Horse co-owned by Fed chair wins Breeders' Cup Mile

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, sometimes called the world's most powerful economic policymaker, has made headlines in a different arena: horse racing. A racehorse in which he holds a stake has won one of the sport's most prestigious events, the Breeders' Cup.

According to materials released Thursday by the Korea Racing Authority, Deterministic won the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1, $2 million purse) at Keeneland in Kentucky on Oct. 31 (local time), beating last year's winner Notable Speech by three-quarters of a length.

The five-year-old colt retired from racing after the victory. Runner-up Notable Speech also announced its retirement. Both horses are set to begin careers as stallions next year.

Warsh attended the race in person that day to celebrate the win. Elected a member of the Jockey Club — the authoritative body of American thoroughbred racing — in 2017, he has long had an interest in the sport.

Deterministic is jointly owned by four parties, including Warsh's Vicarage Stable and Ken Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot. Warsh stepped down from his operational role at the stable under an ethics pledge upon taking office as Fed chair in May, but retained his ownership stake.

The syndicated ownership model — in which multiple people share a racehorse — allows participants to split the costs and management burden. Figures from politics and business abroad commonly take part in racing through such arrangements.

A similar system exists in South Korea. The Korea Racing Authority accepts applications year-round for thoroughbred owners at its tracks in Seoul and Busan-South Gyeongsang Province, offering individual and corporate ownership options as well as a syndicate model that requires at least four participants.