Page McKenney's Owner Draws Royal Flush

His sire now stands in Libya, his primary owner was a self-described “working stiff,” a poker dealer in Las Vegas, the horse lost his first 12 starts and he was claimed out of a $16,000 maiden claimer. More than four years after that claim, Page McKenney (Eavesddropper) has won 20 races, 13 stakes and has earned $1,756,378. Stranger things have happened in racing. But not much stranger.

Page McKenney, now 7, added another chapter to the story when he won the $150,000 Pennsylvania Derby Championship Sept. 23 at Parx for his fourth win on the year. With Ben's Cat having been retired and then dying only a few days later, Page McKenney has picked up the mantle as the Mid-Atlantic region's favorite overachiever. He has his own Facebook page, which describes him as “Super Awesome Race Horse at Pimlico Race Course.”

“When we went to claim him, we thought there might be something hidden there,” said primary owner Adam Staple. “Obviously, we didn't think it was a hidden gem.”

Staple, a graduate of Boston University and a New York City native, had worked on and off in the racing industry. He worked for the short-lived Racing Times, was the director of stallion season shares at William Schettine's Signature Stallions in Ocala and dabbled in pinhooking and ownership. But an interest in poker took him away from the sport and he moved to Las Vegas to work as a dealer at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino.

Because the poker room at the Monte Carlo is near the racebook he would occasionally pick up copies of the Daily Racing Form that customers had left behind and noticed an ad for someone looking for a partner to go in on a horse. He bought into a horse named Jack Reacher (In Excess {Ire}) and though Jack Reacher didn't enjoy much success on the racetrack, Staple had the bug again. He did better with a horse he claimed named Avie (Strong Hope), who consistently picked up checks and that encouraged Staple to expand his small stable.

It's doubtful many people other than Staple and trainer Mary Eppler were interested in claiming Page McKenney when he was entered in a June 20, 2013 race at Colonial Downs by trainer Jazz Napravnik. Not only was he winless in 12 career starts, but he was 10-1 that day. But Staple likes to study pedigrees and thought the horse would turn a corner if turned into a full-time grass horse. That the horse was Pennsylvania-bred and eligible for that state's lucrative state bred programs was also a plus.

“Mary kept touting the Pennsylvania program to me,” Staple said. “They were throwing money at people for Pennsylvania breds.”

Staple will admit there was some luck involved. With his pedigree research, he thought Page McKenney could turn the corner if converted to a full-time grass horse. Though the gelding is a five-time winner on the grass, he is a far better dirt horse.

Owned at the time by breeders Dr. James Bryant and Linda Davis, Page McKenney broke his maiden the day of the claim. Staple later sold a 10% share in the horse to Bryant and Davis.

It took a while for Page McKenney to start to improve, but there were signs of better things to come when he reeled off four straight wins in 2014, with the streak concluding with his first stakes win, the Robellino S. for Pennsylvania-breds.

By 2015, his career had gone to another level. He finished third in the GIII Charles Town Classic and second in the GIII Pimlico Special. A year later, he finished second in the Charles Town Classic, earning $234,000. By then, Staple was no longer a poker dealer.

“Who could have ever have imagined this?” Staple said. “As a life-changer it couldn't have been more of one. I actually had enough where I could quit the my job. I was a working stiff, a middle class, average guy from New York City. My association with racing was reading about it in the Daily News and going out to Aqueduct occasionally on the A train. Back in high school, my idea of a fun Friday night was to go to Meadowlands on the bus. All my friends thought I was insane.”

Page McKenney looked like he might be slipping a bit when he finished second in the Mountainview at Penn National earlier this year and then fourth in the West Virginia Governor's at Mountaineer. But he came back with a win in the Roanoke against Pennsylvania-breds and then beat open company in the Pennsylvania Derby Championship. With the exception of his win in the 2016 GIII General George, his only graded stakes victory, his most recent win might have been his most impressive as the field was a good one.

Eppler, who says she believes Page McKenney has at least few good years left in him, understands he doesn't have the breeding to be a top horse and that he struggled early in his career. But she says he has an intangible–heart.

“If you look at his last race, Just Call Kenny (Jump Start) came flying up on him in the last five strides,” she said. “Page wasn't going to let him get any closer than he was. It was like Page was telling him I'm not going to let you get any closer than this. Since I have had him, there have only been two or three races that he has been caught and passed in the stretch. Once he gets to the front he wins.”

The $2-million mark in earnings is a goal and as long as Page McKenney stays healthy it seems well within his reach. No matter what, Adam Staple is not going back to dealing poker any time soon.