Young Horse Makes Portland, Owner Proud

Portland isn’t known as a hotbed for race horses but one of our residences is finding himself in the national horse racing spotlight. Vic Carlson of Portland bought his horse “” for just $15,000 when it was just a young colt. Today, Musket Man has earned over $750,000 in race winnings. He came in 3rd place in the elite Kentucky Derby on May 2nd and then put up another 3rd place victory at the Preakness two weeks later on May 16th. Musket Man had 19-1 odds at the Kentucky Derby and then 8-1 odds at the Preakness. All this on the heels of 2 first place wins in a row in the Illinois and Tampa Bay derbies. In fact, Musket Man has never finished worse than 3rd place. In six races, he has crossed the finish line 1st in three of them and 3rd in the other three. Needless to say, he has won money for more than just his owners.

Vic Carlson is probably as much of a surprise as an owner as his horse is as a winner. Carlson is the former Athletic Director of Jefferson High School and currently the owner of an ATM sales and servicing company. His love for horse racing didn’t even blossom until 1995. Since then he has owned multiple horses, but none of them as big of a success as Musket Man.

Now rumors are swirling that Carlson has been offered up to $4 million for a 50% stake in the two year old colt. He has apparently turned down some big offers so far and will do more turning down until the time his right. This horse still has a lot of winning to do.