Amerman Racing; Bongo Stable; Gary Finder; Elias Sabo

If horses had to wear uniforms, there wouldn’t be enough space on the back to list all the owners of Centralinteligence. “It’s my partnership group,” Bob Feld, the managing partner of Bongo Stable’s said. “We’ve been doing partnerships for about 10 years now. We’re like West Point.”

Feld said it wouldn’t be stretching the truth that much that the day after he graduated high school, he hit the backstretch to become a groom. “You either have the racing bug or you don’t,” he said. “My dad would take me and my three brothers to go to the track for the last race and bet a horse to show. Three of the four brothers are involved in racing. We all had a passion for it.”

Feld is a bloodstock agent, who worked with Barry Irwin’s Team Valor and met the Amermans through Irwin. Feld is especially close to Centralinteligence’s trainer, Ron Ellis. “I was the best man at Ron’s wedding,” he said. “He bought a Golden Retriever and named him Bob Feld.”

John, the retired CEO of Mattel Toys, and Jerry Amerman began as partners in Team Valor and went on win a slew of major stakes with Adoration, Balance, Happyanunoit and Lido Palace.

They do more than just race great horses. They take care of all of their horses when they’re done racing, working with such organizations as the California Equine Retirement Foundation and Tranquility Farm. They operate Peacefield Farm in Temecula, Cal., where their daughter Anne serves as manager.

Finder, a long-time owner, says, “I’ve owned horses for 18 years with Ron Ellis. We started with claimers. It’s sort of a dream come true winning a Grade I.”