Irish War Cry and Rajiv Maragh. NYRA/Coglianese/Chelsea Durand photo

At first glance, Isabel de Tomaso and Gaston Grant would appear to have little in common. De Tomaso, a scion of the family responsible for the creation of Monmouth Park, splits her time between Europe and Palm Beach. Grant, the son of Jamaican immigrants, lives in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

De Tomaso grew up riding horses on her family’s New Jersey estate. Grant grew up going to Aqueduct to gamble with his father.

De Tomaso has owned and bred racehorses for decades. Grant started his first horse as an owner in 2012.

But on Saturday, April 8 at Aqueduct Racetrack, their stories merged in consecutive graded stakes races, milestones for both of them, stories that began on breeding farms in New Jersey, an increasing rarity in Thoroughbred racing.

Continue reading at The Racing Biz…