Michael Nentwig credits his wife, Melinda, for always backing him up in his racing endeavors
CAL-BREDS GAVE OWNER HIS START
By any measure, California horse owner Michael Nentwig and his partners have been on a roll for the past few years, racing such notable graded stakes winners as Going Global, Maxim Rate, and Ginobili, among many other standouts. These days, Nentwig manages a stable of 55 horses spread among half a dozen trainers for his investor group.
Best known for importing turf runners from Ireland, Nentwig has come a long way since he began claiming a few horses with friends at Northern California tracks while still a college student at California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in the 1990s. As things developed, it was a pair of California-breds—one acquired through a claim and one that he co-bred—that helped him at pivotal points of his journey.
Cal-bred Moscow Burning was one of Nentwig’s early successes
The Fremont native’s first big strike came in 2003, when Nentwig said he saw a Harris Farms homebred, Moscow Burning, bang into a rail in a claiming race in the stretch and still manage to win. He recalled telling his racing partner at the time, Dallas Van Kempen, “That’s a horse we ought to claim if we could.” And so they did, tagging the 3-year-old filly at Bay Meadows Fair Aug. 7, 2003, for $25,000.
Trained by James Cassidy, the grass-loving daughter of Moscow Ballet went on to be a graded stakes-winning earner of $1.4 million, mostly on the Southern California circuit. She then sold for $1 million to Japan’s Shadai Farm at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale in 2006.
Moscow Burning came along at a time when Nentwig was at a career crossroads. Vice president of marketing for a Northern California company that produced bulky mainframe computers, he could see that the tech business was changing and, he said, “profit margins were getting thinner. I could see that what we were doing wasn’t going to last much longer.” Moscow Burning, he added, gave him confidence that racehorse ownership was a viable new direction.
His second Cal-bred game changer was The Usual Q. T., a son of Unusual Heat who earned more than $1.5 million in purses. The bay gelding’s turf prowess produced a pair of grade 1 wins—the 2009 the Hollywood Derby and 2010 Eddie Read Handicap—and a third-place finish in the 2010 TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) at Santa Anita (behind all-time great Goldikova and three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti).
It pays to be Cal-bred; that’s the saying and that’s the truth.”
—Michael Nentwig
Nentwig managed The Usual Q. T., also trained by Cassidy, for partners Don Van Racing and George Saadeh. The Usual Q. T. was out of the Western Fame mare Lunge; they had claimed Lunge for $20,000 and raced her four times before they bred her in the name of Carlee Van Kempen.
Partnership management was still new to Nentwig, he said, but “I knew coming out of that (The Usual Q. T.’s success), this is something I wanted to pursue. Well, cashing a couple of Pick 6 tickets also helped.”
Nentwig, now 48 and living in Del Mar, where his home overlooks Del Mar racetrack, credits Melinda, his wife of nearly 20 years, for everything that’s happened.
“She has been right by my side and has always backed me up through the good times and bad in racing,” he said. “I truly wouldn’t be where I am in racing without her. Having a supportive wife makes all the difference in this game.”
At the root of it all has been a decision to concentrate on turf racing, Nentwig said.
“I really can’t compete with the Bob Bafferts and guys like that who have so many resources. I’ve always liked turf racing more and I’ve been successful there, so that’s become our niche. I tell people I could care less about winning the Kentucky Derby. I’d rather win the Breeders’ Cup Mile or Turf.”
Partners such as John Rochfort, Ray Pagano, and Sandra Benowitz have “been with me through everything,” Nentwig said. Other familiar names in his ownership group are Roger Newman, Saul Gevertz, Jeff Byer, and Dan Weiner. Nentwig also has partnered with Slam Dunk Racing and its managing partner, Nick Cosato, over the years and enjoyed much success with Maxim Rate and Drain the Clock, both grade 1 winners, and many others.
Irish-bred mare Going Global, winner of the 2021 Del Mar Oaks (G1T) as well as several other graded stakes while banking more than $1.1 million for Rochfort, Michael Dubb, Gevertz, Nentwig, and Pagano, is the group’s biggest success story. The 2018 mare was recently retired after being sold to Australian interests for $2.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale in 2022.
Nentwig is a big believer in partnerships, and he advises newcomers that the best way to enjoy a “rewarding experience” is to own small percentages in several horses.
“I really like getting people who enjoy the game into horse ownership,” he said. “It’s rewarding when you see the look on their faces the first time a horse they own a part of is leading in the stretch and goes on to win. Some of my best friends are involved with these horses, friends I’ve met through racing. It’s great to win with other people. When there are several owners, nobody gets hurt if things don’t work out, but when they do, everyone gets to share in the experience.”
Our Silver Oak and Mike Smith return after their triumph in the 2019 Snow Chief Stakes
Nentwig has developed a strong pipeline for scouting and acquiring Irish-breds, but horses bred in California remain an important part of his business. Among his top recent stakes-winning Cal-breds are 2019 Snow Chief Stakes victor Our Silver Oak, as well as Madison Rae, winner of the Soviet Problem in December.
“It pays to be a Cal-bred; that’s the saying and that’s the truth,” Nentwig said. “I try to buy four or five Cal-breds every year. I’m always looking for a good Cal-bred. If you aren’t doing that, you’re nuts!”