By Katie Merritt
The Brew Crew is a racing partnership made up of seven partners. It’s headed by Dorothy Erban, and includes other partners Pete Mattson, Tom Newland, Amie Peterson, Clayton Kearns, Mark Ethen and Gayle Bostrom. They currently have one horse, Kela Brew, in training, and formed the Brew Crew partnership around him.
Dorothy and husband Steve purchased Kela Brew at the 2015 MTA Sale. The horse’s name stems from his lineage – out of a Milwaukee Brew mare and by the stallion Kela – but the name is also reminiscent of popular Minnesota Twin’s baseball slugger Harmon Killebrew. “We got the partners together, named it Brew Crew, and the silks are kind of a replica of his baseball jersey – they have his number on the back, but on the front instead of ‘Twins’ it says ‘Win’!” explained Dorothy.
Some of the partners, like Newland and Mattson, had previously been in other partnerships with the Erbans and were eager to join in on the fun again, while others had never owned a single racehorse. Mark Ethen previously served on the Minnesota Racing Commission, which prohibits members from owning racehorses, but thought that a partnership sounded like a good idea after leaving that position and is enjoying how ownership allows the people involved to watch a horse develop. “When Kela Brew won his first race – that was priceless. You get so excited you can hardly stand yourself!” he said with a grin. Cousins Amie Peterson and Clayton Kearns are also enjoying their first foray into ownership. “We said we were going to do this together a few years ago. Then my mom passed away and I was like, ‘You can’t take it with you! Let’s do this! She would think this was fun!'” said Amie.
Newcomers and racing veterans alike are enjoying being a part of the Brew Crew. “Being in a partnership is a fun way to introduce new people to racing,” said Dorothy. “It’s a constant learning experience and I think that’s what is so much fun. It never gets boring, there’s always something new. People can come in at any level and learn.”
