Few people in racing’s modern era span the experience and expertise of Corey Johnsen, a veteran of five decades in the business. As president and part-owner, Johnsen led Lone Star Park when it attracted and staged the 2004 Breeders’ Cup. But he gained entry into the sport at its very core: as a $2 bettor in high school and stable employee during summers while in college. Now he’s one of the most innovative and game-changing executives in horse racing.
Johnsen, who retains extensive roots in Texas racing, doesn’t just get a paycheck from heading a track, which today is as president and part-owner of Kentucky Downs. He possesses the ultimate skin in the game as a breeder, owner and modest bettor — always working to promote the sport.
Johnsen oversaw the construction and launching of Lone Star Park, leading the track into the national limelight with not only the Breeders’ Cup but with the high-profile All-Star Jockey competition that received national publicity and acclaim. He has been active in Quarter Horse racing, including as a member of the AQHA Racing Council during the development of the MBNA Challenge Championships, the Quarter Horse equivalent of the Breeders’ Cup. The Challenge Championships was a fixture at Lone Star during Johnsen’s reign.
After Lone Star’s sale, Johnsen took his skills to Kentucky Downs, a struggling track he purchased with Ray Reid and other partners in 2011, heading the management team that has taken the all-grass track on the Tennessee border from novelty to industry leader while offering some of the most lucrative purses in America during its five-date meet. Johnsen understands problems and sees solutions, including gambling on Historical Horse Racing, a pari-mutuel game based on past races but that gives a Vegas flavor to a track.
Johnsen, a long-time resident of Grapevine, appreciates the importance of all horse breeds, continuing to own Thoroughbreds running in Texas (including recent maiden special-weight winner Alpha Bravo, owned in partnership, at Sam Houston) and as an owner and breeder of Quarter Horses.
He has been a horse owner since 1979, when he began putting claiming partnerships together, progressing to campaigning stakes winners such as Honey Rose and Colonel Samsen. Johnsen shot up the management ranks through the publicity and marketing departments at Turf Paradise, Arlington Park, Louisiana Downs, Remington Park and Lone Star Park. He also has been involved in the opening or re-opening of four tracks in the Americas, including in Mexico City and Uruguay. Johnsen helped build Louisiana Downs’ Super Derby into one of the country’s top 3-year-old races at the time and was a key player in getting slots machines at Oklahoma horse tracks, bringing the Breeders’ Cup to Lone Star Park in 2004 and Historical Horse Racing to Kentucky. At every track stop, he has been immersed in the local market’s civic and charitable works and tourism.
Johnsen was founder and president of the Lone Star Park Charitable Foundation for 2001-2009. He also was co-chairman of the committee raising $3 million for a new YMCA in Grand Prairie. Johnsen, a member of the Lone Star Park Hall of Fame, was a Group Vice President of Magna Entertainment Corporation from 2003 to 2006, responsible for Lone Star Park, Remington Park, Gulfstream Park and Latin American activities.
Today Johnsen is president of Magellan Gaming and Racing, working with the Wyoming racing industry on historical horse racing and live racing. His CJ Thoroughbreds produces JockeyTalk360.com, the go-to website for all things relating to riders, and published the book “Ride to Win: An Inside Look at the Jockeys’ Craft,” co-authored by Texas turf-writing stalwart Gary West. Johnsen is chairman of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, which promotes horses of all breeds and disciplines, and on the board of the directors of Old Friends, the racehorse retirement project that specializes in providing homes when stallion careers are over and which has a satellite operation at Kentucky Downs.
He is a coveted speaker at industry symposiums, most recently being the keynote speaker at the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association convention in early March 2018.
Johnsen, who retains extensive roots in Texas racing, doesn’t just get a paycheck from heading a track, which today is as president and part-owner of Kentucky Downs. He possesses the ultimate skin in the game as a breeder, owner and modest bettor — always working to promote the sport.
Johnsen oversaw the construction and launching of Lone Star Park, leading the track into the national limelight with not only the Breeders’ Cup but with the high-profile All-Star Jockey competition that received national publicity and acclaim. He has been active in Quarter Horse racing, including as a member of the AQHA Racing Council during the development of the MBNA Challenge Championships, the Quarter Horse equivalent of the Breeders’ Cup. The Challenge Championships was a fixture at Lone Star during Johnsen’s reign.
After Lone Star’s sale, Johnsen took his skills to Kentucky Downs, a struggling track he purchased with Ray Reid and other partners in 2011, heading the management team that has taken the all-grass track on the Tennessee border from novelty to industry leader while offering some of the most lucrative purses in America during its five-date meet. Johnsen understands problems and sees solutions, including gambling on Historical Horse Racing, a pari-mutuel game based on past races but that gives a Vegas flavor to a track.
Johnsen, a long-time resident of Grapevine, appreciates the importance of all horse breeds, continuing to own Thoroughbreds running in Texas (including recent maiden special-weight winner Alpha Bravo, owned in partnership, at Sam Houston) and as an owner and breeder of Quarter Horses.
He has been a horse owner since 1979, when he began putting claiming partnerships together, progressing to campaigning stakes winners such as Honey Rose and Colonel Samsen. Johnsen shot up the management ranks through the publicity and marketing departments at Turf Paradise, Arlington Park, Louisiana Downs, Remington Park and Lone Star Park. He also has been involved in the opening or re-opening of four tracks in the Americas, including in Mexico City and Uruguay. Johnsen helped build Louisiana Downs’ Super Derby into one of the country’s top 3-year-old races at the time and was a key player in getting slots machines at Oklahoma horse tracks, bringing the Breeders’ Cup to Lone Star Park in 2004 and Historical Horse Racing to Kentucky. At every track stop, he has been immersed in the local market’s civic and charitable works and tourism.
Johnsen was founder and president of the Lone Star Park Charitable Foundation for 2001-2009. He also was co-chairman of the committee raising $3 million for a new YMCA in Grand Prairie. Johnsen, a member of the Lone Star Park Hall of Fame, was a Group Vice President of Magna Entertainment Corporation from 2003 to 2006, responsible for Lone Star Park, Remington Park, Gulfstream Park and Latin American activities.
Today Johnsen is president of Magellan Gaming and Racing, working with the Wyoming racing industry on historical horse racing and live racing. His CJ Thoroughbreds produces JockeyTalk360.com, the go-to website for all things relating to riders, and published the book “Ride to Win: An Inside Look at the Jockeys’ Craft,” co-authored by Texas turf-writing stalwart Gary West. Johnsen is chairman of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, which promotes horses of all breeds and disciplines, and on the board of the directors of Old Friends, the racehorse retirement project that specializes in providing homes when stallion careers are over and which has a satellite operation at Kentucky Downs.
He is a coveted speaker at industry symposiums, most recently being the keynote speaker at the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association convention in early March 2018.