Meet The Horse Racing Tycoons Competing At The Kentucky Derby

Horse: Alpha

Odds: 11 to 1

Sheikh Mohammed, the Prime Minister of the UAE and constitutional monarch of Dubai, is the owner of Godolphin, a private horse racing stable based in the UAE.

The Sheikh, whose family net worth is an estimated $79.5 million, according to Forbes, has been a major figure in the world of thoroughbred horseracing for decades.

Horse: Bodemeister

Odds: 9 to 2

Zayat is the owner of Zayat Stables, a thoroughbred racing company with stables around the country.

Zayat, a native of Egypt, made $287 million when he bought a beverage company from the Egyptian government and in 1997 and sold it to Heineken five years later.

Horse: Creative Cause

Odds: 11 to 1

Steinmann, a Swiss native, has owned race horses for more than three decades.

An accomplished Alpine skier, he is credited as the man who brought skiing to California.

Horse: Daddy Long Legs

Odds: 30 to 1

Susan Magnier is racing royalty. Her father is famed trainer Vincent O'Brien, and her husband is John Magnier, managing partner of the prestigious thoroughbred breeder Coolmore Stud.

John Magnier, who is Irish, is worth an estimated $822 million, according to the Sunday Times.

Susan co-owns Daddy Long Legs with Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor.

Horse: Daddy Nose Best

Odds: 15 to 1

Zollars is the co-founder of Huitt Zollars, an engineering firm in Dallas.

He co-owns the horse with his wife, Cathy.

Horse: Dullahan

Odds: 8 to 1

Crawford is the managing partner of Donegal Racing, a partnership that was formed in 2008.

He's also an attorney in Iowa who practices in the areas of government relations, litigation, racing and gaming, sports law, project development and policy initiatives.

Horse: Gemologist

Odds: 7 to 1

Troutt is the owner of WinStar Farm, a thoroughbred breeding operation in Kentucky.

He's also the founder of Excel Communications, a telecom company that he sold to Teleglobe in 1998 for $3.5 billion.

Horse: Hansen

Odds: 14 to 1

Hansen is a physician who has owned racehorses for more than 30 years.

His partner on the horse is Sky Chai Racing, a partnership that includes Dr. Harvey Diamond and Jim Shircliff, the CEO of River Road Asset Management.

Horse: I'll Have Another

Odds: 15 to 1

Reddam is the President of CashCall, a financial lending company. He also founded Ditech.com, a mortgage loan company in 1995, which he sold to GM four years later.

He has been on the thoroughbred racing scene since the early 1980s.

Horse: Liaison

Odds: 40 to 1

Zetcher was CEO at Bonwit-Teller and Kohls Food Stores before landing at women's specialty retailer Talbots. 

He retired from the business world in 2008, but remains on the boards of the University of Washington and the National Retail Federation.

Horse: My Adonis

Odds: 40 to 1

A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Hall now heads the Clinton Group, an investment company he founded that manages more than $6.6 billion in capital.

Hall and his wife Lori started racing in 2004.

Horse: Optimizer

Odds: 60 to 1

Kelley, a self-made tycoon is the founder of tobacco company Commonwealth Brands and worth $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.

He owns 71% of the Kentucky Downs racetrack and holds minor stake in Churchill Downs, the venue of Kentucky Derby.

Horse: Prospective

Odds: 50 to 1

Oxley is the founder of oil and gas exploration firm Oxley Petroleum, based In Tulsa, Okla. He sold that company in 2003 to start a smaller scale venture.

He's the son of Hall of Fame polo player John T. Oxley, and a longtime horseman whose winners include 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos and 1999 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Eclipse Award winner Beautiful Pleasure.

Horse: Rousing Sermon

Odds: 40 to 1

Larry Williams is the founder of the Idaho Timber Corporation, one of the top 10 private corporations in Idaho.

He and his wife Marianne also own Tree Top Ranches in Idaho and Oregon, and recently pledged $5 million, along with another couple, to the expansion of the football stadium at Boise State University.

Horse: Sabercat

Odds: 35 to 1

Winchell is the son of Verne Winchell, who founded the donut company Winchell's and later served as CEO of Denny's. Verne also founded Winchell Thoroughbreds, which his wife Joan and son Ron continue to run.

Ron is also involved in gaming bars/restaurants, construction and real estate development.

Horse: Take Charge Indy

Odds: 16 to 1

The Sandfords are the owners of Bag Makers Inc., a major operation based in Marengo, Ill, that prints more 80 million custom bags annually.

They were featured on the CNBC show "How I Made My Millions" in 2011, and got into horse racing several years ago as a hobby.

Horse: Trinniberg

Odds: 45 to 1

Parbhoo, a native of Trinidad, is the son of horse trainer Bisnath Parboo (nope, that's not a spelling error).

The family owned a trucking business in New York and started raising thoroughbreds, later moving the operation to Florida.

They picked up Trinniberg, a speedster with no long race experience, at an auction for $21,000.

Horse: Union Rags

Odds: 9 to 2

Jamie Wyeth, a renowned artist, and wife Phyllis are the owners of Chadds Ford stable in Pennsylvania.

Her parents were also racers of championship horses and she also rode steeplechase horses.

The pair bought Union Rags and sold him, only to buy him back.

Horse: Went The Day Well

Odds: 18 to 1

Irwin was a fiction writer who dropped everything to get into thoroughbred racing. He was a journalist and an agent before eventually becoming a stable owner. 

He founded Team Valor in 1987, which has since grown into a top stable in North America. The stable earned its first Kentucky Derby victory last year, with Animal Kingdom.

Horse: El Padrino

Odds: 16 to 1

Owner: Let's Go Stable

Horse: Done Talking

Odds: 50 to 1

Owner: Skeedattle Stables

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