NEWS
Matthew Gatsas
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2010 3:15 PM
MATTHEW GATSAS
PhotosByZ.com/Keeneland
Sovereign Stable
The partnership group Sovereign Stable grew out of a family stable that made a big impact in New York in 2000 with Gander and Shadow Caster.
Gander won the Evan Shipman Handicap at Belmont Park and finished second or third in three graded stakes races in the same year Shadow Caster scored in the Forego Handicap (G2) at Saratoga Race Course, both under the Gatsas Thoroughbreds banner that brothers Mike and Ted Gatsas started in the 1990s in their native New England.
Mike Gatsas’ son, Matthew, helped manage the family stable and started Sovereign in response to several friends who wanted to get involved in Thoroughbred ownership.
“We had a few horses as a family and got lucky with some very good horses,” Matthew Gatsas said last winter. “Some family friends asked if they could buy into this horse or that horse and my dad and uncle weren’t interested in doing that part of it. My sister [Amanda Casey] had graduated college, and I was coaching football, and we decided that if we were going to offer this for a few people, we would go ahead with a national syndicate.”
Gatsas has a Bachelor of Science degree in investments from Babson College and he made several key moves for Sovereign Stable following the dive of the general economy and Thoroughbred bloodstock market in the fall of 2008.
“With the market being down, we raised our investment level and were able to purchase some top-notch runners,” Gatsas said.
The key acquisition was eventual Grade 1 winner and Canadian champion Negligee.
Date of birth: November 22, 1976
Birthplace: Manchester, New Hampshire
Residence: Manchester, New Hampshire
Title: President
Company: Sovereign Stable
Education: Bachelor of Science, Babson College
Family: Married, one daughter
Career: Helped manage family’s racing stable, Gatsas Thoroughbreds, before launching Sovereign Stable in 2001
Favorite horse: “Of the horses we have owned and managed, Gander is my favorite, because he got us started, put us on the map, and gave us the taste of big-time racing. Negligee is our first Grade 1 winner. One of the first horses I really followed was Easy Goer.”
What’s on your iPod? “That could use some updating, but it’s filled with rock back to the 1970s.”
Personal motto: “A quote from Vince Lombardi: ‘Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.’ ”
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READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Mike, New York, NY on June 25, 2010 at 08:13 PM
I have truly enjoyed my time with Matt and everyone at Sovereign. They have the knowledge, the horses and are trustworthy.
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Posted by: Chris, Hampton, NH on June 25, 2010 at 08:11 PM
Sovereign Stable is a class act. They have top notch runners and run their business well. They have great communication with their owners and are always fun to be around.
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