Dom Romeo deals in two kinds of horsepower: auto dealerships and thoroughbred racehorses.
The auto business has served Romeo and three generations of his family well. The other business doesn't always act like a business; it's filled with superstition, luck and more ups and downs than a soap opera.
Horse racing is a roller coaster. But Romeo, 80, says it gave him the greatest thrill of his life when his Big Red Mike, a horse he bred himself, won the Queen's Plate three weeks ago in front of the Queen.
Big Red Mike's next chapter will be Sunday when he attempts to win the second
jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, at Fort Erie Racetrack.
The auto business came first, but Romeo was lured into the racing business by another car dealer, Ed Seedhouse. In 1949, Romeo started working for Seedhouse, who took Romeo to the racetrack.
Romeo has auto dealerships in Vaughan, Ont., Oakville, Ont., and Brampton, Ont. Son Frank manages one and also serves as a partner in the Terra Racing Stable, which owns Big Red Mike. Grandson Mike also works at a dealership. He's a redhead, the horse's namesake.
Frank, 32, is an avid racing fan. "It's ingrained in the blood," he said.
In 2003, while Frank was in Kentucky selling a family horse, he picked up knowledge about the breeding business and delved into it on his home computer. He fashioned the mating with Big Red Mike's sire, Tenpins. The Romeo broodmare, Regent n' Flashy, had foaled a Queen's Plate contender in Classic Mike years ago, but he had issues with injuries and finished eighth. He was by Smart Strike, who eventually became one of the top sires in the United States.
Instead of going back to Smart Strike, Frank decided to breed to one of the horse's sons, Tenpins, a stakes winner in the United States. His stud fee was only $5,000 (all currency U.S.)
Two years later, Romeo decided to sell three of his yearlings, including Big Red Mike, at a Toronto sale, while keeping others to race. However, sale organizers rejected Big Red Mike and took the other two.
Dan Mooney, who manages Romeo's old farm, Huntington Stud, thought Big Bred Mike the best of the bunch and wanted to appeal the decision. Dom told him not to worry about it. "I really want to run this guy," he said.
One of the horses to make it into the sale was purchased by trainer Mark Casse. The filly, Sound of Thunder, won a yearling sales stake at Woodbine last year as a 2-year-old.
"You kind of have a mixed feeling," Frank said. "I thought, oh my god, we sold the horse that was a stakes winner."
But the racing business isn't all about business. For the Romeos, it's about family.
"I think my grandfather and I have a bit of a different relationship than the other grandkids," said Mike, who admitted at first he hated horse racing, found it boring and didn't want to go - until he posed in a winner's circle picture.
"I'm very involved with the horse racing and I go all the time with my dad and I read every article I can find," he said. "I think that gives us a lot in common."
That's something money can't buy.