From watching the races as fans, to standing in the Winner’s Circle with countless horses over the years, Bush Racing Stable has grown into a successful claiming stable, celebrating wins and making memories, race after thrilling race.
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It all started with a very determined fan who loved the sport so much, he wanted to become more involved. “My dad, Bryan, started Bush Racing in 2004,” described Dave Bushey. “He was kind of a long-time racing fan, always went out to the racetrack like lots of people and watched the races, and connected with some horsemen. Finally, with a couple of buddies, they all kind of pitched in some money and claimed a horse named Golden Nicholas.”
Golden Nicolas proved to be their first ‘golden ticket’. “He won his first two races for us in 2004,” Dave remembered. “Coincidentally, the jockey at the time riding him, Jorge Tipa, is now our exercise rider in Tim’s (Kreiser, trainer) barn.”
Five years later, Dave became more involved with his dad and the stable. “We’ve been claiming horses through the Mid-Atlantic now for almost twenty years! Largely, we are at the $10,000-$16,000 level. But Point Dume was probably the biggest claim we’ve ever made in our life!”
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“We’ve had some really nice horses over the years. In 2018, we had a horse named Persie, who won the most races of any horse in the U.S. He was the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association’s (HPBA) National Claimimg Horse of the Year. He’s actually at Old Friends Farm now in Kentucky with the likes of Silver Charm. Then in 2023, we had a horse named Kaylasaurus we claimed at Penn National who won a couple stakes races for us, and then we sold her as a broodmare at the Keeneland November Sale.”
“Point Dume has eclipsed all of them with his success!” he added.
Dave and the team behind Point Dume are still embracing all the feels after winning the Grade II Carter Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack on April 4th. “It was both emotional and celebratory at the same time. We traveled with 20 of our closest friends and family to New York, and these aren’t races that we are in often. So we wanted to make it an experience for everyone.”
“It was extra special for us for a number of reasons. Dad’s story has been well-covered, with his pancreatic cancer. You just live up every single one of these experiences now, even more so than what you would have before something like this happens. And it was Dad’s 68th birthday! And we won that big of a race.”
Bush Racing Photo
“And to top things off, Edwin Gonzalez got his start in the U.S. at Penn National, and won hundreds of races with Tim (Kreiser), lots of races with us, and for all of this to come full circle, and Edwin to get our first graded stakes win; Edwin to get Tim Kreiser’s first graded stakes win; and Edwin to win the biggest race he’s ever won in his life, was just one of those moments you couldn’t dream up!”
With all of the success that Bush Racing Stable has had over the years, it’s easy to see why Dave and the team are so happy racing in the Keystone State. “We love racing in PA!” he said emphatically. “We have typically about 15 horses at any given time, give or take, given that we’re a claiming stable. We love Pennsylvania for a number of reasons.”
“One, it’s a beautiful place to train racehorses. Penn National being the year-round track, it’s a really nice surface. It’s a consistent surface, which is important. On top of that, it’s affordable! You go to a lot of these other places, like New York, it’s almost unreachable to compete unless you’re a millionaire, and that’s not us. We’re a blue-collar racing stable.”
“And we love Pennsylvania because we can treat it as sort of a hub from a racing perspective, where our goal is to race at Penn National, Parx, the tracks within Pennsylvania, but if we can’t find races at those tracks, Penn National is in close proximity to other racetracks. And we love our team! They’re hard-working, dedicated, and they show up every single day.”
Bush Racing continues a busy schedule with a full stable and several exciting new horses hitting the track. “A four-year-old colt named Hope’s Alive I like a lot, will run in some allowance races coming up, and I think he can probably go turf and dirt. A nice starter horse named Heaven Street can have a nice run this summer. And just looking forward to Point Dume and what’s all ahead for him! We’ve got some big aspirations for him, whether that’s back in New York, or in Kentucky on Derby Day.”
By the way, if you’re a fan of any of the Bush Racing horses, feel free to jump in the Winner’s Circle! “We encourage anyone to join in on the celebration if we win!” Dave said. “My goal is to pack that Winner’s Circle every single time we win. We love the fan interaction and we love bringing young people into the sport.”
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Cover Photo Credit to NYRA Bets Photo
