BY SARAH WELK BAYNUM
Chris Pallas, a pharmacist from South Florida, has had incredible success with a number of the racehorses he has owned and bred. It all began with one inspirational book.
“Sometimes I pinch myself at how this whole journey began, or what has transpired since,” Pallas said.
“It all started back in 1981 when I first read ‘My 50,000 Dollar Year at the Races’ by Andrew Beyer. I was fascinated by the way his story wove together and I then started attending the races on Saturday’s.
“My fascination with sport grew and I knew I wanted to be on the other side of racing as an owner. I had done quite a few classes at Landmark Education and Quantum Think over the years and it got me thinking about manifesting possibilities. In 2005, I declared myself to be a racehorse owner,” Pallas continued.
Four days into his racing journey, a friend, Ray Juliano, asked him to be a partial owner of a young racehorse.
“I immediately accepted without asking any particulars as to cost or pedigree. Four years later, Mambo Meister was in the 2009 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile (Grade 1). It was my first experience and I always credit Phil Gleaves for mentoring me in the business.
“Mambo Meister was as game as they come and I will always be grateful to him for showing me true grit and championship form,” Pallas said.
As he progressed as a Thoroughbred owner, breeding was a natural next step.
“I had several minor breeding successes. Then, I happened to be offered a mare in Ocala for next to nothing. I looked at the pedigree with my brother-in-law, George Klein, and saw that Perilous Hope was a mare descending from the Phipps line of prominent mares. She was basically unraced, so we decided to inbreed to Gone Astray as he was a from the same female family. As luck would have it, we won a silent auction for a breeding season. From there, Shifty She was born. As time went on, Shifty She began to display the type of stride in her training that was simply majestic.”
Shifty She won several stakes in 2021 including the Grade 3 Noble Damsel, $75,000 Powder Break and $75,000 Ginger Punch. That year she was named the FTBOA Florida-bred champion turf female.
She also won the $110,000 Pleasant Acres Distaff Turf in her final career start in March of 2022, retiring with seven wins, one second and three thirds in 13 starts while earning $453,495.
“Her accomplishments were many, including Florida’s turf filly of the year for 2021. She is now retired and in foal to Uncle Mo.”
Pallas credits much of his racing success to the people who helped him along the way.
“I am just so thankful for my two veterinarians, Jean White in Ocala, and Tom Van Meter in Kentucky. I will always be grateful for the people that have mentored me and for my partners, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Rothenberg, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Teich, my trainer Saffie Joseph, as well as my friends Ryan and Rebecca Barbazon. They all hung in there with me through the good and the bad.” Pallas said.
