Before he formed the MyRacehorse micro-ownership syndicate, Michael Behrens operated a Southern California advertising agency that listed Public Storage as a client. Behrens had a longstanding interest in racing and knew that B. Wayne Hughes, the founder of the self-storage company, was one of the nation’s leading owners. As Behrens was in the early days of putting together MyRacehorse, he sought Hughes for advice in early 2019. “I was completely enamored by his business acumen,” Behrens recalled from his home in Kentucky on Thursday evening, the day after Hughes died at his home at Spendthrift Farm at the age of 87. :: Get DRF Betting Strategies for exclusive analysis and wager recommendations from our expert handicappers. Behrens, 45, first met with Ned Toffey, the general manager of Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, to share his concept of a micro-ownership syndicate. “Ned called me back and said, ‘Mr. Hughes likes what you’re talking about. Can you meet with him?’ ” Behrens recalled. At the time, Behrens lived in California, and he visited Hughes at his Malibu home. “We talked, and he said we’ll be in business together,” Behrens said. The meeting began a relationship that 18 months later resulted in MyRacehorse and Spendthrift being part of a large ownership group that won the Kentucky Derby with Authentic, who later won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and was recognized as the 2020 Horse of the Year. MyRacehorse had a 12.5 percent ownership share in Authentic. Hughes owned the champions Beholder, one of finest female runners in the last decade, and Action This Day, the champion 2-year-old male of 2003. He owned numerous other stakes winners through the years, such as Greeley’s Galaxy, Into Mischief, Joyeux Danseur, Malabar Gold, Shake the Yoke, Siphonizer, Temple City, and Trishyde. The first Spendthrift-MyRacehorse acquisition was Tizamagician in the summer of 2019. Tizamagician was entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. In their early conversations, Hughes advised Behrens to think big with his syndicate. “He said the only thing you’re doing that’s wrong is give the fans a chance to own the best racehorse,” Behrens said. “We were buying modest claimers. We were trying to get everyone involved. Let’s change the paradigm. “I always felt like he was a little bit of a protector. He was there to help steward us through. He always provided context and insight and what we should focus on. He was smart, passionate and tough, but kind as well.” Richard Mandella trained for Hughes for 20 years. He and Hughes had their first major success in the final months of 2003. Siphonizer won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity that September. Action This Day won a maiden special weight race at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita at the end of September and the BC Juvenile at 26-1 less than a month later. Mandella and Hughes did not agree on everything. Hughes sent Into Mischief to stud in 2009 after only six starts that included a win in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in 2007 and a disrupted 3-year-old campaign that ended with a second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes. Mandella thought Into Mischief would be a leading 4-year-old in 2009 and was frustrated by Hughes’s decision. “Into Mischief was a top-notch racehorse,” Mandella, 70, said Thursday. “He retired him too soon. I was mad at him until his stud fee got high enough a few years ago that I gave that up.” Into Mischief, who stands for $225,000, was the leading stallion in North America by progeny earnings in 2019 and 2020 and is the sire of Authentic. Into Mischief was an outstanding racehorse, but Beholder is one of the greats. She was champion 2-year-old filly of 2012, 3-year-old filly of 2013, and older female in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Beholder became the only female to win the Pacific Classic, Del Mar’s top race. She was second in the 2016 Pacific Classic to eventual Horse of the Year California Chrome. In a sense, it was remarkable that Beholder raced as a 6-year-old in 2016. Most owners would have understandably retired such a prized mare earlier. Hughes took a more sporting approach. Beholder finished her career with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita in November 2016, edging the 3-year-old filly Songbird by a nose in an unforgettable race. Beholder retired with 18 wins in 26 starts and earnings of $6.1 million. By then, Hughes was as focused on Spendthrift as he was on his racehorses, Mandella said. “We lost some of his interest when he bought that farm,” Mandella said. “The farm overtook him. It was such a challenge to make that work and make something of it. God knows, he sure did.” :: Visit DRF's Del Mar shop for all your handicapping needs: Past performances, picks, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more Earlier this summer, Mandella and his family were in Kentucky for his daughter’s wedding. One evening during the trip, Mandella visited Hughes for a meal. “He was in his walker and struggling a little bit,” Mandella said. “Once we got going, he laughed and carried on for a long time. We had a terrific last visit.”