Debbie Finley
Terry and I met in high school and a lot of our dates started out with a trip to the racetrack, whether it be Philadelphia Park, Garden State or Liberty Bell. We both had a passion for horse racing early on.
We got married after Terry’s graduation from West Point and lived in Schweinfurt, Germany, but never had a chance to attend the races there. Terry traveled quite a bit and I would load my daughter Erin into the car and we would drive down the autobahn all over the country visiting different cities. It was wonderful to see Erin speaking German at an early age when Terry and I seemed to struggle with it a bit.
Needless to say, we missed horse racing very much! We said, "As soon we get back to the states, we want to purchase a racehorse!" And that we did - our first horse was Sun Belt who resided at Philadelphia Park and was trained by David Stubley.
Terry was traveling during Sun Belt's first start under our colors in a $5,000 claiming race. I went to the track with my 3-year-old daughter and with another child on the way to give Terry the "play by play” on the phone - and was shocked to see our first horse win first time out in our colors.
As the ownership experience went on we realized we were not going to win them all! So, a few friends and ourselves bought some horses together. Terry and I never intended to start a partnership. He was fresh out of the military and working in the insurance business. But the concept continued to grow and more and more people wanted to be involved in the partnership with us leading it.
After a few years and some pushing from several of our associates, they convinced us to give this a whirl... and that we did! We worked out of the house the first year, then moved to a small office in the basement of an office building followed by a move to our current office in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
About me...
Hobbies: Gardening, cooking, crossword puzzles and reading. Terry and I are planning on biking and hiking during the summers in Saratoga Springs, NY next year. We have a black lab mix named “Maggie” who I adopted at the nearby shelter about 18 months ago. I love Sundays - church, breakfast, sports, movies, family dinner and 60 Minutes!
Interests: Horse racing, Philadelphia Phillies/Eagles/76ers/Flyers/College Soccer fan. Love March Madness (Congie DeVito got me hooked on this one!) Favorite day to handicap the races - the Breeders Cup!
Greatest Accomplishments: Raising two kids: Erin, who is a graduate of the University of KY, currently works with WPT, and is also an avid equestrian, and Ryan, who attends the University of Notre Dame and is a very good soccer player. Also, starting the initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness with our first filly Flashy In Pink - hoping to raise as much as we can for a very important cause.
Most enjoyable part of owning WPT: The people, the horses and the employees.
Someone I admire: Congie DeVito. He was such an inspiration to all of us. I miss his friendship every day...
