Many people expected Seize the Grey to set the pace in the Preakness. Most people did not think he could hold onto the lead. But that’s exactly what he did, winning wire-to-wire and dashing the hopes for a Triple Crown winner this year. However, he did give his 2,570 owners the thrill of a lifetime. Yes, you read that right. Seize the Grey is one of the microshare horses syndicated by MyRaceHorse.com.
The three year old son of Arrowgate was bought by MyRaceHorse.com as a yearling for $300,000. They company then sold 5,000 microshares of the horse for $127 each. As the winner of the Preakness, the grey colt won $1.2 million (of the $2 million purse). Ten percent goes to the trainer, ten percent to the jockey and the remaining is distributed among the owners. But the payout was not the main draw — owning (even a small part) of a Preakness winner is a huge thrill.
Even Hall-of-Fame Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has won the Preakness seven times now, said the thrill never gets old — even though he is now the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown race.
“The winning part never changes,” said the 88-year-old living legend whose first Triple Crown triumph came in the 1980 Preakness with Codex. “Maybe some things have changed in the 44 years I have been here, like we don’t get the television and media coverage we used to, but winning is still special. I love the competition.”
Track conditions were muddy for the race, with Lukas reporting it felt like peanut butter.
“The one thing that really surprised me, though, is when I walked across the track after the race, I was amazed at how deep and sticky it was. It damn near pulled my boots off. It was pretty deep. Watching him on the replay the way he skipped over it, how we got over was admirable. I mean, he owned it.”
While D. Wayne Lukas is no stranger to the winners circle at the Preakness, jockey Jaime Torres had never run in a Triple Crown race before. In fact, the 25-year old Puerto Rican native only rode his first race in August of 2022 and won his first race that September. Since then he’s racked up 148 wins from more than 1,200 starts. Imagine winning the Preakness the first time you rode in it!
Seize the Grey is headed toward the Belmont Stakes in three weeks, with second-place finisher Mystik Dan also a likely runner. With the Belmont track closed for rennovations, the race will be held in Saratoga and will be contested over 1 1/4 miles rather than the standard 1 1/2 miles. For a horse like Seize the Grey, this may be a big advantage as the typical Belmont distance could have been long for the horse.