Meet the Couple Behind Haskell Runner Kentucky Outlaw

Most of the attention in the run-up to the $1 million Haskell Stakes (G1) July 19 at Monmouth Park will be focused on classic winner Journalism as he seeks a late-season rally that would put him back in the conversation for a 3-year-old divisional championship. On the other side of the Haskell ledger is the colorfully named Kentucky Outlaw, a classic blue-collar runner with ham-and-eggs connections who dream he someday will deliver their first graded stakes score after their decades in the Thoroughbred game. It is difficult to pin down the division of labor between the husband-and-wife team of Felissa and John Dunn. Each has a trainer's license and a loosely communal ownership of the eight horses in their stable. Complicating description of the family business is their son Ben, who has just earned his trainer's license and owns a few of the horses. In fact, Ben is the point person in conditioning Double Your Money, although the horse technically ran in Felissa's name July 16 when third in a starter allowance at Saratoga Race Course. Got all that? John Dunn hails from New England, but had a string at Monmouth years ago, where he met Felissa. The couple wed, spent some time in Florida, and then settled at Parx Racing, a nine iron from Felissa's hometown of Levittown, Pa. After more than 30 years at the racetrack, John recently retired from training. Well, sort of. Until Kentucky Outlaw came into the Dunns' life. Bred in Kentucky by Daniel Thomas Kjorsvik, the colt by Outwork, out of the Street Sense mare Fend, changed hands for $10,000 as a weanling at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Eleven months later, he sold for the same price at the Ocala Breeders' Sales October Yearling Sale. He then reappeared at OBS for its 2024 June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, although not to much fanfare. "There were four horses that we liked in that sale," Felissa Dunn said, "and we vetted them. Each one had some sort of problem. And then late in the sale, John saw this horse and liked his eye and how he looked. He didn't have time to vet him; he just bought him. The horse ended up scoping clean, was clean-legged, and the price was right because the work wasn't much." John Dunn bought the colt in his wife's name for $12,000. When they got him back to Parx, they found they had on their hands a big, good-looking horse with an impressive stride. Because of his size, the Dunns decided to gallop the colt for a few months, begin breezing him in the fall, and wait until he turned 3 before bringing him to the races. That unveiling occurred in February at Parx, as Kentucky Outlaw bested nine rivals by 7 3/4 lengths going 6 1/2 furlongs. He backed that up a month later with an allowance optional claiming score at Parx by 5 3/4 lengths at a little over a mile. Although John came out of retirement to do the training with Felissa assisting, Kentucky Outlaw runs in Felissa's name. She is also listed as owner, although the couple co-owns the colt. Kentucky Outlaw stepped up into stakes company in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park April 19, where he landed fifth of 10 after a troubled trip of his own making. The Dunns have a fast horse on their hands, but one that wants to hesitate before breaking from the gate. That was his undoing in the Tesio, when he got closed off trying to rush up into the lead and was forced well wide. On May 10 Kentucky Outlaw faced six others in the Long Branch Stakes, going one mile and 70 yards at Monmouth. Again, he spotted his field two to three lengths. He got bumped and raced wide early, but grabbed the lead before the quarter pole and proved best by 1 1/2 lengths. "When we work him, he comes out of the gate fine," Felissa said. "In his races, he goes in perfect, stands there fine, but when they break, he just hesitates before he goes. That's him." In the June 14 Delaware Derby, same scenario. Kentucky Outlaw was tardy at the start, ran up to challenge, grabbed the lead, but failed to hold off Admiral Dennis and eventually weakened to finish third. "(Jockey) Paco (Lopez) said the track was too deep and he got tired the last part," Felissa noted. "It was supposed to rain, so they didn't put water on the track. That race didn't discourage us." The 1 1/8-mile Haskell, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race offering the winner free entry into the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), represents a step up in class for Kentucky Outlaw as it will be his first try at graded stakes company. Certainly, he can't afford to hand horses such as Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Journalism, Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Burnham Square, and Preakness runner-up Gosger a three-length advantage leaving the gate. But should he break with his opponents, Kentucky Outlaw is quick enough to make an impression. "He has proven that he runs well at Monmouth, so that is part of us taking a shot here," said Felissa. "Part of it is his entry fee is paid for by virtue of his winning the Long Branch. And part of it is, he's fast. He worked :59 last Saturday with the rider just sitting on him. "I think he can run all day. Breaking out of the gate is his only issue. We realize we're not as good as some of these horses, but we're hoping to pick up a piece and would be happy to hit the board." With Lopez riding at Saratoga Saturday, Florent Geroux will be aboard Kentucky Outlaw for the first time. Whatever the Haskell result, the Dunns are thrilled to have a horse as talented as Kentucky Outlaw, who has earned $146,500 through his first five starts. After his impressive early races, the Dunns' phone began ringing with offers for the colt. Their answer has been a firm "No." It is tough to get a good one, and when it happens there is joy worth more than money.