Blaise Bercegeay and SBWfeelinthepressure jingled all the way to the bank with a $60,000 check for winning the $250,000 added Triple Crown “Crown Round” Slot Race.
Photos by 555 Photography LLC
The 5th annual Jingle Bell Classic produced by the Good Times Barrel Racing Association lived up to its name and then some. GTBRA founders Stacey Warner and Andre Dohrn put together a fast-paced, festive and fun experience for everyone involved. An appearance from Santa Claus, gifts for all the kids (and dogs!), and daily costume contests brought the Christmas cheer. Three photographers were on-site to provide action and candid shots, plus free photos with Santa. Complete with a viral “run of the week” video of beloved gate-man Kyle Snelgrove taking a not-so-graceful tumble in the alleyway; the Jingle Bell Classic was one for the books.
The action in the arena was nonstop, from the $10,000-added 2D Juvenile Futurity, $5,000-added 2D Derby Shootout, American Contender Qualifier Tournament race, and the $250,000-added Triple Crown “Crown Round” Slot race.
“We owe it to Brett Monroe and the ground crew to allow the horses to shine to the best of their ability. It was an unbelievable slot race to watch, with so many good names and good horses in there,” Warner said. “That was a personal highlight because we’ve wanted to build this up to be a premiere event. The East coast has never gotten to experience an event like this, but we’ve finally made our mark,” Dohrn said. “Contestants have shown us what they appreciate. It’s more than a barrel race, it’s an experience. You can leave Perry with three different photographers taking pictures of you. I’ve been a lot of places and never seen anything like that. But we like to make it fun and provide entertainment.”
But it’s not all fun and games for Warner and Dohrn’s productions when it comes to the money.
“We know how hard it is to place, and we pay deeper than anybody going,” Warner said. “We paid 20 places in the Open, and actually had to have Saddlebook change their parameters to go that far.”
A special thanks is extended to Jeanette Nelson of the Triple Crown stallion incentive for her slot race sponsorship, as well as John Dowdy of title sponsor Equinety for their continued support.
Blaise Bercegeay and Sbwfeelinthepressure Win Slot Race, Saturday High Roller & Open
Even before smoking a 14.433 in the Triple Crown “Crown Round” Slot Race and picking up $60,000, Bercegeay and Sbwfeelinthepressure had already been having a stellar year in 2024. The pair had banked over $200,000 before the Jingle Bell Classic, and they added over $77,000 to that total in Perry.
“We are so excited, I don’t know if I can even begin to tell you,” Bercegeay said. “We’ve had a bunch of good, big wins in the barrel racing world, but never like this.”
Bercegeay’s fiancé Brian Wheeler started the big gelding, and he knew from the first ride that he was going to be something special.
“He’s a big ‘ole giant horse so Brian was kind of nervous to start him, thinking if he bucked, but he never did,” Bercegeay shared. “He’s really close to 16 hands, but when he runs he’s so low to the ground. Some of my pictures are kind of amusing because his head is right there level with the barrel. He really hunts those barrels. Giant arena or little tiny crackerjack box he always shows up; he never says no and is always hunting the barrels. He just says, ‘Oh yeah, I got that,’ no matter what we throw at him.”
The pair began their weekend with a down barrel in the Derby Shootout, but the seasoned jockey did her best to shake it off and move on to the next run. “[On Friday] We were right after the big drag,” Bercegeay said.
“He got a little straight, I cut my pocket off to the first. He’s a giant horse and needs a little more room, especially on the first barrel. I was just thinking about being clean since I did hit a barrel in the first go. We maybe pulled off the third and got stuck in the ground a little bit, but he made his same ‘ole Gauge run.”
That run resulted in a 14.783, placing 5th in the Open for $1,369 and 4th in the High Rollers sidepot for $2,903. But the pair peaked when it counted on Saturday.
“For the slot race, we were on the money for the first barrel; it was perfect,” she shared. “Sometimes he’ll give me a little more room than you need, you can just lift up your hand and he’ll move his big body over. He left the second and was headed out like we were almost gonna loop the third barrel; but I think he knew what he was doing. He was like a slingshot around it and just never quit moving. I was pumped up and had a whole bunch of nerves, there were 120 horses that were all capable of winning. They have big jumbotrons back there so you get to watch everybody, and know what you have to beat. There was already a 14.6 which was faster than we had been in the previous goes, so I knew I had to go for it. I looked at Brian and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness!’ He just said ‘Kick and pull, he’s got this.’ Gauge always seems to show up and show out. He always just makes it work and finds a way to win. A good horse makes you look good!”
The pair won the Slot Race, Saturday’s Open and High Roller, and were second in the Open Average for the weekend.
Bercegeay is thankful to Jim and Stacey Warner of GTBRA, and Jeanette Nelson of Triple Crown for putting on a great show and giving contestants the chance to run for such impressive payouts.
Marne Loosenort and PT Love Tabea Blazin Win Derby Shootout, Friday High Roller & Open
Kentucky-based trainer Marne Loosenort made the most of her first trip to the Jingle Bell Classic on a home-bred gelding that’s close to her heart. 5-year-old PT Love Tabea Blazin (Blazin Jetolena x Lovin Fame x Dash Ta Fame) is the first foal out of Lovin Fame, the outstanding mare that Loosenort had great success on.
“I’m so proud of him because I just loved running his momma; she was my favorite horse to run,” she shared. “All of her babies seem like they’re going to train up and be pretty user friendly.” In their first run at Perry, the duo racked up over $16,000. “I had bought a slot from one of my owners; just leased it,” Loosenort said. “That’s the only reason I went. But I’m glad I did, I’ll definitely be there every year!”
Loosenort and home-raised “Chrome” started out hot on Friday, clocking a 14. 617 to win the Derby Shootout for $6,186, High Roller sidepot for $6,141, and the Open for $4,022.
“The biggest thing with him is just getting your first barrel and he did, he had a really nice first,” Loosenort shared. “The other two he’s pretty simple; put him in the pocket and he does the rest for you. I felt like I could have had a better third, I brought him in a little early and he stepped off, but he takes cares of me and kept trucking through it.”
A 14.769 on Saturday picked up an additional $387 in the Open, and $554 in the High Roller sidepot. With the exception of his time spent at the colt breaker’s, Chrome has been under the tutelage of Loosenort from day one.
“He has a big personality, and he’s really spoiled because he’s her (Lovin Fame) first foal so we spoiled him rotten. But he’s good minded too, and good to haul. He doesn’t seem to be the quirky kind, never has been. He patterned up really nice and just was easy. The only thing I felt like I was probably a little passive on is letting him run to the first barrel. I couldn’t really let him run as hard as he’d like because he’d get to rolling so much and forget about turning. But as he’s gotten older, he’s gotten really solid. He’s pretty honest and reliable. Kind of wants to make the same trip every time, which is really nice.”
Loosenort thanks her sponsors Equinety, Prime Performance Nutrition, Triple Crown Feeds, and Dr. Greg Ford, DVM.
Brian Wheeler and Designer Legs Win Juvenile Futurity Average
The $10,000-added 2D Juvenile Futurity was a clean sweep of both go’s and the average by Brian Wheeler and Designer Legs (Slick By Design x Legsgonewild x Tres Seis). Owned by Wheeler’s fiancé Blaise Bercegeay, Designer Legs is a 4-year-old gelding by Slick By Design and out of the talented mare Legsgonewild, by Tres Seis. Though he got a little bit of a late start, Wheeler said that “Spanx” took right to the pattern and has been fairly easy.
“Everything I threw at him, he just handles it,” he shared. “I don’t think I started him on the barrels until February of his 3-year-old year. He was still just trying to lope circles when my other two colts were cruising the pattern.”
But that certainly didn’t show in their performance in Perry. Wheeler and Spanx kicked off their weekend by clocking a smooth 15.145, winning the first round of the futurity and banking $2,566. “The first round I was a little early at my first and he had to step off it some, so that messed up my second,” Wheeler explained.
“Once I messed that up I tried to just survive, and come back and be in the average. He came back the next day and ran hard; hit all his points and did exactly what he’s supposed to do.”
The pair knocked it out of the park in Round Two, blazing a 14.728 to once again win the round and an additional $2,566. The top spot in the average paid a cool $3,804, bringing their total futurity earnings to $8,936. The victory marks the third time that Wheeler has won the futurity at this show.
“I kind of had high hopes going there,” Wheeler shared. “When you’ve been there a few times and the pattern is the same, you kind of know where they need to be [time-wise]. I’m pretty realistic; I’ll tell you if I’ve got a shot to win or if I’m just trying to get out of there with a check.”
Speaking of checks, including Open and High Roller carryovers, Wheeler left Perry with a total of $19,428 worth of jingle in his pockets.
This article was originally published in the February 2025 issue of Barrel Horse News.
