3-time Kentucky Derby horse owner says 'humble beginning' catapulted her to 'sport of kings': 'American Dream'

Tami Bobo, partial proprietor of Catalytic, 1 of nan horses moving successful nan 150th Kentucky Derby connected Saturday, explained to Fox News Digital really her "humble beginnings" ensured that she "never overlooked nan little fortunate" – whether that beryllium horses aliases group – a value she credits for enabling her to catapult into what's considered nan "sport of kings." 

For nan successful thoroughbred owner, breeder and pinhooker, it will beryllium nan 3rd clip Bobo has a equine moving astatine nan prestigious Derby astatine Churchill Downs successful Louisville, Kentucky. Her erstwhile equine to make it to nan Derby, Simplification, placed 4th successful 2022. Her first-ever equine to tally astatine Churchill Downs, Take Charge Indy, placed 3rd astatine nan Derby successful 2012. 

Bobo, who has been successful nan thoroughbred business for complete a decade, said it is her "God-given talent" and "that soul small heart successful maine that tells maine that is nan horse." 

She purchased Take Charge Indy for a specified $80,000, "an absolute insignificant finance into nan industry" of thoroughbreds, Bobo said, because nan equine had been overlooked for being a "little cow-hocked." Bobo purchased Simplification for $75,000, different bargain price, and contempt immoderate vetting issues, "that wasn't going to forestall him from being nan racehorse that he could beryllium if he genuinely had that talent and that bosom which he has shown america he has." This clip around, Catalytic was auctioned astatine Saratoga, an elite waste successful New York, wherever nan apical 100-120 thoroughbred racehorses successful nan world are manus chosen to spell to. 

A colt astatine nan time, Catalytic had "thick profiling tendons," thing immoderate willing buyers dismissed arsenic perchance being a motion of a anterior injury. However, Bobo opted to person an ultrasound done that showed nan tendons "matched perfectly and aesthetically" and had nary signs of tears aliases lesions, attributing nan thickening of nan tendons to "growing pains." 

Catalytic was purchased for conscionable $125,000 and "now he competes pinch nan world's champion wherever group person paid $1.8 million, $1.6 million, $2 million, $3 million," Bobo told Fox News Digital. "You cognize immoderate of these horses syndicate for $20-25 million. So these numbers are not unrealistic. It's each successful what a personification feels that animal is worthy and what nan adjacent person's consenting to pay." 

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"Coming from specified humble beginnings, I person ne'er overlooked nan little fortunate, whether that beryllium a quality aliases a horse," Bobo said, explaining "little conformation defects" tin beryllium fixed successful room aliases done training. 

Tami Bobo said she went from "humble beginnings" to having a 3rd equine make it to nan gates of nan Kentucky Derby. (Fox News Digital)

"The rich | man wants nan cleanable horse. And for me, I'm a patient believer that these horses are made nan measurement God made them," she said. "And successful my experience, from years of buying horses that group didn't want, I judge that's astir apt what I had had my eyes unfastened to admit these horses and beryllium capable to cognize what I felt that I could flooded from a training standpoint pinch these horses." 

"The reality is that insignificant imperfections successful horses and humans, it's conscionable who we each are," Bobo added. "And I deliberation if you springiness group and horses a chance to beryllium who they are, these horses that are calved to tally and calved to beryllium Saturday two-turn horses, they show up whether they're cow-hocked aliases backmost astatine nan knee aliases pigeon-toed. Those are not imperfections that are going to extremity these horses." 

"These are not issues that forestall them from having their God-given talents to execute astatine nan Kentucky Derby connected Saturday. Take Charge Indy was a equine – beautifully bred, beautiful pedigree. Any able personification successful nan world would person bought Take Charge Indy. But collectively, nan marketplace dictated that he wasn't worthy," she said. "He wasn't cleanable erstwhile you looked astatine him. That's why he was overlooked."

Catalytic runs connected nan way during nan greeting training for nan Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs connected May 1, 2024, successful Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Once a young azygous mother, Bobo said she started buying and trading auction barn horses retired of section waste barns for "a very humble profit," and besides offered riding lessons to make ends meet. She yet entered nan Quarter Horse manufacture and realized while walking connected nan roadworthy to show horses – and pinch nan advent of nan Internet – that location was a request to create a database of disposable veterinarians adjacent who could supply nan animals pinch nan attraction they needed. It was done processing that online "equine accusation center" that Bobo said she yet afforded to participate into nan thoroughbred industry. 

Only astir 20,000 to 30,000 racehorses are calved a year, and conscionable 20 of those racehorses suffice and beryllium themselves to get an invitation to nan Kentucky Derby, Bobo said. She buys astir 25 racehorses a twelvemonth from weanling to yearling and yearling to 2-year-old pinhooks. Being successful nan thoroughbred business for astir 12 years now, 3 of those horses person made it to nan gates of Churchill Downs.  

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"God has blessed maine truthful galore times, successful truthful galore ways, and enabled maine different opportunities to beryllium capable to spell back, successful 2022 pinch Simplification, arsenic an proprietor and beryllium capable to bask that experience. And it was tremendous, pinch him and nan locomotion complete and my granddaughter and family, it's conscionable specified a awesome experience, I think, for people, fans and families to spot that the American Dream tin beryllium achieved by anyone," Bobo told Fox News Digital. "And it really isn't really overmuch money you person and who you are. If you activity hard, and you effort successful life, and you don't springiness up, anyone tin execute these goals." 

As a pinhooker, Bobo said she buys a equine pinch a six, 8 aliases 10 period return connected investment, arsenic a norm of thumb, successful nan weanling to yearling market. Those horses past unrecorded connected her workplace in Ocala, Florida, for astir 10 months, and they are bought astatine a nationalist auction, and they are resold astatine a nationalist auction. 

"Horse racing is for nan able people. As a norm of thumb, it's very expensive," she said, arsenic it costs astir $3,500 to $5,000 a period to support a equine successful training. 

"As a norm of thumb," Bobo said, she usually does not partner successful owning a horse, but she made an objection upon gathering Julie Davies, now different partial proprietor of Catalytic, successful nan backmost room astatine Saratoga. Bobo said she was "impressed that she besides recovered this equine successful nan barn, and she besides had done her owed diligence" and wanting to support a chap female successful nan industry. That was really their "friendship and task each began." The 2 took Catalytic backmost to Davies' workplace aft nan Saratoga waste for further training earlier offering him astatine nationalist auction again successful Ocala, wherever he "previewed himself highly well," Bobo said. 

Catalytic walks connected nan way during greeting workouts up of nan 150th moving of nan Kentucky Derby astatine Churchill Downs connected May 2, 2024 successful Louisville, Kentucky. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

"He had a batch of talent and astir apt had nan bosom of a racehorse… And Catalytic has conscionable catapulted himself successful that guidance consistently. He's conscionable class. And that's thing you can't bargain successful horses. You cannot bargain class. They either person a awesome mindset, they return it successful and they bask it. Catalytic is genuinely a jewel erstwhile it comes to class," Bobo said. 

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"We did person immoderate decent offers travel successful connected Catalytic. But anterior to nan Derby and for me, I decided to beryllium still and conscionable bask nan equine and bask nan thrust again," Bobo said. "Catalytic going into nan gates of Kentucky Derby, depending connected really he finishes and really he runs, for me, I'm blessed and thankful for this opportunity and I consciousness for illustration we're each winners going successful and we conscionable for me, I conscionable want nan equine to person a safe travel and travel retired of nan title well, to unrecorded and spell connected to different time and title and bask nan athletics and bask nan ownership of having a equine for illustration him." 

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