Dean Reeves cuts a well-known figure at the racetrack. He is tall, affable, and always gives a great interview when the horses of Reeves Thoroughbreds win. With his wife, Patti, by his side, they have won major races including Mucho Macho Man’s brave victory by a nose in the 2013 Breeders Cup Classic.  In 2023, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Big Invasion finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

In addition to racing horses from their stable, they are astute partners with more than 65 racing luminaries including Randy Hill (R.A. Hill Stable), Stonestreet Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, Andie and Patrick Biancone, Gary Barber, and MyRacehorse.

The Reeves journey has involved trips to many magical destinations to watch their horses race. In 2019, Dean and Patti (with partner Randy Hill) watched their mare Hotsy Totsy race in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot. Rather than renting an ensemble for access to the Royal Enclosure, Dean chose to purchase “the whole outfit,” which included a tall top hat. This was a smart decision as it set him up for future Ascot visits. Patti relays that it was exciting. “I had never seen Dean in a top hat before. He was so tall that I was just staring up at him in awe.” Hotsy Totsy ran third that day in a field of 27 horses. It was an exhilarating day for the Reeves as they happened to be near Queen Elizabeth II as she made her way up to the Royal box from the paddock!

Porta Fortuna winning the 2023 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot. (Eclipse Sportswire)

One of the Reeves’ investments is a partnership involving a talented 3-year-old filly Porta Fortuna. She is by Caravaggio and is out of Too Precious, by Holy Roman Emperor. She is trained by Donnacha O’Brien (Aidan O’Brien’s 25-year-old son).  The partnership involves Steve Weston, Barry Fowler, Medallion Racing (Taylor Made Farm), and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. In 2023, she won the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot with Frankie Dettori on board.

On June 21, Porta Fortuna raced in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. During her race, some of the partners watched from the paddock. Reeves decided to watch at the track and was by himself. When the race began, Reeves thought, “She’s in a great position because she is traveling well. She passed the lead horse and won! I was jumping up and screaming. I’m sure the people around me thought that there was something wrong with me!”

In a well-timed ride, jockey Tom Marquand and Porta Fortuna gave Donnacha O’Brien his first Royal Ascot win as she zipped past his father’s horse Opera Singer. Reeves remembered, “I headed to the paddock area. It was so great to see her come in. We were excited. We knew that we needed to head over to the stand to get our picture taken.” A gentleman told them to take off their hats.

As they were standing there waiting, another gentleman leans over and says, “So sorry. We are waiting on the King.”  Reeve describes the moment incredulously, “And I went WHAT? The KING!! I realized then that the King was giving us a trophy. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, what are we supposed to do?”

The gentleman explained the etiquette: “When you go up; you bow. If he reaches out, you can shake his hand.” Two of the partners went up, received the trophy, and King Charles III shook their hands and said it was an honor to meet them. He then reached over to shake Reeves hand and said, “She is a lovely filly.”  Reeves said it was a blur. “I know we had more conversation, but I don’t remember what it was exactly. He was delightful and very nice. We so enjoyed being up there on the stage with the King. I looked out and there must have been 150 cameras just clicking away. I’ve never been in the spotlight like that.”  When Reeves had the trophy, King Charles said, “Let’s walk closer to the front. The photographers like that. It was a real highlight moment for me in my life.”

Dean Reeves all smiles at Royal Ascot. (Daniel Sigal photo)

After the trophy presentation, Reeves thanked his wife, Patti, in a FanDuel TV interview. Patti was at home already posting the win and the interview on social media. She said, “I was so proud. I had tears in my eyes.”  Meanwhile, at the track it was time for champagne and celebrations. Reeves flew home the next day and had time to reflect on his amazing visit. “I thought, how blessed am I that the good Lord has given me this kind of life to somehow get into horse racing? I’m just some construction guy from Atlanta, Ga. Growing up, we weren’t rich. We weren’t in the horse business. We were just your middle-America family, and here I am standing on stage after a Group 1 win at Royal Ascot with the King of England. I believe that I’m the only person in the state of Georgia right now that’s been with King Charles. That’s amazing!”

In the world of horse racing, there are good trips and trips from hell. In July, Reeves decided at the last minute to head back to England for Porta Fortuna’s next race. She was entered in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket. By now an old hand at overseas traveling, Reeves felt confident that he could zip over the pond to catch the race and return to Saratoga for the summer meet.

But, of course, there are always bumps in the road. First off, he forgot his passport. This required some rigorous coordination with his brother, who gathered the passport from Reeves’ home. With his luggage checked through to London, Reeves still needed to connect with his brother.

But it wasn’t easy. Delta Airlines met his brother and brought Dean his passport minutes before he boarded the flight to London. Luckily, there were some delays but that further made his flight stressful. He arrived in London at 8 a.m. the day before the race.

On arrival, Reeves sought his luggage, which was crucial because he had the jockey’s silks!  NO LUGGAGE! This was the start of a real wild and crazy situation involving the airlines, Uber drivers, and sheer panic as Reeves waited for his luggage to be found. The airline promised to have the luggage on a flight from Atlanta with a 6:15 a.m. arrival the next day and they would deliver it in the early morning.

The next morning? No luggage! Reeves received a text that it would be delivered at 1 p.m. Porta Fortuna’s race was at 3:30. It was getting tight! After a flurry of phone calls, he decided not to wait for luggage delivery and sent an Uber driver to pick up his luggage. He explained to the driver that there was no person to be picked up but rather a piece of luggage and to please hurry back to the hotel. There are gate codes and numerous other issues. They were down to minutes.

Meanwhile, British racing had sent a car to pick Reeves up to take him to Newmarket. Reeves pleaded with the driver to wait while he tried to get his luggage. Reeves was finally reunited with his luggage. “I’ve never had that much stress!”

Lee Barron, a London cab driver (Lee Barron photo)

But wait! The driver was instructed to take him to a farm to look at stallions — an early plan that was abandoned. Reeves panicked! “NO! I’ve got to get to the racetrack ASAP.”  Loads of more phone calls sorting out the delivery point and picking up his credentials. He made it at 2:30 p.m. and handed over the jockey silks. “I took a deep breath and said, ‘I have got to have a drink!’ ”  Luckily, it was a great race! Under Ryan Moore, Porta Fortuna easily outclassed her six rivals. Reeves said, “when she won, it was all worthwhile! It was a whirlwind! It was fabulous!”

The next morning, after all that folderol, Reeves was up at 4 a.m. ready to fly home. He requested a cab and, once again, fate intervened, but in a wonderful way.

Reeves driver was a fine British fellow named Lee Barron who has been a cabby driver for 22 years. All London taxi drivers must learn and pass the “Knowledge of London” topographical test of endurance. There is no test like it elsewhere in the world and it can take three to four years to master it. London cabbies know their city and Barron is a fine example.

There is a wonderful symmetry in this world of how “horse people manage to find horse people.” During a casual conversation, Reeves said he was at a nice race the day before at Newmarket. He mentioned that he met the King and Barron responded jokingly, “Oh you met my dad!!” Barron has been into horse racing since 1988, and he and his mates have their own bookie at a local pub where they play the horses.

As the conversation meandered, Reeves mentioned that he needed a name for one of his 2-year-olds (by Mucho Macho Man out of Reba’s Cat, by Consolidator) back at the farm. Reeves got an idea and said, “I’ll name him Lee the Cabby.”  Barron responded that the guys back at the pub would never believe him. “Oh my god! I’ve got a horse named after me.” Reeves went onto Equibase and within minutes the horse was newly christened.

Lee the Cabby, the Thoroughbred racehorse (Reeves Thoroughbred Racing photo)

Barron is thrilled and wrote to the Reeves: “I would like to say thank you for the chat yesterday and am really excited about Lee the Cabby. I also read up on Mucho Macho Man. What a horse! In the pub yesterday, I was driving everyone crackers about the horse. I must say, in my 58 years on this earth, no one has ever shown me such an act of kindness. My wife was absolutely amazed. I’m going to start saving money so that hopefully, if the horse is running next year, I would love to see the race live. Once again, thank you!” Barron hopes that one day he can have his photo taken with Lee the Cabby and “has his fingers crossed that he’ll be as good as Mucho Macho Man.”

Two trips to London. One was like clockwork. One was pure chaos. But in the end, it was as it was meant to be. Reeves met the King of England and then met a king of a man driving a London cab. All happened because of the love of horses.

Porta Fortuna hopefully will be competing at the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar in November. And Reeve’s horse Lee the Cabby has a spiffy new name and a shining future ahead of him. He already has an international fan base! That is the beauty and glory of horse racing. You just never know what the future will hold but it’s exciting. Just ask Lee Barron and the Reeves about it!