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connect people In a Hollywood-worthy turn, Werth went from being a newly retired athlete to the co-owner of a Triple Crown winner in just a few short years. His horse, Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, has made swift progress himself, going from longshot to the winner's circle at this year's Belmont Stakes in a shade over two minutes. Now, Werth has his sights set on Del Mar, where the Breeders' Cup World Championships races will run on November 1 and 2. Werth recalls having "no idea" how big horse racing is as a global sport, but watching races with friends, including some who owned and raced horses, caught his interest. "I started asking questions and just picking people's brains on what was actually going on," he remembers. "And then I got into the sport." He started out buying fillies, coincidentally, until a chance run-in with trainer Danny Gargan at the annual Keeneland September Yearling Sale turned fateful. "I walked over, said 'hi' to him. Next thing I knew, they were telling me about this colt that they bought, how I should get in on it and get in on the Derby trail and stretch my legs into the sport a little bit," he says. "So I said, 'Alright.' I bought a little piece. And the rest is history." As he learns more about the sport of horse racing, Werth brings with him a unique perspective as an athlete himself. "I see it through the lens of the horses," he says. "Because all those years, I was kind of a horse, you know? ey train every day. ey get the treatments, the ice baths, the chiropractors, the massage therapy." is vision of himself as a kindred spirit with his horse even shapes how he engages with Dornoch, who's known to be a tad temperamental — just as a hyper-competitive, elite athlete could be expected. Once talk turns to the horse himself and not the business of racing, Werth's demeanor shifts into one of both respect and genuine affection. << ranchandcoast.com 118 OCTOBER 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE