Anyone involved in gaming – including thoroughbred racing and poker -- knows the outcome is based on chances. Sometimes, those chances can have a magical outcome.
Joe Migliore can attest to that.
Over the last three months, Migliore has experienced two magical moments: being in the Churchill Downs Winner’s Circle after Always Dreaming won the Kentucky Derby and finishing in the top 100 at the World Series of Poker.
“This has been an unbelievable experience,” said Migliore, who is the 26-year-old son of New York jockey legend Richard Migliore. “It has been an incredible journey.”
Beyond his passion for thoroughbred racing and his father’s connection to the sport, Migliore’s journey started in 2011 when he spent his summers at Saratoga by working for trainer John Kimmell while being an intern for the New York Racing Association’s communication office.
After graduating from the University of Delaware, Migliore was accepted into a six-month program in January 2014 at the Irish National Stud where he learned various aspects of managing a major stud farm. Then with his last $1,000, he bought a one-way ticket to Australia where worked for Arrowfield Stud, one of the top breeding farms in that part of the world, until February 2015.
Migliore then came back to New York and started working as a sales associate for West Point Thoroughbreds, one of the co-owners of Always Dreaming. Along with selling shares of horses, Migliore is a liaison for clients and the connections around their horses to create that magical experience.
“Tom Bellhouse [Chief Financial Officer] gave me a great quote when I started working for West Point: ‘This is sort of like working at Disneyworld. You have to be on every single day and make that magical experience happen for everyone.”
And Migliore has done that.
Migliore helped a partner experience one of those magical moments by selling a small share of Always Dreaming to Dana Fitzsimmons, who has been to every Kentucky Derby since the mid-1970s. For Migliore and the West Point Thoroughbred partners, the surreal feeling became real as Always Dreaming headed into the far turn.
“We got excited at the half-mile pole when he shook off Irish War Cry,” Migliore said. “All of the sudden, it became very real. The next thing we know, we are running across the dirt to get to the Winner’s Circle. It was a euphoric feeling. It was also a truly a rewarding feeling for all of us to give people experiences they never had.”
Besides his success at West Point Thoroughbreds, Migliore made a strong impression at the World Series of Poker last weekend in Las Vegas. As one of 7,221 entries, he earned $61,929 with his 97th-place finish against 1,084 players after five days at the table.
“I didn’t go into this with a lot of expectations,” he said. “My initial goal was to make it through Day 1. Once I got past that, I figured to make some money off of that. Before I knew it, I started Day 5 with over $1 million in chips. After five days of playing 10-hours of poker each day, the fatigue, and the class level of 150 players caught up to me. “
Migliore earned a spot at the World Series of Poker after qualifying at Foxwood’s satellite tournaments in June. Both tournaments have been a learning experience for him, but something he would do again.
“If I can qualify in another satellite tournament next year, I will do it again. I think this experience has helped me enormously. It’s important to have patience to go through those couple-of-hour streaks and avoid taking those unnecessary risks. It is certainly a marathon and not a sprint. The World Series of Poker is like the Kentucky Derby. It’s the tournament that every poker player wants to win.”
This year, West Point Thoroughbreds have been winning at 21 percent from their starters, and Migliore is hoping that trend continues at Saratoga with horses like Always Dreaming, Delaware Oaks winner Berned, and hopeful Boreale, who won an allowance race on the Delaware Park turf course in her U.S. debut in June.
“The stable has been clicking,” Migliore said. “I think a lot of our horses are coming into the meet in good form.”
West Point kicks off its Saratoga season on Friday’s opening day card with stakes-placing Best Performance in the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
“It feels a little magic coming together for us on opening day,” Migliore said. “If West Point wins the first graded stakes of the meet, you will definitely hear from us.”
