Penguins are cute and unassuming. Their motion above sea doesn't seem that strong or threatening, but once they dive into the water, they're speeding bullets. Perhaps that's why horses with "Penguin" in the name have been successful on the track—the dirt is the horse's sea. And the team of owner David Raim, trainer Jeff Runco, and jockey Arnaldo Bocachica recently made that power come to fruition.
On West Virginia Breeders' Classics Day Oct. 9 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Raim came home with five wins from five horses entered on the card. The wins have helped boost earnings by the owner's horses for 2021 to $679,273 through Oct. 14, marking the most successful year for Raim, who has current career earnings of 3,853,309 since 2004. One of Raim's Breeders' Classic winners was Penguin Power, one of the owner's top horses, who won the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association Onion Juice Breeders' Classic Stakes for the third year in a row. The 6-year old Fiber Sonde gelding was named after Raim's favorite animal (as are a few more of his horses).
Raim spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch about his start in the Thoroughbred industry and how he has developed his stable.
MarketWatch: Talk about your fantastic night at Charles Town.
David Raim: It's going to be a night that's going to be very, very difficult to top ever again. I've had two wins on a card before… I don't know if I've had three, so five is just remarkable.
MW: How did you get involved in horse racing?
DR: As a kid, I grew up in New York and I'd go to Aqueduct and Belmont with my dad. My mom would pack us a lunch and we would take the subway out to the track. We'd spend the day, bet $2 a race. I got hooked and continued going to the track sporadically as I grew up. But, I didn't know anyone in racing and had no clue on how to get involved as an owner.
MW: How did you get your start as an owner?
DR: My day job was as a lawyer in the corporate sector, so I met a gentleman named Larry Johnson who was an expert witness on multiple cases of mine. We got to talking about horses and horse racing, as he has been a very successful owner with a big farm in Middleburg, Virginia. I told Larry, 'If you ever have a horse where you need a partner, I'd love to do it.' Larry graciously allowed me to partner with him on a horse. The trainer was Graham Motion, who is a wonderful, ethical guy and a great trainer.
MW: Why did you start racing in West Virginia?
DR: After the first horse that I co-owned with Larry, I bought one or two on my own, with some help, and Graham took them on as the trainer. It quickly became apparent that my horses were not good enough for what Graham was doing. They were training at Fair Hill, running all over the country, and I was doing nothing but losing money. Graham suggested that my horses might do better if he sent them to Charles Town with a friend of his named Jeff Runco. That was about 15 years ago.
MW: How did you handle Graham Motion telling you that what you were doing wasn't working?
DR: I thought it was wonderful. I was not upset at all, I thought it was a great suggestion because I was a new owner, I was losing money, it wasn't fun because my horses weren't winning, and I wasn't earning any money. I wasn't going to continue like that anymore. It wasn't a passion project, I wasn't going to continue to throw money away. So, I thought this was a great idea.
MW: Making the transition from Graham to Jeff was a successful one?
DR: It was great. I hit it off with Jeff and additionally my horses, who were doing nothing anywhere else, were winning … maybe in claimers, but they were winning. And, being that they were now only an hour away, I could drive to watch my horses race. Plus, they raced in the evening, so I could get to the races and watch my horses run, instead of them being everywhere else.
MW: How has your relationship grown with Jeff through the 15 years you've been together?
DR: It was just a matter of time for me to figure out if there was a way I could participate in racing as an owner without losing my shirt. While I had done fine as a lawyer in my day, I don't have money to burn on the track. It's not just a hobby. So, working with Jeff, I did a lot of reading on horse breeding philosophy and we worked out a business plan, going forward. We discussed the types of horses I would buy, how many I would buy, what was my maximum spending limit, and then, we put that theory into practice with Jeff—always a team, I couldn't do this without Jeff and Susan (Runco)—and buying the horses that fit into that framework.
I've tweaked that business plan some over the years, but it's not all that different from what I came up with Jeff and Susan 14 to 15 years ago.
MW: Why race in West Virginia, besides the proximity to your home?
DR: It became pretty clear to me, and with Jeff's guidance, that I really did not have the financial ability to compete in the national markets. Sure, you can get hit by lightning and buy a Funny Cide, but the chances are not that good. Jeff and I needed to work out something that maximized my chances to be successful. Maryland is a very tough program—I've ventured there and my best horses have won occasionally, but West Virginia was where Jeff's farm was, that's where he knew people, and we could go to the farms and look to buy. I thought with what my resources were and what I could afford to spend, that's where I thought we'd have our best chances for success.
The other thing that's particularly helpful in West Virginia is if you have a West Virginia-bred, not only are you eligible for the state-restricted races, once you finish your four conditions with the state races, you start over again in unrestricted conditioned races. So, you can win four restricted races and then run again in non-winners of two open races.
MW: Is your family as into horse racing as you are?
DR: My wife of 38 years, Leslie Shedlin, has been a big part of this endeavor, mostly because when I told her I wanted to get involved in the sport and spend $60,000 to $80,000 on a horse, that's not an easy conversation. But, she's been a big force behind my success and, while she's not a big racetrack fan, she loves going with me, especially when we win. My two sons are grown now, but they like to join us at the track from time to time.
MW: There are quite a few horses in your ownership with "Penguin" in the name. Why is that?
DR: I've always liked penguins. And, I'm always surprised, kiddingly, that when I name a horse after a penguin, it usually does not get rejected. There aren't too many penguin racehorses out there.
MW: And Penguin Power is a standout among them?
DR: Penguin Power holds the distinction for me as being one of my favorite runners. He's the only horse that I've owned that hit the board in a stakes race outside of West Virginia when he placed third in the Dave's Friend Stakes (at Laurel Park) last December. That was a big step for me.
MW: How do you handle aftercare for your horses?
DR: That's one of the things I really like about Jeff and Susan is that they really put a lot of effort into aftercare. Susan is a horse person herself. Susan still shows, they have a nice farm with horses, so there's a lot of effort that's put into finding homes for them afterward. One of Jeff's clients (Jim Rhodes) runs Aiken Equine Rescue in South Carolina. I contribute in a philanthropic manner as well and they'll take my horses sometimes when they're done racing. One of my horses, Frodo, was not a very successful racehorse, but he actually works really well with soldiers coming back with PTSD. It's all Jeff and Susan, I can't sing their praises enough, but they make sure they find homes for their horses when they're done racing.
