Mallory and Karen Mort - Rhetorical & Martin Zaretsky (Pine Ridge Stables) - Iron Orchard

There are plenty of Breeders’ Cup starters that hail from large breeding operations, some of them international. Small-time breeders have starters this year, too, thanks to the Breeders’ Cup `Win-And You’re In’ Series and a pair of talented New York-breds.

Mallory and Karen Mort

“It is very exciting and a little unbelievable,” Karen Mort said. “We’re a small breeder. We’ve had one mare a year.”

They had the right one, Sheet Humor, produced Rhetorical  - now a four-year-old gelding by Not This Time. He won the Gr.1 Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland by three-quarters of a length at Keeneland Oct. 4th. 

“Obviously, it was very exciting,” Mallory Mort said. “We knew he was a pretty good horse. It’s very exciting. Very satisfying.”

Mallory grew up in southern Pennsylvania, where he showed horses and rode in 4H. He graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science degree after participating in the university’s Quarter Horse program. “They have a great Quarter Horse program,” Mallory said.

He landed a job at Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent, N.Y. in 1979. He never left and has managed the entire farm operation since 2005. “Gallagher’s Stud was looking for someone,” Mallory said. “It’s been a great relationship.”

The Morts usually bred one mare a year on their own, but stopped briefly after a couple of misses. “My wife suggested, actually insisted, that we buy one mare,” Mallory said. 

That mare, Sheet Humor also produced Sterling Silver, who posted nine victories, including a Gr. 2 stakes, and earned more than $1.1 million. Unfortunately, they sold Sheet Humor a month before Sterling Silver won her debut.

The Morts were celebrating their anniversary out of town when Rhetorical stepped into the starting gate at Keeneland for owners Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable and Wachtel Stables. “We could only watch it on an I-pad,” Karen said. “It was a very nice anniversary present for him to win.” 

Iron Orchid (blue cap)

Just three hours before Rhetorical’s victory, the undefeated New York-bred Iron Orchard, contested the Gr.1 Frizette at Aqueduct. Benefitting from a perfect ride by Joel Rosario, Iron Orchard won the Frizette by a nose. Now three-for-three, she will next start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly.      

The daughter of Authentic out of Onebrethatatime, by Brethren, was bred by Martin Zaretsky’s Pine Ridge Stables. Zaretsky made his living in the packaging business, making folding cartons for cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies. He races a handful of horses with trainer Linda Rice.

His entry into horse racing came from a love of skiing. Living in Manhattan, he’d take his three children, Dina, Craig, and Blake, to upstate New York for weekends from January to March. He happened to read an ad in the New York Times for a farm that was for sale, near several ski resorts owned by Lucy Arnaz - the daughter of the comic and movie legend Lucille Ball, and her husband. 

Zaretsky didn’t purchase that house, but his real estate agent offered another property nearby in North Chatham which became Pine Ridge. 

He got into horseback riding with his kids and fox hunting. When he wanted to breed his own horses, his buddy Jerry Bilinski, a prominent breeder at Waldorf Farm - who served as the Chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, suggested buying a Thoroughbred.  

“I used to have 15 mares, but when I retired at 78, I sold a lot of my horses,” Zaretsky said. “I’m 82, so I’m somewhat geared down.”

Yet he’s headed for the Breeders’ Cup with his first Gr.1 winner. “Isn’t that amazing?” he said.