AAMC Reporter: October 2008

Not Just Horsing Around: Physicians Find Success in Equine Racing

Lawrence Opas, M.D., and Frank Sinatra, M.D., with their friend Kathleen Nelson, M.D., at a horse race. Opas and Sinatra have raced horses together for 20 years.

When Lawrence Opas, M.D., and Frank Sinatra, M.D., met during residency training in the early 1970s, they quickly realized that medicine wasn't their only common interest. The two faculty members at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California found they had a penchant for ministering to four-legged creatures as well as two-legged ones, and that a love for horse racing had been in both of their bloodstreams since childhood.

"As kids, we both would go to the race tracks with our fathers, because that's where they would go when they were young," Opas recalls. "Back in their days, there was no NBA or NFL. People watched horses for entertainment."

They began jointly investing in horses around 20 years ago. Although they were initially only interested in racing, the doctors decided to breed horses after experiencing some beginner's luck with their first racer, Olympic Prospect. This horse made it to the Breeders' Cup, a series of races Opas and Sinatra compare to baseball's World Series. The pair's success continued. The two eventually won the Breeders' Cup, and also took home an Eclipse Award, which is given out annually to outstanding horses in various categories and age groups.

Opas and Sinatra (no relation to the famous singer, in case you're curious) say it's the love of the animals that keeps them in the game.

"They are just incredible athletes," Opas said. "They love to compete, and we love to train them to be the best they can possibly be."

Plus, the racing schedules don't interfere with their work.

"The timing works out perfectly," Sinatra said. "The races take place at 4 a.m., and then we can head to work."

Just as their fathers did for them, Opas and Sinatra say they have instilled their children, now grown, with a love for horse racing.

"But they're smarter with their money than we are," Sinatra jokes. "If you're in this business, definitely keep your day job. This is not a way to get rich."

—By Elissa Fuchs