Little Red Feather Racing

Billy Koch, the 44-year-old founder and managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing, seemed destined for a life with Thoroughbreds. His grandfather, Howard W. Koch, a noted movie director and producer who was a board member at Hollywood Park, was partners with actor Telly Savalas (who starred in the popular TV show “Kojak”) on Telly’s Pop, who became the first horse to win the California Triple Crown for two-year-olds in 1975 when Billy was a young child. Howard told his grandson bedtime stories about the fictitious Indian Chief Little Red Feather, and Koch honored him by naming his stable Little Red Feather when it began operating with a single horse in 2002.

In just two years, Little Red Feather had a star, Singletary, who won the $1.5 million Grade I Breeders’ Cup Mile. He was named for the Chicago Bears star linebacker Mike Singletary. Koch became a Bears fan while attending Northwestern University in the Windy City. Koch, who was born in Los Angeles, studied radio, television and film at Northwestern, and worked for Final Draft Productions, a company in Agoura Hills, California, before he decided to concentrate on his passion. “I always had a little piece of partnerships in horses,” he said. “I decided to do it full time.”

Little Red Feather Racing bought Singletary, who had sold for $3,200 in 2001, for $30,0000 at the January Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Ocala in 2002. At the time Singletary won the Breeders’ Cup Mile, Koch said, “Hopefully, it showed to everyone that anyone can win the Breeders’ Cup Mile or the Kentucky Derby.”

Koch, who was a Board member of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, has personally brought many new owners into racing. In 2013, Little Red Feather Racing celebrated its 80th partnership. 

“My personal goal is to bring new people into the game and assist with horse racing coming back to prominence the way it was,” Koch said Jan. 7. “I know that’s unrealistic, but I want to make racing more popular, to bring in new owners. We have over 300 active investors now. Every day we get calls from people who want to get involved in the game. I think racing partnerships are here to stay.”

Gary Fenton, a Managing Partner of Little Red Feather who grew up in Beverly Hills, California, is the son of former Beverly Hills City Councilman/Mayor Frank Fenton. Gary, whose brother Steven is a member of the Beverly Hills Board of Education, was an entertainment attorney who spent five years at the William Morris Agency before working with multiple entertainment companies. He was Little Red Feather’s counsel before joining the organization as CEO in 2005 and Managing Partner in 2006.

Tony Fanticola & Joe Scardino

“One of my goals in life was to own a sports team and I didn’t have $700 million laying around,” Tony Fanticola laughed when asked how he became a Thoroughbred owner.

Before he moved to California 25 years ago, the 70-year-old native of Staten Island, N.Y., used to go to the track in the morning with his late brother-in-law, Joe Trovato, a long-time, successful New York trainer who conditioned 1974 Filly Triple Crown Champion Chris Evert. “I used to go to the track with him in the morning,” Fanticola said. “Coffee and donuts and watch his horses train.”

When he came to California, he met Joe Scardino. “His son, Frank, built our house in Glendora,” Fanticola said. “We hit it off pretty good. He’s a sharp individual. He’s Italian. We broke bread a number of times.”

Scardino, an 81-year-old native of Chicago, has retired from his business as a contractor specializing in drywall construction. He began his involvement in horses some 45 years ago with Quarter Horses before switching to Thoroughbreds. “I think Quarter Horses are a lot of fun, but I thought it would be better for me to do Thoroughbreds,” he said.

Before he became partners with Fanticola, he did well on his own. “I won the Del Mar Derby and the Hollywood Derby (in 1988) with Silver Circus, that I claimed for $32,000,” he said. “That worked out well. Then I claimed Bruho for $50,000, and he went on to win Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien (in 1991).”                          

And while Fanticola doesn’t have $700 million, he has done well enough, operating 105 Jiffy Lube franchises in Southern California, to risk an equine investment. “We wound up buying a horse together, Flying First Class,” Fanticola said. “It worked out well. We won a couple of races. He’s a fantastic partner.” The feeling is mutual. “It’s really a great partnership,” Scardino said. “Tony and I just agree very easily.”

They initially used Mike Mitchell as their trainer, then left racing for a couple of years before returning. Mitchell was glad to have them back. “This is my second time around with them,” Mitchell, said. “They’re wonderful, wonderful people. I’ve known Joe for a lifetime. They’re fun to work for and they love winning.”

They’ve done a lot of it, considering their stable size is usually just four or five horses.

“They make it fun,” Mitchell said. “They love being a part of it.”