Some of the greatest racing stories begin with an ‘accidental’ purchase, and that was the case for the team behind Fred.
With family interests in the car auction business, Richard Busso, Co-Founder Friends of Mr Ed, took his father to an Inglis yearling sale, all in the name of ‘research’. Before the end of the day, after a chance encounter with racing royalty in Gai Waterhouse, they found themselves the proud part-owners of a beautiful bay coloured racehorse named Sweet Redemption.
Amy Thompson, Richard and Friends of Mr Ed ‘s other half, has a rich family history in horses and the horse racing industry. Her connection starting way back in 1836 with her great, great, great grandfather, the famous John Conway Bourke who began his career as a junior stockman on Burgalia station in Australia’s wild country at the foot of the Snowy Mountains. [More on Amy’s story in posts to come].
They say racehorse ownership is a condition only cured by death and both Richard and Amy were quickly hooked, expanding their stable and diving deeply into the world of racehorse ownership.
By 2017, together Richard and Amy had shares in nine horses across six trainers and three states, yet as thrilling as their ownership experience was, they felt something was missing. Information was spread over different channels and official updates from the track were often delayed. They wanted more out of their experience, and a better way to connect and communicate with fellow owners.
This desire propelled Rich and Amy to set the wheels in motion for Friends of Mr Ed and start the blueprint for a racing first, digital companion app for race horse owners. Amy stopped work as a Senior Product Strategist to focus on the venture full time in 2018 with Richard continuing his day job leading an agency specialising in digital solutions, whilst supporting Amy in the evenings and on weekends [#startuplife].
In early 2019, after 12 months of planning, preparation and technical build they launched their first version of Fred into the Apple App store. It was received with so much ardor by the racing community that they immediately started to planning a new and improved version with increased automation and efficiency. That new version is close to ready and is due to be launched into both the Google Play and Apple App stores mid-2020.
If you are a horse owner and want to know more, register today to be first to know when version 2 of Fred jumps.
Register now at: https://www.friendsofmred.com/registernow
