Seize the Grey Experience Extends Beyond Shareholders

MyRacehorse is a fractional ownership app that sells shares in their horses to allow racing fans an experience at horse ownership for a fraction of the cost. Perks that come with buying a share include behind-the-scenes access through online posts and in-person events, many of which are organized by experience manager Caitlin Dunne.

“When he won, I was like ‘Oh my God, he just won the Preakness!’ I was so happy, I was crying,” Dunne said. “Then immediately my brain went to, ‘Oh my God, he just won.’ It was pure panic because I knew we were about to have 200 people trying to get to the winner’s circle.”

The reality of the monumental task she was about to complete set in as Dunne ran off to the winner’s circle to talk to security and plan how to get the many on-site shareholders into the Preakness winner’s circle. It all worked out.

Once jockey Jaime Torres hopped off the horse, the garland of black-eyed susans was removed, and Seize the Grey left for the testing barn, Dunne helped organize more than 100 shareholders for a picture in front of the famed cupola.

“It was amazing, there were so many people there,” Dunne said. “Kids who were 10 years old up to people in their 80s and 90s. It was such a special thing. Everyone was hugging each other and they just met. You would have thought they had known each other for years.”

While the celebration of the masses ensued, there was one person that Dunne felt was missing from the party, her father.

Ciaran Dunne and his wife Amy operate Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Fla. For the last three decades, Wavertree has grown into one of the country’s preeminent breaking and training facilities. It was there that Seize the Grey learned to race after MyRacehorse purchased him for $300,000 at the 2022 The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s select yearling sale.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas compared the Preakness winner’s circle to a high school pep rally as more than 100 people started chanting “Seize the Grey.” Dunne pulled out her phone and called her dad.

“I told him, ‘don’t say anything, just listen,’ and I held my phone up. He heard everyone chanting,” Dunne remembered. “I brought the phone back and said ‘can you hear that?’ He started tearing up and being emotional about it.”

“I was fortunate enough where a lot of those people visited the farm last year on the various tours,” her father said while remembering the moment. “To see their excitement when they were young horses with nothing much to be excited about and see it all come to fruition is pretty cool.”

Seize the Grey was part of the first group of horses that Ciaran had trained for MyRacehorse. Caitlin had started working with the ownership group in 2021. She pitched the idea of training their horses to her father as the group needed a facility that would allow for on-site experiences to be provided to shareholders. 

“When we first talked to (MyRacehorse founder) Michael (Behrens) and he explained how their whole program was based on an experience rather than selling it as an investment, it was hard for me to grasp,” Ciaran said. “Our whole business is based around return on investment or horses going on and doing well. You didn’t understand what he meant by experience.”

It took some convincing and assurances from his daughter, but ultimately Ciaran agreed and had an eye-opening experience.

“We started doing the tours and seeing the pleasure that people got from coming out and seeing what we take for granted on a day-to-day basis,” Ciaran said. “When you see how far people are willing to travel just to have that little bit of time up close and personal with the horses and realize for them it wasn’t all about dollars and sense, that was kind of refreshing.”

Hosting MyRacehorse brought back many memories for Ciaran as one of his first jobs was giving tours of the Irish National Stud and Gardens in Tully, Ireland, where his father took care of a Japanese Garden.

“(My dad) spent most of his life showing people around telling the story of the gardens,” Ciaran said. “It almost feels like we’ve been running full circle back to where we started. Last year, my sister was in town for one of the MyRacehorse tours. She came and had a little bit of a giggle at the fact that it doesn’t seem long ago we were doing it back in Ireland.”

While Ciaran was showing hundreds of MyRacehorse shareholders around his facility, one thing that was not showing in the fall of 2022 was the talent that Seize the Grey would one day possess.

“He was a little bit of a slow developer both mentally and physically,” Ciaran said. “A lot of horses take a big growth spurt in October/November time. He really didn’t, he kind of hung. Probably over Christmas, we were a little worried if he was ever going to develop.”

“I think (MyRacehorse) sent six horses that year to my dad and Seize the Grey never jumped up and said ‘I’m that guy, I’m the best horse here,'” Caitlin said. “That should start being our sign that it’s the best horse in the barn.”

Caitlin spent much of her life pursuing swimming, which she competed at a Division I level in college. It was not until she graduated and the Covid-19 pandemic hit that she started to take on a bigger role in the Thoroughbred industry. She started ponying at her parents’ farm and working with several horses. One of which was eventual grade 1 winner Hot Rod Charlie , who like Seize the Grey did not immediately leap out as a future star.

“Usually (the best horses) don’t give you any problems, they’re so easygoing, laid back,” said Caitlin. “That was always (Seize the Grey). He never gave us any reason to think about him, which is a good thing in the grand scheme.”

Seize the Grey would turn the corner in the spring of his 2-year-old season as the work started picking up. The type of horse to get bored easily, Seize the Grey would grab the bit and pay attention as soon as he started something new. As his training intensified, he started showing a readiness for the races and a skillset fit for a particular trainer.

“We said at the time that he was a horse that would really suit Wayne’s program because he was a horse that thrived on work and routine,” Ciaran said.

Caitlin is already hard at work preparing to host even more of Seize the Grey’s shareholders at the track that weekend.

“My job is to put together all these beautiful experiences for people to come to,” Caitlin said. “(Horse racing) is supposed to be for entertainment. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s something you do and share with people.”

“One of the things she’s learned from being around the barn and the sales is to think on her feet,” her father said. “When things don’t go quite to plan, she doesn’t panic and she’s able to adjust. We are very proud of her and a lot of the feedback we’ve gotten from the (MyRacehorse) owners is how accommodating she’s been to them and how she’s gone out of her way to make the experience more rewarding.”

“What’s important for me is showing them all the cool things and put forward how well horses are cared for. They all become ambassadors for the sport,” Caitlin said. “Try to make each owner feel like they’re the only owner in the world, even though there are 2,500 of them.”