Saying He’s Fed Up with Racing, McIngvale Gets Out of the Sport; Runhappy Sold to South Korea

Mattress Mack exits horse racing, cites integrity concerns and widespread drug use as key factors in his decision.

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has completely withdrawn from thoroughbred racing, citing the sport’s “serious integrity problem” as his primary motivation. The Blood-Horse first reported his departure.

“We couldn’t compete with all the drugs and all the injections when we were running on just hay, oats and water,” McIngvale said. “It was an uphill battle. Runhappy climbed that hill but the rest of them couldn’t. I’m not going to damage my integrity by drugging them and injecting them. I do right by the horses and what was right for the horses didn’t allow us to win anymore. It was time to get out.”

McIngvale’s operation was known for racing horses completely drug-free — not even utilizing Lasix, a common medication in North American racing.

“Absolutely, this sport has an integrity problem,” he stated.

His concerns extend beyond medication issues to computer-assisted wagering (CAW) systems that allow large-scale bettors to place wagers seconds before post time, often dramatically shifting odds after races begin.

“I’m a big gambler and you can’t gamble on horse racing anymore,” McIngvale explained. “You bet and then they let these CAW guys come in. You bet the horse at 4-1 and then it goes off at even-money. I bet a bunch of money the other night when my boy Bud Crawford fought Canelo Alvarez. I got it at plus 140 at Caesars. It went up to plus 150. But I got what I got at 140 because of fixed odds and I was happy with that.”

The Houston-based furniture magnate also expressed frustration with racing’s fragmented leadership structure.

“Horse racing has 80 million factions all at war with one another and there’s no general direction,” he said. “In the NFL they all head in the same direction and that’s why it is so successful.”

Runhappy (Super Saver), McIngvale’s most successful racehorse who stood at Claiborne Farm, has been sold and will relocate to South Korea for the upcoming breeding season. Despite the horse’s impressive racing career, he struggled to establish himself as an influential sire.

McIngvale acknowledged significant financial losses in his racing operation, though Runhappy‘s racing success provided some compensation.

“I have no idea how much money I’ve lost,” he said. “I had a lot of fun in horse racing and the people were great, but the cheating just beat me down to the point where I had to throw up the white flag. I lost a lot of money, but made a lot of money with Runhappy. Obviously, for the whole experience I lost money. But if Runhappy had turned out to be the next Storm Cat I would have gotten all my money back.”

McIngvale purchased Runhappy for $200,000 at the 2013 Keeneland September sale. The colt went on to win three Grade I races in 2015, including the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, earning an Eclipse Award as champion sprinter. He compiled a 7-for-10 lifetime record with earnings of $1,496,250.

As a stallion, Runhappy has produced eight crops with 556 foals but only four graded stakes winners. His top earner, Prince of Power, accumulated just $183,916 in purses.

McIngvale heavily promoted Runhappy at stud, sponsoring races and offering financial incentives to his offspring who won maiden races at premier meets including Saratoga, Del Mar and Kentucky Downs.

His racing stable also included During (Cherokee Run), winner of four graded stakes, and Wimbledon (Wild Rush), who captured the 2004 GII Louisiana Derby. Overall, McIngvale’s horses won 207 races from 1,395 starts with total earnings of $9,743,963.

McIngvale began publicly discussing his concerns about racing’s direction as recently as 2021 during an appearance at the University of Louisville Equine Program’s speaker series.

“Horse racing needs to be the most transparent sport in the world, and it will be the greatest sport in the world,” McIngvale said at the time. “We’ve got to get bigger fields and run on the grass like they do in England and Australia with those great, big grass gallops. They can get 20- or 30-horse fields, and all of a sudden you get some big payoffs, and you get a great bang for your buck.”

Beyond his racing interests, McIngvale was known for his philanthropic support of racing-related charities and his promotional tie-ins between Kentucky Derby wagers and his Gallery Furniture business in Houston.