Terry Bradshaw Joins McPeek Stable

[Wandering Eyes]

Hall of Fame quarterback and an analyst on Fox's NFL broadcasts, Terry Bradshaw has bought into three 2-year-olds trained by Ken McPeek. McPeek said Bradshaw owns 20% of each.

McPeek has also added another Fox broadcaster, Curt Menefee, to his roster of owners. Menefee has bought into one of the three horses owned by Bradshaw. The other owners in both horses will consist of partners in McPeek's Magdalena Racing Partnership.

This won't be Bradshaw's first foray into Thoroughbred racing. He co-owned Mission Impazible (Unbridled's Song), who won the 2010 GII Louisiana Derby before finishing ninth in the GI Kentucky Derby. He was also the part owner of Graydar (Unbridled's Song), the winner of the 2013 GI Donn H.

“There's nothing like the Super Bowl,” Bradshaw told the Blood-Horse when asked to compare winning on the racetrack versus winning on the football field. “It doesn't compare to that, but it is pretty friggin' awesome. I can't do the Super Bowl anymore, but I can get lucky in the horse business because that's what you have to do—you have to get lucky.”

For now, McPeek said, Bradshaw isn's ready to make a large investment on Thoroughbreds.

“These are modestly priced horses,” he said. “This is a conservative move on his part. He has just has 20 percent of the three.  He's not throwing money at it. But he's very enthusiastic. He's already talked about coming out every morning here at the Fair Grounds. Other than his TV work, he's not that busy.”

And what's he like?

“I talk to Terry regularly,” McPeek said. “He's a hoot. He's hilarious. He's in his mid-seventies or more (Bradshaw is 76) but he sounds like he's 30. He's a very energetic guy.”

Though he's getting more involved in Thoroughbred racing, Bradshaw's real passion id the Quarter Horse. More than 25 years ago he established Terry Bradshaw Quarter Horses. According to its website, Terry Bradshaw Quarter Horses “specializes in breeding and raising world class halter and pleasure horses.”

McPeek hopes that his having established a relationship with Bradshaw and  Menefee could lead to Tom Brady also buying some Thoroughbreds. Brady is also a Fox broadcaster.

“Maybe this can expand into Tom Brady,” he said. “He goes to the Derby every year and he's on the same broadcast team with those other guys.”

Attracting Bradshaw as an owner has come amidst an expansion of the McPeek stable. After he had a career year that could lead to his being named the 2024 Eclipse Award winning trainer, owners like Bradshaw have been knocking on his door.

“We're up about 25 horses from last year,” he said. “Last year I had 30 at the Fair Grounds and this year we have 44. Last year we had 36 at Oaklawn and have gone to 40. And I went back to Gulfstream because there wasn't enough room for all those horses at just Oaklawn and the Fair Grounds. Fortunately, we've been winning races at all three places.”

On Saturday, McPeek will try to pick up his first Grade I victory of the year when he sends out Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream. The 2024 Kentucky Derby winner will be coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish in the GI Malibu S.

“Everything is looking good for Mystik Dan, and on a couple of fronts,” McPeek said. “We've been pleased with how well he's done since he got to Gulfstream. The hard part is going to be that this will be his first start against older horses. We'll see what happens. Surely, he will run better than he did last time. He's trained quite well here.”

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