Bode Miller's 'Carving' wins first race

The five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller sent his racehorse, Carving, to post in the third race at Del Mar, a maiden-claiming event, on the Aug. 23. Carving won his debut by 1 3/4 length and gave Miller his first win as an owner, according to the Bleacher Report news site. 

Miller was there for the horse’s win and present in the Winners Circle with trainer Bob Baffert and Baffert’s son Bode, among others, for the win photo.

Carving is owned by in partnership by the ski racer and Natalie Baffert and was ridden to victory by Chantal Sutherland. The two-year-old dark bay colt is by 2007 G1 Haskell Invitational winner Any Given Saturday and out of the Giant’s Causeway mare In Seconds.

In May, Miller told the New York Post that racing is in his blood.
“My grandfather was very into horse racing, and I found some of his old journals and got into it from there,” Miller said.

Ironically, the Baffert-trained Bodemeister was retired this week due to a shoulder injury. That colt is tied to Miller in a roundabout way as Bode Baffert, from whom Bodemeister gets his name, is named after the skier.

Carving’s trainer Bob Baffert also looks to take on another highly decorated Olympic owner soon, as American swimmer Michael Phelps has expressed an interest in hiring Baffert to purchase and train racehorses for the athlete and his longtime coach Bob Bowman. —Bleacher Report

Photo: Del Mar