Up Close: Thoroughbred Trainer Mark Deane

By Charity Corkey (Contact)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mark Deane - a thoroughbred owner and trainer in Lincoln – raced his first horse with his father at the age of 16, and won $2,000. Immediately hooked, Deane began breaking horses at a local farm to boost his knowledge of thoroughbreds and racing.

Today, Deane runs Homeplace Farm in Lincoln, and helps out with Haley Hill farm in Hamilton, which is owned by one of his relatives. Along with Haley Hill owner Keith Early, Deane is preparing five horses for various races this year, including Pennsylvania purses in the $30,000 to $60,000 range and several at Virginia's Colonial Downs.

In this email interview, Deane talks about the challenges of horse racing, his hopes for the thoroughbreds this year, and his efforts to give inner-city children a visit to the farms.

Q: Between consulting for Mede Cahaba Stable & Stud in Washington, D.C., serving as the Virginia Thoroughbred Association's Field Director and training your own horses, about how many hours do you work each week?

A: I work seven days a week, about 60 hours total. I spend a lot of time on the telephone at night and also on the road, as I'm driving between jobs. Honestly, I never think about the time, because I love promoting Thoroughbreds and the Thoroughbred industry.

Q: When did you start raising and training Thoroughbreds for racing, and what led you into the industry?

Photo: Charity Corkey

Mark Deane exercises one of his horses at Homeplace farm in Lincoln, where he raises and trains thoroughbreds for racing.

A: My father really introduced me to Thoroughbreds. He bought his first race horse when I was 16. I went with him to the farm to see his new horse, and I started talking to the farm's manager, who mentioned that the farm needed a rider to break young horses. I had never done anything like that, but, to me at the time, it sounded like a great way to make some money. So, I volunteered, and that was the start of my riding Thoroughbreds.

In the meantime, some great luck with my father's first Thoroughbred really got me hooked: The first time that we raced the horse, the horse won and paid $98 for a $2 bet. The few dollars that I had bet on my father's horse won about $2,000 for me – and that was a lot of money back then, especially to a 16-year-old boy!

A few years later, I bought my own horse, which my father trained for us. That mare won 15 races, although not much money, because the purses at the Charles Town, W.V. racetrack in those days were only about $2,000. Still, we had a lot of fun with the horse.

Q: What are some of your goals when promoting Virginia racing?

A: My first priority is to make the public aware that Virginia has first-class Thoroughbred racing at Colonial Downs, our state's beautiful pari-mutuel track located in New Kent, between Richmond and Williamsburg. The track s world-class and features the largest turf course in North America. Colonial Downs is making an effort to attract quality racers: For example, last year, Colonial Downs hosted the Virginia Derby, a $1 million dollar race which CBS broadcast live.

Currently, we are working on a project to promote Virginia Thoroughbred breeding and racing that features the colt, Quality Road, a Virginia-bred who is one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby. The Virginia Thoroughbred Association launched a Facebook page for Quality Road to help develop a fan base for the colt and, at the same time, develop awareness of Virginia's Thoroughbred industry.

Q: Tell us about some prominent races in which your Thoroughbreds have competed. How did your horses place?

A: My favorite horse was Keats and Yeats. Before he came to me, he had earned nearly $300,000; however, his trainer thought his racing days were over and he gave him to me. I turned out the horse for a year, just to rest. One day, my neighbor asked me if I had a horse she could ride for fun. I let her borrow Keats and Yeats, and didn't think much of it. About two months later, I stopped by my neighbor's house and found her galloping the horse all over her farm. I couldn't believe it. She agreed to switch Keats and Yeats back to me in exchange for another horse.

I then called the horse's original trainer, told him about the horse's transformation, and offered to sell the horse back to him for just the money I had invested. When the trainer declined the deal, I asked if I could race Keats and Yeats myself. Initially, the trainer wasn't very enthusiastic, so we came to an agreement: I would run the horse at a local point-to-point with the understanding that, if he won, I could run him again at the track. Well, the horse won, and I believed in him so much that I sent him to a leading trainer. In his first official race in two years, we ran him in a race in New York with a purse of $60,000. He went off at very long odds since he had been away from the races so long. I bet quite bit of money on him that day. He lead from the start and was caught in the last ten yards by a wall of horses. He wound up fifth; I figured I lost $10,000 a stride in those last ten yards. His next start, he got beat six lengths in the $100,000 Poker Stakes by the winner of the $4,000,000 Breeders Cup Classic winner of that year; and, in his next start, got beat in a photo finish at the world-renowned Saratoga Race track. In spite of some bad racing luck, I really enjoyed that horse – he had tremendous spirit and loved his job.

Q: What is the average cash prize for a winning horse?

A: Purses range from $10,000 to $5,000,000. I would say my personal horses compete mainly in the $15,000 to $20,000 range. Remember, though, that the winner does not get the entire purse. For example, let's say your horse wins a race with a $10,000 purse. You, as the winning owner, will get 60% of that purse and the remaining 40% is divided on a percentage basis among the second through sixth place finishers. In addition, from your 60% winner's share, your trainer and your jockey will each get 10%.

Q: What are your racing goals for 2009? Do you have one or two horses in particular that you expect to pull in a lot of wins? What are the horses' names, and where do you plan on racing them?

A: I have two realistic goals: First, I would like for the horses to win enough that they pay their own way; and second, I would like them to win enough also to pay for my youngest daughter's third year of college.

Currently, we have five horses that we hope to run this year. Cussie's Mirror, a 7-year-old mare, won her last start at Charles Town and, in fact, has won seven races for us so far. Lovely Sonya Dor and Haley Hill are two three-year-old fillies, bred in Pennsylvania, that will run for Pennsylvania purses in the $30,000 to $60,000 range. We have great expectations for these fillies: We co-bred them with a nationally recognized breeder and have put a lot of work into them.

Cary T. is a 3-year-old foaled in Virginia – we hope to run him at home in Virginia at Colonial Downs this summer, along with a 6-year-old filly named Angela Rose after my sister. We have partners in all of the horses to share the expenses as well as the earnings.

Q: Do you have a family in Loudoun County? How many children do you have, and do they help you around the farm?

A: My wife, Loreen, and I have three children. Our oldest daughter, Taryn, is 23, graduated from college and living and working in Los Angeles. Taryn has helped me by hosting educational videos that aired between races at Virginia's only pari-mutuel track, Colonial Downs, near Richmond. She co-hosted the handicap show two summers ago. The videos can be seen on our web page www.fastfactsatthetrack.com. Our middle child, Katelyn, is 19 and attends college at Old Dominion University. Our son, Jacob, is 13 years old and is a big help around the farm, doing chores like feeding the horses, and also sometimes riding.

Q: What do you enjoy most about running a thoroughbred farm, and what are your greatest challenges?

A: The most enjoyable thing about running the farm is being able to work with the horses. I love everything about them.

The greatest challenge is making a life in horses work financially. You can't rely on the horses alone to earn enough to support you and your family, so you have to be creative. That's why I work at so many different jobs. Another challenge, which gets harder with each passing year, is staying fit enough to ride - I have to run two or three miles a day, as well as lift weights.

Q: Tell us about your outreach to inner-city children in partnership with the Thoroughbred Network. How many inner-city children from Washington, D.C., have visited Virginia farms, and how long have you done this program?

A: We wanted to develop a program that would allow disadvantaged and inner-city children experiences removed from their daily lives: horses, country, farm life and everything related. We hoped the program would be a source of inspiration to the children.

We began the program, "A Day in the Country", about three years ago, arranging bus trips for the children to spend the day at host farms.

Q: How has the economy affected your business?

A: Of course, when people are forced to tighten their budgets, their horses are one of the first things to go – or, at least, the training of it. Fortunately, however, purses seem to be holding up, which helps if you have a good race horse.

Q: Tell us more about a recent project building a horse farm in Hamilton.

A: The farm, Haley Hill, is owned by Keith Early, a fellow who is married to one of my first cousins, Cheryl. Over the years, I would often see Keith at family events; however, we really didn't have much to say to each other, until one day the talk turned to horses. I discovered that Keith had always dreamed of owning a horse farm.

Fortunately for Keith, he had experienced success in his business, a restaurant chain in Northern Virginia, and had the means to make his dream come true. In an effort to help him get started right, I introduced him to top people in the industry – specialists ranging from soil consultants to world-class Thoroughbred breeders in Kentucky. Over time and using the good advice he received from these specialists, the farm has developed into a show place – and it is both beautiful and very efficient. One of our main goals was to develop a farm that would make it easy for the horses to maintain themselves in top condition by grazing on first-rate soil and grass. Loudoun County has great soil and water, which is necessary to raise a good horse. The first horse that Keith and I owned in partnership, Across The Miles, was the leading horse with wins at Colonial Downs one season; and our next horse, Top Time, won nearly $200,000. That mare is currently in Kentucky being bred to two-time Sprint Breeders' Cup winner Midnight Lute.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that would surprise your colleagues in the horse-racing world.

A: I love to plant flowers and work in my flower garden. It is fun to try to figure out what grows best where. I can also get rid of a lot of horse manure fertilizing the flowers!

Tagged: competition, farm, horses, Lincoln, Up Close

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