Lighter’s 20-1 Indiana Derby odds don’t faze Bloomington owner

“I guess it’s going to be our own little Natty win,” says IU football fan

Horseshoe Indianapolis news feature about Kentucky-based Lighter, trained by Rodolphe Brisset (Coady Media photo of Lighter winning his debut at Horseshoe Indy)

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Thursday, July 9, 2026) — Ann Harrison has a keen appreciation of longshots and how they do sometimes come in. After all, the Indiana University graduate and Bloomington resident is a long-time season-ticket holder and enthusiastic supporter of Hoosier football, suffering through torturous records year after year until Coach Curt Signetti arrived, magically transforming IU from the losingest program in college football history to the 16-0 national champions.

So Harrison is unfazed that her lightly 3-year-old colt Lighter is the second-longest shot in Saturday’s $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“Well, we’re going to be the underdog, too,” she said in a phone interview. “I mean, he’s 20-to-1, and people are not expecting him to win.”

And if Lighter pulls off the upset, “I guess it’s going to be our own little Natty win.”

Not to get too carried away in a comparison to IU’s first-ever national football title, but just being in Indiana’s signature horse race is a huge deal for Harrison and her family. They have attended the race faithfully for years, usually bringing a party of 16 and this year bumping it to 24.

Lighter has run twice, an impressive debut at Horseshoe and a third in a Churchill Downs allowance race. He’s based at trainer Rodolphe Brisset’s main stable at Keeneland.

“He got a late start because of an injury,” Harrison said. “He was nominated to the Triple Crown series, but there are setbacks, so he doesn’t have the resume that some of the other horses have. But he is definitely deserving to be there, so we are super excited. We’ve been coming to the Indiana Derby for years, and we bring our whole family. It’s just a wonderful experience.”

Being in Indiana’s biggest horse race takes on added significance for Harrison, who has started a breeding program involving both Indiana-bred and Kentucky-bred horses. She plans to race as well as sell, with two horses entered in Keeneland’s renowned September Yearling Sale, while also buying horses to create what she envisions as a “boutique” operation.

“Our hopes are that we’re going to make a mark in Indiana,” she said. “We have six foals born on the farm this year, and we’ve had a couple born last year. We’re fairly new to the industry, so we’re just super proud. Win, lose or draw, this is just the beginning for us. We know the value of it, and what it means. We think Indiana is really underrepresented a lot of times in the sales and in recognition. In my opinion, there needs to be a lot more strength in stallions here. There are areas for improvement in Indiana, and we’re hoping to do some improvements.”

Harrison races and breeds with her daughter, Renata Hendrickson. Both registered nurses, they are also partners in their other business enterprises, which include home-care agencies. Hendrickson is as much a horse-lover as her mom. So when Harrison purchased a pregnant Thoroughbred mare in 2020, she told Hendrickson, “You know, we’re going to have find a horse farm.”

Harrison, a major IU donor who has received multiple awards from the university for her philanthropy, clearly doesn’t do things halfway. She and Hendrickson now have houses on their 134-acre Beanblossom Farm outside of Bloomington. One horse six years ago has morphed into about 30, including six at the track with Lexington-based Rodolphe Brisset, along with broodmares, babies and layups. They pay good money for well-bred horses, such as $400,000 Keeneland yearling purchase Lighter, who is a son of WinStar Farm’s exciting stallion Constitution.

“We just built another barn, so you know everything’s right there,” Harrison said of the farm, adding with a laugh, “We call it the compound.”

The 1 1/16-mile Indiana Derby has been on Harrison’s radar for some time, though Brisset acknowledges “it’s a little bit out of our comfort zone to put him in there after two races, and he hasn’t run two turns. 

“But we feel like the two turns could be something to bring him up,” he said. “He’s going to have to step up… But the horse has shown some talent. His first time out, he was pretty impressive. He didn’t want any part of the six furlongs. But he got a hot pace up front and came closing and won going away. The horse wasn’t 100 percent ready, too. He came back and ran third in a very fast race, and I thought that was a pretty good effort.

“The owner is from Indiana. She puts a lot of money in the game. She breeds and races. She buys at the sale. This is her Derby, her home Derby. Would I want a ‘1X’ (entry-level allowance) going two turns? Yes. But we feel like it’s a spot where nobody would be surprised if he runs third, and I think he deserves a shot there.”

Harrison and Hendrickson ended up with Brisset through circumstance in 2022. Harrison said she was watching the Fasig-Tipton California digital sale and fell in love with a 2-year-old filly sired by Quality Road and out of a Pulpit mare. She bought her online, assuming the filly named Bric a Brac would just stay with her California trainer, Tim Yakteen.

“He was just such a nice guy,” Harrison said. “He said, ‘You know, you want to watch her race. You should move her.’ He recommended Rodolphe.”

Bric a Brac only won one race, but the relationship with Brisset has been lasting.

There’s also a story behind Lighter’s name. Harrison bred, owned and showed the Basenji dog breed. She remains a prominent show judge.

“The best Basenji I ever bred was named Lighter, and he became the No. 1 Basenji in the country,” she said. “He ended up being sold to Japan, and was the No. 1 Basenji over there. So I saved the name for a really great horse.”

She believes Lighter won’t let her down.

“He just needs more races,” she said. “He deserves to be in the Indiana Derby, and I think he’s going to do his thing. Whether he wins it or not, I think this horse has got a lot of potential.”

If IU’s football program could turn around in two years, Harrison believes she can develop her operation into a player in a few years. If it takes longer, well, Harrison has proven she’s a stayer.

“I have had season tickets to IU football, and of course basketball, for probably the last 15-20 years,” she said. “So I am one of those people who have been around and stayed around.”

Now she’s enjoying the payoff.

“In fact, the first foal we had this year was born in January,” she said, “and her name is Hoosier Natty.”

— Story by Jennie Rees