Morplay Racing’s Rich Mendez Joins The TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented By Keeneland

Wandering Eyes · 2026-01-21T20:58:33Z

Under the leadership of Rich Mendez, Morplay Racing has come a long way in a short time. The Morplay team, which also includes Mendez's son, Josh, Randy Hartley, and Dean DeRenzo, and started up in 2023, has already won at the highest levels with Shisospicy (Mitole) and got a taste of Derby Fever when it won the 2024 GIII Sam F. Davis Stakes with No More Time (Not This Time). Morplay will look to add to its accomplishments when sends out its most recent acquisition, Brotha Keny (Mo Town), in Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

To talk about Shisospicy, the Pegasus, how he got started in the business, and other topics, Mendez joined the group for this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

Before he got into racing, Mendez was the co-founder and CEO of Rich Music, which specialized in Latino artists. His success in the music business gave him the opportunity to get involved in racing, which was something he said he had always wanted to do.

“I lived in Brooklyn, New York, and I always watched the races on TV and always loved them,” Mendez said. “Plus, my uncle was a jockey. His name is Victor Sanchez. I always admired the athletic side of the horses and the competition, and always dreamt about maybe owning a horse. I had no idea or knew anything about it. It was a crazy dream. But with our record label becoming successful, I was able to start acquiring a couple of horses here and there without knowing absolutely anything. I met up with Harley and DeRenzo and we purchased a couple of horses and we started the process. It's a game of luck, right? But it's also a game where if you don't have the right team and right people around you, you can drown very quickly.”

They paid just $40,000 for No More Time, who is an Iowa-bred, at the Keeneland September sale. After finishing second in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, he seemed to be on his way to the GI Kentucky Derby, but was injured and never ran again. That disappointment didn't last long, as Shisospicy became the stable's star.

A sensational turf sprinter, she's 5-for-6 with four stakes wins on the grass. Her crowning achievement was the win in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

When asked what it felt like to win a Breeders' Cup race, Mendez said, “Someone interviewed me afterwards and they said, 'What does it feel like?' We were nominated for Grammys, The Billboard Music Awards, things like that. But that experience, that rush of watching her and having my son next to me, and my son-in-law, my grandkids, and my wife behind me, that was something that I'll cherish forever. That's because I know how hard it is to get there, much less win it. I watch it and I still get a little emotional myself. It's an unbelievable feeling. It's something that I hope my little ones, my little grandkids, will remember for the rest of their lives. And now in this digital world, they'll be able to pull it up one day and see Papa and the family with an experience like this.”

Shisospicy will soon embark for Saudi Arabia, where she will compete in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint on Feb. 14. Mendez said he was not sure whether or not she will stay in the Middle East for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai.

Much of Morplay's success has come with Jose D'Angelo, who is among the hottest young trainers in the country. Mendez acknowledged that D'Angelo has become a big part of his team.

“I got a lot of comments from people saying we should spread our risk,” Mendez said. “They said to put horses here with this trainer and with that trainer. There was something about Jose. I love the underdog, right? And I remember meeting him for the first time. I was sitting in 10 Palms at Gulfstream and there was a knock on the window. Jose knew of my work in the music business and he wanted to introduce himself. I came away from that thinking he's young and talented and I wanted to give him a chance. I decided that with every horse where I owned at least 50 percent or more, I would give them to Jose. It's been amazing. I've got a great relationship with him. He communicates with me really, really well. His fire is the same fire that we have.”

The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was Usually Wrong (Lookin at Lucky), who earned a 104 Beyer figure when winning the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at the Fair Grounds. The Fastest Horse of the Week segment is sponsored by WinStar, which stands the red-hot sire Constitution.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the PHBA, 1/ST TV, and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman discussed the situation at Santa Anita, where the track installed 26 machines that are similar to Historical Horse Racing machines only to have them confiscated by local authorities. Cadman expressed a strong opinion that Santa Anita will ultimately win after what figures to be a long court battle. The group went over last week's GIII Lecomte Stakes, where trainer Cherie DeVaux finished one-two with the pair of Golden Tempo (Curlin) and Mesquite (Union Rags). The latest news out of the Mike Repole camp-that he was filing a wide-ranging lawsuit that involves several of the sport's most important organizations was still another topic of discussion.

Click here to watch the podcast or click here to listen.