TOC Honors Great Friends Stable with Annual Partnership Award
Great Friends Stable has been selected by Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) as the recipient of this year’s Horseracing Partnership Award.
The Southern California-based partnership, which campaigns GI Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan H. winner Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) in partnership with Yulong Racing, will be recognized during a special trophy presentation at TOC’s Southern California Annual Meeting on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Del Mar.
Craig Dado, founder and owner of Sports Injury Central (SIC), a real-time expert sports injury analysis website, heads the partnership that has risen from humble beginnings to Grade I success.
Approximately 15 members of Great Friends Racing traveled to Saratoga to witness Raging Torrent’s victory in the prestigious Met Mile.
“We were just a little claiming barn from Del Mar,” said Dado. “We were lucky enough to meet Mark Davis and buy into some of his horses.”
The partnership’s journey began in 2007 while Dado was working at Del Mar, where he connected with Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith, talk radio personalities seeking to enter the horseracing industry.
What started as a modest claiming operation has evolved into a partnership celebrating top-level success in one of racing’s most competitive divisions.
The award recognizes outstanding achievements among racing partnerships in California’s thoroughbred industry.
