By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The way Chris Mara sees it, gambling runs deep in his DNA.

His grandfather, Tim, is best known for founding the New York Giants football team in 1925. Less known is that Tim wheeled and dealed as a legal bookmaker. He became so well known at his craft that a photograph of him still hangs at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Chris, 58, has been going to the races since he was 8 or 9 and enjoyed being around the sport since then. He parked cars at Yonkers Raceway when he was a teenager and dabbled by taking a few small shares in Standardbreds as he grew older.

He always knew he wanted to take the plunge into Thoroughbred ownership, but he wanted to be sure to spread the risk with other partners. The key was finding the right mix of owners since the top priority, after all, is having fun. And he wanted to make sure he had a reasonable shot at success.

Today, he and his wife, Kathleen, are “all in” with Itsaknockout, who came in fourth in Saturday’s Florida Derby race.

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