“I can do the
math.”
Being a
financial consultant, Robert Droste can certainly tally up one percent of,
well, what could be potentially millions.
In a Kentucky
Derby Day drawing on May 4, Droste of Clifton, NJ was the Grand Prize winner in
the “Win a Share of Captaintreacherous” promotion at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
More than
10,000 entries were submitted over the course of several Saturday nights, and
Droste’s name was selected to receive one percent of the pacer’s earnings for
the remainder of his racing career.
Trained by
Tony Alagna and driven by 2012 Driver of the Year Tim Tetrick,
Captaintreacherous is a three-year-old who became the first two-year-old in 25
years to be named overall Pacer of the Year in 2012.
From the
stellar first crop of Somebeachsomewhere, he became the fastest freshman in
Meadowlands history with a 1:49.3 romp in the Woodrow Wilson and earned
$918,253 last season for Captaintreacherous Racing of Versailles, KY.
Captaintreacherous
also won the $1 million Metro Final in 1:49.2 and is the early favorite for the
Meadowlands Pace on July 13.
“I was born
and raised in Rutherford, NJ, and currently reside in Clifton, NJ.,” said
Droste. “I was the Vice President of Finance for a company, and now I’m
an independent financial consultant.”
Droste has
been a loyal horseplayer at the Meadowlands since Day One.
“I’ve been
going to the Meadowlands maybe ten or 12 times a year since it opened,” he
continued. “I was actually there Opening Night in 1976. I was always
interested in horse racing, but the Meadowlands certainly brought it to the
forefront. I had gone to Yonkers and Monmouth Park, but the Meadowlands
made it more convenient to go.”
Droste
considers himself a sports fanatic.
“I like
sports in general, all sports, particularly baseball, football and
basketball,” he admitted. “I went to Rutherford High School, and I
was an All-State baseball player. I played at Fairleigh Dickinson University
for four years.
“Originally,
the thoroughbreds piqued my interest because the big races were always on
television. When simulcasting became popular we could always go to the
Meadowlands to watch the Triple Crown races. Big names like Secretariat
caught my attention.”
Droste did a
little homework before he finally decided to enter the contest.
“I had heard
about Captaintreacherous and the promotion,” he noted. “My friend who
goes to the track a lot knew more about him. Then, I looked the horse up
online and discovered he’s quite a horse.”
Although
guests were encouraged to enter every Saturday to increase their chances,
Droste’s score was sheer destiny.
“I’ve never
had an interest in owning horses, and believe it or not, I only put one entry
ballot in on the night of the drawing,” he revealed. “That was the only
ticket I played. Obviously, I got lucky. When they narrowed it down
to just 13 names, I still didn’t think it was going to happen. Then, I
started to get excited when there were only three left. Those are good
odds. I’ve spoken to [racing manager and partner] Myron Bell a few times
since that night. He’s been very helpful and informative.”
Captaintreacherous
kicked off his sophomore season with a dominant win in a $62,587 Pennsylvania
Sires Stakes division at Pocono Downs on May 19 in 1:49.4.
“I had a
family obligation the night of his first race this season,” said Droste.
“I couldn’t make it there, but I watched the race on simulcast at the
Meadowlands. I was extremely impressed. The horse was
phenomenal. It was really exciting because the horse started from post
seven, he took the lead and on the backstretch he really turned it on. He
blew them away.”
Captaintreacherous
is scheduled to make his next start on June 8 in the eliminations for the
$1,000,000 Pepsi North America Cup at Mohawk. The final is June 15,
followed by the Max Hempt Memorial eliminations on June 22 and final on June 29
at Pocono Downs. He will also start in the Meadowlands Pace eliminations
on July 6. The final is July 13.
“I haven’t been out to the farm to see him yet, but after his first win I’m pretty anxious to get on with the show, so to speak,” said Droste. “The big races are coming and I can’t wait!”
