Real Quiet
1998 Kentucky Derby winner
DUNAMISTHOROUGHBREDS Home
OUR STORY
Adam
Billings
MANAGING PARTNER · DUNAMIS THOROUGHBREDS“From a little boy with a dream to living that dream with family and friends.”
WHERE IT STARTED
I grew up going to the track with my grandfather.
My mom and my aunt—people who were close to me and loved me more than anything—hated it. They thought my grandfather and his gambling would have a negative influence on me.
The truth is, I started going when I was four or five years old, and it was well into my teenage years before I even knew you could bet on a race.
Even now when we go to the races, Rachel will ask me, “What do all those numbers on the tote board mean?” I haven’t given her the first lesson on betting.
I fell in love with the horse, with the jockeys and with the game.
A SPORTS FAMILY · NOT A HORSE FAMILY
The dream did not match my circumstances. It stayed anyway.
I grew up in a non-horse family. They didn’t know anything about horses, and we sure didn’t have the money at the time to own them. But we were a sports family. I played every sport until arriving at St. Xavier in 1995 and having to focus on just football.
I walked on at the University of Tennessee and, three years later, transferred to Maryville College. I was sitting with my advisor during my junior year when she asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I had no idea.
“I know two things for certain: I want to live for Jesus, and someday I want to own racehorses.”
It just so happened that Maryville College had an equestrian team. Under the guidance of my advisor, I joined two weeks later.
That is a whole other story—and probably a whole other website—but at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, riding on an English team made up mostly of women, they didn’t think I would make it two weeks. I made it two years, until I graduated and moved away. I earned my degree in mathematics in 2004.
DERBY DAY · 1998
“Real Quiet cannot win.”
I want to go back to the 1998 Kentucky Derby. I used to work the Derby every year—not so much for the extra cash, but so I could be at the race.
Real Quiet was my horse, and I told every person I escorted to a seat that day that he was going to win. At one point, an old gambler stopped me. He told me Real Quiet could not win, had no chance, and he could prove it.
He pulled out his Racing Form and pointed to a number: Real Quiet’s dosage index. “That number is too high,” he said. “It is impossible for him to win.”
Well, if you know the Derby, you know Real Quiet won that day.
THE $17,000 DERBY WINNER
If other people can find that horse, why not us?
Real Quiet was a $17,000 purchase at the Keeneland yearling sale. Every year, we hear another version of that story.
Counting Stars
One of 2026’s leading fillies
Ocelli
Third in the 2026 Kentucky Derby
West Saratoga
2024 Kentucky Derby starter
The list goes on and on. If other people can make the under-$20,000 purchase and get there, why not us?
I do not want to be a hypocrite. If I am a multimillionaire one day, I will probably spend six figures on a horse. But right now, I’m not there. If you’re reading this, you’re probably not there either.
But that doesn’t stop my dream. It doesn’t stop my love of the game. And when that horse hits the top of the stretch, how much he or she cost won’t matter. Just ask Real Quiet and his owners.
ALMOST 20 YEARS ON THE SIDELINE
Coaching shaped me. Family told me when it was time.
I coached high school football for almost 20 years. I was the head coach at E’town for three years and, most proudly, the head coach at North Bullitt for seven.
I loved coaching, the players and everything that came with building a team. But eventually, the sacrifice became too much. After the 2022 season, I stepped down.
WHAT IS MANDATORY FOR ME
“If my wife, kids and the people I love can’t be there, I don’t want to go.”What I love about chasing this dream is that my family is included. The journey only matters if the people I love can share it.
THE MEANING OF DUNAMIS
Faith is at the beginning and the end.
Our name comes from Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Dunamis speaks to that powerful, life-changing strength.
The Alpha and Omega on our silks represent Jesus—the beginning and the end. Orange and white honor Tennessee, another meaningful part of my journey. Together, the silks tell our story before the horse ever steps onto the track.
THE WAY WE OPERATE
Managing the partnership means protecting what matters.
As Managing Partner, my responsibility is bigger than finding the next horse. It is building relationships with good horsemen, communicating honestly, buying with discipline and making decisions that always begin with the horse.
Explore the Available PartnershipFaith & family
Success is measured in memories shared, not only races won.
Horse first
The horse’s health and future come before the next entry or work.
Buy value
We do not buy cheap horses. We buy good horses for a good value.
Keep learning
Every horse and every relationship adds another lesson to the journey.
FRIENDS · FAMILY · RACE DAYS
The people who make the dream worth chasing.
The paddocks, the races and the horses matter even more because we experience them together.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
The dream is still the dream.
Find the good horse others overlooked. Put the right people around that horse. Give the horse every opportunity to thrive. Then, when the moment comes, enjoy it with the family and friends who made the journey matter.
Meet the horses