Baltimore — It might be Animal Kingdom's chest. It might be his front legs. It might be his hindquarters.
New Orleans-area businessmen in the Team Valor International syndicate that owns Animal Kingdom aren't divulging what portion of the Kentucky Derby winner belongs to them.
"It's 20 partners in varying percentages," said Rob Byrne, a certified public accountant from Folsom. "My wife always makes the joke, we own the part that hits the wire first."
"And we're not the majority owners," Pat Suffern, a CPA from Mandeville, said, breaking into a smile.
But on the first Saturday in May, Byrne, Suffern, Greg Sterck from Covington and Wayne Mediamolle from Mandeville were in the winner's circle with Animal Kingdom at Churchill Downs.
"We have the pictures - and the roses - to prove it," Sterck said. "For a Mother's Day gift, that scored a lot of points."
On Saturday, the four locals will be at Pimlico to watch Animal Kingdom run in the Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Byrne said he likes to compare investing in a horse to taking a trip. With Animal Kingdom, the foursome is traveling first-class.
"You never know where the trip is going to go, when it's going to end," Byrne said. "So enjoy the trip. That's what we're on. Animal Kingdom has taken us on a heck of a trip. We're still on it. We're in the dream right now."
"It's absolutely surreal," Suffern said.
For a horse owner, percentage of ownership has nothing to do with level of excitement in a race. No matter how much money someone has invested in a horse, when the animal is running, the owner is riding along. Emotions don't depend on shares.
"You don't cheer any louder," Byrne said.
Sterck said: "You can't get any more nervous."
That's the principle behind Team Valor, Dogwood, West Point and other syndicates. Investors split costs and risks, and a racing professional handles the day-to-day decisions for the group. If a horse is classy enough, the investors will share profits Ñ and the rush from winning.
"It gives us the opportunity to leverage off the finest horse-racing management in the world," Suffern said.
Byrne said: "It's like getting the best mutual-fund manager to manage your money."
Barry Irwin calls the shots for Team Valor syndicates.
Irwin, 68, a former racing journalist who later became president of a bloodstock agency based in California, is the chief executive officer for Team Valor.
It grew out of Clover Racing Stables, partnerships that Irwin and handicapper Jeff Siegel started in 1987. They formed Team Valor in 1992, and Irwin bought out Siegel in 2007.
Besides Animal Kingdom, prominent horses run by Clover/ Team Valor syndicates over the years include Prized, Captain Bodgit, Political Ambition, Star of Cozzene, Golden Ballet, Unbridled Belle, Visionaire and Pluck.
Pluck's victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf helped Team Valor surpass $2 million in earnings around the world last year. Team Valor horses won more than $1.5 million in U.S. purse money in 2010.
A Team Valor syndicate that didn't include the New Orleans-area men bred Animal Kingdom. He's a son of the Brazilian-bred stallion Leroidesanimaux, who was the North American champion turf male in 2005, and the mare Dalicia, a long-distance turf runner who was a Group III winner in her native Germany.
At a German sale late in 2005, Irwin purchased Dalicia and sent her to America. She won one of five starts in the United States in 2006 and 2007 for Team Valor and Never Tell Racing before being retired for breeding. Animal Kingdom is her first foal.
Because of financial difficulties, the ownership group decided to sell Animal Kingdom and Dalicia.
Irwin, not wanting to lose the colt, paid $100,000 for him at the Keeneland September Sale in 2009 and immediately assembled another Team Valor syndicate. Some of the original partners stayed involved. The four local men were among the new investors in Animal Kingdom.
"He sold out quickly, because Barry was very high on him," Sterck said.
When Irwin is forming a partnership, people involved in other Team Valor partnerships get the first chance to join. If shares in a horse are remaining after such people have their chance to invest, Irwin will look for new investors.
"It's first come, first serve, but only to existing partners," said Sterck, who is in about 10 current Team Valor partnerships.
Byrne, who is in about the same number of partnerships, said: "When (Irwin) is ready to syndicate a horse, he gives a 24- to 48-hour heads-up to existing partners."
Irwin sets the percentages being offered, "say 2 1/2 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent, etc.,'' said Suffern, who is in three or four partnerships.
Sterck, the chief executive officer of a marine insurance company, has owned horses for about 30 years. He was a co-owner of the Louisiana-bred gelding One Brick Shy, who won the Claiming Crown Jewel in 1999 and Champions Day Turf in 2002 on the way to career earnings of more than $470,000. Sterck first became involved with Team Valor in 2006.
Byrne, Suffern and Mediamolle, who is the president of a company that manufactures industrial components, became horse owners through Team Valor. They've been involved with Team Valor partnerships since 2002.
Many Team Valor horses race overseas. Sterck and Byrne, for example, have several horses racing or breeding in South Africa. "We've raced in South Africa, Germany, Italy, France, the UK," Sterck said. "I had one that went to Dubai. We've been on three continents."
Captain's Lover, whom Irwin purchased for $17,000 as a yearling, paid off handsomely for all four locals. She was the champion 3-year-old filly in South Africa in 2007 and later became a graded stakes winner in the United States. From 2006 through 2010, she earned almost $350,000 on the track. When she was done racing, the syndicate sold half-interest in her. Because she recently gave birth to a Pulpit filly, the partners are co-owners of that potential runner.
When Irwin buys a horse, the Team Valor partners pay for their shares and provide start-up money for training, Suffern said. Every quarter, the partners either receive a bill for more expenses or a check for winnings, depending on how the horse is performing.
"In the Captain's Lover syndicate, we went quite a long time without paying anything," Suffern said.
All Team Valor partners receive a confidential bulletin once or twice a week about all the horses, Sterck said. Owners of a particular horse get individual emails. Information might be about an injury, racing plans or the possibility of selling the horse.
"Partners get to vote on a prospective sale of a horse," Sterck said. "Barry manages all racing decisions."
Byrne said: "The partners get their percentage vote on any major financial decision with a horse."
When Irwin and trainer Graham Motion decided to run Animal Kingdom in the Kentucky Derby, entry and starting fees Ñ $50,000 total - came from the $285,000 that Animal Kingdom earned for winning the Spiral Stakes. The partners didn't see a bill for those fees.
"I think the partnership is not everybody's cup of tea, but I think there are enough people that enough partnerships can be in business to accommodate them," Irwin said. "I think each partnership has a different make-up, and the people kind of gravitate to the partnership to which they identify the most."
Irwin is aiming to acquire stakes-caliber horses, not claimers, for Team Valor syndicates. "Every time we buy a horse, we try to buy a horse to be a graded stakes winner," he said. "We're looking for good horses. If they don't turn out well, we're disappointed."
There are social benefits to belonging to an ownership syndicate, Byrne said. Owners enjoy meeting other owners from around the country Ñ "usually successful men and women, and some of the nicest people," he said.
Partners also get to know other people within their group. The local men say they don't know everyone in the syndicate that owns Animal Kingdom. Some partners might attend one race, and some might attend another. Irwin said that 16 of the partners in Animal Kingdom attended the Kentucky Derby. A party on the Thursday before the race brought together those partners and the Team Valor partners in Summer Soiree, a filly who ran in the Kentucky Oaks.
Irwin said he knows some Team Valor partners, such as Byrne, well. "Some of these guys, I don't know very well," Irwin said.
If Animal Kingdom keeps winning, the partners and Irwin might have other opportunities to interact. The trip with Animal Kingdom might be stopping at Belmont Park.
"I think I can speak for all our partners," Byrne said. "We'll go as far as this horse will take us."
Bob Fortus can be reached at email@example.com or 504.826.3408.