JACK SHELTON
Partner & Racing Manager

A fifth generation Texan, Jack Shelton recalls always being interested in horses and racing. “One of the fondest memories I remember as a child is riding on my Uncle’s horse at the family farm and being lead around by my father. I guess I was hooked on horses at an earlier age and never quite got it out of my system,” says Shelton.

Cooler Heads by Personal Flag with On the Mark Racing Co-founder Jack Shelton 4/06

When the family moved to Gillespie County in the 1978, I got my first real taste of horse racing. I would spend every weekend at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds I could, when the horse were running. I thought the horses were one of the grandest sights I had ever seen. The pageantry and excitement of the post parade and horses thundering down the stretch is once of the most exciting moments I can imagine. I have wanted to be involved in racing every since I saw my first horse race and finally took the step in 2000 when we bought our first interest in Texas runner Miners Lady.

After being in several other partnerships over the years, I thought we could do better on our own and formed On the Mark Racing in 2005, with veteran handicapper Jacob Phillips. We offer a knowledgeable group of handicappers and horsemen. Our goal is to participate fully not only in racing, but the breeding side and also on the promotion of racing in Texas.

Jack Shelton currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife and two children.

JACOB D. PHILLIPS
Partner & Bloodstock Analyst

Jake Phillips got his first look at Thoroughbred racing as a 12 year-old youngster at Bandera Downs in Bandera, Texas. A favorite pastime of his late grandfather, racing was handed down the line and immediately ingrained in his heart and soul. At age 16, Jake decided to make Thoroughbreds his full-time hobby and his ultimate career goal in life. For the next eight years, he spent hours a day with his head stuck in books, reading Internet articles, and watching thousands upon thousands of live races. Jake traveled to Sam Houston Race Park in the fall of 2001 in search of a college job and his first hands-on experience in racing. After spending approximately a half hour sharing knowledge with the Racing Secretary, he was hired on the spot and appointed Assistant Clerk of Scales with virtually no previous experience. Once the meet was over, Jake went back to college and finished his Bachelor’s degree in Finance in December 2004. Jake has gained extensive knowledge in the Thoroughbred industry, specializing in the areas surrounding claiming horses, pedigree analysis, and sales analysis. He is currently developing a report on pinhooking horses from the weanling sales to the yearling sales and hopes to have it used by various industry professionals when deciding on a purchase.

In the fall of 2001, Jake suggested the claim of a horse named Mellow Fellow out of a $40,000 optional claimer at Golden Gate Fields. After winning the $40K claimer, Mellow Fellow went on to win four more races in a row, including the Montclair Handicap and the Danville Handicap and was named the Golden Gate Sprinter of the Meet. In all, Mellow Fellow went 4-1-3 out of his final 12 starts earning over $250,000 with a 2nd in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes, and 3rd’s in the Grade 1 Ancient Title, the Grade 2 Bing Crosby, and the Grade 2 Triple Bend. In the Spring of 2002, after seeing Even the Score finish 2nd in the John B. Connally Breeders' Cup Turf at Sam Houston Race Park, Jake suggested the private purchase of this horse and that he be moved to the dirt where his pedigree would be more effective. An off-the-turf victory in the sloppy Mardi Gras Handicap at the Fair Grounds one year later was only the beginning to this piece of advice becoming a reality. When the horse was finally moved to the dirt permanently in August of 2003, he went 3-0-2 from his final 6 starts scoring victories in the Grade 2 Mervin LeRoy and the Grade 2 Californian, along with a 3rd place finish in that years Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. Even the Score is the #1 ranked money-earning son of Unbridled’s Song.