Former Butler resident has ownership stake in Kentucky Derby winner
Butler graduate and retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Fred “Fud” Polanec lives in Papillion, Neb.
On Saturday, his heart was in Kentucky.
Polanec, 58, has part ownership of Mage, the 3-year-old horse that won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. He has never been sole owner of a horse, but has been involved in “partnership” ownership of 266 horses during the past 24 years.
Mage was the first horse he has had an ownership stake in that raced in the Kentucky Derby. Mage is only the second horse to win the fabled race without racing at all as a 2-year-old.
“He only had three races before the Derby, all of them at Gulfstream Park in Florida,” Polanec said. “He won his first race going away, finished fourth at the Fountain of Youth and second at the Florida Derby, where he was nosed out at the end.
“He had enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, so off he went.”
