Ramsey Hopes to Add to Claiming Crown Success
Already the most successful owner in Claiming Crown history, Ken Ramsey will be back at Gulfstream Park on Saturday poised to add to his record totals.
Ramsey has horses entered in five of nine races in the $1.1 million Claiming Crown, being hosted for the fourth straight year at Gulfstream and kicking off the 85-day Championship Meet in style.
Leading owner the past three winters at Gulfstream Park, Ramsey begins his quest for a fourth title by returning to his roots in the Claiming Crown, founded by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in 1999 to reward the blue-collar horses that provide the backbone of day-to-day racing programs.
Ramsey owns 14 Claiming Crown victories since his first two in 2007, and has at least one win in eight of the past nine editions including four in 2012, the first year it was held at Gulfstream. He also won multiple races in 2010, 2013 and 2014.
“I enjoy setting records and I enjoy coming to Gulfstream for the meet, especially now since it’s opening day,” Ramsey said. “It gives me a little break to come down and enjoy the hospitality.”
The folksy octogenarian from rural Artemis, Ky. has defending champion St. Borealis entered in the $125,000 Tiara, a race he has won since its inception in 2012. He will also run Purely Boy in the $125,000 Emerald, Nominative in the $110,000 Iron Horse, Newfound Gold in the $110,000 Rapid Transit and Slan Abhaile in the $110,000 Express. All five horses are trained by Mike Maker, whose 14 wins are also the most in Claiming Crown history.
Both Newfound Gold and Purely Boy enter the Claiming Crown on win streaks. Claimed for $22,500 Nov. 21 at Del Mar, Newfound Gold has won five straight races while Purely Boy shows four consecutive victories, the last Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs. Slan Abhaile exits a three-length allowance win Oct. 24 at Keeneland, while St. Borealis and Nominative have combined to win five of 17 starts this year.
“The Claiming Crown was set up for the blue-collar people, and although some people might say I’ve graduated from blue collar, my roots are still in the blue-collar section,” Ramsey said. “I grew up and I didn’t think we were poor, but we didn’t have a bathroom in the house. I went to a little country school and my graduating class was only 16.
“I feel very honored to be in a position where I can field five horses for the races,” he added. “I’m very competitive. I’m hoping to win all five of them. I did win four a couple years back and got beat a nose in the fifth one. I took a look at the entrants and there’s some really tough ones in there. I don’t know if I can win a race or not. I’ll be happy if I can get out of there saving my skunk, so to speak. I’d hate to go down there and go 0-for-5.”
Ramsey’s introduction to ownership came with claiming and allowance horses. After putting his racing interests on hold to concentrate on real estate and cellular telephone ventures, he immersed himself back in the game in 1994 when he sold one of his cellular franchises for $39 million.
What has followed is a rise to the top of the racing game that includes four Eclipse Awards as leading owner, including the past two years, and another two as champion breeder, thanks to the prolific success of stallion Kitten’s Joy. He has won 1,767 career races, four of them in the Breeders’ Cup, and meet titles at Saratoga, Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Ellis Park and Turfway Park as well as Gulfstream.
Ramsey has yet to win a Triple Crown race, but believes he has some exciting prospects for 2016 in Uncle Walter, Lucky Ramsey and Hint of Roses, all trained by Maker. Uncle Walter, by 2010 champion 2-year-old Uncle Mo, won his Oct. 15 debut and was second by a nose in a Nov. 14 allowance.
By Lookin At Lucky, a champion at 2 and 3, Lucky Ramsey was second in his unveiling Nov. 28. Off the board in his first two starts this fall, Hint of Roses is a Ramsey homebred by Tapit out of Kitten’s Joy’s half-sister Last Kitten.
“Uncle Walter broke his maiden and came back and ran second to a really good horse,” Ramsey said. “Hint of Roses has really got some potential. He’ll improve. I think he will be a sleeper. Lucky Ramsey, I like that one. He ran second the other day and really showed a late turn of foot. Uncle Walter will be at Gulfstream, Hint of Roses will be at Gulfstream and I may bring Lucky Ramsey down there, too, but if they start training well I might have to spread them out.”
Source: Gulfstream Park