Game Changers: Meet No More Options

Mary Self, the daughter of Woodbine trainer Zeljko Krcmar, is heavily involved and invested in horse racing, including as a Thoroughbred owner. In 2020, Self started the season with six horses. By the end of that campaign, she had four – one was claimed, another became a show jumper. “I buy at the sale or privately. I’m not a big-time buyer, owner or breeder. I do it the best I can.”

Make No Mistake, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Raison d’Etat, has won 15 races and recorded nearly $250,000 in purse earnings for Self.

No More Options Bio

Foaled: March 19, 2021
Sire: Frac Daddy
Dam: Stoney Miss
Starts: 15
Wins-Seconds-Thirds: 5-0-5
Earnings: $246,8089 (U.S.)
Notable races: Won the 2023 Frost King Stakes. Won the 2024 Lake Ontario Stakes. Was third in the 2023 Coronation Futurity Stakes and third in the 2024 Queenston Stakes.
Trainer: Zeljko Krcmar
Owner: Mary Self
Groom: Henry Miller
Breeder: Laurel A. Byrne

Scroll to continue with content

How would you best describe No More Options?

“He is just the perfect horse. If I had to pick a horse out of 1,000 horses, he would be the perfect one. (Woodbine race announcer) Robert Geller and (Woodbine on-air personality) Jeff Bratt have come to visit him at the barn – this horse is just the sweetest thing you will ever meet. When you walk up to him, he will lean out and put his head on your shoulder. He is just amazing.”

“When it comes to racing, Ryan (jockey, Munger) said, ‘You don’t know what you have underneath you until you let him go. But when he goes, he goes.’”

“Right now, he’s at a farm near the restaurant I own in Ocala. My dad and I visit him every day. We just watch him lying there in the sun – he does that all day long. My dad got out of the car and he came over and they played together. When my dad and I were driving out, “Options” trotted beside us the whole way around the field. My dad got out of the car again and he got a big kiss.”

“And this horse loves his groom, Henry Miller. That man gets up at three in the morning and sits with this horse all day – that is how much he is loved.”

What is your most vivid memory of his Frost King Stakes win?

“Did I expect it? No. We always had claiming horses for the most part, so for us to be in that environment, to be watching the race at our table of four in the restaurant at Woodbine – it was incredible. I knew he could do it, but I can’t say I knew he would win that day. In his mind, he’s not a racehorse. He’s out there having fun. Clearly, I didn’t know how great he is.”

“In his last race of the year, (Steady Growth Stakes, Dec. 15), he finished third and lost by just over a half-length. He had a 96 Beyer rating. I keep going back to how he doesn’t know how good he is.”

What did it mean to have a horse trained by your father run in the 2024 King’s Plate?

“I wanted my dad to be in this race. How many times does an opportunity to be in this race come along? It was a wonderful opportunity for my family. My dad is in his 80’s and this won’t come along again. To share every moment with him was indescribable.”

“My dad has one more dream and that is to run a horse on the turf at Saratoga. So, if there is a race for him in August, I will personally drive No More Options to Saratoga and watch my dad run this horse there.”

What three words best describe No More Options?

“Lazy. Lovable. Loyal.”

How has he changed your life?

“I get to talk to my dad every day because of horses. Whether it’s No More Options, Make No Mistake or other horses in our lives, we talk every day. It’s a gift for me. The horses are a gift.”