That Richard Rigney is the owner of one top contender and the breeder of another in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is an example of the growth of his racing and breeding operation over the years. As an owner, Rigney will send out Jonathan’s Way in this year’s $2 million Juvenile to be held Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Rigney also is the breeder of Chancer McPatrick, who comes into the Juvenile as a two-time Grade 1 winner and figures to go off the first or second choice in the Juvenile. “Isn’t that crazy?” Rigney said. Rigney, a flavor chemist from Louisville, was part of the Livin the Dream partnership that in 2008 campaigned Dream Empress, who won the Grade 1 Alcibiades and finished second in the BC Juvenile Fillies. He also was part of Chasing Dreams Racing, which in 2009 campaigned Noble’s Promise, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity winner who finished third in the BC Juvenile and fifth in the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Those horses were trained by Kenny McPeek. Shortly after those experiences, Rigney ultimately decided he wanted to go out on his own and he hired Phil Bauer, an assistant to McPeek, to be his private trainer. :: ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save 41% off the retail price. Rigney said he and Bauer “were terrible” at picking out horses at the sales, so Rigney, about four years ago, hired John Moynihan to be his bloodstock guy. Moynihan had success for the owners Bob and Beverly Lewis and Stonestreet Stable. “He’s created empires,” Bauer said. Among the horses Moynihan picked out for Rigney and Bauer was Played Hard, a filly who won the Grade 1 La Troienne in 2023. Moynihan also picked out Jonathan’s Way, an Ohio-bred son of the unproven sire Vekoma, who was purchased for $290,000 as a weanling in 2022. Jonathan’s Way, who tipped his hand early on as to his talent, won his debut at Saratoga in eye-catching fashion and then validated that victory with a front-running score in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes on Sept. 14 at Churchill Downs. “He breathes different air than a lot of them,” Bauer said. “The thing that’s so impressive about him is just his stride, there’s not a lot of wasted action and he does things very easy.” Chancer McPatrick was a product of the first-year sire McKinzie out of the Rigney-owned mare Bernadreamy, whose dam is Dream Empress. Rigney said when he put that foal through the auction ring as a yearling in July 2023 and he brought $260,000 he was thrilled. Rigney said he wasn’t upset when he saw the horse sell for $725,000 as a 2-year-old in March, purchased by Chad Brown on behalf of owner Sean Flanagan. Chancer McPatrick won his debut at Saratoga about three weeks before Jonathan’s Way won his maiden. Chancer McPatrick has gone on to win the Grade 1 Hopeful and Grade 1 Champagne. “I couldn’t be happier,” said Rigney, whose enthusiasm for the sport is easily discernible in his voice. “That’s the whole thing about the game for me, I want to be involved in every aspect of that business and part of it is the pinhooking and selling yearlings. If you do stuff like that you want to be successful, if you’re not then people are going to know this guy, he’s only going to give you stuff at the bottom.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more Rigney still owns Bernadreamy, who has a Liam’s Map colt that will be a 2-year-old in 2025 and that he plans plan to keep. Meanwhile, when he watches Jonathan’s Way and Chancer McPatrick break out of the starting gate in the Juvenile, Rigney said, “I’m going to be cheering really hard for both of them – just harder for one than the other.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.