia fit and ready. As they do with the rest of our budding stable.
Here’s the race replay, if you’d like to see it.
And a closeup of our Ninia after the race
And yours truly, with jockey Edwin and trainer Sam, as Ninia leaves the winner’s circle behind us. Yes, my Claim To Fame Racing Club Hat matches our silks Edwin is wearing.
Last but not least, one of our great group of partners likes to have fun with Chat GPT. So thanks to their efforts, that’s supposed to be Swaggish on the left, and Ninia on the right, celebrating a thrilling weekend in South Florida.
About Claim To Fame Racing Club
Trainer Sam Wilensky, Victor Collazo CPA and Wall Street veteran Rob Isbitts started Claim To Fame Racing Club (CTFRC) in early 2026, with 13 other partners joining us for a minimum investment of $10,000 each. We raised 50% more than we had initially targeted in that initial “friends and family” offering.
We raised all the money up front, and aim to build a full stable of 6 or more claiming horses, operating akin to a “private fund of racehorses” concept. We’ll compete wherever our horseman (Sam and Victor) can identify solid opportunities to claim and race.
In an industry with a mixed reputation, we created CTFRC to be clearly different. We lean on our current and past experience as fiduciaries, and our horsemens’ detailed understanding of the sport from many angles. We provide a professionally-managed, welcoming, transparent, no BS, exciting entertainment experience to our partners. And with some racing luck, a profitable venture, too.
Our mission: bring the camaraderie, access, participation and financial advantages of race horse ownership to a wider audience, at a price point more reachable than many existing racing syndicates. So far, so great!
Congrats to the club on the Gulfstream win. Hitting the board in 7 of 10 with a four-horse stable says a lot about how well the claiming strategy is working. Claiming races are about as tough to price as any on the card, with so many horses switching barns, so a fair-odds line like the one at forgedodds.com can help show whether a favorite is really worth the price. When you and the trainers go to claim, how much do you lean on pace and recent form versus the class drop?