Update:
Dornoch finished 10th out of the field of 20 horses, ahead of the Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness. Society Man finished 16th.
After the race, Keith Mason sent a text with the following comment:
“As I have said previously, we defied unbelievable odds when we got two horses qualified into the Kentucky Derby — a .0001 probability. While we were disappointed with the final result, we were not devastated. The horses came out of the race safe and healthy and so did the jockeys. That’s most important. We lost a 2-minute race, but we won some lifetime memories.”
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Although the race won’t take place until May 4, two Atlantans are already celebrating the Kentucky Derby.
Larry Connolly and Keith Mason are co-founders of the West Paces Racing partnership group, which will have two horses racing in the 2024 Kentucky Derby — Dornoch and Society Man.
“We have already won,” Mason said. “We are in it. Getting here is a win. It’s just a bigger win the better we do.”
Mason did a telephone interview during a pre-Kentucky Derby sojourn at his 61-acre farm near Keeneland in the middle of Kentucky horse country on the bourbon trail.
“Here is a stat to keep in mind,” Mason said. “Every year, there are about 20,000 thoroughbreds born — fillies and colts. Only 20 get to come out of the gate at the Kentucky Derby, and we have two of those 20. That likelihood is .0001.”
What a road it has been for Mason and Connolly, who both got involved in the sport of horseracing by going to signature races.
Mason started going to the Kentucky Derby in 1990 when he was campaign manager for Zell Miller’s successful gubernatorial race. Miller, with Mason’s help, ran on getting the Georgia Lottery and the HOPE Scholarship passed. Connolly, who grew up in Rye, N.Y., was exposed to horse racing at Belmont Park and Saratoga. In 1996, Lawrence Kenny, a business associate, invited Connolly to go to Cheltenham, England for Steeplechase horse races.
“I fell in love with it,” Connolly said during an interview in his Buckhead office on April 26, who had the TV on in the background so he could follow and place small bets on various horse races. “There are races going on every day.”
Both Mason and Connolly started flirting with the idea of getting into the horse racing business through syndicates. In 2013, Mason bought a piece in the Donegal partnership, which owned Keen Ice, a promising horse. When Connolly joined Mason at Keeneland in 2014, he expressed an interest in joining Donegal, which he did shortly thereafter. By the fall of 2014, Mason and Connolly were at Churchill Downs when they saw Keen Ice win his first race as a 2-year-old.
A crazy ride had begun. In 2015, Keen Ice finished 7th in the Kentucky Derby. That year American Pharoah won the Triple Crown.(In the run-up to the Triple Crown, Keen Ice placed third at the Belmont.
Later that year, American Pharoah’s owners decided to enter the Travers Stakes in Saratoga — a place called the “Graveyard of Champions.” In a major upset, Keen Ice beat American Pharoah. That was Aug. 29, 2015.
“That was an exhilarating feeling,” Connolly said. “At that point, I’m hooked for life.”
Connolly and Mason were becoming fluent the intricacies of horse racing and getting to know the people who could pick out the most promising yearlings — Conor Foley and Jim Hatchett. They started getting serious about forming their own syndicate to buy racehorses.
“In 2019, we started our own racing partnership, West Paces Racing,” Mason said. “Larry was fully retired in his business, and he had the wherewithal and capacity.”
West Paces was a shout-out to their Atlanta roots, signaling their relationship with the Cherokee Town Club, where many of their partners were members. They brought on Foley and Hatchett as their bloodstock agent, and by the major Keeneland sale in September of 2019, they began buying horses.
West Paces is considered to be a “moneyball” outfit.
“We are out there looking for value — diamonds in the rough,” Mason said. “We can’t compete with the mega owners, but we can find quality at an affordable price. We are trying to get there on hustle and smarts, and not just money.”
It was in 2022 when West Paces bought a third ownership in Dornoch and Society Man. “We were the group that identified, named, purchased, raced and qualified them.”
Dronoch was bought for $325,000 and Society Man for $85,000. That was a fraction of the $2.3 million it cost to buy Sierra Leone, a leading contender in this year’s Kentucky Derby.
“We are competing against people who spend tens of millions of dollars a year on the purchase of racehorses.” said Mason, who continues to have multiple other business interests. West Paces, which includes about 20 partners, spends about $1 million a year to buy horses, and then up to another $500,000 on annual upkeep and syndicate overhead.
Both Connolly and Mason quickly dispelled the notion that horseracing was an investment for big returns. West Paces has different levels of a minimum buy in for partners depending on age. Under 40, the minimum is $25,000. Under 50, the minimum is $50,000. For those over 50, the minimum is $100,000.
When Connolly brings on partners, he tells them to kiss their money goodbye.
“One of our partners said it’s like driving down Georgia 400 and throwing money out of the window,” Connolly said.
Partners actually are buying into a lifestyle. As owners, they can receive special privileges, like accompanying their horse on the walk from the barn to the paddock.
Connolly remembered when he and Mason accompanied Keen Ice on the 2015 walk at Churchill Downs. “They yell at you like you’re a rock star for 15 minutes,” Connolly said of the crowd.
Horse racing has now become a way of life for Connolly, Mason and their families.
“A large part of our social life is geared around the thoroughbred calendar,” Connolly said. “As an owner, it’s a rather small, incestuous world. You get to meet so many interesting people.”
Currently, West Paces owns a part of 23 horses — one 5-year-old, two 4-year-olds, twelve 3-year-olds, and eight 2-year-olds.
Dornoch and Society Man are among the 3-year-olds, and they just got their lane positions set for the May 4 race. Dornoch will be in the Post 1 position while Society Man will be in Post 20 — neither spot is ideal for winning.
No matter what happens on May 4, Mason called the Kentucky Derby “the greatest two minutes” in sports.
“It’s a huge rush,” Mason said, refusing to say he was addicted. “I call it a major passion.”
“It makes you feel alive,” Connolly said. “I love feeling excited before a race.”
Mason sent a text on the Sunday before the race saying: “Derby fever getting hot up here.”
But West Paces Racing has already won.
“You’ve got to remember, there’s a lot of heartbreak in this business, and we’ve had our fair share. That’s what makes winning so special,” Connolly said. “But for a moneyball outfit to have two horses in the Kentucky Derby in one year rarely happens.”
they have two horses that dont stand a chance. pass