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Trainer Magazine - the horse racing magazine for the training and development of the thoroughbred racehorse. Europe and North America.
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Feb
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Feb 5
Gary Contessa - the hard-working New York trainer at the top of his profession
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K.T. Donovan
(05 February 2010 - Issue Number: 15)
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Heading in the right direction
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![WATCH Gary Contessa in the winner’s circle and you feel you are watching a kid who sneaked into the Oscars and is giggling with delight to be where his movie heroes are, pretending to be one of them. This joyfulness he shares with his owners, the thrill of being in the winner’s circle at Saratoga or Belmont Park, even after being New York’s leading trainer for the last three years, sets Contessa apart in the jaded, often cynical world of New York racing. Perhaps the infectious enthusiasm derives from the deep feeling of gratitude Contessa feels, as he never forgets how far he has come to ride at the top of the heap in the most prestigious racing jurisdiction in America. “I was a kid growing up in a Cape Cod house on Long Island, poor, the son of a mailman and a mother who drove a school bus, and I’d see these guys at Belmont Park in suits and hats – Woody Stephens, and Mack Miller,” he recalls wistfully. “They always looked so sharp. To think that one day I could be one of them. I wanted to be a trainer and I never stopped. I cherish every moment of what I do now.” Contessa has enjoyed fifteen individual meeting titles in New York, and his drive for the next one keeps him and his team going. “Every title means a lot,” he admits. “It invigorates the help, and the owners. The only time you’ll hear a guy say it doesn’t matter is when he’s in a close fight for it.” Most recently, Contessa led the 2009 Belmont Park spring meeting with 25 wins from 209 starts and $792,809, and he previously led the 2008-09 Aqueduct inner track meeting with 56 wins from 434 starts and $1,739,297, ahead in both earnings and wins. He finished seventh at his beloved Saratoga and seventh in the fall Belmont meeting, but is back making a strong showing at Aqueduct. Contessa’s stats will reveal an inordinate number of starts compared to his colleagues. One thing you get with Contessa is a trainer who will run his horses. He grinds out those titles primarily with claiming horses, a game that requires constant turnover and attention to detail. But Contessa is working to build a reputation beyond being the king of the claimers. “What I really like is training two-yearolds,” he says. “I’m very patient; I like breaking their bad habits. I have owners who like to claim. But now stakes are a part of it, too. I like seeing horses perform after I’ve taught them well. Claiming is tough – you have to watch horses, look at the numbers, but I enjoy every aspect of training.” At the same time, he keeps the theme of buying low, improving the stock, and then selling it. And ever the advocate for New York racing, Contessa often buys New Yorkbreds, explaining that “they are affordable and you can make money with them.” The New York Breeders’ Association named him Trainer of the Year in 2005 and 2007, as his support goes from the sales ring to the winner’s circle. He does not attend the yearling sales, but jumps into the action at the two-year-old level. “Wayne Lukas talks about ‘seeing the cat’ [the potential in horses at a sale],” he smiles. “Two-year-old sales are where I see the cat. I sold Peace Rules. I love selling young horses – that’s my thing. I have sold $3 million worth of horses I paid less than $200,000 for. I like to sell them after one race. [Stakes winner] Lovely Isle is another one. I really like the Pleasantly Perfects, and I bought a bunch of them. I like the Peace Rules babies, too.” True to form, he bought Pitched Perfectly, a son of Pleasantly Perfect out of a Deputy Minister mare, for $95,000 at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton February sale and started him five times with two wins. He then sold the colt to Lael Stables for an undisclosed profit in the spring of his three-year-old season and happily watched him go on to be stakes-placed for Barclay Tagg, a winning situation for all. Over ten years he has purchased 21 horses for less than $50,000 which sold in the high six figures. National Pride he bought for $60,000 in March 2007, and sold in the fall for over $1 million. Contessa began his love of seeing and extracting the potential in a horse with the same grinding hard work that results in his wins today. In his mind, the only way to become one of those stylish guys in hats leading a horse into the winner’s circle was to work harder than anyone else, feverishly clean stalls and stay late to learn more. “I had no horse background, and nobody wanted a trainer from Long Island,” he said. “I had to prove myself as a hotwalker, as a groom, as a foreman, and as an assistant.” His life changed when his work ethic caught the eye of Hall of Fame trainer Frank “Pancho” Martin, who still draws a softer sound of awe in Contessa’s fast-paced Long Island patter. From Martin, he learned where to place a horse, when to move him up, and when to sell him. ‘“I had worked for Stan Hough, and Jimmy Picou,” he says proudly, “and I thought I knew how to train. Then I worked GARY CONTESSA ISSUE 15 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 17 for Frank Martin. He was mad at me half the time. He was the greatest vet, the greatest trainer, and the craziest person rolled into one. If you made a mistake, you would know it, and everyone eight barns away would know it. “He knew where a horse was sore from watching him switch leads, he knew feet, he could say immediately that the upper joint of a knee was bothering the horse from watching a horse walk and the vet would confirm it.” Contessa took the opportunity and ran with it, and ran around to other trainers, too, never stopping trying to learn, running to catch up to where he thought he should be, leaving the city boy’s lack of horse knowledge as far behind him as he could. “[Martin] was not a teacher, but I stayed glued to him and asked questions,” he said. “I asked everyone – I asked Woody Stephens and Mack Miller and Johnny Campo questions. If I saw a trainer switched equipment or strategy, or changed shoes, I found that trainer and asked why. I think they answered me because they found it unusual. I have never met anyone as desirous of being a trainer as I was. I stayed up all night with horses.” When he went out on his own in 1984, h e quickly found himself back where he started, with no respect, no relative to pave his way as was done in those days, no one to sp eak for him, no way in but his own ingenuity and hard work. The racing office in New York wouldn’t give him a stall so he headed south to Monmouth Park in New Jersey. He will never forget those who helped him make his way. “I saved every penny and bought a $5,000 horse,” he says with his characteristic laugh. “And I had five, six horses from a lovely lady ‘Mr. New York’ Gary Contessa checks in on his string at Gulfstream named Elizabeth Taylor – not THE Elizabeth Taylor – but a porn director. We ran at Meadowlands. In those days, I owe so much to Johnny Campo and Bobby Ribaudo. If they had horses in New York that didn’t fit, they would send them down to me in Jersey. I grew to six stalls and 26 horses, and would send the others to a farm! “Once I had one stall open and Johnny Campo sent me eight horses at 9:00pm. I was scrambling trying to find room for them on a farm! Every owner thought their horses were at the track, but I couldn’t get stalls, so I was shuffling them back and forth.” Those days are long gone now, but to Contessa, they are right behind him all the time. Watching fellow New York trainer Todd Pletcher, the bulk of whose stable is filled with high-priced bloodstock for leading owners, he still feels the vast chasm between himself and the guy in the sharp suit. “If there was any trainer I wish I had worked for it’s Wayne Lukas,” he says, getting serious for a rare moment. “He dresses right, he’s regimented. I regret never working for him. Look what he turns out. He even teaches his assistants not to sweat! You look at Todd Pletcher in the stands on a hot day, with his tie tied perfect, and his suit, and he doesn’t sweat. Me, I’d be pouring perspiration! Lukas is organized, he treats his owners well, he knows his horses. Every time I’ve heard him talk, I’ve learned from him. “There are a lot of good trainers with no horses. And there are some trainers with a lot of horses who aren’t as good trainers. Lukas teaches you why – ‘it’s all about the show.’” GARY Contessa is not about the show, but his very essence is that of a people person, telling stories and enjoying his work, and this joie de vivre gained him his biggest client. His numbers greatly improved in the last few years when he took on Winning Move Stable, led by Steve Sigler and a growing number of other owners as partners. Beginning with two sore horses, the outfit grew to 90, with 60 on the track. Much to the wrath of former claiming kingpin Richard Dutrow Jr., Contessa became a real force to be reckoned with in New York, particularly during the winter months at Aqueduct. He made an enemy of Dutrow, who took potshots at him in the press, implying that Contessa’s sudden rise to prominence should be looked at more closely. Contessa shrugs it off with his usual positive attitude. “He’s just a guy who doesn’t care for me,” he says. “Dutrow could run anywhere and no one would claim his horses. I came in and started claiming his horses. And I did well. I challenged his sovereignty in New York.” PROFILE 18 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 15 He did so well that he came full circle in 2007, breaking Pancho Martin’s singleseason record of 156 wins in New York with 159 victories. Corresponding to his leading New York trainer titles in 2006-2008 were Winning Move’s titles as leading owner the same years. Businessman Sigler gives his reasons for choosing Contessa as his great ability to communicate, and while obsessed with detail, he nevertheless keeps the fun in the game. “I have never considered having multiple trainers,” Sigler says. “Gary is right nine times out of ten, but is open to what you suggest. He’s fair to his help, which is important to me. And he is able to balance family and racing with his friends. He’s a wonderful father, and wants to be remembered by his children first, then as a trainer. Our families are close, and this is also important to me. Racing is more than a hobby. It’s a business, and it’s about friendships.” Communication is frequently cited by owners as why they enjoy having Contessa train for them. Harold Lerner, co-owner of Grade 2 Stuyvesant Handicap winner Accountforthegold, explains: “I wanted to get into action right away. He’s easy to communicate with and he’s got a great personality. I knew from others that some trainers are not as accessible. He’s made it fun. He’s upfront and straightforward – if a horse is hurt, he’ll tell me. He’s fair.” That this is out of the ordinary seems to leave Contessa nonplussed. He has made the owners a central part of his stable, noting that they have too much invested to not communicate with them. He has been known to stay up late until he answers every e-mail. Particularly at Saratoga, he manages on little sleep, keeping owners entertained when they come to the Spa eager to go out to dinner every night. He can handle celebrity owners, like David Cassidy, former owner of Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan winner Sweet Vendetta who keeps about half a dozen horses with Contessa, and those who love racing but might be new to owning. “Gary teaches you how to take a profit – which is important,” says importer-exporter Sam Chaborda. “It pays for your mistakes, which he teaches you will happen, too.” Contessa is also not afraid to communicate his opinions on current issues facing racing. A devotee of New York racing, he is loathe to see any of the tracks there put in a synthetic surface, declaring that not enough is yet known about them for racetrack management to head in that direction. “Like scoping after they run – there is dirt all down a horse’s throat after a race,” he says, his hands beginning to wave around. “You’re going to tell me that there’s not these rubber pieces and carpet fibers and plastic in a horse’s trachea after a race over PROFILE 20 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 15 synthetics? At least dirt is natural.” Contessa has declared that unless a horse has proven he likes the synthetic, he would avoid a Breeders’ Cup over the new surfaces, and was absent from the past two held at Santa Anita, despite having horses like multiple Grade 2 winner Rite Moment, and Grade 3 Saranac Stakes winner Mission Approved, who could have participated. He wonders how anyone will now ship a horse halfway around the world to run in Dubai if they have not already proven they can run on it. “Every horse trains well on it,” he says. “But ask Steve Asmussen if they also run well on it. I think we should train over it, but run our races on dirt.” A more practical improvement to New York racing, in Contessa’s opinion, would be to finally install the Video Lottery Terminals that were approved seven years ago. “NYRA can’t make their budget because of VLT’s, and yet Yonkers, the Saratoga Raceway Casino – they all have them,” he says. “Where are our VLT’s? It’s politics. We need a governor who will make it happen, and that’s not NYRA’s fault.” His rare moments of dissidence are tempered, though. While accusing the detention barn at NYRA tracks of being “a big hassle,” he acknowledges that it goes a long way toward restoring the lost trust fans once held for the sport, which makes it important to continue. And because fan concerns for the horses are shared by him, he works hard to find homes for those in his stable who no longer can or should race, and has been president of the Exceller Fund for over a year now. Knowing when to run a horse also means knowing when not to, and Contessa is adamant that each horse has its time to race, and its time to do something else. For himself, there is little else besides family and training. His lifelong ambition to be a Thoroughbred trainer has been fulfilled, but as Sigler says, he makes sure there is a balance. As happy as he is on the racetrack, as competitive and driven, when he leaves the track his life becomes all about his family. “Breaking Frank Martin’s record of wins in New York for a year was part of this dream,” Contessa says with amazement. “It’s surreal. I’m incredibly appreciative. Now I dream of winning stakes! But I already have a charmed life in this business. Most important to me is that I’m a good father and my wife is #1, and above that, everything else I’m grateful for. I had odds of 200-1 that I’d be here right now. So I’m just enjoying every minute!” ■ “I](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/517636f8e4b0cb4f8c8697ba/1463491987136-7Z6GEJVB4NXSVM3YNUJK/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kG2K97Xjg85qyXgQlTpyKoRZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWW4PbrTyCWR9x7-ujYMNVoSllE-zBavrZi7JuSB3XsEIp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIHvFGxbJwYtPD-vMoA8pMxWjEmSIo2-U1Pmo10aifkys/image-asset.png)