About Belladonna Racing - Who We Are

Our History

Belladonna Racing officially launched in 2019, however, the concept was originally designed a year prior after many of Paul Manganaro’s friends and family members had expressed a desire to get involved in thoroughbred racing. Paul Manganaro and David Ingordo, who had formed a long-standing relationship through Lane’s End, met and outlined a philosophy of what a quality racing partnership should look like.They realized quickly that they share many of the same values when it came to conducting business and their relationships with others. Their vision for a successful racing partnership included providing an opportunity that would allow members to compete at the highest level of the sport with an investor-friendly structure and provided full access and transparency to all its members. It was also important to establish a family-like atmosphere amongst their partners, which could only be maintained by keeping the partnership numbers smaller than the industry norm and by installing an exceptionally good system of communication while treating everyone with the same level of respect.

Since its inception, Belladonna Racing has garnered success at many of the most prestigious racetracks in the United States. With decades of thoroughbred racing experience, Belladonna Racing continues to grow its expanding resume through its head trainer, Cherie DeVaux, founding member and co-owner, Paul Manganaro and Manager, David Ingordo.

Feb 28, 2020

Family and horses: that has always been the way for Paul Manganaro. Hailing from a well-known racing family, he has recently joined forces with some other well-known racing folk, and together, they're making waves. The Manganaro name is a very familiar one in the horse racing game. A third generation horse owner, Paul Manganaro finds it difficult to recall a time when horses, and racing, was not part of his life. Manganaro got his first taste of racing at a young age, courtesy of his grandfather John, who was a plasterer by trade, and father John Jr., and uncles Frank and Anthony. Anthony Manganaro went on to found the boutique breeding operation Siena Farm, currently spanning 225 acres in Paris, Kentucky. “When my grandfather retired, his only interest was horseracing,” recalled Manganaro. “So we started claiming horses at Suffolk Downs in the early 1970s.” Read more on the TDN: https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...

Who We Are

The Belladonna Experience

Belladonna Racing is an innovative equine experience that is designed for a select group of co-owners who are interested in racing thoroughbreds at the highest level of racing in the United States. The intention of the partnership is to pool money and take a team approach to building a stable of high-quality colts and fillies, while keeping the number of co-owners to a reasonable amount and sharing the pro-rata costs of an entire stable without any markups. The concept allows co-owners to make a projected one-time original capital investment and, as noted, have a pro-rata interest in every horse secured for Belladonna Racing during a purchasing period. Each partnership is set up as a co-ownership agreement, not as a racing syndicate. The Managing Partner will work to acquire the horses and provide administrative support (licensing, billing, reporting, communications, etc.) but the partners are considered active co-owners from a decision making and tax standpoint. Joining the Belladonna Racing co-ownership will allow every person exciting access and insight into the world of thoroughbred racing and sales.

Who We Are

Our Method of Selection

The Belladonna selection team strongly believes there is no substitute for hard work, due diligence, and experience when it comes to identifying quality racing prospects. The Belladonna selection process begins well ahead of a public auction or the first bid. The selection team, led by David Ingordo, spends countless days throughout the year traveling to farms inspecting sales candidates and building strong relationships with breeders. In many cases our selection team may have potentially inspected sales candidates more than once prior to their arrival on the sales grounds, as this provides us with an advantage of knowing how a prospect is developing.

Our team takes pride during sales time as being one of the first groups on the ground and as being one of the last to leave. The selection team works as a cohesive unit during sales with each member having specific responsibilities. Constant communication between the selection team and others working for us including veterinarians, pedigree consultants and heart measuring professionals allows us to position ourselves for success.

While there is a degree of luck needed in the Thoroughbred racing game to reach the greatest height, we believe you can increase your chances with experience, hard work, and meticulous preparation.

Belladonna Management Team

Belladonna Racing is an innovative equine experience that is designed for a select group of co-owners who are interested in racing thoroughbreds at the highest level of racing in the United States.