Vic Carlson purchased Musket Man for $15,000 as a yearling, and last fall sold the controlling interest in the colt to Eric Fein. Carlson, who runs an ATM processing business, served as the football coach and athletic director at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, until his retirement in 1999. Fein, of Jericho, New York, on Long Island, experienced the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail last year with Big Truck, who won the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) but ultimately wound up 18th in the Run for the Roses. Fein, the owner of a title insurance business, EAM Land Services, in Syosset, New York, has been described as the sheriff of a posse of 50 or so folks with whom he shares his racing thrills, professing that the crew, including him, are just regular folks. They have been friends since their teenage years in the New York borough of Queens, not far from Belmont Park, which for them, Fein says, was a place to hang out. Fein said his dream always has been to own a horse. He got that horse through the claim box in 2003 for $30,000 and the horse paid him back $400,000. And, naturally, he was hooked. Fein emphasizes that a small guy really can into the sport of horse racing as an owner, unlike other sports, like football.
