Hartrich Family Has Interest In Kentucky Derby

Mo Donegal winning the Wood Memorial in New York on April 9.

                                                                                   (Photo: Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

At 5:47 p.m. central standard time, interest will turn to watching the Kentucky Derby this coming Saturday. The Run for the Roses in Louisville, Ky. is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses and the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Excitement will be high as 20 horses are led into the starting gate but this year’s interest around the area will be really high with a locally-owned horse competing. At least for the Hartrich family in Newton.

Mike Hartrich, a retired teacher and coach at Newton High School, has two granddaughters who have a small ownership of Mo Donegal who will be among the contenders for the Derby title.

“My wife Teresa and a cousin Glen Pictuet from Ste. Marie had an interest in horses belonging to Donegal racing,” said Hartrich. “Glen is a cousin to the Hartrichs and my wife and Glen were two of a kind. Glen got Teresa hooked.

“Glen lives in Albany, Texas. He’s an oil man and also has interests in horse racing and all kinds of things. He is diversified. He and my wife really got along and hit it off. His dad grew up in Ste. Marie. We laughed if you’re in Texas and you don’t have an oil well, they don’t like you. Teresa had interest in two different wells down there. You don’t get money for the first three years or so because of how much it costs to drill and the equipment.”

“Teresa and I went to fair racing every year from the time we first got married. So, when Glen found out how she liked horse racing, he offered her ownership in the horses.

“Of course Teresa was only a one-millionth owner. Basically Glen had let her buy into eight horses at a dollar each. She liked to say she owned the dirt under the horses shoes.”

Donegal Racing buys eight yearlings every year. Jerry Crawford runs the racing partnership that was established back in 2008. Of course their goal is to have a horse win the Kentucky Derby and have actually had two third place finishes with Paddy O’Prado and Dullahan in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Donegal Racing paid $250,000 for Mo Donegal who won the Remsen-G2 in December 2021, took third in the Holy Bull-G3 in February, 2022 and won the Wood Memorial-G2 in April 2022.

Hartrich’s wife died in September, 2021 but her interest in Mo Donegal and the other seven horses went to their two granddaughters.“Megan Hartrich is my granddaughter from my son Scott and daughter-in-law Joyce while Elise Wright is my granddaughter from my daughter Michele and her husband Dusty,” said Hartrich. “Elise is a senior at Newton High School and Megan is a sophomore. They both are involved in musicals at the high school.”

Mo Donegal is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“He’s doing super and has settled in really well at Churchill,” said Pletcher when talking about Mo Donegal. “He’s very straightforward to train.”

The three-year-old is a son of Callingmissbrown and sire Uncle Mo. Uncle Mo actually fathered the 2016 Derby winner Nyquist.

“I think it’s 5-1 odds and he’s one of the top three horses,” said Hartrich. “He’s a closer and likes to stay back and find a way in.”

Are Hartrich and his granddaughters attending the Kentucky Derby?

“My daughter Michele and I are taking the girls,” laughed Hartrich. “We’re going to be there Friday for Oaks Day which is cancer awareness and I’m going to wear a pink tie and handkerchief.

Both his wife and son Scott died of cancer.

“The girls all have jewelry they’re going to be wearing. I think sometimes it’s more fun watching the people than the horses,” continued Hartrich. "But we can't stay for the Derby because Elise has a high school Pops Concert Saturday evening."

Altamont’s Kurt Becker, the Keeneland race announcer, let us at the radio station know about the ownership of Mo Donegal.

“I was down at the Derby in 2019 and I phoned Kurt,” said Hartrich. “We didn’t get together but when he returned my call and left a voicemail, he was very complimentary about Donegal Racing. I let Glen listen to the voicemail and he let Jerry Crawford, the CEO know. He knew it was Kurt and I said, ‘how the heck did Jerry know Kurt” and Glen said he knew him, of course, through the yearling auction at Keeneland. Teresa and I enjoyed horse racing at the fair and always enjoyed Carl and Kurt Becker announcing the races.”The post position draw took place Monday and Mo Donegal will be coming out of Gate 1 with 10-1 odds.

Zandon is the top pick at 3-1 for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat.Other top odds include Messier at 8-1, Epicenter at 7-2 and White Abarrio at 10-1.

Here’s the total list of Derby starters, trainers, jockeys and odds:

1. Mo Donegal, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 10-1

2. Happy Jack, Doug O’Neill, Rafael Bejarano, 30-1

3. Epicenter, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 7-2

4. Summer Is Tomorrow, Bhupat Seemar, Mickael Barzalona, 30-1

5. Smile Happy, Kenny McPeek, Corey Lanerie, 20-1

6. Messier, Tim Yakteen, John Velazquez, 8-1

7. Crown Pride, Koichi Shintani, Christophe Lemaire, 20-1

8. Charge It, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 20-1

9. Tiz the Bomb, Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr., 30-1

10. Zandon, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat, 3-1

11. Pioneer of Medina, Todd Pletcher, Joe Bravo, 30-1

12. Taiba, Tim Yakteen, Mike Smith, 12-1

13. Simplification, Antonio Sano, Jose Ortiz, 20-1

14. Barber Road, John Ortiz, Reylu Gutierrez, 30-1

15. White Abarrio, Saffie Joseph Jr., Tyler Gaffalione, 10-1

16. Cyberknife, Brad Cox, Florent Geroux, 20-1

17. Classic Causeway, Brian Lynch, Julien Leparoux, 30-1

18. Tawny Port, Brad Cox, Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1

19. Zozos, Brad Cox, Manny Franco, 20-1

20. Ethereal Road, D. Wayne Lukas, Luis Contreras, 30-1

Also eligible

21. Rich Strike, Eric Reed, Sonny Leon, 30-1

22. Rattle N Roll, Kenny McPeek, James Graham, 30-1