Amazombie | Horse Racing Free Tips

Eclipse Award-winner and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Amazombie (Northern Afleet) was euthanized on Monday, Sept. 18, at Old Friends in Georgetown, KY, due to a fractured ankle. The 16-year old gelding had lived at the retirement facility since 2014 thanks to his owners, trainer Bill Spawr and Thomas Sanford.

“Amazombie was a lot of fun,” Spawr said. “He was so much fun, you just can't imagine. And, you know, he died doing what he loved to do–run! You guys [at Old Friends] did a great job. We appreciated that.”

Racing over four seasons, Amazombie amassed a career line of 29-12-5-6, $1,920,378. In addition to annexing the 2011 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, the California-bred bay won the 2011 G1 Ancient Title S., 2012 GI Bing Crosby S. and the GII Potrero Grande S. twice. He also and won or placed in eight other stakes and was honored as champion sprinter in 2011.

“Amazombie died doing what he did best–running like the wind,” Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends said. “I like all of our retirees, I love just a handful, and we lost one of those when Amazombie outran his limitations, and I'm certain that I'm not the only one who is heartbroken.”

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Bill Spawr, 83, announced his retirement and disbanded his stable after a 46-year career as a public trainer. According to the Santa Anita media team, Spawr was a star running back at Downey High School who got hooked on racing while working as a part time clerk in a local liquor store that served up Daily Racing Form and gravitated to the racetrack full-time at age 23. He spent 14 years as a veterinarian assistant before opening a public stable in 1977.

With 1,709 career wins, Spawr captured two Winter/Spring training titles at Santa Anita, in 1991 and 1996, two titles at the track's Oak Tree Meeting, in 2000 and 2001, as well as a pair of summer titles at Del Mar, in 1990 and 1994.

Among his many successful claims was Sensational Star, who Spawr claimed for $32,000 on Aug. 7, 1988. Ridden primarily by Rafael Meza, Sensational Star would go on to win three stakes and bank more than $440,000. Exchange, a $50,000 claim in 1991, went on to win the GI Santa Ana and Santa Barbara H. in 1993, as well as the GI Matriarch S. in 1994 and earned more than $1.2 million.

The highlight of Spawr's career came with Amazombie, with whom Spawr and co-owner Tom Sanford won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“Right now, I'm going to take a deep breath,” Spawr said of immediate plans. “I'm gonna be very active. I own small pieces of a couple of horses…I'll be out there in the morning. I need something to do, I've had a couple of my owners ask me to keep an eye out for horses to claim, so I'll keep my leg markings going…I don't want any money for it, I just want something to do.”

Asked how he would like to be remembered, Spawr said, “As a good horseman. As a guy that really cared about the horses, first.”

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