Horse named 'Mayor Marv' to have first race tomorrow

A 2-year-old colt bred from Distorted Humor and Miss Wineshine will run his first race Wednesday under the name of man he is supposed to draw inspiration from, Carson City's 73-year-old mayor, Marv Teixeira.

"Mayor Marv, he's a memorable figure," said the horse's owner, Mike Pegram, "so we're going to have a memorable horse named for him hopefully."

The horse will run at 12:15 p.m. tomorrow at the historic Saratoga Race Track in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., one of the oldest tracks in the country.

Pegram, co-owner of Bodines Casino in Carson City, said Mayor Marv comes from good blood, with Miss Wineshine as mother of Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide and Distorted Humor being a top-rated stud.

"But we got to wait until this horse wins," said Pegram who has owned horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Sprint, "because there's another 40,000 just like Mayor Marv that everybody thinks is good, but they're not good until they prove it."

Teixeira, who will retire at the end of this year after serving his third four-year term, said Pegram gave him a choice between the names of Mr. Marv and Mayor Marv, but would have been flattered by either.

"You know, politicians will sometimes get a building named after them or a room or a street," Teixeira said. "I get horse named after me."

Bodines Casino, at the corner of South Carson Street and Clear Creek Road, will show the race. It will also be shown on DirecTV channel 602 and Dish Network channel 405.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.