Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Nobals - Vince Foglia (Patricias Hope LLC)

Article by Bill Heller

Nobals’ victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint was the culmination of an incredible year for Vinnie Foglia, who races as Patricia’s Hope LLC, and his trainer/close friend Larry Rivelli. Patricia’s Hope LLC was also a partner on Two Phil’s, who sandwiched dominant Grade 3 stakes victories in the Jeff Ruby Stakes and Ohio Derby around his brave second by a length in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. “It was a hell of a year,” Foglia said.

Actually, it’s been a hell of a long friendship between Foglia and Rivelli. “I think it was the Italian thing,” Foglia said. “We hit it off immediately. It’s so cool that we’re that tight. We live in the same community. We golf together. We’re members of the same country club. We hang out together.”

They’re also native Chicagoans. “Someone told me he wanted to claim a horse,” Rivelli said. “The guy recommended me. I talked to Vinnie for five minutes. Same town. Both Italians. From then on, we were just buddies. It ended up a great friendship with him and his family. They’ve been successful. They’re the greatest people on the planet. Just great people.”

Both Vinnie, his father Vincent and his mother Patricia, have spent their lives helping people.

Vinnie’s father was the co-founder of Sage Products Inc, a medical supply company which developed and manufactured healthcare products for hospitals throughout the country in Cary, Illinois.

“My first position in health care almost 60 years ago was as a salesman for MacBick, which sold medical supplies to hospitals,” Vinnie’s father said in an online interview. “I wanted to be part of it. I am truly passionate about healthcare. It’s been my life’s work and dedication for almost 50 years. I love this industry. I know right now that someone in a hospital is benefitting from one of our products. I’ve always wanted to be part of something that matters. And what could matter more than patient safety? After all, we’re all going to be patients some day!”

When his company prospered, he began a legacy of philanthropy, one his son is proud to continue. In 1995, his father founded the Foglia Family Foundation in Chicago. Its major areas of support are education and health care. “As part of our interest in health care, we’ve always supported high-quality behavioral health treatment,” his father said. “We are aware that addiction and suicide rates are soaring and demand for treatment is growing. Much of this care is unfunded and relies on doctors. Yet even with charitable gifts, behavioral health organizations are still only able to scratch the surface of the need.” 

Foglia is rightfully proud of his father: “He is a role model. My father gets pleasure helping people who are less fortunate. That’s what I do. We have over 100 charities that we support.”

One of them, Let It Be, places kids, including children with special needs, in foster homes. “I’m on the board,” Foglia said. “I’m on a few boards, all not-for-profit.”

  Foglia began working for Sage when he was 16. “I started out sweeping with a broom,” he said. “When we sold the business to Striker Home Care Medical in 2016, that allowed us to start buying thoroughbreds.” He honored his mother by calling his stable Patricia’s Hope LLC.

Horses were always in Foglia’s head, ever since he visited Arlington Park when he was 12. “I grew up in Arlington Heights,” he said. “My high school was right down the street. I knew jockey E.T. Baird. I knew grooms and hotwalkers.”

That end of the business never appealed to Foglia. Owning horses did: “It’s as exciting as you can have competitively without breaking a sweat.”

One of his first lessons was to avoid something that guarantees sweat: “I learned that, after five or six years, don’t do the bookkeeping. It takes away the fun. You can get sticker shock.”

Not with Nobals. The five-year-old gelding by Noble Mission out of Pearly Blue by Empire Maker sold for $3,500 at the Fasig-Tipton October, 2020 Yearling Sale to owner/trainer LeLand Hayes. Nobals won his maiden debut at Presque Isle Downs by four lengths and was re-sold to Patricia’s Hope LLC and Rivelli. “After he won, someone presented the horse,” Ravelli said. “A horse has to absolutely jump off the page for me to want to buy it. It was the way he won his race.”

Nobals has been winning races all over North America ever since Foglia purchased him. In 18 career starts, he’s raced at 11 different tracks: Presque Isle Downs, Arlington Park, Churchill Downs, Delmar, Turfway Park, Woodbine, Saratoga, Keeneland, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Colonial Downs and Santa Anita. His 10 wins and three seconds helped him earn $1,453,274.”

Now Two Phils, who posted five wins, two seconds and one third in 10 starts, making $1,583,450, is standing stud at WinStar Farm for $12,500. Nobals is enjoying a well-earned rest. 

Together, Two Phils and Nobals earned $3 million. Two Phils took Foglia to his first Kentucky Derby, and the thrill of finishing second in America’s race will last a lifetime. But at Santa Anita, Nobals gave Foglia his first grade 1 stakes victory.  

“That was very cool,” Foglia said. “The goal from the start was to win a Grade 1.”

Patricia’s Hope fulfilled.

#Soundbites - Which other trainer do you most admire on the backstretch, and why?

Article by Bill Heller

Bret Calhoun

Brendan Walsh

Wayne Lukas never ceases to amaze me. He’s out there every morning. He’s at the sales and still competing at the highest level. He’s a guy that amazes me.

Brendan Walsh

There are a lot of trainers on the backstretch that I admire for different things. Some are good with stakes horses. Some of them are good with young horses. There’s almost too many to mention. I don’t really want to name one.

Todd Fincher

The ones I admire the most are the ones who started in the grass roots and worked their way up and became successful. Most of those guys have a true love of horse racing. It’s not an easy profession. It’s an unending job. Those guys that fought through adversity are the ones that I admire most.

Peter Miller

There are a lot of them I admire. Here in Southern California, I admire Richard Mandella and John Sheriffs because they limit the number of horses they take. I can’t do that. I’m a horse junkie. I admire Brad Cox and Steve Asmussen because they run such a huge operation with success at all levels. That shows a lot of organizational skills as well as horsemen skills. They also know how to delegate. I don’t even know how they do it. You can also throw in Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown. I’m at 80 horses, and I’m at my wit’s end!

Gary Contessa

That is a no-brainer: Wayne Lukas. He revolutionized the entire racing industry, and people took his lead. He came to the East Coast, and he showed us how to talk to clients; showed us how to develop young horses; and showed us what a barn should be like. Look at the history. What trainer in America has developed more good trainers than he has? Nobody. He’s developed horses and people.

Ron Moquett

There’s a lot of people you admire for different reasons. Probably the older guys like Bernie Flint, Jinks Fires and Wayne Lukas. They’re forever evolving. To be involved in this business for so many years and compete at a high level, it’s impressive. They do it year after year.

Larry Rivelli

Larry Rivelli

Wesley Ward—because he’s one of the very few jockeys that have become successful trainers. A lot of them tried and failed. He didn’t. He’s at an elite level.

Where are they now? Where are trainers, who once called Arlington Park their summer home, going?

By Ken Snyder

In real estate, there’s an old saying that the three most important factors are location, location, location. It has become a factor in horse racing too, at least in the Midwest. For last year’s Arlington trainers, the search for the right race, however, is not to be found in a condition book but on a map. Trainers Chris Davis and Larry Rivelli are part of the involuntary exodus from the now-closed Chicago racing institution. 

Five years ago, Davis, then stabled at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky and racing in one of the country’s toughest meets in April and October, met with his owners with what turned out to be a sound idea: move their horses to Arlington. “You have to put your horses where they can win,” he told them.

The move worked. Davis’s stable progressed to finish in the top five in earnings the past two meets at Arlington.

Today, ironically, Davis was back in Lexington this spring in the wake of Arlington’s closing, stabling again at Keeneland. If earnings are any indication, Davis is better prepared to take on the top horses and trainers at the prestigious spring and fall meets at Keeneland. Last year, his earnings surpassed $1.3 million. “The talent level in my barn is significantly higher than it was five years ago; there’s no question.  And I have more liberty about where I run them.”

For Rivelli, who is moving to Hawthorne Race Course on Chicago’s south side, he was the perennial meet leader at Arlington in wins and earnings (nine straight titles through 2021). The loss of training and racing there is acute on an emotional level. 

“It was a beautiful facility…like going to a birthday party every day when you ran horses and won–such a great place to be.” On a professional level, that would mean birthday candles by the gross; his 230 starters last year at Arlington won at an astonishing 37% rate.

While Davis is, again, a Chicago native and also the son of parents who trained horses for over 30 years in the “Chicagoland” area, he is going home, if not professionally then personally. (He lives in Lexington.) Rivelli is adding 30+ miles to a daily commute. 

So where will other Arlington trainers go?

It is almost a certainty that some will make a move north to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, thanks to incentives. Arlington trainers who raced in Illinois during 2021 or this year can earn a $1,000-bonus if they race in May and if they have not raced at Canterbury previously. That $1,000 is in addition to another $1,000 paid to all trainers—Canterbury veterans included—for May starts. Bonuses are on top of any purse money earned, and the meet starts May 18. 

Additionally, Canterbury is offering a travel loan program for up to $25,000 per owner or a maximum of $1,500 per horse. This is for stables shipping in from anywhere outside Minnesota. Loan and stall applications were due on April 4.

“Chicago familiarity would obviously draw more eyes to Canterbury Park’s product and hopefully increase exposure and wagering interest,” said Andrew Offerman, senior vice-president of operations at Canterbury.

For trainers, Offerman points to Canterbury’s turf course. “I think it is probably the best or as good of a turf course as you can find in the Midwest.

“If you’ve been competitive in Illinois, you should definitely be competitive in Minnesota,” he added.

Indiana Downs in Shelbyville near Indianapolis would seem to be a natural draw for Arlington trainers except for one critical factor: stalls. Chris Polzin, racing secretary, has 10 Arlington trainers coming in, but there isn’t room for more. Polzin had applications for stalls for 1,856 horses last year but only 1,150 stalls. 

“The trainers we’re getting from Arlington, I think, will have a positive effect on us. If they have better horses, we can fill better races…Ingrid Mason—those kinds of people,” he said. 

FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing in Collinsville in southern Illinois will certainly draw trainers as well with races (and bonuses) for Illinois-breds.

Chris Davis, a Chicago native and also the son of parents who trained horses for 30 years in the ‘Chicagoland’ area, he is going home. If not professionally, but personally (he lives in Lexington)

For Davis, the biggest loss from Arlington’s closing will be felt by owners. “The majority of my clients are from the Chicago area. They had a lot of fun going out to the races. They used to come to the races, come to the barn afterward and see their horses. They were hands-on and really enjoyed being around the barn atmosphere rather than just ‘Let me know when they’re running.’ 

“They took enjoyment bringing friends to the barn and saying, ‘This is my horse.’”

The closing of Arlington is a mixed bag for Rivelli. Hawthorne is “not as appealing to the eye but has purses this year bigger than Arlington’s, which were pretty significantly higher than they were last year.

“We’re going to be probably with the same company running for a lot more money. So, it’s not too bad. It’s just the actual facility itself and the memories of Arlington. We already miss it, and it’s not even time to be back there yet.” 

Rivelli’s decision was made for him, in part, by his barn help. “We wouldn’t have a problem going anywhere. It’s just that I’ve got help that’s been with me for 20 years. You hate to uproot them from their families and their houses and where they live; and everything gets to be tougher now.

“I’m fortunate to have great help. We’ve been together a long time, and that’s a big part of our success.”

With change being the one constant in life, Offerman thinks the closing of Arlington may not be the last major event to happen in the Midwest racing scene in the near future. “We have to see what happens in Chicago’s marketplace, what happens with their [Hawthorne’s] casino build-out, and what Hawthorne winds up doing,” he said. Included, too, in all the possible scenarios, is another racetrack being built in Chicago, according to Rivelli.

The one given that all parties agree on is that Arlington is irreplaceable.

“The grandstand itself is on par with any in the world, not just in the U.S.,” said Davis. 

Hawthorne Racecourse has increased purses, a larger horse population and the return of a spring stakes schedule this year

The recent announcement that Churchill Downs will host the “Arlington Million” in a special one-day event on August 13 this year is met with subdued interest by Davis. “It would be like moving the Santa Anita Derby to Gulfstream. It wouldn’t be the same kind of race,” he said. 

As for Arlington as a whole, he imagines how hometown Louisville trainers like Greg Foley, Brad Cox and Dale Romans would feel if Churchill Downs shut down. “It is absolutely a blow,” he said.

A long-held personal goal for Davis was to win the Arlington Million. He admits, however, he’d still love to win it, even at Churchill Downs.

The big winner in the Arlington closing is horse-van operators. Davis has plans to send some horses this year to Ellis Park for their summer meet, Churchill Downs (“if they’re good enough to run there”), and Indiana Downs.

Davis sees a similarity between Keeneland and a location on the mid-Atlantic racing circuit where trainers in, say, Maryland can pick and choose races at Laurel, Penn National, Charlestown, Mountaineer, and as far north as Monmouth. “With the money getting as good as it is in Kentucky and the option of running at multiple tracks within an hour, two hours, three hours, away, it’s a big draw for the Midwest.  You have the option to pick your races and cherry-pick the best spots. You’re not just tied to the toughest of the tough.”

He also will leave horses in South Florida, where he has been based this winter.  

Rivelli, too, has a small string earmarked for Keeneland this April. “I have 10 stalls there, and I’ll ship back and forth. It’s only a four-hour ship back to Hawthorne.”

Also based in South Florida in the winter, like Davis, Rivelli shipped some horses from there to Kentucky in March to get them acclimated to an unpredictable climate, much different from the high temperatures and humidity of South Florida.

It gets more complicated for Rivelli compared to Davis, due to Hawthorne closing after June 25 and not reopening until September 23. He will base operations at various times during the shutdown at Colonial Downs in Kent, Virginia; Churchill Downs; and Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky.

A rendering of what Hawthorne Racecourse will look like after the development project is complete

Staying at home at Hawthorne for Rivelli, even with the shutdown, has its advantages. “The purses at Hawthorne are bigger than Indiana, and the competition is going to be less. I’m not too proud to run at Hawthorne for $50,000 purses—believe me.”

Rivelli probably has the most reason for optimism given his domination at Arlington.  

“We breed a lot of Illinois-breds so we have bonuses. We should be ok,” he said, perhaps understanding things considerably.

There’s no question that going from The Bart—immortalized in a statue with John Henry at Million—to the Bears—Chicago’s woeful NFL team who bought Arlington—is a bitter pill to swallow for all in racing.

The only upside at racetracks from Minnesota to Kentucky to Florida will be barns better stocked with horses who normally would be at Arlington. But racing in the Midwest, and really everywhere in this country, won’t be the same.