Donnie Crevier & Charles Martin

Donnie Crevier was already on his way to a spectacular career selling top-line automobiles when three of his friends talked him into taking 25 percent of a Thoroughbred in 1988. “I thought it’d be fun and exciting,” he said. The horse won his debut, hooking Crevier for the rest of his life.

Now 63, he continues to follow three passions: cars, giving back to the community, and horses. He is president and CEO of one of the nation’s most successful BMW and Mini Cooper dealerships, Crevier BMW Mini in Costa Mesa, California. He also owns Crevier Class Cars, an innovative storage facility for classic cars that also functions as an exclusive club for the owners of those cars.

While he deals with toney clients and friends, Creview is legendary in Southern California for giving back to the community, especially with the Boys and Girls Club. “I was raised by a single mom with not much money,” he said in an interview in Dealer Magazine in 2008. “I was lucky enough to have youth organizations that I was involved with as a kid, and as an adult I’ve had the resources and good luck to be able to help those organizations.” He was realistic about being a Thoroughbred owner:  “It’s for fun,” he said. “If you have a little success, it’s all the more fun.” 

Lately, he and Chip Martin, a labor relations negotiator in Southern California, have had great success thanks to Bench Points and Bench Points’ full brother Points Offthebench. Bench Points won his first four starts. “That was an awesome thrill,” said Martin, a 40-year-old native of Indiana who attended Indiana University and went to the Kentucky Derby a couple of times with his college buddies. Bench Points’ win streak ended when he finished third in the Grade 2 San Felipe. Then, after running seventh in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, he won the Grade 3 Laz Barrera Stakes by a nose. Martin was surprised when trainer Tim Yakteen told him that Bench Points’ year-younger brother was going to be even better. ”He said he was going to win a Grade 1,” Martin said.

Yakteen, a former assistant to Charles Whittingham and Bob Baffert, was right. Points Offthebench edged Goldencents by a head to win the Bing Crosby Stakes and give Yakteen his first Grade 1 stakes win. “I didn’t think I’d have to wait this long,” Yakteen said after the race. Yakteen, who is the godfather to Martin’s oldest son Charlie, considers himself lucky to have Crevier and Martin as owners. “Donnie is a really good guy, very easy to work for, a professional,” Yakteen said. “He stays out of your way and lets you do your job. Chip is a true enthusiast about the sport of horseracing.”

A very happy enthusiast. “We’ve only owned a handful of horses,” Martin said. “We would have been grateful for just one good horse.”