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Hollywood And Horsepower Show with Mark Otto
Guest: Michael Behrens, founder of My Racehorse the largest fractional racehorse ownership group.
Biography: Credit for bio and photo - from https://www.ownerview.com/panelist/michael-behrens
Michael Behrens is the founder of MyRacehorse.com the first ever fully securities compliant micro-share racehorse ownership platform. Micro-shares allow racing fans to buy equity stakes in top thoroughbreds via a hyper fractional interest. A former marketing and advertising executive with Casper, one of the fastest growing direct to consumer brands ever, Michael turned his attention to thoroughbred ownership in 2017. As CEO of MyRacehorse his responsibilities include securities compliance, owner relations, track and industry partnerships and product development.
Title: Founder and CEO
Phone: 909-740-9175
Email: michael@myracehorse.com
Opening the Gates to Racehorse Ownership with Michael Behrens
Host Mark welcomes listeners to Hollywood and Horsepower and introduces guest Michael Behrens, an executive with MyRacehorse, a platform built around fractional racehorse ownership. The episode begins with a reminder of the show’s sponsor, Tony’s Steak and Seafood, and the charities the program supports, including No Fallen Heroes and Old Friends Equine. Mark frames the conversation around accessibility, explaining that MyRacehorse gives people at many income levels a way to experience ownership in Thoroughbred racing. Michael explains that MyRacehorse is more accurately described as a platform than a club, because it gives fans a structured way to buy small equity shares in racehorses.
From Racing Fan to Founder of a Platform
Michael shares that he grew up near San Diego and developed an early love for horse racing through trips to Del Mar. After life, family, and business took him away from the track for a time, he later had the opportunity to explore racehorse ownership after selling his digital marketing agency. He quickly discovered how expensive traditional ownership could be and began looking for a better way. Inspired by fractional ownership models in Japan and Australia, Michael helped create a system that would let fans buy into racehorses at a much lower cost. He explains that MyRacehorse now has about 100,000 owners across the globe, primarily in the United States and Australia.
How the MyRacehorse Model Works
Michael explains that fractional racehorse ownership requires real regulatory structure because dividing a horse into equity shares creates a security. MyRacehorse therefore operates under SEC and FINRA-related requirements while trying to keep the customer experience simple through its website and app. Users can browse available horses, review trainers, pedigrees, financial information, training costs, insurance details, workout videos, and offering documents before buying shares. Once someone purchases a share, the horse appears in that person’s ownership stable, and the owner begins receiving updates, videos, trainer insights, jockey content, and possible perks such as farm tours, paddock access, box seating, or winner’s circle opportunities.
Experiences Beyond the Racetrack
A major theme of the episode is that racehorse ownership is not just about watching a race. Michael describes the owner perks available through MyRacehorse, including farm visits, organized tours, training events, and large partner gatherings such as the Ocala event hosted with OBS. He also describes MyRacehorse lounges at tracks like Gulfstream, Santa Anita, and Del Mar, as well as international experiences tied to horses racing at places like Royal Ascot, Riyadh, and Dubai. Mark emphasizes that these experiences often include restaurants, local culture, travel, camaraderie, and traditions, making racehorse ownership part of a larger lifestyle and travel experience.
Community, Education, and the Racing Lifestyle
Michael explains that many MyRacehorse owners are not from racing families and are not industry insiders. They may have grown up watching the Kentucky Derby or visiting a track occasionally, but they did not know how to participate more deeply. MyRacehorse helps fill that gap through educational updates, owner content, trainer communication, analyst insights, and owner groups. Michael says the community itself often becomes one of the most educational parts of ownership, as people meet each other at tracks, share experiences, and sometimes go on to buy horses together, start stables, or even purchase farms. Mark connects this to the broader accessibility of horse racing, noting that racetracks often allow fans to interact with trainers, jockeys, owners, and horses in ways that are uncommon in other major sports.
Building a Stable and Choosing Horses
The final part of the conversation focuses on how MyRacehorse selects horses and trainers. Michael explains that bloodstock agents evaluate pedigrees, conformation, workouts, and auction value before horses are purchased. Depending on the situation, MyRacehorse may work with a trainer before buying a horse, or it may buy a horse and then match it to a trainer whose program fits that horse’s profile. Michael also explains that owners can diversify by purchasing shares in multiple horses instead of putting all their money into one horse. This allows members to experience different tracks, trainers, circuits, horse ages, and racing journeys. He closes by encouraging new owners to decide what matters most to them, involve family and friends, join the owner community, attend events, and give horse racing enough attention to fall in love with it.
Keywords: My Race Horse, My RaceHorse, MyRaceHorse