Local group hopes race horse investment will make profits run
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

OFF TO THE RACES- Left, some of the WGAS 10 members gather at a recent party celebrating their success. From left, Ron Grossblatt, Sean Escobar, Nat Rubinfeld, Lloyd Dix, David Cerna, Joe Cerna, Gene Bennett, Howard Zucker, trainer, and Marvin Feuerman. The group now owns seven horses.

Owning race horses may not be a wise investment for everyone, but for a group of friends and coworkers in the Conejo Valley, the thrill of owning, training and racing thoroughbred horses paid off.

The WGAS 10 Racing Stable- WGAS stands for Who Gives a Sh**, and 10 stands for the number of partners who own the horses- was formed at the prompting of Lloyd Dix, a resident of Calabasas.

Dix said when he inherited money from an uncle, he and his wife, Mary, agreed to use the money to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a racehorse. But, when they discovered the financial reality of owning a racehorse, Dix bet on a partnership.

Nine friends agreed and invested $10,000 each to buy their first horse, Ichibon.

Three years have passed since the formation of the WGAS 10.

At the third anniversary party held on June 5 at the Hidden Hills home of Ron and Susan Grossblatt, the partners celebrated in style. Jay Cohen, the bugler at many horse tracks including Santa Anita, Hollywood and Fairplex Parks, greeted each guest with the call to the post, the jingle he has blown at the track 76,000 times. Cohen said he keeps track of his performances at the track.

"What has made us unusual is that a typical stable will shoot for a 15 percent winning ratio," Dix said. "We already won 32 percent of the time."

Although Dix said everyone is thrilled with the financial gains, they all agreed to be in the racing game for the fun, but the thrill of winning adds to the flavor.

"There's no question we thought we would lose," said partner Ron Grossblatt. But winning has been more the WGAS 10 style, and when the partners win the purse they parlay the funds into more horses. To date, the group owns six horses.

Trainer Howard Zucker said the group has experienced cycles of "quiet and action," but the action period has been more successful than most.

Out of seven races, the group's first winning horse, Excess Temptations, won first place three times, and came in second twice.

Although Excess Temptations was injured and "on vacation for a year," he's expected to be back in the running soon, Zucker said.

"Excess Temptations always takes my breath away," Zucker said. The stable's current stock of horses include three fillies and three colts- Excess Temptations, Drastic Tactics, Golden Playgirl, Informa, Apoplectic and Camo, which was named by starting Dodger pitcher Brad Penney.

Besides Lloyd and Mary Dix, the partnership includes Calabasas residents Sean and Maggie Escobar, and Gene and Debbie Bennett. Ron and Susan Grossblatt are from Hidden Hills Estates. Marvin and Gloria Feuerman hail from Topanga, and Joe and Maggie Cerna and David and Barbara Cerna are from Hesperia. Nat and Alma Rubinfeld came to the party from Burbank, and Mark and Renee Neiberg are from Encino. Tom and Joanne Isgrigg live in Valencia.

"The boys have been lucky and smart," Zucker said of the WGAS 10. Lucky enough to have a horse deemed profitable, and smart enough to actually sell it, he said.

Zucker said the first commandment of horse racing is to be patient.

Purchasing a yearling and preparing it to be a competitive runner doesn't happen overnight.

Zucker selects the horses for the WGAS 10. After 35 years, he has a feel for picking champions.

He assesses the physical attributes of a potential yearling, checks on their pedigree, but the selection process comes down to gut feelings, he said.

"You have to almost feel the class of a horse, feel the charisma." Zucker said.

The value of a horse rises sharply after a win, Zucker said. He recalled one horse that was purchased for $70,000 and after winning its second race was sold for $330,000- all within a six-month period. "Try that in your stock market," Zucker said.

Zucker also said he finds pedigree thoroughbred horses at Harris Farms, one of the biggest breeders in the state, if not the nation.

The gamble on winning at the race is just one part of the equation for the WGAS 10. The thrill of the race is equally- if not more- exhilarating.

"You experience a thrill that's very hard to come by in this day and age," Zucker said. "There's a deep satisfaction and total rush to win a race. It's akin to watching a kid hit a grand slam."

Partner Sean Escobar said he loves being part of the WGAS 10.

"This was my only exposure to horses," he said. Having known Dix and the other men for many years, he took on Dix's devilmaycare attitude and decided to have a "good time along the way."

"I never would have thought we'd ever be involved in horse racing," said partner Joe Cerna.

Cerna's son, Dave, has also enjoyed the ride. He confessed he doesn't know much about racing but believes the science of winning is that there is "no science." Cerna's son credits the group's success to Zucker. "He buys wisely and treats our funds like his own funds," he said.

Dix presented a financial report to the partners at the party. Each member of the group has tripled their investment. Profits were realized even after paying for six horses and all of the expenses related to operating a racing stable.

"We're doing better than most," Dix said. He kept his promise to his friends and fellow investors. Dix expected to have money in the bank after three years, and as of June 5 the group had more than $59,000 stashed away for future horse purchases.

The next promise Dix expects to keep is to win a derby within the next seven years.

"For me this is all about fun," Dix said.