The horses come first for Luther

Greg Luther is one of those rare individuals who, despite being a self-made millionaire, still likes to get his hands dirty. In the barn, that is.

Despite numerous successes—both in the harness racing and real estate industries—it becomes clear talking with Greg that being in the barn and working with horses is where he’d rather be.

Not content sitting on the sidelines, Greg has amassed not only wealth in financial terms, but in the business he’s created for himself in the harness industry.

Among other accomplishments, the 48-year-old Columbus, Ohio native made headlines this fall when he purchased Amazing Catch for $1.85 million at the 86^th annual Standardbred Horse Sale at Harrisburg. Many mouths in the audience were agape when the final bid came in from Greg for the 3-year-old trotting son of Walner-Met’s Life.

But it wasn’t always that easy for Greg, who now owns more than 200 horses, and who began his foray into the harness racing business as many do, working first as a caretaker.

“My grandfather was involved in the business and that’s how I first became acquainted with the horses,” Greg explained. “In my late teens, I worked as a groom for Terry Holton, Jim Arledge, Jr., and Sandy Beatty. When I was 19, I started training on my own and convinced a new owner to claim a couple of horses for me. He was the only owner I ever had.”

Greg’s training stats stand at 794 starts with 99 wins, 104 seconds, and 102 thirds, with $502,679 in earnings, according to the USTA, since 1996. He climbs into the sulky on occasion too, with 259 starts, 11 wins, 33 seconds, and 29 thirds and $47,253 earned from 1995 to date.

“After a year, that owner decided he really didn’t like the business, and he hadn’t made much money, and told me he was going to switch to real estate investing instead,” Greg noted. “I told him I would get my real estate license, and I had to beg and borrow for the money to get my license, and the guy never bought one house with me. However, I saw potential in the business and realized I needed to become a marketing professional.”

Three decades later, Greg has grown not only his real estate empire, but his harness empire as well. He has 170 racehorses and broodmares, with 40 foals due next season, as well as two commercial stallions, and recently purchased a 100-acre farm in Paris, KY, that he has christened Prolific Equine.

“I own several businesses and do marketing consulting for various industries and professions that generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their companies,” Greg said. “But I’m an owner that likes to be in the barn and because of my real estate business I can be in the barn as well. I wanted to have a facility in Kentucky so that my foals would be dual eligible.

“My ultimate goal is to someday win the Little Brown Jug,” he said. “Once I started making money, I’ve always been chasing the Little Brown Jug. But this is a long term investment for me. I started out with cheap horses and now am starting to branch out pretty big. My first horse was named Oxymoron—a $3,000 claimer at Scioto Downs, and that’s how I got started, living in the grooms’ quarters on the back stretch.

“This business definitely plays to a bit of people’s egos too,” he admitted. “When you do well in business and you can buy whatever you want, it does make a difference, especially at the sales when you’re going up against other owners.”

As with Amazing Catch, Greg seems poised to secure an opportunity at just the right time, with a definite plan in place.

“I had noticed the horse all along, and when I saw he was in the sale, I knew I wanted to buy him,” Greg said. “I realized that the horses he was finishing second or third to in these big races were all retiring, and when the Svanstedts said they would continue to train him his 4-year-old season, I thought it was a no-brainer.”

AMAZING CATCH REPLAY

Greg has begun selling stallion shares to Amazing Catch for $30,000 each.

“We’re going to play it start by start,” he explained. “I want to keep him a racehorse first; I want to win the Hambletonian Maturity before he becomes strictly a sire. Ake told me, ‘he’s sound and he doesn’t bleed, and still has a lot more races in him.’ That was enough for me.”

Greg already spends a good part of his time managing his two Captaintreacherous stallions, Catch The Fire p, 5, 1:46.4 ($1,494,434), whom he purchased in 2022, and Captain Kirk, whom he acquired in 2021. Both stallions stand in Ohio, with Catch The Fire calling Sugar Valley Farm home, while Captain Kirk stands at Winterwood Farm.

“It definitely feels like it’s getting too big at least three times a day,” he laughed. “I’m responsible for everything, but when you’re passionate about it, you’re working on it 24/7. I’ve got five trainers who race in multiple jurisdictions, and some $700,000 a month in operating expenses. We’ve got trucks and trailers and farm equipment and breeding facilities and staff, most of whom are good and conscientious. The trainers do all the entering, and I lean more toward the breeding side. I spend more time on that and am getting more into the stakes horses rather than the overnights now.

“It’s the same as owning your own sports team,” he added. “You’re drafting all the time, and relying on the coaches and the players all the way down the line.”

One aspect of his career that makes Greg rather unique is that he doesn’t have partners and has created his harness empire pretty much all on his own terms.

“I don’t think anyone—when I was as a groom—would have ever thought I would become this big in the business,” he said. “I never dreamed of getting this big; it just kind of snowballed on its own.”

And what about that Little Brown Jug win?

“As soon as I win the Jug, things may change,” he chuckled. “I sum it up this way: if I had to go to the grandstand and hang out with other owners, I’d just quit. I do this to tinker with the horses, to change stuff. I’m a horseman first, an owner second.”

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink