Bought after a claiming race,

Next set to run in $7 million

Breeders’ Cup Classic

 

By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Cinderella, you’ve got company.

It what is developing into one of the great Cinderella stories of all-time, marathon horse Next is on the verge of becoming the next Seabiscuit.

Bought after finishing last in a claiming race, Next has become the top marathon race horse in North America.

Owner Mike Foster, an Ironton native, bought the horse for $62,500 at Keeneland in April of 2022 during a string of defeats.

Thanks to the skills of trainer Doug Cowans, Next will be running in the prestigious $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a real Seabiscuit story,” said Foster.

Seabiscuit was a small horse that had an uninspiring start to his career by winning just a quarter of his first 40 races.

But then came a turn in his fortunes as he became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. The crowning jewel was a four lengths win over 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted the American Horse of the Year in 1938.

So far this year, Foster has horses to start 19 races with 9 first place finishes, one second and 5 third places. His winnings total is $621,218.

Next is a 6-year-old gelding and the son of the horse Not This Time, Foster observed the running lines in Next’s past performance that featured an appearance in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and a victory in the 2021 War Chant Stakes at Churchill Downs.

“Handicap was just a hobby. It kept me occupied after retiring,” said Foster. “I worked on Wall Street for 20 plus years. I got into the numbers and handicap kind of supplemented the numbers and not worrying about Wall Street anymore.”

Next became available after a claiming race which is a race where owners put their horses in a ring and they are susceptible of being claimed by another owner.

“It’s a Cinderella story. It’s a Seabiscuit story really. My trainer and I claimed a lot of horses over the years. We track horses all over the country and we claim horses all over the country. This horse (Next) was put up in a claiming race for $62,500 and we got to studied it and watched all its replays and my trainer Doug Cowans got to see it train at Turfway Park which is in northern Kentucky by Cincinnati. It looked interesting.

“This horse as a two-year-old actually ran at the Breeders’ Cup before we got hold of it. My trainer took him over and started working with him and noticed this horse had this unique endurance situation. He could just run forever and ever. Doug and his team are just phenomenal horse people. They turned this horse around. They gave him a lot of extra care and attention and got him back in form.

“We ran a race at Churchill (Downs) and won. We bought we’d try a stakes race and we went out to Delaware Park which is supposed to be on the grass and it got rained out so we ran on the dirt. The horse not only won but he won by almost 20 lengths. He set the track record. We went, ‘Holy smoke!’”

That year the Breeders’ Cup was in Keeneland in Lexington and there was a big undercard race called the Thoroughbred AfterCare and Foster entered the horse in that race.

“It was a big field with a lot of talented horses. And it’s a simple story. We won from gate to wire and missed the track record by two one-hundredths of a second,” said Foster. “We knew we had something. The rest is history. He just kept getting bigger and better. He’s better and strong than he was last year and he’s six-years old which is kind of unique.”

Foster remains humble about his role in the horse’s success. He gives all the credit to Cowans, his crew and, of course, Next.

“He’s a just a neat, beautiful horse. And the credit goes to my trainer and his crew. They’re just good horsemen. All I am is an owner. Some of these owners think they know how to train horses and all that stuff. I know my place and we joke about it. All the interviews I do on TV that ask, ‘Mike, what do you do?’ And I tell them, ‘I have one job. I write the check. That’s all I do.’”

The Cinderella story has had nothing to do with Next being invited to the Breeders’ Cub Classic. The horse is not only unbeaten this year, it has been dominant.

“We’ve had an unbelievable run with this horse. To be nominated and invited to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic — which is the championship World Series race of the year, the biggest race they run in North America — is such an honor and a privilege to be nominated and even get in the race. We’re very nervous and very anxious. We have no idea because this race is a little shorter than we normally run our horse at. This race is a mile and a quarter and our horse specializes in a mile and three-eighths and he just dominates,” said Foster.

“He is considered the best marathon horse on dirt in the world. But this is a different race so it’s going to be a different pace. And, of course, you’re running against the best of the best in the world. There are horses from Japan, Europe, you name it. It’s going to be the race of the century. We’re tickled pink to be a part of it but we’re going to show up and hope we can do some damage.”

But the story isn’t all sugar cubes and fresh hay. Foster said there are a few negative factors that are trying to ambush the happy ending to Next’s story because they drew the outside post as the starting position for the race.

“There’s some good to it, but there’s more bad to me than good,” said Foster. “But that’s horse racing. We’ve got a good jockey and we’re just hoping figure out a way to get (Next) into position and get in his rhythm and come in and close like a freight train like he does. There’s a lot of talent in this race. That’s why it’s the biggest race of the year. It’s the Breeders Cup. It’s pretty exciting.”

Foster said the Classic is the Dalai Lama and that all the races are big because it’s the best of the best and it’s by invitation only.

“These races are really bigger than the (Kentucky) Derby and the Preakness and all those. Not to take anything away from them, but these are the best of the best proven horses,” said Foster.

Although Foster, Cowans and the crew are sitting on pins and needles, they know Next is unfazed by what’s at stake and what he’ll be facing.

“This horse loves what he does. He’s got a great personality. He’s the most confident, cocky horse I’ve ever seen in my life which you love. He’s just full of personality,” said Foster. “He’s all business. He loves to race. He loves to win. He’s tough.”

Regardless of the outcome of the Breeders’ Cub Classic, Foster said the fairy tale run will always be an amazing period in horse racing history.

“He’s the claim of the century. He’s the claim of a lifetime and the horse of a lifetime for me,” said Foster. “This horse has just been a dream come true. As my trainer and I talk, this horse owes us nothing at this point. He’s done more than you can ask from any horse. We’ve enjoyed every minute of it. We hope it continues.”

The Classic is at 5:41 p.m. EDT on NBC. Foster said he expects Next to run at his best, win or lose.

“He’ll run his race. He thinks he’s king of the hill. When you get athletes, ballplayers who have that attitude, you know what they do. They perform,” said Foster.

“My horse gets mad if (the trainers) are five minutes late for a workout. He wants to go to work. He loves his job. You can’t teach that. This horse has heart. Secretariat’s heart from a physical standpoint was twice the size of a normal race horse. We think Next has the same type of thing. He either has enlarged lungs or a bigger heart physically. He gets faster at the end of the race where other horses are running out of gas. It’s amazing,” said Foster

Foster said Next has been getting a lot of press from horse racing publications and websites.

“It’s a feel good story to say the least. It’s just going to get crazier. We enjoy the ride because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Foster. “If you had asked me 18 years ago if I thought I would ever  be in this position, I’d have said hell no. I just got small claiming horses and Ohio bred champions. I had a lot of success in Ohio. I’ve had several great horses in Ohio. Colt of the year, Two-year-old Philly of the year, regional success. But nothing of this caliber. This horse put us on the map. It’s unbelievable.”

But then, all Cinderella stories are thought to be unbelievable until Prince Charming arrives.

Or in this case, Prince Next.