Jeff Drown

By Bill Heller

Highly successful Minnesota businessman Jeff Drown admitted that he didn’t like what he was seeing, watching his Kentucky Derby hopeful Zandon in the Gr. 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland April 9th. “When we were three-eighths out and dead last, I was wondering what was going on. That didn’t seem like the plan.”

But Zandon’s jockey, Flavien Prat, wasn’t panicking. And Zandon weaved through the horses in front him, found a seam and blew past Smile Happy to win by 2 ½ lengths, giving Jeff his first starter in the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May. That could give his trainer, Chad Brown, his first Derby victory. “Chad had him ready to go; he was high on him last fall and this spring. We’ve had high expectations for him all along.”

Drown was thrilled to share the Blue Grass victory with his mother and father, his wife Jill, and their five children. “It was fantastic; they had an absolute blast. Jill really likes it. She has a lot of fun with it.“

After the race, Drown was asked how many horses he owns. “I say, ‘Not enough.’ My wife says, ‘Too many.’”

Jeff Drown leads in Zandon after winning the 2022 Blue Grass Stakes

Having his father with him at the Blue Grass was special to Jeff. He got introduced to racing through his father and his friends when he tagged along for trips to Canterbury Park. “Lots of fun,” Jeff said. Years later, he got a group of friends together to buy a racehorse. “We had a little luck with it. I said, ‘Boy, this is fun. Let’s try again.’”

Drown’s ongoing success in business has allowed him to get into Thoroughbred ownership. 

He is the founder and CEO of Lyon Contracting Inc., and co-owner of Trident Development, LLC. Both businesses are in St. Paul, where Jeff attended college at St. Cloud State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in business management and real estate.

“I owned real estate before I got out of college. I bought a bunch of student apartments near college at St. Cloud State. Back then, the market was really depressed. I bought them and managed them. They became valuable, and I sold them. Then I bought an apartment building. Then I built a small one, and we kept getting bigger and bigger.”

He began Lyon Contracting in 2000, and it is now one of the region’s largest real estate developers providing premium design and building services, general contracting and construction management services. The company has now expanded into North and South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Trident Development owns several of the developments Lyon Contracting has built.

Asked of his love for Thoroughbreds, Drown said, “They’re fantastic animals, fun to be around, fun to watch race. It’s no different than being in business. You have to build a solid team. It starts with (bloodstock agent) Mike Ryan. Go out and find these horses to buy. Get them broken. From there, it’s finding the right trainer.”

Zandon, ridden by Flavien Prat, wins the 2022 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse

He thanks Mike for introducing him to Chad. Jeff and Chad’s first home run together was Structor, who sold for $850,000 as a two-year-old to Jeff and his partner, Don Rachel. Structor was three of four, taking the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and earning $710,880. “We hoped to bring him back to run in the Derby, but he had a slight injury and a breathing issue,” Drown said. “He went to stud in Japan.”

Zandon is also three-for-four and has earned $713,000. That number could grow quickly if he fares well in the Derby and the Triple Crown.

Jeff Drown celebrates Zandon’s Blue Grass win

Ironically, he could be one of two Minnesota-owned Derby starters beginning with the letter Z. Zosos, who finished second in the $1 million Louisiana Derby to Epicenter, is owned by Barry and Joni Butzow of Eden Prairie.

Drown wouldn’t trade his chances in the Kentucky Derby with anybody. “It’s my first Derby,” he said. “It’s  very exciting. There’s no doubt. You see these two-year-olds prepping and you wonder, ‘Can they make the Derby? Can they make the Oaks?’ There’s a lot of enjoyment taking a horse from a yearling being broken to watch him train and grow up and see the talent develop. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Preakness Stakes - Owner Profile - Tami Bobo - Simplification

By Bill Heller

Having loved, ridden and worked with horses for 46 of her 48 years, and having dealt with Arabians, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds, you’d think Tami Bobo would have picked up all the equine knowledge she’ll ever need. Wrong.

Asked if she is still learning, Tami said, “One hundred percent, if you just watch them. I learn every day from horses. I love to learn, so I enjoy it. Most recently, I’ve been learning about this industry. It’s fascinating. Not being born into it, I wasn’t exposed to people approaching you wanting to buy your horses.”  

The most inquiries have been about one horse, Simplification, who will take Tami and Simplification’s trainer, Antonio Sano, to the Preakness Stakes off a solid dirt record of three victories, one second, two thirds and a fourth placed finish last time out in the Kentucky Derby. “My hat’s off to Antonio, managing a staff, trying to execute a plan,” Tami said. “Most recently, my learning is how to manage a Kentucky Derby contender.”

Now the learning journey moves on to Baltimore where Simplification will break from the #1 hole in the 2022 Preakness Stakes.

She may not have been born into horse racing, but she didn’t miss by much. “I have pictures of me on a horse when I was less than two-years-old,” she said. “My family moved to Ocala when I was eight years old. I showed horses all over the country.”

Working at one point as a single mother, she had to hustle to make a living with horses. “Quarter Horses were keeping me whole,” she said. “I was teaching riding lessons and pinhooking Quarter Horses. I did very well pinhooking, but the profit with Quarter Horses is small. It kept food on the table.”

Asked how she has dealt with different breeds, she said, “I think at the end of the day, it’s horsemanship. You are either a horseman or you’re not. If you know horses and pay attention, they will tell you what they need. Then you address any issues. There’s an idea that horses aren’t intelligent. It’s a misconception. Horses are extremely intelligent. They have to have intelligence and the mindset to race.”

Simplification, jockey Javier Castellano, and Tami Bobo celebrate after winning the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park, 2022

In 2010, Bobo switched from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds and is still enjoying the wisdom of that decision. And the first Thoroughbred she bought was Take Charge Indy, a phenomenally bred colt by A.P. Indy out of multiple graded-stakes winner Take Charge Lady, whose victories included the Gr. 1 Ashland and Spinster Stakes.

Take Charge Indy was entered in the 2010 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but failed to reach the $80,000 reserve price because of a conformation issue and a short stride. Bobo saw a great opportunity and took it, believing the colt could overcome his deficiencies over time.

And that’s exactly what he did under the astute handling of trainer Patrick Byrne. Take Charge Indy won the Gr. 1 Florida Derby by a length under Calvin Borel. That earned a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, but Take Charge Indy couldn’t keep up, finishing 19th of 20 by 50 lengths.

Borel originally believed the horse had bled, but veterinarians discovered he had chipped a bone in his left front ankle. He underwent surgery and during his recovery was sold to WinStar Farm and Chuck and Maribeth Sandford.

He then finished third in the Gr. 2 Fayette, second by a length in the Gr. 1 Clark Handicap, third in the Gr. 1 Donn Handicap, and second in the Gr. 3 Skip Away Stakes before winning the Gr. 2 Alysheba Stakes by six lengths under Rosie Napravnik.

Simplification will take Tami Bobo and trainer Antonio Sano to the Kentucky Derby off a solid dirt record of 3 victories, 1 second and 2 thirds in 6 starts

For his career, he had three wins, four seconds and two thirds from 14 starts with earnings topping $1.1 million. He has also proven to be a good stallion, standing for $12,5000 at WinStar Farm in 2022 after having sired 586 winners with earnings of just under $19 million. Not a bad racing/stud career for a yearling that nobody but Tami wanted.

Six years ago, Tami and her husband Fernando De Jesus purchased Plumley Farm in Ocala and renamed it First Finds. “We have a weanling, yearlings and pinhooking operation,” Tami said. “We do an average of about 20 pinhooks every year. We do small numbers, so we’re hands-on every day.”

Of course they are. They’re still learning.

Clint & Mark Cornett

White Abarrio with Tyler Gaffalioneup beats the previously undefeated Charge It, to win the 2022 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park

By Bill Heller

Some rules are more flexible than others. Clint Cornett’s rule isn’t one of them. “I always said I wouldn’t go to the Kentucky Derby unless I had a horse in the starting gate,” he said. “It was a personal rule. My wife used to laugh at me and say, `We’re never going to the Derby.’”

They are now one step closer, thanks to White Abarrio’s victory in the Gr. 1 Florida Derby April 2nd.

Clint, the founder and CEO of Valutrac Software in Flower Mound, Texas, started going to the races in the late 1980s. “We’d drive down from Dallas to Louisiana Downs in high school,” he said. “I really enjoyed it. It was exciting. I loved the horses. I loved the sport.”

In the early 2000s, he and  his brother Mark, who now owns a roofing and construction business in Naples, Florida, formed Turf Express. “My brother started it and pulled me into it,” Clint said.

In 2010, Clint got out of racing to focus on his new company, Valutrac, and his family—wife Danielle, who used to go to the races at Lone Star Park, and their children, Whitney and Cameron, now 30 and 28, respectively.

Clint & Mark Cornett

Mark stayed in the game as a bloodstock agent and put together two ownership groups of a pair of 2010 Eclipse Champions: Blind Luck and Dubai Majesty. “Blind Luck—she was a great mare, wasn’t she?” Mark said. No argument there. The incredibly game mare never finished out of the money in 21 career starts, posting 12 victories, seven seconds and two thirds while earning more than $3.2 million. She was the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. Dubai Majesty, named the Champion Female Sprinter, won 12 of 34 starts with seven seconds, six thirds and earnings topping $1.5 million.

In the summer of 2021, Clint called Mark and told him he was ready to return to racing, telling him, “My goal is to find a horse to go to the Kentucky Derby with.” Clint asked Mark to find a two-year-old prospect, “I trusted his expertise,” Clint said.

They created C2 Racing Stable, LLC,  on August 30, 2021. Clint is the operating manager and Mark the racing manager and bloodstock agent. Mark didn’t waste any time finding a Kentucky Derby prospect, though their first purchase, Beloved Warrior, was a bust. 

On September 21st, at Gulfstream Park, just three weeks after forming C2 Racing Stable, Mark watched La Milagrosa Racing’s two-year-old gray colt White Abarrio, who went off at 12-1 for trainer Carlos Perez, win his debut by 6 ¾ lengths. “He checked every box,” Mark said. “This horse had a presence about himself. I called Carlos. He had already received four or five calls. He said they wanted to keep a piece of the horse. I said, `No problem.’”

Clint and Mark purchased the colt and gave him to trainer Saffie Joseph, who has done wonders with him. White Abarrio followed a neck allowance victory in his debut for his new connections with a troubled-trip third by six lengths in the Gr. 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in his final start as a two-year-old. “He was behind a wall of horses,” Mark said. “He was third, dropped back to fifth or sixth, and when he finally got a little daylight to run, he came running.”

Clint said, “We were obviously disappointed he didn’t win, but it was his first time shipping. When he got bottled up, he could have just quit. It showed he wanted to compete.”

It also gave White Abarrio a race over the track. “When our ownership group won the Kentucky Oaks with Blind Lucky, I didn’t go to the Derby the next day,” Mark said. “I didn’t have any interest. I didn’t have a horse in the race.”

Until now. 

Tyler Gaffalione, White Abarrio and groom celebrate after the 2022 Florida Derby win

The brothers and Joseph gave White Abarrio a needed break and laid out a plan to get to the Kentucky Derby through Florida: the Gr. 3 Holy Bull Stakes and the Gr. 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park. White Abarrio won the Holy Bull by 4 ½ lengths over Simplification. When Simplification then won the Gr. 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes by 3 ½ lengths, it said volumes about White Abarrio’s Holy Bull victory.”

In the Florida Derby April 2nd, White Abarrio beat previously undefeated Charge It by 1 ¼ lengths. Simplification finished third, another length back.

So, guess who’s going to the Kentucky Derby with a colt who has four wins and a troubled third in five career starts? White Abarrio is certainly one of the top contenders.

“It’s very surreal,” Clint said. 

Mark said, “Right now, I’m going over a million different things. I’m looking at the competition. Doing research. People want to buy him. Stallion farms are calling. It’s going to be a full-time job to get to the Derby.”

It’s a race the brothers have been waiting for their entire lives. 

Jerry Crawford - Donegal Racing

Mo Donegal,, ridden by Joel Rosario, beating Early Voting by a neck to capture the Gr2. Wood Memorial Stakes (2022), earning 100 Kentucky Derby points

By Bill Heller

With an old-school racing background from visits to Ak-Sar-Ben, a new-school expertise based on algorithms, and a unique approach to partnerships, Jerry Crawford has had amazing success with Donegal Racing. Mo Donegal, who bravely collared loose-on-the-lead Early Voting to win the Gr. 2 Wood Memorial by a neck and earn a starting spot in the Kentucky Derby, is his newest star. 

Mo Donegal will attempt to become Donegal’s seventh Gr. 1 stakes winner since it began in 2008 and improve on the third-place Kentucky Derby finishes by Donegal’s Paddy O’ Prado in 2010 and Dullahan in 2012. In 2015, Keen Ice finished seventh in the Derby, third in the Belmont Stakes and first in the Travers Stakes, when he defeated Triple Crown Champion American Pharoah in one of the Graveyard of Champions’ most stunning upsets.

Jerry Crawford

 Jerry has also had success using algorithms to connect on 34 Pick Sixes, though none recently. “I think I jinxed myself,” he said. Most of the scores were with partners; and he calls one of them—his close friend Ray Smith—a “good handicapper.”

Jerry has been a practicing attorney for 47 years and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, McCallister College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He founded and owned a successful minor league basketball team, the Iowa Energy, which won the 2011 NBA Development League Finals, two games to one, over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Minnesota Timberwolves bought the team in 2017 and renamed it the Iowa Wolves.

Asked about his roots in horse racing, Crawford referenced Ak-Sar-Ben, which is Nebraska spelled backwards. “It was magnificent; it was like a less well-heeled Saratoga. Big racing plant. Routinely drew 20,000 plus on the weekends. It was racing from yesteryear. Horses would run once a week. I enjoyed it immensely.”

He said the inspiration for owning Thoroughbreds came from losing his Derby wagers every year: “My son, Conor and I—he was quite young—we were trying to figure out why we never won when we bet on the Kentucky Derby. We started with algorithms. What we discovered was we still couldn’t pick the winners. But if you choose one horse out of five, your odds get better.”

In 2008, he decided that the horrible state of the economy was an opportunity. “When the stock market collapsed, people stopped buying cars, houses and race horses,” he said. “I told my wife Linda I was going to the yearling sale at Keeneland. I’m going to take $300,000 and buy a horse to run in the Triple Crown. She grudgingly signed off on it.”

But instead of one horse, he bought eight. And instead of spending $300,000, it was $410,00. “I’m flying home in alimony-prevention mode,” he said. “But I had friends who had said they would go in with me. I found seven partners.”

And they experienced immediate success with Dale Romans-trained Paddy O’ Prado. He finished third in the 2010 Derby on the way to capturing five graded turf stakes, earning $1.7 million off five victories, one second and three thirds from 34 starts. Dullahan, who won three of 18 starts with two seconds and four thirds, also earned more than $1.7 million. Finnegan’s Wake made just under $1.6 million off eight victories, four seconds and four thirds in 37 starts. Arklow topped $2.9 million thanks to nine wins, eight seconds and two thirds in 36 races.

Every year, Jerry buys eight to 12 yearlings, and his partners share all of them. “This way, if you have a good horse, everybody’s in on it,” he said.

Donegal’s Keen Ice upsets Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to win the 2015 Travers Stakes

Keen Ice, who made more than $3.4 million with three wins, four seconds and five thirds in 24 starts, gave Jerry and his partners the thrill of a lifetime when he defeated American Pharoah by three-quarters of a length in the Travers. “It was an electric moment. The crowd, understandably, was stunned silent. People couldn’t believe what they saw. Larry Collmus had a great call—‘Keen Ice has got him.’ The crowd, once it caught their breath, was very appreciative. At the press conference, I thanked the Zayat team (American Pharoah’s owners) because they brought their horse here to race. They were true sportsmen. They could have ducked the race.”

Instead, Donegal Racing celebrated. “There were a lot of people involved in Donegal Racing there,” Crawford said.

Now Mo Donegal gets his chance to shine in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. The Wood gave him a record of three victories and a pair of thirds in five starts. He showed a lot of class running down Early Voting. “I think, in order to win, Mo Donegal had to be much the best. I was there all day Friday and Saturday, and not one horse closed against the bias until we did. We thought there was going to be a speed duel.”

There wasn’t because Morello broke slow, leaving Early Voting unpressured on the front end. “He was loose on the lead, and Mo Donegal still won,” Jerry said. “I think he’s awfully good.”

He’ll have a great time finding out just how good he is. 

Mo Donegal, ridden by Joel Rosario, and connections celebrate after winning the Gr2. Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, 2022

International Travel

Traveling equines currently enjoy safer, more comfortable travels whether being hauled by truck or flying the friendly skies. However, due to unavoidable circumstances and worldwide government regulations, shipping companies, trainers and owners are road-weary and jet-lagged.

by Annie Lambert

Since terrorists attacked New York City on September 11, 2001, security measures on all forms of transportation have been stringent, especially for aircraft. The COVID-19 pandemic breaking out in late 2019 raised anxiety and stirred fears, adding even more government regulations to human and animal transport.

Whether you are shipping horses domestically across the United States, internationally to Europe and other far away destinations or between the European Union and Great Britain, nothing is easy. In fact, it has become a paper-heavy, logistical nightmare. 

Four-Footed Freight

H.E. “Tex” Sutton worked around the racetrack at an assortment of jobs from a very young age. He began booking horses to ship on railcars in 1954, continuing until prohibitive costs caused him to venture into equine air transport. Tex died long ago, but Tex Sutton Equine Air Transportation is still operating.

In May 2021, the company was unable to renew the lease on their Boeing 727 (cleverly dubbed Air Horse One). After searching unsuccessfully for another aircraft for their equine charters, the strictly domestic company was obliged to book their clients with Federal Express. FedEx bought out one of the original equine freight haulers, Flying Tiger, in 1988.

Airlines all gave the company’s current owner, Rob Clark, the same excuse: They simply didn’t have any extra planes. Any and all aircraft were needed to ship freight. The pandemic had caused a backup in supply chains by truck, sea and air.

“We are still flying as busy as ever,” pointed out Greg Otteson, Sutton sales manager. “We are in between [charter] airplanes right now, so we’re operating using the FedEx system.”

Supply chain woes have scrambled equine transport around the world. Throughout the pandemic, fewer passenger flights caused the freight cargo, normally in the belly of those planes, to be routed to freight-only carriers. The demand for cargo space remains very high.

Kevin Needham

Kevin Needham, managing director of BBA Shipping & Transport Ltd in Newmarket, England, has not noticed any waning demand in shipping horses worldwide. He has experienced many challenges in getting horses from Point A to Point B.

“It’s a definite pandemic consequence,” Needham explained. “Before COVID, people flew around the world really quite regularly and freely in wide-bodied passenger jets. When you’re on an airplane, you sit on the top part of a massive cigar tube; the area below is for freight—full of cargo.”

“When people couldn’t travel, the passenger flights couldn’t travel, [and] the cargo that went in the bellies of those passenger flights got over to the freighter network,” he added. “Flying horses relies on the freighter network because we need the headroom that’s on the main deck. With the complete shutdown in the passenger network, all that freight is going to the freight network.

“Plus, a lot of freight was pulled out of circulation by ridiculous government contracts being paid millions of dollars to fly 50 tons of rubber gloves from China to San Diego, [for example]. They are not in the marketplace, so all the freight rates went up. So, while the numbers of horses stayed relatively stable, the routes they were traveling and the costs to the owners became considerably more expensive.” 

Bus Route

Scarlette Gotwals, Brook Ledge

Brook Ledge Horse Transportation has been hauling equines around the United States for more than 55 years. Scarlette Gotwals, DVM, their operations manager, now oversees domestic and international air flights in addition to ground trucking via their wholly owned subsidiary, Horse America.

Brook Ledge Horse Transportation has been hauling Equines around the USA for 55 years

Brook Ledge began using FedEx in 2016. They ship an elite clientele, including many horses on the Kentucky Derby trail, often one or two horses at a time. Unless there are enough horses to charter an entire plane, the equines go where the plane goes, not the other way around. There are few, if any, direct flights.

“FedEx has a published route list,” Gotwals explained. “It is like a bus schedule; you can’t pick your time or route. You have to go when their schedule goes. For example, Tex Sutton [charters] could fly into Ocala Airfield, right next to Ocala Breeders’ Sale, but the closest FedEx [destination] is Orlando [80 miles away].”

 These rigid schedules force equine transporters to be creative when planning travel. Finding trips with minimal highway trucking, pre- and post-flight, can be a challenge.

“If you want to go from Gulfstream [Florida] to Oaklawn Park [Arkansas] to run, you basically fly to Memphis, then truck the three hours down to Oaklawn,” Gotwals said. “If you want to go to Belmont [New York], the plane lands in Newark, New Jersey, [over 40 miles away].”

Canada has not reopened to U.S. flights post-pandemic as yet, so Gotwals pointed out horses first fly into airports near the border, then have an initial three-day quarantine, get Canadian papers and finish the trip by truck.

Otteson qualified that Tex Sutton horses going to Vancouver fly into Seattle; those heading to Calgary fly into Great Falls, Montana; and horses traveling to Toronto usually fly into Detroit or Buffalo.

The good news, according to Dr. Gotwals, is how improved ground-trucking horses has become. A lot more is known in keeping horses comfortable and healthy over long hauls. Brook Ledge has transported horses in box stalls from Ocala to California for a number of years. 

“When air flights started,” the veterinarian remarked, “we were not as advanced as to how we handled horses on the trucks.” “We’ve learned a lot and there have been published studies. For example, horses do much better when they are loose in a box and able to put their heads down.”

Paperwork Chaos 

James Luck

James Luck, the brother of NBC racing analyst Nick Luck, is a co-founder of LG Bloodstock along with partner Lucy Greayer in Berkshire, England. Luck identified a shortage of aircraft and fewer straight-through flights to the United States, but cited his biggest problems presently stem from inter-European travel. Great Britain’s break from the European Union created massive regulation and paperwork.

“With the UK no longer part of the EU, you can’t get anything done over here; it’s ten times as hard as it used to be,” Luck stated. “We have literally ten times as much paperwork as we used to have.

“At the moment, if we want to schedule horses on a flight to New York, we have to truck them from the UK to Liege, Belgium, for a flight to JFK. In the old days, that was a[n] EU paper, one piece of paper to get us to Belgium, and U.S. papers. We stable overnight in Belgium, and off we go. It is now a total of 64 pieces of paper to get that horse to Belgium.”

There are also border control posts and an extensive number of tariffs, taxes and fees when moving goods, including livestock, in and out of the UK. Some of these fees, depending on the owner’s status, would be refunded upon return—not to mention veterinary inspections. As Luck said, “The bureaucracy of the paperwork is unbelievable.”

The stacks of documentation required has doubled Luck’s staffing levels since BREXIT. 

“The paperwork all this entails is mind-boggling,” he reiterated. “The bureaucracy and red tape has gone up 20-fold. It is making anyone’s job very, very difficult. And, if a horse gets to [the border check] and there is one digit wrong on one microchip number on 64 pieces of paper, the vet will send that horse home, back to the UK.”

Needham agrees with Luck’s contempt for the added paperwork.

“[BREXIT] made for more paperwork on the European end,” he acknowledged. “They started to treat the UK as if it were the U.S. or Canada. We’ve become a sort of foreign country as far as the EU is concerned.”

Flying Grooms

Needham also cited the COVI pandemic as a source for many of his shipping woes. Different governments panicked in different ways, many with differing restrictions. Equine handlers, called “flying grooms,” became stigmatized by nationality.

“There wasn’t a problem with the horses; it was the problem with the people accompanying the horses,” he noted. “We have this ridiculous situation where, if you have a U.S. passport, you can get into the U.S.; but if you had any other passport, obviously you were a COVID risk, because holding a piece of paper in your hand affects the way a virus can infect you. 

“The freighters have to come over with U.S. grooms with the horses, and then the grooms go back to the states. It is a similar situation when flying horses to Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is now a part of China, it has a zero COVID policy. Foreign people aren’t allowed in, even airline pilots, without two weeks in quarantine. The grooms have to go in on the plane, the horses get off, then the grooms come back out on the same plane they went in on.”

Needham mentioned that Korean International races have been lost because South Korea is another country that has gone with zero COVID regulations. He doesn’t hold much hope that international shipping will ever get back to the days when things were easier to organize.

“In Ireland, France and the UK, we’re racing quite normally and have been for a good while,” he said. “I think that situation is going to stabilize quite quickly. There were plenty of horses in the [2021] Breeders’ Cup. Getting horses to North America is no more complex than it was, and there is an appetite for it.”

Horses must fly in the accompaniment of FedEx-approved flying grooms. Getting approved is a lengthy, in-depth process. The airline requires a minimum of two grooms, whether you are shipping one horse or nine, according to Gotwals.

“The flight grooms that we use have been flying for probably 30 years and are professional handlers,” Gotwals said. “It is about a six- to eight-week process to have a flying groom approved. They have to have an expensive security threat assessment, which is a TSA high-level clearance with background and criminal checks. Unless you have a specific groom that is going to fly with horses three to four times a year, FedEx is not interested in getting them approved.” 

Flight Plan

Horsemen and shipping companies continue to plow through paperwork, staff COVID testing and route changes. Other big hits to equine travel plans, however, are inflation and the rapidly rising fuel prices worldwide.

Gotwals opined that she couldn’t imagine it will be long before FedEx adds a fuel surcharge, especially if oil remains over $100 per barrel.

“Everybody is having to add surcharges,” she said. “A tractor-trailer gets five to five-and-a-half-miles to the gallon. When you start to increase prices by a dollar to three dollars a gallon, it means every five miles is an additional three dollars. It adds up very quickly.”

Luck has navigated the pandemic changes but now winces at the energy crisis enveloping Europe.

“The clients are being hit by another whammy, in that fuel prices are going through the roof,” Luck said. “It is literally costing me double to fill up my car. It’s the same with aircraft; it is costing a lot more to purchase aviation fuel. Therefore, it is costing a lot more to fly horses. We’ve recently been hit by every airline we use with substantial rate increases across the board.

Shipping companies seem to agree that demanding regulations and rising costs could somewhat chill equine movement. They also agree it is essential to Thoroughbred racing that equines remain mobile.

“We are a resilient industry,” Luck opined. “We’ve been through a lot of things. I remember after the terrible events of 9/11, we had horses stuck in the UK; it was an awful long time before we could get those horses going again. We’ve been through disease outbreaks and more. But fundamentally, horses will still need to be moved.”

Earle Mack - The Eclipse Award winning humanitarian philanthropist

By Bill Heller

Many people wonder what they can do to help people in need. Other people just do it. That’s how Earle Mack, who received an Eclipse Award of Merit earlier this year for his contributions to Thoroughbred racing, has fashioned his life. So, at the age of 83, he flew from his home in Palm Beach, Florida, to the Hungary/Ukraine border to deliver food and clothing to desperate Ukrainian refugees who fled their homes to escape the carnage of Vladmir Putin’s Russian thugs.

“I’m going to the front,” he declared in early March. “I woke up and said, `I have to do my part.’” 

He’s always done more than his part. Besides being an extremely successful businessman, he was the United States Ambassador to Finland. An Army veteran, he is helping veterans with PTSD through a unique equine program. He supports the arts. He is an active political advocate. And he has enjoyed international success with his Thoroughbreds—breeding and/or racing 25 stakes winners, including 1993 Canadian Triple Crown Winner and Canadian Horse of the Year Peteski, a horse he purchased from Barry Schwartz; $3.6 million winner Manighar, the first horse to win the Australian Cup, Ranvet Stakes and BMW Cup; and 2002 Brazilian Triple Crown winner Roxinho. Two of his major winners in the U.S. were November Snow and Mr. Light. And he founded the Man o’ War Project, which helps veterans with PTSD via equine-assisted therapy.

“I love my country,” he said. “I love the arts. And horse racing is in my blood.” 

Literally, Ukraine is in his blood. He discovered through Ancestry.com that he is two-thirds Ukrainian. “My great grandfather fled Ukraine to go to Poland,” he said.

So he had to go to Ukraine.

“He’s an extraordinary man,” owner-breeder Barry Schwartz, the former CEO of the New York Racing Association and the co-founder and CEO of Calvin Klein, Inc., said. “I’ve known [Earle] a very, very long time. He loves the horse business. He’s extremely philanthropic. I’ve been on the board with him for the Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University [where Earle served as chairman for 14 years]. I get to see a different side of him. He’s smart. He’s articulate. He’s a class act.”

In early March, Mack, a trustee of the Appeal Conscience Foundation, called owner/breeder Peter Brant (a fellow member of that foundation) and former New York State Governor George Pataki (whose parents are Hungarian) to head to one of the most dangerous locations on the planet. Brant supplied the plane. His wife, Stephanie (Seymour), brought 40 big duffle bags of clothing, “She spent over $30,000 buying the clothes,” Mack said. “I took clothes off my racks. I brought all the fruit that we could find and a couple boxes of chocolate.”

The delegation landed on March 10th, two weeks after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and began an unforgettable experience. Displaying yet another talent, he wrote about his trip in an op-ed published by The Hill, an American newspaper and top political website, on March 16th:

“How would you feel, in this day and age, if you were fleeing your home with only the few things you could carry in freezing winds and winter temperatures? How would you feel sitting in your car for 17 hours, waiting to cross a border, all the while worried that the sound in the sky above might be a missile or bomb bringing certain death? How would you feel trapped in your basement or a public bomb shelter, food and water running out, afraid to leave and face death? How would you feel if your city was under attack and you watched as civilians were shot up close by Russian soldiers and neighborhoods were rubbled from faraway artillery? How would you feel leaving your fathers, husbands and brothers behind to fight against impossible odds?

“This is what I have wondered, listening to heartbreaking stories that have brought me to tears, told by Ukrainian refugees on my recent trip to the Hungarian border and into the Ukrainian city of Mukachevo, where hundreds of thousands have fled the war with Vladmir Putin’s Russia.”

Mack went on to share his experience of Ukraine, “Ukraine has cold winds. Thirty-five feels like 15. Lots of hills and farmland. Peter and his 17-year-old daughter stayed at the border. We went into Mukachevo, a city of about 20,000 to 25,000 people. At that point—two weeks into the war—there were more than 500,000 people in that area, hoping that there’s something to go back to.

“We went into a children’s hospital ward filled with children. We looked at a COVID ward with kids lying down. We went into a school converted into a dormitory. We saw all these kids, ages two to eight with their mothers. Men, 16 to 65, weren’t allowed to cross the border. The kids were crying. Not much to eat. We brought in the fruit. We brought in the chocolate.

“I started handing out the chocolates. These kids ate all the chocolate. I have the empty box. I put it on one of the six-year-old kid’s head and started singing, `No more chocolates; no more chocolates.’ That kid takes the empty box and puts it on another kid’s head. They’re all singing, ‘No more chocolates; no more chocolates.’ When I was leaving, the director of the center came running after me and said this is the first time they laughed in two weeks.” 

Mack wrote of this bittersweet moment in his story in The Hill: “As we prepared to leave, there was a 12-year-old girl who literally begged me to take her with us. I can’t describe how hard it was to walk away from this young girl whose life is forever changed.”

This from a man whose life is forever changing.

Terry Finley, the CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, said, “Although we’ve never owned a horse together, we try to make a point to spend a couple of races at Saratoga, just the two of us in the box. I pick his brain. He’s such a good person. He’s got a world of knowledge. He’s a fun guy. He’s a caring guy—as cool a guy as there is in the industry.”

Peter Brant, Earle Mack, Lily Brant, Christopher Brant & Karen Dresbach (executive vice president of the appeal of Conscience Foundation) before boarding a plane loaded with medical supplies, food, clothing and other essentials for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Hungary

One of four boys born in New York City, Earle’s father, H. Bert Mack, founded The Mack Company, a real estate development company. Earle was a senior partner of The Mack Company and a founding board member of the merged Mack-Cali Realty Corporation. He has served as the chairman and CEO of the New York State Council on the Arts for three years and produced a number of plays and movies. His political action included an unsuccessful attempt to draft Paul Ryan as the 2016 GOP presidential candidate.

His entry into horse racing was rather circuitous. He learned to ride at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in North Tarrytown, N.Y. “All the juniors and seniors were allowed to use the trails at Sleepy Hollow County Club,” he said. “I was 16, 17. I got to ride on the course. That’s how I learned to ride.”

Just after graduating college, he returned to Sleepy Hollow. “One day, I was dismounting; the riding master who taught me how to ride came over to me and said, `I’m very sorry to tell you this, but my wife has cancer and needs surgery. I need $2,500 to pay for surgery.’ He owned a horse who won a race up in Canada.”

Mack went inside with him to examine the horse’s papers. “I said, ‘I’m buying a $5,000 horse for $2,500’; I bought it on the spot. I thought this sounds like a good deal. The horse’s name was Secret Star. He stayed in Canada and raced at Bluebonnets and Greenwood. The horse won about $20,000.”

Flush with excitement, Mack bought four horses from George Kellow. “They did well. I said, ‘This game is easy.’”

He laughs now—well aware how difficult racing can be. That point was driven home in the late 1960s after Mack had graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Fordham School of Law. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry as a second lieutenant in active duty in 1959 and as a first lieutenant of the Infantry and Military Police on reserve duty from 1960–1968.

In the late 1960s, he was struggling with his Thoroughbreds. “My horses weren’t doing that well,” he said. “I bought two seasons to Northern Dancer. His stud fee was $10,000 Canadian. When the stud fee came due, I didn’t have the money to pay for it. I walked over to my dad’s office. I said, ‘I need a loan.’ He said, `No, you’re in the wrong business. Get out of that business.’”

Mack walked back to his office. “I started to think, ‘How am I going to get this money?’ Twenty minutes later, my father threw a check on my desk. Then he got down on his knees, and he said, ‘Son, sell your horses. Get out of this business. You’re not going to make money in this business.’”

He might have had a good thought. “The two Northern Dancers never amounted to anything,” Mack said.

That seemed like the perfect time to follow his father’s advice and give up on racing. But Mack stayed. “I just loved the business; I loved being there. I loved the horse. I loved the people. I just loved it—that’s why. I still love the sport. I love to go to the track. I love to support the sport. I love to help any way I can. I’ve given my time and my efforts to our industry.”

That list is long: Board of Trustees member of the New York Racing Association 1990-2004; chairman of the New York State Racing Commission (1983–89); member of the New York State Thoroughbred Racing Commission (1983–1989); member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Corp (1983–89); and senior advisor on racing and breeding to Governor Mario Cuomo and Pataki. 

The Earle Mack Thoroughbred Champion Award has been presented annually since 2011 to an individual for outstanding efforts and influence on Thoroughbred racehorse welfare, safety and retirement.

He has been a long-time backer of The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation.

In 2011, he established the Earle Mack Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Award. The first three winners were Frank Stronach, Dinny Phipps and famed chef Bobby Flay.

His brother Bill, the past chairman of the Guggenheim Museum and Guggenheim Foundation, also owned horses, including $900,000 earner Grand Slam and $500,000 earner Strong Mandate. But he did better with investments in art. “He bought art; I bought horses,” Earle said. “Guess who did better? Much better.”

But who’s had more fun? Mack bought Peteski, a son of 1978 Triple Crown Champion Affirmed out of the Nureyev mare Vive for $150,000 from Barry Schwartz after the horse made his lone start as a two-year-old, finishing fifth in an Ontario-bred maiden race on November 14, 1992.

Earle Mack, Barry Irwin, jockey Jamie Soencer and Team Valor connections celebrate Spanish Mission winning the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park in 2019

After buying Peteski, Mack sent the horse to American and Canadian Hall of Famer Roger Attfield. Peteski and Attfield put together an unbelievable run: seven victories, two seconds and one third in 10 starts, finishing with career earnings of more than $1.2 million.

Mack told the Thoroughbred Times in October 1993, “Bloodstock agent Patrick Lawley-Wakelin originally called the horse to my attention. I’d always liked Affirmed as a stallion and together with my connections, we thoroughly checked the horse out before I bought him. I was lucky to get him. There were other people trying, too, but I had long standing Canadian relations and was able to move fast. They knew I was a serious player.”

All Peteski did was win the Canadian Triple Crown, taking the Queen’s Plate by six lengths; the Prince of Wales by four lengths and the Breeders by six. He followed that with a 4 ½ length victory in the Gr. 2 Molson Million. In his final start, Peteski finished third by a head as the 7-10 favorite in the Gr. 1 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs. 

 “The thrills he’s given me are something money can’t buy,” Mack told Thoroughbred Times. “One of the reasons for staying in Canada for the Triple Crown was because of the wonderful and nostalgic feelings of my youthful days spent racing there. This is the greatest horse I’ve ever owned.”

Earle with jockey Gerald Mosse at Newbury Racecourse in 2019

Mack would race many other good horses, but the ones who may have had the greatest impact are the anonymous ones he helped locate who participated in the Man o’ War Project—perhaps Mack’s greatest gift. In 2015, out of his concern about the mental health crisis facing veterans, he created and sponsored the Man o’ War Project at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center to explore the use of  and scientifically evaluate equine-assisted therapy to help veterans suffering from PTSD or other mental health problems. Long-term goals are to test that treatment with other populations. Immediate results have been very promising.

There is a sad reality about veterans: more die from suicide than enemy fire. The project was the first university-led research study to examine the effectiveness of equine-assisted therapy in treating veterans with PTSD.

“My love for the horse and my great respect and empathy for our soldiers bravely fighting every day for our country and not getting the proper treatment led me to do this,” Mack said. “Soldiers come home with the strain of their service on the battlefield. The suicides are facts. There was no science or methodology proving that equine-assisted therapy (EAT) could actually and effectively treat veterans with PTSD. All reports were anecdotal.”

The project was led by co-directors Dr. Prudence Fisher, an associate professor of clinical psychiatric social work at Columbia University and an expert in PTSD in youth; and Dr. Yuval Veria, a veteran of the Israeli Armed Forces who is a professor of medical psychology at Columbia and director of trauma and PTSD at New York State Psychiatric Institute.

After a pilot study of eight veterans lasting eight weeks in 2016, 40 veterans participated in a 2017 study also lasting eight weeks. Each participant underwent interviews before, during and after the treatment period and received follow-up evaluations for three months post-treatment to determine if any structural changes were occurring in the brain. Each weekly session lasted 90 minutes with five horses, using the same two horses per each treatment group. The veterans started by observing the horses and slowly building on their interactions from hand-walking the horses, grooming them and doing group exercises.

“We take a team approach to the treatment,” Fisher said. “We have trained mental health professionals, social workers, equine specialists and a horse wrangler for an extra set of eyes to ensure safety during each session.”

Marine Sergeant Mathew Ryba at the Bergen Equestrian Center

The results have been highly encouraging. A 2021 article in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry concluded “EAT-PTSD shows promise as a potential new intervention for veterans with PTSD. It appears safe, feasible and clinically viable. These preliminary results encourage examination of EAT-PTSD in larger, randomized controlled trials.”

Mack was ecstatic: “This is a scientific breakthrough. You could see the changes. It’s drug free. Before, you had to take more and more and more drugs. Before you know it, you’re hitting your family.”

The Man o’ War project works. It helps. It could possibly help a lot of people besides veterans. That would be the biggest victory of Mack’s remarkable life.

“That would be my Triple Crown,” he said.

Mack was asked how he does what he does in so many varied arenas. “Pure tenacity, drive and 24/7 devotion to the things that were important to me and public service,” he replied. “I’ve devoted my life to public service, my business, horses and the arts.”  

And now, to Ukraine. Lord bless him for that.

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.

Equality - How inclusive is racing?

Man o' War and groom Will Harbut with sportscatser Clem McCarthy

By Bill Heller

Gauging inclusiveness in Thoroughbred racing depends on where you look.

While backstretches are teeming with minority grooms, hotwalkers and exercise riders, there are few Black trainers and/or Black jockeys. Black owners are a small group, too. Black racing officials or Black people in racing’s front offices or upper management are as common as unicorns. 

Progress comes slowly.

In the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Uriah St. Lewis, a native of Trinidad, became the first Black trainer to start a horse in the 34-year-history of the Breeders’ Cup. His horse, Discreet Lover, finished eighth. “I’ve been all over the country,” the Parx-based, 64-year-old trainer said. “Being a Black man is tough. As a Black trainer, it’s hard.”

It used to be hard on Black owners. Greg Harbut, who has a rich family history in racing, knows.

His great grandfather, Will Harbut, was a racing celebrity as the groom of Man o’ War for more than 15 years, appearing with his great horse  on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. “It was very uncommon for an African-American man to receive that kind of notoriety,” Greg said. “What he did before Man o’ War was he broke and trained draft horses. Then he’d lease them out to African-American farmers. He became known as a horse whisperer. He was sought out by the Riddle family to work with Man o’ War because he was such a high-strung horse. He [Will] didn’t really go looking for a job. The job came looking for him. He was one of 10 children. Eight went to college and became professionals—very unheard of then. I’m very proud of him.”

Greg’s grandfather, Tom Harbut, was the groom of 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star. Yet in the 1962 Derby, he was not allowed to have his name in the track program as the owner of Touch Bar. And he wasn’t allowed to watch his horse finish 11th because the stands were for whites only. “He went to the grave very bitter about it,” Greg said.

But in the 2020 Kentucky Derby, Greg’s ownership group—The Scherr Boys—was listed as the owner of Necker Island in the track program. And Greg was allowed to see his horse—who was claimed for $100,000 2 ½ months earlier—finish ninth of 15. 

Kendrick Carmouche

In May, 2021, Kendrick Carmouche became the first Black jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby in eight years. Black riders dominated the early history of the Derby, winning 15 of the first 28 runnings before being shunned and forced to travel abroad to continue their careers. 

One can only marvel how Cheryl White, a Black woman, was able to win 226 races after becoming the first African-American female jockey in June 1971. She then became the first woman to serve as a California steward. 

In the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, 13 of the 15 horses were ridden by Black jockeys including Oliver Lewis, who rode the winner Aristides. Aristides was trained by Ansel Williamson, a legendary Black Hall of Fame trainer. The former slave also won the 1875 Belmont Stakes and the Travers Stakes in 1866 and 1873. He also trained the undefeated three-year-old champion male Norfolk and undefeated Asteroid.  

George Leonard III and California Angel

Last November, George Leonard III became the first American-born Black trainer to start a horse in the Breeders’ Cup's 37-year history. That he did so with California Angel, a filly he purchased for $5,550, is a testament to his horsemanship. However, there were erroneous published reports citing Leonard as the first Black trainer in the Breeders’ Cup. Uriah St. Lewis was. 

There is such a long way to go.

Asked about Black people in racing, New York trainer Charlie Baker, a native of Jamaica who has made a career at the toughest level of racing in the country, said, “It’s most definitely a small group. It’s been that way forever. I’m looking around. I see a lot of Black grooms, a lot of Black exercise riders, but no Black trainers. My dad worked as an exercise rider under Allen Jerkens. My dad was telling me that there were a lot of good Black horsemen who were grooms. It seemed like no one was getting promoted to be a trainer. No one was moving up the ladder.”

One who has, as an executive, is Najja Thompson, who worked for the New York Racing Association in the marketing department before being named the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders in December 2020. Asked if he sees himself as a pioneer, he said, “I want to help another person of color find a role. I don’t ever want to be comfortable being the only Black person in the room. When we talk about diversity and inclusion, we have to be very careful that it’s not just for show.”

Jason Wilson, who has frequently spoken at the annual Jockey Club’s Round Table in Saratoga Springs, has a unique perspective on that because he came into racing from a non-racing background and quickly worked his way up. After working for the Jockey Club, he served as president and chief operating officer for Equibase for six years. On March 19, 2021, he was named COO of 1/ST CONTENT, charged with developing content platforms for Thoroughbred racing for Belinda Stronach’s tracks. “It’s very much driven by Belinda’s vision of creating the modern racing entity,” he said. “How do you present the sport overall?”

After graduating from Princeton, UCLA Law School and Columbia Business School, he thought his future was in finance. “I was working on Wall Street in 2009, and I was looking into doing something different,” he said. “I was recruited into The Jockey Club through a headhunter in 2010. This was before Twitter. No iPads. Even the world we live in now didn’t really exist. But you could see it coming.”

How does racing fit into this new world? How does it become inclusive? Begin by being realistic. “If you open this magazine and start looking through the pages, you can come to your own conclusion,” Jason said. “There hasn’t been a part of my life not touched by racism. I don’t think racing is exclusive, but I think that racing hasn’t spent a lot of time trying to figure out what inclusion means.

“I go to places, and I’m the only African American there. There aren’t a lot, even in the pipeline. We’re trying to rectify that. It’s just a fact of life. I’ve worked in law firms, in investment banks. There are more African Americans in other businesses. It’s disappointing. There are a couple of things going on. These positions don’t turn over very much. There’s not an opportunity to even break in. And, frankly, we do a really bad job of bringing people outside the industry into the industry in general. Belinda has talked a lot about what it means to be a modern racing organization. Part of that is making sure you have an inclusive environment.”

Jason referred to the studies conducted by McKinsey & Company. “The 2011 study found that only 14 percent of the general public feels that racing was for “someone like me” compared to 74 percent for other sports,” Jason said. “For persons of color, that is reinforced when you walk into meetings, go to the track and see images in the media that are overwhelmingly predominantly white. We need to be international in our approach to address this dynamic.”

Subsequent McKinsey & Company’s reports in 2015, 2018 and 2020 document the plusses of inclusion: “Our latest report shows that the business case for diversity, equity and inclusion is stronger than ever. Taking a closer look at diversity winners reveals what can drive real progress.”

After studying more than 1,000 large companies in 15 countries, the report said, “The most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability. The representation of ethnic minorities on United Kingdom and United States executive teams stood at only 13 percent in 2019—up from seven percent in 2014.”

Minorities in horseracing executive teams aren’t in the same zip code of 13 percent. Ditto for trainers, jockeys, owners and stewards. 

Uriah St. Lewis owns all 28 of his horses stabled at Parx, with his wife, Amanda and their 27-year-old son, Uriah Junior; they are strictly a family operation. “They both help me,” Uriah said. “She is a registered nurse and comes to the barn on weekends. My son finished college, but he was always dedicated like his mother. He and I never missed a day of school for life: perfect attendance.”

Uriah came to the United States when he was 15. He went to a computer school and fixed computers for tote companies in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. “I decided I wanted to be a trainer,” he said. “I went to Oklahoma and bought a farm.” He was lucky to run into a Black trainer, Robert Hayes. “He taught me everything,” Uriah said. “He had patience. I started from scratch. I stayed with him for two to three years, and I branched out on my own, starting in 1987. I thought it was easy. It looks easy until you have to do everything.”

He began training at Parx in 1989, and is still there. Roughly 15 years ago, he decided to stop training for other owners. “I decided if I’m going to make a mistake, I’ll make it myself,” he said.

Uriah St. Lewis Jr. & Uriah St. Lewis with Discreet Lover, ridden by Manny Franco, after winning the 2018 Jockey Club Gold Cup

He has become renowned for springing huge upsets in graded stakes. Discreet Lover earned his berth in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic by winning the Gr. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at odds of 45-1. More recently, his horse Forewarned won the Queens County Stakes at 42-1 last December 19th, then won the $150,000 Excelsior Handicap at 9-2 on April 2nd.  

“Our family sits down in the evenings and figures out where the horses are going next,” he said. “Sometimes we agree; sometimes we disagree; but it’s a family affair. It’s a lot of hard work, but it pays off.”

But only if there’s an opportunity to get into the game. “I think there’s been progress,” Charlie Baker said. “There are more guys coming in.”

After coming to America from Jamaica, Charlie began training at Finger Lakes in 1987. “I saw an opportunity to be a trainer there,” he said. “I got my training license in ’97. I stayed at Finger Lakes.”

In 2010, Charlie took a deep breath and headed for New York, where he has thrived. He recorded his 18th consecutive year of more than $1 million in earnings in 2021. His horses have made more than $37 million, and he’s recorded 1,747 victories off a gaudy 22 win percentage.

Yet he assumes nothing. “It’s always a grind, trying to get that horse, trying to achieve,” he said. “I’m always paying attention. It’s a tough business.”

He prefers no other. He relishes every trip to the winner’s circle. “It’s the greatest,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what race. You can win the cheapest race on the program, and it still feels good. A win is a win. A small win is just as important as a big one. It’s an uplifting feeling.”

George Leonard III, a native of  Louisiana, got that uplifting feeling at last year’s Breeders’ Cup despite California Angel’s 11th place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Filly. “It was a life-changing experience,” he said. “For me, it wasn’t about color; it was about watching my work come together. I enjoy racing. I’m thrilled to do it. I was treated like a king by everybody. I loved it. I can only hope I can get back there.”

The son of a trainer, he fell in love with horses when he was four or five. He now has a stable of 30, racing in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio.

Asked about inclusion, he said, “I don’t think there’s a lot of prejudice in racing. A lot of people don’t get opportunities.”

He made the most of his: “I love what I do. It’s the only way I can work seven days a week, 365 days. I don’t feel like I’ve worked a day in my life. It’s hard work sometimes, but I love what I do.”

So does Greg Harbut, who is a realist but also an optimist, committed to making his world of racing more inclusive.

“Race relations in America are not great,” he said. “It’s no secret. We’ve made progress, but there’s so much work that still has to be done.”

He’s doing more than his share.

The native of Lexington worked as a teenager at WinStar, then got a job with trainer Tom Amoss the day after he graduated high school. “I didn’t have any experience,” Greg said. “I contacted several trainers. He was the one who got back to me. I was able to shadow him and his assistant. It was a great opportunity to get my hands on horses.”

Evangeline Downs jockeys, 1978

“The golden rule in my barn was and will always be, ‘if you take care of me, I’ll take care of you,’” Tom said. “My assistant, Shane Jolivette, is Black and he was with me for over 20 years before taking another job. In all my time in the Midwest, I’ve never seen anything that would suggest being Black, Asian or anything else has any bearing on a job position. Greg was a quality guy. He worked hard. He was smart. I was lucky to have him.”

Greg became the first Black person and one of only two to be accepted into the Godolphin Flying Start Program that specializes in international racing and breeding. 

Greg Harbut

He didn’t complete the program but returned to Lexington and created Harbut Bloodstock in 2010. He has enjoyed considerable success, but he wanted to do more.

With his partner, Ray Daniels, Greg began Living the Dream Stables in 2019 to promote minority owners. “It’s not exclusively minorities, but minorities are a majority,” Greg said.

Daniels, a Lexington, Kentucky-based entrepreneur and business and community leader, has spent 26 years in various corporate positions for Waffle House. He founded Equity Solutions Group in 2017 to focus on more inclusive opportunities for minority companies. Daniels put together the syndicate group for Necker Island, who is still going strongly as a five-year-old. He won an allowance race/optional $80,000 claimer at Oaklawn Park, February 21st—his sixth career victory in 21 starts with one second, four thirds and earnings topping $630,000. 

 In partnership with Agave Racing Stable, Living the Dream Stables have Miss Bigly, who finished second in the Gr. 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita March 5th. She has won eight of 27 career starts with four seconds, eight thirds and earnings of nearly $750,000.

In 2021, Greg and Ray established the Ed Brown Society to promote minority participation in Thoroughbred racing while honoring Hall of Famer Ed Brown. “He was sold on the courthouse steps as a slave,” Greg said. “He studied under Anson Williamson, one of the first Black trainers. Ed Brown went on to be a very prolific jockey, a very prolific trainer and a very successful owner with multiple champions—one of the wealthiest African-Americans in the country.”

Born in 1850, he became a Belmont Stakes winning jockey in 1876 with Kingfisher, a Kentucky Derby-winning trainer in 1877 with Baden-Baden and the owner of several top Thoroughbreds during the last decade of the 19th Century. He died in 1906.

Thanks to Greg, his name will live on by introducing young minority college students to Thoroughbred racing. On January 25th, the Ed Brown Society announced a unique partnership with 1/ST’s home track, Gulfstream Park. Two selected interns from the University of Kentucky were chosen as the first recipients of the program. “It’s time for a new generation to come in and lead the way and also to celebrate the rich history of African Americans in the sport,” 1/ST’s Vice President of Communications Tiffani Steer said.

1/ST committed $150,000 to the program, covering all costs for several years so selected students can have a paid internship within the racing industry. “I feel excited for the students,” Ray said.

The first two recipients, both equine science majors at the University of Kentucky, are Charles Churchill and Deja Robinson. “This is supposed to show other students, especially students of color, that there is a place for you in the industry,” Churchill said. Of the coincidence of his name and the track of that name, he said, “I think my personality adds to the name Churchill rather than Churchill Downs defining who I am.”

Other minority interns will be selected from other colleges and universities in coming years.

“This is a wonderful industry,” Greg said. “I’m very proud of this industry. A lot of minorities don’t know about racing. We want to change that narrative. Racing can be inclusive.”

Jason Wilson is working hand-in-hand with Greg and Roy not only with the Ed Brown Society but other programs, too. “It’s not just from an employee perspective,” Jason said. “How do we increase the number of owners? LTD (Living the Dream) Stables is doing hospitality at our events, providing tools for them to navigate around the racetrack and give them a positive experience. We want to make sure to do whatever we can. We want to do more for the Ed Brown Society.

“I spent a weekend with LTD at Santa Anita, and the amount of love that was shown to these guys was very impressive—from the fans, from the racetrack. It was wonderful to see. It was very much a family-feel. That’s the way it should be. It was heartening to see that level of support.”

Jason was asked what will happen if he is successful with all his objectives. “If I do my job tremendously well, North American racing will grow,” he said. “You will have a higher level of engagement across a broader fan base. You’ll have robust international distribution, an entertainment option that is comparable to other sports and other entertainment options.”

Will inclusion be better? The bar has been set so low, how could it not improve?

But real inclusion in all facets of racing remains a distant destination. 

Christopher Duncan, a native of Jamaica who ran in the Olympics and is only in his second full year of training in Florida, said, “I don’t really see many other Black trainers. It’s shocking. But it’s not too late. It’s never too late.” 

A 1864 painting by Edward Troye depicts Asteroid with trainer Ansel Williamson (R), unidenified groom, and jockey Edward Brown (L, kneeling)

What's that noise? An overview of exercise-induced upper airway disorders

by Kate Allen and Geoffrey Lane

The majority of upper airway (‘wind’) disorders affect the regions of the pharynx and larynx. Most of these conditions are only present during exercise, when the upper airway is exposed to large changes in pressures associated with increased breathing rate and effort. This is the reason why performing endoscopy at rest may not give an accurate diagnosis. Endoscopy during strenuous exercise (overground endoscopy) has become key for veterinary surgeons to be able to give an accurate interpretation of upper airway function.

There are many different forms of upper airway disorders. They occur when part of the pharynx or larynx collapses into the airway, causing an obstruction to airflow. This obstruction causes turbulence to airflow, which in turn creates the abnormal noise. Observations of upper airway function during exercise enable veterinary surgeons to estimate the impact of the abnormalities with respect to race performance. Generally speaking, the more the structure collapses and the more the airway is narrowed, the greater the detrimental effect to performance. The mechanisms by which upper airway disorders affect performance are surprisingly complex, but in brief they influence the amount of air the horse can breathe in and also how hard the horse has to work to get that air into the lungs. 

A full understanding of an individual horse’s upper airway function allows targeted treatments to be performed. Although the more common treatments have been included here for completeness, it is important for you to discuss individual horses with your own veterinary surgeon. 

Understanding the anatomy is the first step to interpreting upper airway function during exercise. When looking at an endoscopic image, the left side of the horse is on the right side of the image as we look at it, and vice versa (figure 1). 

Figure 1: Most disorders of the upper airway are named according to the structure that is collapsing. Therefore, understanding the anatomy of the airway will help to understand the individual conditions.

  ← Horse’s RIGHT side : Horse’s LEFT side →

Fig 2a

Fig 2b

With good upper airway function, we are looking for full abduction (which means opening) of the arytenoid cartilages while the vocal cords and aryepiglottic folds remain stable, and the epiglottis retains a curved shape; the soft palate and pharyngeal walls also remain stable. This gives a wide opening called the rima glottidis for air to enter the lungs (Figure 2 a, b, c).  

Figure 2 a, b, Images showing good upper airway function.

Palatal instability and dorsal displacement of the soft palate

In the normal horse, the soft palate is positioned beneath the epiglottis. Palatal instability comprises billowing movement of the soft palate and often coincides with flattening of the shape of the epiglottis. The appearance of palatal instability can differ between horses (Figure 3 a, b, c). Palatal instability often causes an inspiratory noise.

Fig 3a

Fig 3b

Fig 3c

Figure 3 a, b, c: Images showing different types of palatal instability.

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) occurs when the free border of the soft palate becomes displaced and comes to lie above the epiglottis (Figure 4 a, b, c). In this displaced position, there is a substantial obstruction of the rima glottidis. Sudden onset ‘gurgling’ expiratory noises are characteristic of DDSP. Palatal instability almost invariably precedes DDSP, and it is thought these conditions may arise through weakness of the muscles within the palate itself.

Fig 4a

Fig 4b

Figure 4 a, b : Images showing dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP). The epiglottis is no longer visible as the soft palate is now positioned on top of it.

Thus, in younger racehorses, palatal instability and DDSP will often improve with fitness and maturity. In the UK, the two most commonly performed surgical treatments are soft palate cautery and laryngeal tie-forward. The purpose of the soft palate cautery is to induce scar tissue to tighten the soft palate. The tie-forward has a different rationale. In some horses, the larynx slips backward just prior to DDSP, therefore the tie-forward holds the larynx in a more forward position, thereby inhibiting displacement. 

Arytenoid cartilage collapse

This condition is also called recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, laryngeal hemiplegia or laryngeal paralysis because it is caused by nerve damage to the muscles of the larynx. During exercise, we observe collapse of the arytenoid cartilage almost always on the left side. In the context of sales, most trainers are familiar with laryngeal function grading applied during resting endoscopy. The purpose of this is to predict what is likely to happen to arytenoid function during exercise. During exercise, arytenoid function is typically graded as A, B or C where A is full abduction, B is partial collapse and C is complete collapse (Figure 5 a, b, c). The majority of horses with grade 1 or 2 laryngeal function at rest have grade A function during exercise (96% and 88% respectively). Arytenoid cartilage collapse causes a harsh inspiratory noise, often termed ‘roaring’. 

Fig 5a

Fig 5b

Fig 5c

Figure 5 a, b, c: Images from 3 different racehorses, showing the variations in position of the left arytenoid. The first image shows a good position, followed by horses with increasing severity of collapse. In the last image, there is virtually no opening remaining for airflow.

Arytenoid cartilage collapse occurs when the nerve supply to the left side of the larynx is damaged. The most frequent surgery to improve complete collapse is a ‘tie-back’, which fixes the collapsing left side into a semi-open position. The potential limitation of this surgery is that if the arytenoid is fixed open, it cannot close to protect the rima glottidis during swallowing. Therefore, horses that have had a tie-back are susceptible to inhaling food into the lower airways leading to coughing. The tie-back is associated with a higher risk of complications than all other upper airway surgeries. More recently a nerve grafting surgery has been developed in which a normal local nerve is detached from a local muscle and then implanted into the laryngeal muscles. This avoids the potential complications of food inhalation but does take a few months to take effect. Both of these surgeries can be combined with ‘Hobday’ surgery. 

Arytenoid Subluxation 

This condition seems to be observed with increasing frequency. We see it most commonly in young flat racehorses; it is far less common in National Hunt horses, which probably reflects maturity of the laryngeal structures. One arytenoid subluxates or slips underneath the other arytenoid (Figure 6 a and b). The full name for this condition is ventromedial luxation of the apex of the corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage (VLACPA). This condition appears to lead to instability of several other areas of the larynx, most commonly the vocal cords and aryepiglottic folds (Figure 7 a and b). There is limited scientific evidence for the best way to manage this disorder, and at present there is no effective surgical treatment. The instability within the larynx can be exacerbated the more the horse is exercised, therefore limiting the intensity of training to allow the larynx to mature may be recommended. 

Fig 6a

Fig 6b

Figure 6 a and b: Images to show a closeup of the arytenoid cartilages. The image on the left is normal, and the two arytenoid cartilages meet in the middle. The image on the right shows that one side of the larynx has subluxated or slipped underneath the other side. 

Fig 7a

Fig 7b

Figure 7 and b: Images to show arytenoid subluxation which has led to aryepiglottic fold collapse and vocal cord collapse.

Vocal cord collapse

Vocal cord collapse is often described as mild, moderate or severe, and typically causes a high-pitched inspiratory ‘whistle’ noise. Vocal cord collapse will almost always occur if arytenoid cartilage collapse occurs (Figure 8) but can also occur without arytenoid cartilage collapse (Figure 9). The traditional treatment for vocal cord collapse is the ‘Hobday’ procedure, which aims to remove the mucosal pocket to the side of the vocal cord along with the cord itself. 

Figure 8: Image showing left arytenoid cartilage collapse with vocal cord collapse. 

Figure 9: Image showing severe bilateral vocal cord collapse.

Aryepiglottic fold collapse

Aryepiglottic fold collapse is when the folds of tissue on the side of the larynx get sucked into the airway (Figure 10 a , b, c). This condition also causes a high-pitched inspiratory noise. It is typically graded as mild, moderate and severe. It most often occurs in conjunction with other conditions that alter the normal conformation of the arytenoid or epiglottis (i.e., palatal instability, arytenoid subluxation, arytenoid cartilage collapse). Treatment aims to remove a section of the folds.

Fig 10a

Fig 10b

Fig 10c

Figure 10 a, b, c: Images showing aryepiglottic fold collapse.

Pharyngeal wall collapse 

Pharyngeal wall collapse is when the roof or sides of the pharynx collapse, which tends to obscure the larynx from clear view (Figure 11 a and b). It occurs more commonly in sport horses than racehorses due to head and neck position; the more flexed the head and neck position, the harder it is for the walls to remain stable. The time that we most often observe it in racehorses is at the start of the gallops if they are restrained, and often it will improve as the horse is able to extend its head and neck. This condition also causes a coarse inspiratory noise. 

Fig 11a

Fig 11b

Figure 11 a and b: Images showing pharyngeal wall collapse.

Epiglottic entrapment

Although included here for completeness, epiglottic entrapment can usually be diagnosed during a resting endoscopic examination, particularly if the horse is triggered to swallow. The epiglottis becomes enveloped in the excess tissue that should lie underneath it (Figure 12 a and b). Sometimes the epiglottis remains entrapped, but sometimes it will entrap and release on its own which can make the diagnosis more difficult. The noise caused by epiglottic entrapment can vary, depending on the thickness of the entrapping tissue and whether DDSP occurs concurrently. Treatment involves releasing or resecting the excessive tissue.

Fig 12a

Fig 12b

Figure 12 a and b: Images showing epiglottic entrapment in two different horses. The image on the right shows an epiglottic entrapment that is more long standing, and the tissue has become swollen and ulcerated.

The disorders outlined above are described as if they are isolated single entities, but it is commonplace for horses to sustain complex collapse, which means collapse of multiple structures at the same time. Other less common disorders are epiglottic retroversion (when the epiglottis flips up to cover the rima glottidis), and cricotracheal membrane collapse (when there is collapse between the larynx and the trachea). On occasion obstructions to breathing can also occur in the nasal passages and the trachea (i.e., masses, ethmoid haematoma, sinusitis), but are far less common than those of the pharynx and larynx. 

Looking forward it is unlikely that any new conditions remain to be discovered. Research now centres around better understanding of the causes of these disorders and how best to prevent and treat them. A particular area of investigation amongst several research groups is understanding how to train the upper airway muscles more appropriately to reduce the prevalence of these disorders and to investigate methods to strengthen the muscles. This would have the potential to reduce the number of horses needing surgical treatments.  

#Soundbites - How much do you rely on veterinarians’ input for day-to-day decisions?

By Bill Heller

Mark Hennig

I wouldn’t say I rely on them on a day-to-day basis. We evaluate horses after a workout. But day to day, there seems to be a horse we want to look at. If a rider has any kind of negative comment, we make a point of going over those horses at the end of the morning. And we also go over the previous day's workers. We do have vets if there is a soundness issue or a horse needs scoping.

Tim Hills

I’m married to a vet, Laine, so I very much respect their opinions. I’m not old-school. They only get a vet when the horse is near death. 

Ron Moquett

Very little after what I’ve seen over the years. When I first started, the vets and blacksmiths weren’t allowed on the track until after the break. I use them for preventive stuff, taking care of the joints, because we’re asking these horses to do strenuous things. Other than that, I don’t rely on them at all.

Bret Calhoun

We use them when things get beyond our control—things like X-rays, ultrasound, scoping, things like that. Obviously we depend on them quite a bit for that. As far as day to day, we know our horses better than them. We see them every day. When there’s a change in them, obviously I bring them [vets] in for consultation. We use them for routine stuff like Lasix medications. Other than that, we don’t use them that much.

Mike Maker

Basically, we use a veterinarian as far as illness and lameness, and that’s about it.

Cliff Sise Jr.

I go over the horses myself pretty good. But sometimes a veterinarian’s suggestions are good, too. We have to rely on them in California. They check them for workouts; they check them for races. So we rely on a good vet.

Mark Glatt 

How much do I rely on them? Because of the rules now, the veterinarians are heavily involved. Most of these horses are checked twice a week.  

Eoin Harty

It all depends. You might go through a period where you only have a vet come to scope or vaccinate a horse. Then you go through a rash of bad luck, and you might have a veterinarian come for seven, eight days in a row. But the more experience you have, the less you rely on veterinarians. You see so much over the years. You can’t buy that education.

Alan Balch - Past is prologue?

By Alan F. Balch

Just over 35 years ago – when I was entrenched in California track management – I spoke publicly, and much more vehemently in our private executive confines, about my belief that the racing industry should invest heavily in research and development to meet the competitive challenges to come.  

While we could still afford to do it.

What I had to say then was met with shaking heads, laughter, rolling eyes, and then confined to the round file.  As this essay undoubtedly will be, too.

But the fact of the matter is that the future of racing then appeared dubious to me, even while on the crest of the wave we were riding in the mid-1980s.  The California State Lottery had been approved by the voters in November 1984, and its first tickets were sold in October 1985.  The United States Supreme Court upheld native American tribal sovereignty over the states in 1986, and by 1988 their gaming was beginning in several jurisdictions via compacts with state governments.  Satellite and intertrack wagering throughout California were well underway, and national simulcasting between jurisdictions was “old” then by comparison.   

At that point, we certainly couldn’t have envisioned all the ramifications of the Internet revolution; web browsing began about 1990.  Amazon was founded in 1994.  Websites became prolific.  My own marketing agency even had a Cool Site of the Day on the World Wide Web, and our client Del Mar developed one of racing’s first websites.

In short, it was no secret in 1985, and increasingly understood thereafter, that traditional gaming enterprises, and horse racing in particular, were going to be subject to greater competition than ever before, on a wider and deeper scale.  Shouldn’t we then have been sparing no effort to determine how we were going to innovate and compete in the evolving world?  

I remember citing Ted Levitt’s landmark work entitled “Marketing Myopia,” which pointed out the obvious (every successful business was once a growth enterprise) to demonstrate the not-so-obvious.  What happened to the vastly successful railroads, for example?  Well, they kept on insisting they were still in the railroad business (as opposed to defining the transportation business they were actually in, with all its other opportunities) until they were out of business almost entirely.  

Just think about that for a moment.  And apply it to horse racing.

In some ways, it’s a testament to racing’s strength as a sporting proposition that it has survived at all, or as well as it has, given the onslaught of competition and our continuing ignorance of potential opportunities.

One of my favorite corporate stories is American Totalisator Company, now AmTote.  Imagine what a revolutionary step it was in 1933 to be able instantaneously to calculate and display odds and payoffs, illuminated electronically via giant Tote boards to tens of thousands of bettors!  Based on the Straus patents, it’s no wonder that company had virtually no competition in American racing by 1940, when our sport was far and away this country’s biggest, most successful, and richest of all.  And is that possibly why Straus’ own myopia about what his company was really doing left the door open to its competitor IBM and every other technology enterprise since then?  

Technology now literally rules the world, and racing is becoming increasingly insignificant, a micro-market compared to its position 90 years ago.

My original racing mentor at Santa Anita, Robert Strub, used to warn all of us, “we don’t want to go the way of the buggy whip.”  And that’s what originally got me interested in industry, product, and brand life-cycles.  But heading a public company, as he and his Board did, also caused them to focus more on earnings-per-share-this-quarter, rather than assessing or investing in nebulous future opportunities.  And confronting the real threats we faced, covert and overt.  We didn’t have the discipline to do either.

So, rather than having had a coordinated industry approach developed decades ago to revolutionize betting on the races in America, we now have three behemoths – NYRA, Churchill, and 1/ST Racing/Stronach – battling each other.  They use outmoded ground rules, competing for horses now that foal crops are again at 1965 levels, while field sizes and starts per horse are at or near historic lows.

Here on the island of California, decreasing field size is leading to increasing competitive disadvantage in the national betting picture.  There’s so much hand-wringing you can practically hear it.  Rather than address these complex issues jointly among all organizational stakeholders, with some modicum of sophistication applied to objective data, our ongoing internal blame game has reached unprecedented heights of popularity.  Even though it’s never been a laggard in the ratings. 

The advent of the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority [HISA] may level the national competitive plane somewhat in California’s favor, once our safety protocols become widely observed.  But the fundamental structural problems will remain.

California trainers, owners, tracks, regulators, and key legislators, urgently need to understand and brainstorm the situation we face, together, the same way, at the same time, with the same data.  No idea should be off the table.  Sophisticated purse redistribution and participation incentives, based on level of competition, field size, field content, and surface, should head the list . . . along with potential realignment of racing schedules to fit the horse populations available, joined with robust recruitment programs . . . and critically needed capital improvements at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields particularly.

We’ve suffered from a California version of myopia for just short of a century now . . . isn’t it about time to open all our eyes, together?

Frank Di Giulio, Jr.

By Bill Heller

“Patience” and “Thoroughbred” don’t belong in the same sentence, but prominent Canadian owner, breeder and industry leader Frank Di Giulio Jr., has it ingrained. His father, a life-long racing fan, waited until he was 71 to buy his first Thoroughbred, Truganini, on April 1, 1981 at Greenwood. “He was a four-year-old, $5,000 maiden claimer,” Frank Jr. said. “He won the day he claimed him, won his next two starts and got claimed for $7,500. My dad was mad when he got claimed.”

He shouldn’t have been. Truganini never won again, losing his final 21 starts.

Five years later, Frank Jr. got his first horse at half his father’s age when he teamed with his father to claim Sacred Rite for $6,260 on October 24, 1986. The Di Giulios had to wait 5 ½ months for Sacred Rite to locate the winner’s circle at Woodbine by a head. “The first win—it was great,” Frank Jr., now 60, said. “I remember dreaming about horses when I was a kid. As a teen, looking at claimers I couldn’t afford, I always wanted to name my own horse. You can’t do that when you claim one.”

This one they claimed, Sacred Rite, mirrored Truganini’s career, losing his final 16 starts. He was claimed away from the Di Giulios for $6,250, then lost his final 12 races.

The lack of success didn’t faze Frank Sr. who had emigrated to Toronto (Canada) in 1923. “He was originally a barber, then got into real estate,” Frank Jr. said. “He loved going to the track with his buddies. That rubbed off on me. I went to the track for the first time when I was 10.”

Frank, now 60, followed his father into the property management business and became one of the most successful Canadian owners and breeders. He has served as a director of the Ontario Division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society the last 26 years, and was named one of the “Top 25 Influencers in Canadian Thoroughbred Racing 2020,” by Canadian Thoroughbred magazine. 

Four-and-a-half decades later, Frank Jr. and his four partners in Entourage Stable purchased a yearling for $30,000. Frank Jr. had the opportunity to name this yearling, but it was one of his partners, Ed Longo, who came up with the name of Pink Lloyd, taken from the character Lloyd on the TV show “Entourage” and the rock band, Pink Lloyd.

Pink Lloyd winning the 2017 Kenora Stakes at Woodbine, a race he would go on to win again in 2018 and 2019

Pink Lloyd looked like he had a lot of talent but couldn’t make it into the starting gate. He would require a ton of patience.

“That was frustrating,” Pink Lloyd’s Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Bob Tiller said. “It was one thing after another. He came up lame as a yearling. We had to stop with him all the time. A hock. A bad shin as a three-year-old. Dead lame. We had to give him enough time to get over that. Then he had a muscle issue behind.

“I always believe in stopping with a horse when he has an issue. We knew he could run. When he worked, all he wanted to do was run by horses. He just loved chasing horses and going by them.”

Tiller dearly wanted to see this promising horse make it to the track. “I had the right owners to let me be patient. I’ve trained exclusively for the Di Giulios for 40 years. I started with his dad. They’re wonderful people. The management of this horse was outstanding.”

Waiting wasn’t easy for Frank Jr. “It was a frustrating thing,” he said. “He’d work a couple times. Something came up. Go to the farm. Come back. Nagging things, pulled muscle behind, a shin. All different things. Bob always really liked him. He didn’t run until late August in his four-year-old year. I never looked forward to a first start more than that with him.”

Man, was he worth the wait. This remarkable gelding won his first start in a sparkling 1:09 at Woodbine on the way to a three-race win streak to begin his career. Five years later, he finished his career with a three-race winning streak, taking his finale in the Gr. 2 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine in 1:08 4/5. In between, he had an 11-race winning streak, which led him to be named 2017 Canadian Horse of the Year, and another five-race win streak.

“It’ll be another 100 years before you see another one like him—as good at 9 as he was at 4,” Tiller said.

Pink Lloyd had three victories, a second and a third in five starts in the Kennedy Road Stakes. He had four victories and one second in five tries in the Gr. 3 Vigil Stakes; and he posted three victories, including a track record and one second in four appearances in the Gr. 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes.

Frank Di Giulio Jr with wife Jennifer and children Luke and Olivia

His final numbers were 29 victories, including 26 stakes, three seconds and two thirds in 37 races and earnings of $1,884,584. All but his first three career starts were in stakes.

He never competed in the Breeders’ Cup, never raced in a Gr. 1 and never raced out of Canada. “He  liked it here,” Frank Jr. said. “He was kind of high strung when he was younger. He had a special stall lined in rubber because he liked to kick. There were a lot of people saying, `Run him in the U.S. and try the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. I said, `No.’ We were never really tempted. It paid off with six years of racing. It was all at the highest level.”

Along the way, Pink Lloyd was dubbed “The People’s Horse.” “I think people really liked him,” Frank Jr. said. “I do believe he had a fanbase. People did cheer for him.”

They could have cheered for his connections. “He retired sound,” Frank Jr. said. “He could have run this year.”

Frank Jr. was delighted to share Pink Lloyd’s career with his two children, 27-year-old Olivia, a teacher, and 24-year-old Luc, a financial analyst.

The Di Giulio’s decided to share Pink Lloyd’s retirement with the public, sending him to the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society in Erin, Ontario—the home of more than 50 retired Thoroughbreds. He was treated like a rock star when he arrived there December 8th. The farm’s manager, Lauren Millet-Simpson, said, “The second he walked off the trailer, he struck a pose. He's a true professional. It will be cool to work with a horse like that.”

Frank Jr. said, “It’s great for us because we’re fairly close, and it’s a good draw for them. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Asked in early January how much he misses Pink Lloyd, Frank Jr. said, “Right now, it’s just the off-season. He wouldn’t have been running. I’ll miss him a lot more once the season starts. He was a once-in-a-lifetime.”

Thanks to his patient handling. 

Calvin Nguyen

Calvin Nguyen grew up around animals on a farm in Vietnam. “I hung around the farm with livestock, but we didn’t have any horses,” he said. He would.

During the Vietnam War, Calvin’s father—a very religious Catholic—was a high-ranking officer working with the American forces stationed in Guam. “When he realized the South [Vietnam] was losing, he captained a ship to go back and get my mom and us,” Calvin said. “That’s how he was captured. He tried to get his family out. He was in prison for 10 years.”

Though he was only a child with three siblings, he felt the pressure of daily life of his family after Saigon fell, ending the war. “Vietnam was an oppressive country,” he said. “It was a Communist country, so my mom had arranged for us to get out for a better future.”

She did, but it took years.

Calvin’s mother tried to visit her husband. “She was denied many times,” Calvin said. “He was moved around a lot. She didn’t know if he was alive. Five, six years after his capture, she was allowed to visit him. He was in a labor camp. They tried to re-educate him to be a Communist.”

His father resisted.

Calvin was eight when his family came to America without Calvin’s imprisoned father. “The U.S. Catholic Church sponsored us, and we lived in Tallahassee, Florida,” Calvin said. “Then my uncle found out we had relatives in Southern California.” They settled in Anaheim.

Back in Vietnam, Calvin’s father’s health deteriorated so badly, they thought he was going to die. “They released him in 1985,” Calvin said. “He didn’t come to the U.S. for another five years.” When he did, his health returned. “Miraculously, he recovered,” Calvin said.

Calvin had seen pictures of his father, but meeting him was a whole different experience. “It was awkward,” Calvin said. “I really didn’t know him. I didn’t know who he was. I grew up in America and culturally, I was into certain things. My father was very religious. He had an interesting life. I was grateful to spend 30 years with him. He passed away a couple years ago. He was almost 80.”

Bob and Jackie and jockey Jose Valdivia Jr after winning the 2021 San Gabriel Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita Park

Calvin attended Western High School in Anaheim, and was two years ahead of classmate Tiger Woods. “I got to meet him,” Calvin said. “My best friend in high school was on the golf team. I don’t know if he remembers me. He was already a known figure.”

In Calvin’s senior year, he and a friend, Scott, wanted to go out on Friday night to see a California Angels’ game and watch one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, Nolan Ryan. “He was on his farewell tour,” Calvin said. “I was a big baseball fan,” Calvin said. “I loved Nolan Ryan.”

He had to love him from afar. The game sold out. “And back then, the Angels never sold out,” Calvin said. 

Now what? Scott said, “Let’s go to the racetrack.” Los Alamitos was just a few miles away. Calvin, who had never been to a track, was mesmerized: “I saw the horses. I saw the attention. A lot of people attended the races then. The roaring of the crowd, the disappointment when your horse lost, a lot of emotion. These majestic animals. I fell in love right there. I just fully enjoyed it. I liked all sports, boxing, basketball, football. Seeing these horses—they are so majestic in how they move.”

Owning a horse seemed highly unlikely. “I was 18. I grew up poor. But you dream.”

Calvin pursued his education, graduating from UCLA with a degree in economics and accounting. He considered becoming a doctor: “My intention was to go back to school and get my Master’s, but I never did it. I worked in insurance and in finance. I was just trying to find my way—something I was interested in.”

A single conversation changed his life. “I met a client who was buying nutrition products from Price Club and shipping it to China,” Calvin said. “I said, `You’re buying retail, and you can make money?’ He said, `Yes.’ I said, `What if I can source it out for you?’ He was buying 5,000 bottles of Vitamin C. I reached out to the manufacturer, and this guy’s volume was so high, they would deal directly with me. I was able to do that. If he was paying $10, I could get it for $6 and sell it to him for $7 or $8. Then I said, `What if we start making our products?’ We started to make products.”

Calvin founded and now serves as CEO of GMP Products, more than 25 years later. “I enjoy it, using my college tools and dealing with people,” he said. “It’s given me a good life.”

And disposable income.

Calvin, connections, and trainer Richie Baltas (far right) after Bob and Jackie’s San Gabriel win

Calvin was back at Los Alamitos, hanging out with George Baltas, whose brother Richie trains. When Calvin mentioned possibly buying a horse, George said, “You should talk to my brother.”

Calvin did, and on June 10, 1999, Calvin and Richie claimed a maiden, Freedom Crest, for $32,000. The gelding was second by a neck that day, then finished 5th, 10th, 2nd and 3rd before winning a maiden $40,000 claimer. He was on his way to 13 consecutive finishes in the money, capped by a three-length victory in the Gr. 2 San Pasqual Handicap, June 7, 2001. After Freedom Crest won the Gr. 2 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap, Freedom Crest shipped to Belmont Park to contest the Gr. 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was 13th by 33 lengths to two-time Horse of the Year Tiznow. Freedom Crest finished his career seven-for-31, eight seconds, four thirds and nearly $650,000 in earnings—not bad for a maiden $32,000 claimer.

Richie took a 4 ½ year hiatus from training on his own from 2008 through the middle of 2012. When he returned, the trainer who had Calvin’s horses, James Kasparoff, decided to take a job with Santa Anita. He’s now the stakes director there. Calvin reunited with Richie. “We got back together,” Richie said. “He’s pretty loyal, which I love about him. We got back together, and he’s spending a lot of money.”

Idol was worth his yearling purchase price of $375,000. Now five, Idol finished second by a half-length in the 2020 Gr. 2 San Antonio Stakes, then third in the Gr. 2 San Pasqual. Then, on March 7, 2021, Idol won the Gr. 1 Santa Anita Handicap by a half-length.

“It was a surreal moment,” Calvin said. “To win that type of race was an incredible feeling. I hadn’t been to a racetrack in more than a year because of COVID. That was the first weekend they allowed owners to attend. No fans. My wife and two daughters were there. They made it more special. I still can’t believe it.”

Idol was training for last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic when he strained a muscle in his butt. “We couldn’t put him like that in that kind of a race,” Calvin said. “We decided to give him time off. He started galloping two weeks ago.”

His absence was eased by Bob and Jackie—a $195,000 purchase who made an auspicious first dirt start last December 26th, capturing the Gr. 2 San Gabriel when it came off the turf. On grass, he had finished fourth, third and second in a Gr. 2 stakes and second in a Gr. 3.

Idol and Bob and Jackie are the stars of Calvin’s 12-horse stable. When asked his goals, he said, “Just to have fun, [we] try to compete at the highest level. We don’t win all the time, but it’s what I like to do. Hopefully, we have another moment like Idol winning the Big Cap. That’s what you’re in this for. It’s indescribable.”

Frank Fletcher Jr.

By Bill Heller

How can you not like owner Frank Fletcher Jr., a man who names all of his Thoroughbreds for his dog Rocket? Especially when one of them, Lady Rocket, whom he owns with Ten Strike Racing, takes off at Aqueduct December 4th, winning the Gr. 3 Go for Wand Stakes by nine lengths. That was another thrill for Frank Fletcher, whose whole life has been thrills, successes and philanthropy.

When you marry the captain of the cheerleaders, work for and with Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, and count your fraternity brother at the University of Arkansas, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as a close friend, you know you’ve done well in life. The fact that he is a major contributor to Toys for Tots, Easter Seals and the Make-A-Wish Foundation tells you all you need to know of his character.

He has prospered in restaurants, automobile dealerships, hotels and horses, frequently working like a dog to achieve success. He’s not averse to taking chances. Hell, he got into trouble with his father once for piloting his Cessna 172 plane without permission. He was 14. 

“The successful entrepreneurs are the people willing to take risks,” he said in a 2013 interview.

Maybe it’s because people took a risk with him, adopting him as a baby in Little Rock. He was raised as an only child and has spent an entire lifetime making his parents proud.

Before he was a big man in business, Frank was a big guy in the seventh grade: six-feet-four. He helped his basketball team win a state championship and also played football until the 10th grade when he had three teeth knocked out in practice.

By then, he’d already set a rigorous work pattern, working in a cotton gin after school and on weekends. He hit it off with Judy Hamm, the captain of the Pine Bluff High School cheerleading squad, when he let her borrow his car to ride in a parade. They married and have two children, Chris and Jerilynn and three grandsons, Jacob, Sam and Adam.

At the University of Arkansas, Frank joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity and met Jones, who would later lead him into owning Thoroughbreds.

Fletcher served in the Army Reserves, then took two jobs, working at a bank from 8 to 5, and then at a pizza place from 5:30 to midnight.

Then Frank landed a job selling paint for DuPont, which led him to Sam Walton. Frank tried selling him 300 gallons of paint, and he only wanted 50. He said it was too costly. Frank called headquarters, and they agreed to let Walton have four months to pay. That did it.

Two years later, Walton made Frank a manufacturer’s representative. Like everything else in his life, he went full throttle, arriving at 5:30 a.m. and working until 9 p.m.

Everything was great until Walmart decided to deal with manufacturers directly instead of through reps. Walton suggested Frank start manufacturing products Walmart would buy, and that’s exactly what Frank did. He rented a garage and began making lamps.

His success doing that led him to getting involved with a breakfast investment club, a Hilton hotel in North Little Rock and, ultimately, car dealerships. Fletcher Auto Group now has 10 dealerships in Arkansas and Missouri.

When Jones bought the Cowboys, Frank started traveling frequently to Dallas. He said Jones convinced him to bet $2,000 to win on a Thoroughbred that Jones owned. The horse finished fourth. Frank kept the faith, bet on the horse again, and he won. “I was hooked,” he said.

Lady Rocket winning the Gr3 Go for Wand Stakes by 9 length at Aqueduct

He initially hired Bob Holthus to train his horses, and he won his first race with Boss Man Rocket in 1989. He had subsequent success with Son of Rocket, who was third in the 2001 Gr. 1 Arkansas Derby, Rocket Twentyone, who won the 2013 Gr. 3 Arlington Washington Lassie, and Frank’s Rockette, who captured three straight graded stakes in 2020: the Gr. 3 Victory Ride, Gr. 2 Prioress and Gr. 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap.   

His long list of awards includes the 2011 Sales and Marketing Executive International Arkansas Top Manager of the Year. In 2013, he was inducted into the Walton Business Hall of Fame at the University of Arkansas. Three years later, he was presented with the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

With Jerry Jones, Frank founded the Students Acquiring Knowledge through Experience program at the Sam Walton College, which provides college students with real-life, hands-on experience with businesses. It’s a head start for the students’ careers and cements Frank’s contributions to the American dream, the one he lived.    

George Hall

Spurred on by his grandfather, George Hall fell in love with horse racing at a young age. “He took me to Belmont and Aqueduct,” George said. “Then one summer, he took my brother John and me to Saratoga. I think I was nine years old. We did doubleheaders every day: the Thoroughbred track in the afternoon, dinner, and the harness track at night. We did that every day for a week. It was a great time.”

More than 50 years later, George is still having a great time at the racetrack, campaigning his second Gr. 1 stakes winner, Max Player.

In early 2019, George co-founded Sports BLX, which allows low-cost ownership interest in Thoroughbreds and in other sports and athletes. He co-founded Sports BLX with Joseph De Perio. “The concept was to see if we could create a market where people that might want to buy a small share of a horse or a company that owns a horse could feel the experience following a horse like an owner does,” George said. “It seemed a worthwhile endeavor. It now includes deals with athletes, professional sports teams and racecars. It’s a very broad company.”

Born the son of a New York City cop in Queens, George, now 61, got a bachelor’s degree from the Merchant Marine Academy and an MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He became the founder, president and majority shareholder of Clinton Group Inc., a Manhattan-based investment company which opened in 1991. Its success allowed George to invest in Thoroughbreds.

A trip with a friend to Monmouth Park in 2005 was the catalyst. “I was introduced to Kelly Breen in the stands,” George said. “Kelly was the leading trainer at Monmouth. He is extremely enthusiastic, and he invited me to see his barn just to show us his horses. I had my two-year-old daughter with me, Kathryn. He gave her carrots to feed the horses. I said, `This is a very nice man.’ He’s so enthusiastic. We talked about getting into it. We decided to go to the Keeneland Sales.”

They spent $118,000 to buy four horses and could not have done much better. George named his first horse for his daughter, Keeneland Kat, and she won her first start, a maiden race, by 6 ¾ lengths. She stepped up to the $100,000 Sorority Stakes and won again by 2 ½ lengths. That earned her a start in the Gr. 1 Frizette and she finished a non-threatening third. “Being third in a Gr. 1 with your first horse was pretty special,” George said. “Then she started having minor issues.”

Unfortunately, the issues ended her racing career. “She was just a great horse,” George said. “Kelly did a great job with her. She became a broodmare. We bred her for five, six years and sold her.”

Another member of George’s initial yearling foursome was named Fagan’s Legacy to honor his grandfather, Larry Fagan. Fagan’s Legacy finished second in his debut, then won a maiden race by five lengths and the $82,000 Pilgrim Stakes by 3 ¼ lengths.

George admitted that his immediate success got him a tad over-confident: “Oh, yeah, we thought it was easy.”

It isn’t. Fagan’s Legacy didn’t hit the board in five subsequent starts and never raced again.

Ruler On Ice and Pants On Fire, who made their debuts 13 days apart in September 2010, took George on a great ride. Pants On Fire, who was second in a maiden race at Philadelphia Park to begin his career, won the 2011 Gr. 2 Louisiana Derby by a neck, earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby. He finished ninth to Animal Kingdom. Pants On Fire  won the Gr. 3 Pegasus at Monmouth Park and finished fifth in the Gr. 1 Haskell. Later on, he won the Gr. 2 Monmouth Cup and the Gr. 3 Ack Ack back-to-back, finishing his career with 11 victories from 41 starts and earnings of more than $1.6 million.

Ruler On Ice, a Keeneland yearling whom George said was a “little wild when he was young,” was gelded. He finished fifth in his debut at Monmouth. The following spring, he finished third in the Gr. 3 Sunland Park Derby. He was the first also-eligible for the 2011 Kentucky Derby but didn’t get into the race. Instead, he finished second in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico.

That was good enough to convince Kelly to take a shot with Ruler On Ice in the Belmont Derby. Sent off at 24-1, Ruler On Ice won by three-quarters of a length under Jose Valdivia, Jr. “It was unbelievable,” George said. “That was pretty spectacular.”

Ruler On Ice then ran third in the Gr. 1 Haskell and fourth in the Gr. 1 Travers. His only other victory came in an allowance race, yet he wound up with more than $1.7 million in earnings off four victories, five seconds and three thirds in 23 starts.

Off the track, George has shared his business and equine success with others. He was the recipient of the New York University’s prestigious Sir Harold Acton Medal in recognition of his philanthropy. One of his charitable acts was establishing the George E. Hall Childhood Diabetes Foundation at Mount Sinai Hospital.

George’s three children enjoy horses, too. That two-year-old visit to the Monmouth Park backstretch helped shape his now 19-year-old daughter Kathryn’s life. While attending New York University, she maintains her appreciation of horses. “Her life’s passion is show jumping,” George said. “She loves horses. She has two jumpers and travels around.”

George Jr., 18, likes going to the track with his dad but is more attached to fish than horses. “His passion is fishing and cooking,” George said. “While he takes a gap year after graduating from high school, he’s working at a restaurant. He catches them in the morning, brings them in and filets them.”

Their 12-year-old sister Charlotte, rides ponies and also enjoys going to the track.

The Hall clan may have their best racetrack moments ahead of them, thanks to the emergence of their four-year-old colt Max Player—a home-bred who was born on their 385-acre Annestes Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, and is trained by Steve Asmussen. 

“I think he’s a late-maturing horse,” George said. “We always thought he was very talented.”

As a three-year-old, Max Player captured the Gr. 2 Withers Stakes in just his third career start, then finished third in both the Belmont Stakes and the Travers to Tiz the Law. “Losing to Tiz the Law was no disgrace,” George said. “He was a standout, great horse.”

Max Player may be another. “In his early races, he had a tendency of getting away slowly,” George said. “We learned over time we have to keep him closer to the pace. If he’s too far behind, he has too much to do.”

This year, he was two lengths off the pace in the Gr. 2 Suburban and won by a neck. In the Gr. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup September 4th at Saratoga, he was less than one length off, and dominated, scoring by four lengths in a powerful performance.

He had already earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “The Suburban was a `win and you’re in,’ race,” George said. “The Jockey Club was important to show that he belongs in that race.”

He belongs. Like his owner belongs. At the racetrack. Asked what his grandfather would have thought of his equine accomplishments, George said, “I think he’d be thrilled. I wished he could have lived longer to see it, himself.” He paused a second and added, “Maybe he did.”

Ron and Ricki Rashinski

All it took was a friendly conversation, a brilliant book and a trip to Saratoga to turn Ron and Ricki Rashinski into passionate Thoroughbred owners. “They’re phenomenal,” their trainer, Eddie Kenneally, said. “They love the game.”

They loved it a little bit more when Point Me By won the Bruce D. Stakes, the renamed Secretariat Stakes at their home track Arlington Park to become their third Gr. 1 stakes horse. Ricki said she didn’t hide her feeling rooting him home. “I’m not a quiet fan,” she confessed.

That itself is an endorsement of horse racing—one she didn’t have initially when Ron, who has a real estate management company in his native Chicago, broached the subject to her. “My wife didn’t want to get involved with it, but once she got a taste of it, she changed,” Ron said. “We spent some time at Saratoga, four or five days. Then a week. Then two weeks.”

Ricki said, “At first, I wanted nothing to do with it, but he took me to Saratoga. The track is beautiful. The people who work at the track were wonderful. They went out of the way to help you understand things. The whole town was all about the horses. And there were the horses themselves.”

Ron was as enthralled as she was about Saratoga. “They’re stopping traffic for horses to cross Union Avenue,” he said. “Wherever you go, you can have a Daily Racing Form with you and not have people think you’re a degenerate. It was like Wrigley Field; but instead of the Cubs, you had the New York Yankees.”

Besides racing Thoroughbreds, Ron and Ricki are involved in vintage car road racing. “We go to different tracks around the country,” Ron said. “We also had a small sponsorship in a car that won a 24-hour endurance race in Daytona.”

Ron was enticed into Thoroughbred racing by Jane Schwartz’s book Ruffian: Burning From the Start. Ron said, ”I’m a sports guy. I was intrigued by her story. I was amazed that there was a horse who was never headed. Then the match race with Foolish Pleasure... Even when she broke down, she was in the lead. My interest kind of snowballed from there.”

He felt enough—with an assist from multiple Eclipse Award Photographer Barb Livingston—to visit Ruffian’s grave at Belmont Park near a flagpole in the infield with her nose pointed toward the finish line. “[Ricki and I] left a bouquet of flowers,” he said. “We’re just fans—new fans. Even though I’m just a fan, I’m choked up.” He’s got a lot of company, even after all these years.

The Rashinskis couldn’t do anything to help Ruffian, but they sure are helping other horses now, through their support of Anna Ford’s New Vocations program, converting retired Thoroughbreds to a second career. “I love the animals,” Ron said. “We’re very involved. They do a great job, New Vocations.”  

  Ron decided to get involved in Thoroughbred ownership after meeting a gentleman from Wisconsin—Gary Leverton, who has since passed away. “We started talking, and we wound up partnering up on a horse at an auction at Hawthorne,” Ron said. “My wife and I were totally oblivious to Thoroughbreds.”

Initially, the Rashinskis used Chicago-based Hugh Robertson as their trainer, racing as Homewrecker Stable. Ron got the name when someone suggested that investing in vintage cars can become a homewrecker.

When the Rashinskis decided they wanted to race in New York and Kentucky, they hired Eddie Kenneally to train. “We trusted those two men implicitly with our animals,” Ricki said. “We’ve been with Eddie for 25 years.”

Ron said, “We don’t have a lot of high-priced yearlings. We don’t buy very expensive horses.” Yet they’ve won repeatedly at racing’s highest level, thanks to the skills of Kenneally—a very under-publicized top trainer. 

Their first outstanding horse was the filly Bushfire. After finishing third in her 2005 debut at Churchill Downs, she won six of her next eight starts including the Florida Oaks, the Gr. 1 Ashland, the Gr. 1 Acorn and the Gr. 1 Mother Goose. One of her misses was a solid third in the Gr. 1 Kentucky Oaks. Her only finish out of the money in her first nine starts was a seventh on a sloppy track in the Gr. 2 Davona Dale. Her earnings topped $800,000.

In partnership, they had another star in Custom for Carlos, who had six victories, four seconds and one third in 15 starts, taking three Gr. 3 stakes, the 2009 Jersey Shore, the Mr. Prospector and the Count Fleet Handicap, and making almost half a million dollars.

Again in a different partnership, their gray Sailor’s Valentine captured the Gr. 1 Ashland in 2017 on the way to making more than $400,000 in 13 starts.

By the time Point Me By made the races in 2020, Ron had learned, somewhat, to control his emotions when his horses raced. “To tell you the truth, I have trouble handling horse racing,” he said. “I was Mr. Pepto Bismol. I’d be pounding that stuff down. If the horse didn’t win, I felt I let people down. Now I know people are just happy for the experience. They don’t care. I’m a little better now.” Winning a bunch of stakes helped.  

Their three-year-old colt Point Me By, (a son on Point of Entry) was a $30,000 purchase at Keeneland and didn't have anything near those credentials when he stepped into the starting gate for the Bruce D. Stakes, having followed a maiden victory with a fourth in an allowance race. He won the Mr. D by 2 ¾ lengths under Luis Saez, who took off a day from his dominant meeting as Saratoga’s leading rider, to pilot Point Me Buy in the Bruce D. and Zulu Alpha, who finished seventh in the renamed Arlington Million, the Mr. D.

The Rashinskis would love to bring Point Me By back to Arlington next year. But Arlington Park closed forever in late September. “It would have been nice to come back and try to win the Million if he was good enough for it,” Ron said. “Too bad.” He’s got a lot of company, too, after all these years of elegant racing at Arlington Park.

Hugh Robertson

Two Emmys connections celebrate after winning the Mister D Stakes at Arlington Park

Was  it coincidence or karma? Two Emmys’ trainer/co-owner Hugh Robertson didn’t care. He was just thrilled to be standing in the winner’s circle after Two Emmys—a five-year-old gelding purchased with his partner Randy Wolfe for $4,500 as a yearling at Keeneland—delivered Hugh’s first Gr. 1 victory in his 50th year of training Thoroughbreds.

That it came on August 14th in the $600,000 Mr. D Stakes—the renamed Arlington Million—in Arlington Park’s Gr. 1 stakes was serendipitous. So was his meeting with Wolfe, thanks to a kind stranger sitting behind Wolfe at Arlington Park for the 2002 Breeders’ Cup.

Hell, Hugh was hoping to become an attorney as an underclassman at the University of Nebraska. Then he switched his law book for a condition book and never looked back. “I took a semester off and never went back,” he said.

He’s never been disappointed in that decision. Though he may not be well-known nationally, he topped $1 million in earnings 14 times, amassing 1,542 wins and more than $31.5 million in earnings, thanks to consistent success. From 1998 through 2020, his win percentage has been higher than 15 every year but one, when he checked in with 13% in 2008.

His 47-year-old son Mac has already won 1,428 races and earned more than $37.5 million, working in concert with his father. “We have 125 to 150 horses between us,” Mac said. “We’ve had a good run. It’s nice to be able to send your horse to your dad or your horse to your son.”

He was thrilled when Two Emmys won the Mister D. “I’m happy for my dad and my mom,” he said. “Everyone wants to win a Gr. 1. My mom and dad struggled to make ends meet. We’re been fortunate to have a lot of good clients. Nobody does it on his own.”

Hugh started at Penn National, spent eight years there and moved on to Chicago, going on his own in 1971. Twenty-two years later, Polar Expedition, an incredibly quick speedster, took Hugh on a great seven-year run, winning 20 of 49 starts and earning just under $1.5 million.

“Once I got Polar Expedition, things took off,” he said. “He was a little, tiny  horse. He was 15 hands and weighed maybe 900 as a two-year-old—a horse who wouldn’t have brought $1,000 at a sale. He was freak. He did everything right, right from the start. I told his owner, John Cody—I told him before he ever ran, `He’s the best horse you’ve ever had, and I’ll try not to screw it up.’ A lot of horses get ruined. He was a nice horse.”

He didn’t take long to show it, emerging as one of the top two-year-olds in the country by winning five of his six starts by daylight, including scores in a pair of Gr. 2 stakes: the Arlington Washington Futurity by 4 ½ lengths at one mile and the Gr. 2 Breeders Futurity at Keeneland by 5 lengths.

When he won his three-year-old debut, the Mountain Valley at Oaklawn Park by three lengths, the sky was the limit. Polar Expedition finished third in the Southwest Stakes, then captured the Gr. 2 Jim Beam Stakes by a neck in his first start at a mile-and-an-eighth. Polar Edition went off the 1-2 favorite in the Gr. 2 Illinois Derby, only to finish a distant seventh on a sloppy track. Regardless, Polar Expedition went on to the Preakness Stakes, leading early before fading badly to 10th.

Polar Expedition maintained his class throughout his career, taking two mile-and-an-eighth Gr. 2 stakes: the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington and the Gr. 2 National Jockey Club Handicap at Hawthorne in his next-to-last start in 1998 as a seven-year-old.

In 2002, Hugh hooked up with Randy Wolfe, a retired worker from an electric co-op in Madison, Wisconsin. At the Breeders’ Cup at Arlington Park, Wolfe mentioned that his father and his father-in-law had owned horses and that he was thinking about buying one. “I got talking to the guy behind me, and he asked me who I was going to hire to train the horse,” Wolfe said. “He said he knew someone, and called Hugh. He came down 15 minutes later, and we talked.”

Randy liked what he heard. “We were both from Nebraska,” Wolfe said. “I knew I could trust somebody from Nebraska.”

Hugh suggested they claim a horse. They did, and then more. “We’ve had 18 horses with Hugh,” Randy said.

The best one cost $4,500 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. “I was a little upset,” Randy said. “I said, `I don’t need another $4,500 horse.’ He kept telling me to have patience with this horse. He’s an English Channel, and they don’t get good until they’re four or five. He doesn’t push a horse. He has the best interest of the horse all the time. He’s not going to run a horse if he’s not ready to run.”

Two Emmys did okay as a four-year-old, then improved quickly at five. He finished second in the Gr. 2 Muniz Memorial at the Fair Grounds, then second in an allowance race at Arlington Park from off the pace and second by a neck on the lead in the Gr. 3 Arlington Stakes.

Hugh had nominated Two Emmys for the renamed Arlington Million. “I was sure he’d run at a mile and a quarter,” Hugh said. “Other than Domestic Spending and the horse from Europe, it came up a little light. I thought he was competitive in there. I stuck him in there. Take a chance.”

With a new pilot, James Graham, Two Emmys struck the lead and walked the field to a :52.43 half-mile. “When he ran :52 to the half, I knew we’d get a part of it,” Hugh said. “And then the 1:16 (for three-quarters). I was sure we’d hit the board.”

Flying at him late was Domestic Spending, the 2-5 favorite ridden by Flavien Prat who was six-for-seven lifetime.

Two Emmys dug in. “He’s pretty game,” Hugh said. “He ran the last quarter in :22 3/5. You’re not going to catch a front-runner coming home in :22 3/5. At the 16th pole, I was pretty sure he was going to win.” He did, by a diminishing neck.

Two Emmys and Jockey James Graham hold off Domestic Spending to win the Mister D Stakes at Arlington Park

Hugh joked with TVG’s Scott Hazelton, ”I never thought I’d have a horse in the Million, and then when I do, it’s not a million.” Hugh added, “It’s nice, but I wish they’d keep running.”

He’ll have quite the memento from Arlington Park, and a horse who may just win other stakes, too. “If you get a hold of a good one, you try not to mess him up,” Hugh said.

“Good horses will run for everybody. A good horse is dangerous in anyone’s hands.” But only at racetracks still running. “It’s a shame,” Hugh said. “It’s a beautiful racetrack.”

Michael Cannon - Cannon Thoroughbreds

Michael Cannon (Cannon Thoroughbreds) - Smooth Like Strait

Michael Cannon, a multiple success in business, was in unfamiliar territory with his Thoroughbreds. “I was a failure,” he said. “I’m not lying. I was a complete failure. I took full responsibility. I bred Smooth Like Strait. Then he ran his first race and was a real disappointment. I told my wife he was our last chance of success. I was starting to undo Cannon Thoroughbreds. I spent a lot of money, and I got very little reward. You have to know in business when to pull the plug. I was looking to get out of the business.”

Fortunately for the Cannons, Smooth Like Strait didn’t take long to show his immense talent—taking Michael, Jennifer and their four children, Cole, Chloe, Camryn and Cooper on the ride of a lifetime. His last eight starts have been in graded stakes with four victories, two seconds, a third and a fourth against elite turf company. “He turned it around,” Cannon said. “We’re back and stronger than ever.”

Cannon has spent most of his adult life helping companies do exactly that: getting strong. The 52-year-old president and CEO of Cannon Nevada, a venture capital firm based in Henderson, has started or acquired 22 businesses. Zero have gone bankrupt. “I’m pretty good at cutting out the bull****, simplifying and getting down to making money,” he said. “So far, I’m always looking to share with others. I do like helping other people. It’s not all about the money. It’s really about success. I just keep trying new things. Some work, some don’t. I’m too dumb to quit. So I keep working. Fortunately, I’ve been more successful than not.”

His interest in horses came at an early age. “My dad loved racing, and my mom was from Nevada. I spent a lot of time in Nevada. I knew horses very well.”

His mother, however, didn’t let him pursue his interest in music or football. “I played trumpet, but she wouldn’t let me practice at home,” he said. “She also wouldn’t let me play football in high school. And I was fast.”

When he attended Alan Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, Calif., he made the football team as a freshman and was a starter at wide receiver in his second season. “I was the only white receiver—a white kid with red hair—with really talented African Americans from inner cities,” he said. “They came from rough neighborhoods. I didn’t even know how to put the pads on. They taught me everything. These guys became good friends.”

Following junior college, Cannon received a bachelor of science degree from Boston University’s School of Management, an advanced certificate in negotiation from Harvard University and an advanced certificate in mergers and acquisition from UCLA.

He had an incredible experience in 1988 while doing an internship in London. He even had tea with Diana, Princess of Wales. “There was a new American Institute of Foreign Studies, and about six of us out of 300 were allowed to meet her,” he said. “I had to take two days of classes for protocol. They take that protocol very seriously. Just learning how to shake hands took an hour. You can’t squeeze her hand. When she finally showed up, she couldn’t have been any nicer. She was prettier in person than she was in pictures. She didn’t give a damn about all that protocol. She grabbed my hand and seized it.” 

While in college, he bought his first horse—a $1,000 weanling named Achillean Spirit. “He ran at Golden Gate and tracks in Utah and Nevada and was very successful on that small circuit: Beaver City, Utah, and Ely and Elko, Nevada,” Cannon said.

Then he began syndicating horses as Sport of Kings Syndication. He did that for three years and took a hiatus from horse racing to focus on his rapidly advancing business career. He founded and led Warehouse Las Vegas, Accurate Courier and 4Wall Entertainment before founding Cannon Nevada in 2018.

Eight years earlier, he had reconnected with Thoroughbreds, posting minimal success. He purchased Smooth Like Straight’s granddam, Beautiful Lil. She produced Smooth Like Straight’s dam, Smooth as Usual. He raced her, sold her and got her back after her racing career ended in a sale at Keeneland. She began Cannon’s small broodmare band, based at Columbiana Farm in Kentucky.

Early reports on Smooth Like Strait were incredibly positive from day one. He shared this story with Christine Oser in her October, 22, 2020, story in The Blood-Horse: “The minute he was born, Homer Rader at Columbiana said, `You know what? You’ve got a good one.’ And that’s literally within 24 hours of him being born. I sent him away to be trained at Bill Wofford’s Rimroc Farm in Kentucky. He breaks them and gets them prepped for training, and then he called me up and said, `Smooth Like Strait—this horse is going to win you a graded stakes race.’ I’d never heard that before.”

Then Smooth Like Strait, who is trained by Mike McCarthy, made a dreadful debut, finishing ninth by 20 lengths at Del Mar on August 17, 2019. That abysmal performance was on dirt, and once Smooth Like Strait switched to grass, he became a star—flashing seven victories, three seconds and a pair of thirds in 14 starts while earning more than $900,000.

He could have won a lot more, narrowly missing his first three starts in Gr. 1 stakes. He finished second by a head in the Hollywood Derby, second by a neck in the Francis Kilroe Stakes and third by a neck in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. “When you’re coming from nothing, and you’re losing Gr. 1’s by a neck, we were proud as hell. Just to be in a graded stakes was terrific,” Cannon said.

Then Smooth Like Strait broke through, winning the Gr. 1 Shoemaker Mile by a length and a half on May 31. That prompted Cannon to conclude, “I’ve come a long way since 1991 in Beaver City, Utah.”

John and Diane Fradkins

Timing is everything, right? Well, for John and Diane Fradkin, mistaken timing was everything. If not for a faulty timer at Del Mar, the Fradkins might have sold their debut winning, home-bred two-year-old colt, Rombauer, last year. Instead, they kept him. Rombauer rewarded them with his stunning victory in this year’s Preakness Stakes and then a distant, but certainly respectable, third in the Belmont Stakes.

The Fradkins breed to sell, not to race; and they figured they’d be offered a huge price after Rombauer won his one-mile, grass debut by a half-length by roaring home in :22 4/5 in his final quarter-mile. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a first-time two-year-old do that,” John said. 

Fradkin expected multiple offers. Instead, Rombauer was given a pedestrian Beyer Speed Figure of 48 for his victory in 1:38 1/5. “Something just didn’t feel right about that time,” Fradkin said. “The mistake was substantial. I think it was the equivalent to a full second. I think it was the difference between someone offering $250,000 and getting no offers after a maiden special weight at Del Mar in the summer. Two weeks later, there were substantial stories about the times being wrong at Del Mar. The Speed Figure was changed from 48 to 55. And I still think it should have been closer to 70.”

Regardless, Rombauer soon generated multiple offers. In his second start, Rombauer finished sixth in a grass stakes. Then, in his dirt debut in the Gr. 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita last September 24, Rombauer finished second by three-quarters of a length to Get Her Number, defeating highly regarded third-place finisher Spielberg by 4 ¾ lengths.

“We did take a gamble by not selling him, ever since he hit the board in the American Pharoah,” Fradkin said. “It was a gamble, and it paid off.”

Big time. And it was much appreciated. “There are a lot of ups and a lot of downs in racing,” he said. “We’ve been in the game since ’93 and breeding since ’97. You can go many years in a row losing money.”

This won’t be one of them. “The last month has been surreal,” Fradkin said.

Fradkin, who lives in California, got his first taste of horse racing in 1970 when he spent the summer in Cherry Hill, N.J. “I was 11 years old, and we went to Delaware Park,” he said. “I remember it was fun. I still remember a horse I bet on who won—a gray horse. He came from last and won.”

Could he have envisioned breeding and owning a Gr. 1 stakes winner? “Of course not,” he said.

Fast forward some 15 years. Fradkin was working as an institutional bond salesman, which meant keeping Wall Street hours and finishing your day at 2 p.m. A co-worker who grew up near Santa Anita convinced Fradkin to journey to the famed track. “He taught me how to read the Daily Racing Form,” Fradkin said. “He taught me how to handicap.”

Subsequently, Fradkin figured he’d be a better handicapper if he owned a horse. He claimed a seven-year-old gelding named Ruff Hombre for $25,000 on June 24t, 1993. Ruff Hombre finished 11th that afternoon. But given nearly two months to recover from new trainer Ron Ellis, Ruff Hombre won his first start for Fradkin by three lengths in a $20,000 claimer. Ruff Hombre, who won 18 of his 74 career starts and earned more than $230,000, never raced again; but he had kick-started his owner’s new career—breeding.

Using the money they earned from Ruff Hombre’s victory, the Fradkins went to the 1993 Keeneland September Sale, and with the help of a bloodstock agent they hired, purchased Ultrafleet for $10,500. “We gave her to Ron Ellis,” Fradkin said. Ultrafleet didn’t do well on the track, so the Fradkins decided to breed her. She turned into a broodmare superstar.

Her stars include Cambiocorsa, who won six straight races at Santa Anita and earned more than $520,000; California Flag, who won 11 of 27 starts, including the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, and earned nearly $1.3 million; and Cashmere, the dam of Rombauer.

Rombauer ended his two-year-old season by rallying from 11th to 5th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to Essential Quality, who would be named Two-Year-Old Champion. In his three-year-old debut on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields, Rombauer won by a neck, earning an all-expenses-paid entrance into the Preakness.

Trainer Mike McCarthy wanted to start Rombauer in the Kentucky Derby, but Fradkin convinced him to bring him back in the Preakness.

“When he started to range up around the turn and got into third, I felt pretty good about him hitting the board,” Fradkin said. “I told my wife, `He’s going to hit the board! He’s going to hit the board!’ Then I said, “He’s going to win! He’s going to win!”

He did, by 3 ½ lengths.

“It was a great feeling,” Fradkin said.

It still is.

“We don’t have kids,” Fradkin said. “In some ways, the horses we breed are like our kids. It's an emotional feeling, probably like the one parents get from watching their kids play Little League. We kind of feel the same way.”

Thank goodness for mistaken timing. 

Nick Cosato - Slam Dunk Racing

Nick Cosato’s unique journey through Thoroughbred racing has led him to two different partnerships with two different trainers who produced two Gr. 1 stakes victories. He earned those accomplishments.

“I’m pretty passionate about the game,” Cosato said. “You have to be. Owning horses is difficult. Running a partnership is difficult. I’ve got more than skin in the game. I’ve got bone marrow in it. I’m all in.”

Now 54, Cosato lives in Sierra Madre, Calif., two miles from Santa Anita. He was born in nearby San Gabriel. “I was pretty much born on the apron of Santa Anita,” he said. “Every Sunday, I was there with my father—like clockwork.”

He grew up idolizing Bill Shoemaker. “I was obsessed with Shoemaker,” he said. “I wanted to be a jockey, and he was the best. Everything he wanted to do, I wanted to do. My parents would have been all right with that.”

Unfortunately, growth re-routed his dream. He guesses he was 10 or 11 when he realized he was too big to become a jockey: “I said, `This isn’t going to happen.’” He would grow to be 5’7” and 170 pounds.

He went to college at California Poly Pomona, majoring in animal science, while he worked in a restaurant, umpired baseball games and officiated basketball games. “I’m a sports junkie,” he said.

The sport he loved the most was horse racing. “I would always watch jockey agents from my fascination with Shoemaker,” he said. “I thought it was a very interesting job—a pretty cool job. I was fascinated with it.”

After college, an opportunity came his way. “I knew a jockey agent, Tony Strangio, who represented an apprentice jockey, Christine Davenport,” Cosato said. “She was the first jockey he ever had. He was going to open a business. He asked me if I’d take her book. I thought it was a perfect opportunity.”

He entered his new profession with an unrealistic outlook. “I thought this was going to be easy,” he said. “I found out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I didn’t expect to start with Eddie Arcaro, but it was difficult getting her mounts. She didn’t have a lot of business. She was struggling.”

Cosato struggled, too. “You pay your dues,” he said. “I paid, and then some.”

He survived those difficult early years to carve out a 21-year career as a jockey agent, handling Patrick Valenzuela three different times, Corey Nakatani, Garret Gomez, Victor Espinoza, Michael Baze and Aaron Gryder.

Then he walked away to invest in a medical research business in 2010. “I didn’t work on the racetrack, but it never left my heart,” he said. “About a year later, I thought I’d want to dabble owning some horses. I partnered up with a couple other people. I thought, I’m going to start this little partnership. I liked college basketball, so I named it Slam Dunk Racing. I’d make it a fun thing. Our trainer was Peter Eurton. It rapidly began growing. We currently have 18 partners for 75 horses.”

He hit a home run when he reached out to Ron Moquet, who was training Whitmore. “I knew Ron a bit from being a jockey agent,” Cosato said. “Whitmore won at first asking.”

Cosato wanted in. Moquet asked his partners, and they declined not to sell any interest in Whitmore—a wise decision considering he would win the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and be named Eclipse Champion Sprinter. But Cosato had another idea after he was turned down as a co-owner. “I called Ron back and I said, `I want to buy his mom.’ I called the owner. At first, he said no. Two weeks later, he called me back and sold her to me. That was my foray into buying mares.”

He’s prospered ever since. Asked if being a former jockey agent gives him an edge, Cosato said, “I think it does. My whole life has been around horse racing. I have a decent amount of knowledge from the game. I majored in animal science. I know about things like feeding. I think the most important thing is placing horses. Trainers often lean on jockey agents for upcoming races.”

Cosato said that Slam Dunk Racing owns all of its breeding stock itself. “I would say 35 to 40 percent of my race horses are owned by Slam Dunk solely,” he said.

The others are in partnerships. Slam Dunk Racing’s partners on Drain the Clock (trained by Saffie Joseph) are Sal Kumin, Marc Lore and Michael Nentwig. Slam Dunk Racing’s partners on Maxim Rate (trained by Simon Callaghan) are Doug Branham and Stable Currency.

In the span of six days, Maxim Rate won the Gr. 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita on May 31; and Drain the Clock captured the Gr. 1 Woody Stephens Stakes at Belmont Park on the Belmont Stakes undercard on June 6.

Two Gr. 1 winners in a week? Even Bill Shoemaker would have been impressed with that.