Smaller, But Still Super: Helen Pitts

The daughter of a racing steward and a steeplechase trainer, Maryland native Helen Pitts was destined for a career on the racetrack. After working for several steeplechase trainers, she made the move to Kentucky to work for Kenny McPeek. When McPeek stepped away from training in 2005, Pitts took over and had her very first winner that same day. Over the years, she has reached the winner's circle with many unforgettable racehorses, including Hall of Fame champion Curlin and her all-time favorite trainee, MGISW Einstein (Brz).

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

HP: My dad was a steward at the racetrack. He worked in Maryland for 20-some years and was there when Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado and those guys were there. My mom trained steeplechase horses, so this was kind of in my blood and I didn't have a whole lot of choice. I did fox hunters and pony club growing up and went to the races a lot. Dad always tried to deter me from going to the racetrack, but I rode steeplechase horses and ended up working for several steeplechase trainers. [Hall of Fame steeplechase trainer] Jack Fisher got me started and then I ended up also going to Frannie Campitelli at Pimlico.

After that, I started working for Kenny McPeek. He got me to move to Kentucky. I learned a lot from Kenny and was around really good horses. I galloped Take Charge Lady and Harlan's Holiday. When Kenny retired to do bloodstock, I was fortunate to carry on from there.

On July 1 of 2005, the first horse I raced actually won at Churchill Downs. Her name was Cat Quatorze (Louis Quatorze) and I'll never forget it.  Then I won my first Grade I that fall with a filly called Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever) at Keeneland in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S.

KP: How did your steeplechase background help you as a flat trainer?

HP: They intertwine a lot actually. Steeplechase is a lot more fitness-focused because they have to go so much further. In terms of horsemanship, I think I benefitted from it and it did me a world of good.

A lot of steeplechase horses are older flat horses. My mom is a wonderful horsewoman and she would take flat horses that would have a year off from a bowed tendon and she would bring them back to perfect health and they would win countless races for her.

KP: Where is your stable based today?

HP: Kentucky is pretty much home for us. Churchill Downs is our base basically year-round and I'm at Highpointe Training Center just outside of Louisville in the winter. I give a lot of horses time off in the winter to let them down a bit so they are ready to roll in the spring.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

HP: I'd say we normally have around 10, but that number can go up and down especially in the spring when we get babies in. I do think back on the days when I would have 40 horses in the barn, but the game has changed a lot since then. It's hard to find help these days and so to be honest, 10 is a good number for the stage I'm at.

I have good owners and a lot of my owners breed their own, so we can take our time with them and I'm not pressed to be running babies in May. I train for great people, some of whom have been with me since I started.

KP: Who would you say has been your biggest mentor throughout your career?

HP: That's a tough question. Kenny gave me the opportunity to be where I'm at today. He introduced me to a lot of people and put me in a great position. I learned so much from him.

Looking way back, it would also be my mom. She's a wonderful horsewoman and she's 87 now, but she's actually in Kentucky this week selling babies at the sale. She still has the farm in Maryland and breeds babies. She is a very good horsewoman and gave me my work ethic to put me where I'm at today.

This is a hard question because there's also Jack Fisher and Frannie Campitelli. They both had big influences on my career. I think everybody helps you get somewhere.

KP: What horse has been the most influential to your career?

HP: Oh, it would have to be my boy Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck). He was my best friend and I had him for his whole career. He took me all over the country. He was the coolest horse and had so much personality. I would pull up in my car in the afternoons and he would start hollering when he saw me.

Then there's also Curlin, who put me on the map. I only got to run him once before they sold him, but I took the time with him and did right by him. He made it all worthwhile for that one start and now I can say I trained Curlin. He helped me get my name out there.

What do they say? Good horses will make you look good.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

HP: My employees are great. I have one couple who has worked for me since I first started.

We're very small and hands-on. If I'm not getting on them myself then I'm on the pony with them. We give them a lot of TLC and it doesn't matter to me what type of horse they are because they all get treated the right way and they're all special to me. They all think they're big horses in my eyes.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

HP: I'm not going to sit here and say that they're bad for the sport. I give them all a lot of credit. I think that's what some owners want these days. They want the high-percentage guys. If you list the names of super trainers today, they're very good horsemen and very good trainers. With the way the game is and the way finding help is today, what they do is difficult.

I do think there is a different aspect in being involved with a big outfit as opposed to a smaller one. There are pluses and minuses to it.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

HP: I just love the horses. I love seeing them come along and develop and I love the competitiveness of it all. Right now I have a little filly named Zawish (Mshawish) who is two for two. This filly just thinks she's King Kong. She loves the game and loves to train. I actually trained her mother, who was owned by the same clients and was their first-ever racehorse.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

HP: There are many different approaches you could take with this one. Would I love consistency within our sport and to have everyone on the same page? Absolutely. I just hope our sport continues to get better and better, but it seems like it's going in the right direction.

It's hard between finding help and keeping your system rolling, which I have found is easier now with the size that I'm at. Even when I worked for Kenny, you would walk in some days and find out you're missing a groom so you're rubbing down four and galloping seven. That's part of it and you have to be able to roll with it.

This game is hard. You can be on the absolute biggest high in the world and it will jerk you down in a minute. I'll never forget the morning after I won my first Grade I, I was breezing horses and had a 2-year-old break down. That will jerk the heart right out of you and you have to be able to tough it out. A lot of it is just the ups and downs. It's definitely a game of highs and lows.

KP: What is your bucket list race that you hope to win someday?

HP: Obviously everyone's goal is to get to the Kentucky Derby or the Oaks. I ran in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with Einstein in 2009. It was the year Zenyatta won it. Einstein actually won the GI Santa Anita H. that year and I was the first woman to win that race, so that was awesome and I felt like that was a great feat.

I would love to win a Breeders' Cup race or of course the Oaks or the Derby–something of that prestige.

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McPeek Shopping For Yearlings in Argentina

More so than perhaps any top trainer in the sport, Ken McPeek is always thinking outside the box. And he's at it again. McPeek is in the midst of a three-day excursion to Argentina, where he is shopping for yearlings.

It's not at all uncommon for American trainers to buy yearlings overseas, but to do so in the Southern Hemisphere is largely unchartered territory. That's because Southern Hemisphere horses are born primarily in the months of August, September, October and November. For U.S. racing purposes, they turn a year older every Jan. 1, meaning they will be considered 2-year-olds when they may be no more than 13 or 14 months old. It's a huge disadvantage for a young horse, and one they may not be able to overcome until they are into their 4-year-old season.

“These are horses you have to be very patient with,” McPeek acknowledged.

This isn't the first time McPeek has shopped for young horses in South America. He bought Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck) as a yearling at auction in Brazil in 2003. Trained by Helen Pitts and managed by McPeek, Einstein, who made his debut in the fall of his 3-year-old year at Keeneland, went on to win five Grade I stakes and earn $2.9 million.

He came back all these years later in part because of the strength of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Argentine peso. One U.S. dollar equals 101.72 pesos.

“The U.S. dollar is extremely strong right now against the Argentine peso, so there could be some real value buys,” McPeek said. “The dollar is so strong that it is a buyer's market.”

There are no major yearling sales at this time in Argentina. Instead, McPeek has been going from farm to farm looking to buy horses privately. He says that is a common practice in Argentina. He plans on visiting six farms before returning to the U.S. Thursday.

“We are looking at all the top breeding farms down here,” he said Monday. “We haven't decided yet what we're going to buy, but today I looked at over 100 yearlings. Some of the farms we are looking at, they have horses with extremely high-quality pedigrees.”

As of Monday, he had yet to decide how many horses he was going to buy or how much he was going to spend. Much of that would depend on how many horses he saw that checked enough boxes.

“If I see a horse that is what I call a 'wow horse,' a horse that could run anywhere, then we'll ask for a price,” he said. “We'll see if where they value the horse matches where we value the horse. If the market meets you do business. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Einstein was an exceptional horse. That's what we are looking for over here, exceptional horses.”

McPeek said it will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 per horse to ship them from Argentina to the U.S. Once they arrive, the process will begin and McPeek will not be in any hurry.

“You just have to take your time with these horses,” he said. “They won't start to be prepared until next fall in U.S. When they begin racing they're going to be about six months behind the curve age-wise. They're going to have to start out running against horses that are older than them. What I have found is that a good horse can handle that and an average one can't.”

In time, the Southern Hemisphere horses will catch up.

“The added time you'll have to give them will cost you more, but you also get good value as opposed to overpaying for a horse at the 2-year-old sales,” McPeek said. “If these horses are meant to be stakes horses they'll be stakes horses. If they're meant to be claimers, they'll be claimers.”

McPeek was among the first U.S. trainers to send horses to Europe to race. He went against conventional wisdom with Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) throughout her career, running her twice against males and winning the GI Preakness S. with her. There are numerous examples of him proving you don't need to spend seven figures to come up with a star at the yearling sales. He's not afraid to throw a 70-1 shot into a big race, which is how he won the 2002 GI Belmont S. with Sarava (Wild Again). Now he's buying Southern Hemisphere yearlings.

“I believe a good horse can be found anywhere,” he said. “Sometimes you have to go extra lengths to find them.”

 

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Einstein Euthanized

Five-time Grade I winner Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck–Gay Charm {Brz}, by Ghadeer {Fr}) was euthanized at Park Equine Hospital Wednesday due to complications from cancer. He had been pensioned at Old Friends since 2019.

Trained by Helen Pitts, Einstein captured the 2009 GI Santa Anita H. and four Grade I stakes on turf. In all Einstein made 27 starts, winning 11 races. He won or placed in 13 stakes, all of which were graded, and his career earnings totaled $2,703,324.

Einstein retired from racing in 2010 to stand at Adena Springs in Kentucky. He later stood at Adena Springs North in Ontario, Canada, and at Magali Farms near Santa Ynez, CA. His top runners include Grade III winner Rankhasprivileges and multiple-stakes-placed E Equalsmcsquared.

“When we first retired Einstein, he was diagnosed with a tumor,” noted Old Friends’s Michael Blowen. “Dr. Rhodes Bell of Park Equine performed a delicate operation and removed the tumor. The procedure allowed Einstein to enjoy more than a year of happy life with Old Friends before the fast-growing tumors re-occurred over the weekend.

“Einstein was as classy and smart as he was handsome,” Blowen added. “He was a farm favorite, and he was especially fond of John Bradley. I wished we could have taken care of him for another decade.”

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Old Friends: ‘Farm Favorite’ Einstein Euthanized Due To Cancer Complications

Five-time Grade 1 winner Einstein has died.

The 18-year-old son of Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck had been pensioned at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Georgetown, KY, since 2019. He was euthanized this morning at Park Equine Hospital due to complications of cancer.

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, made the announcement this morning.

Trained by Helen Pitts, Einstein (Spend a Buck–Gay Charm, by Ghadeer) captured the 2009 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) and four Grade 1 stakes on turf, including back-to-back triumphs in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.

Other wins included the 2008 Clark Handicap (G2), also at Churchill, and the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap (G2T) at Fair Grounds. Einstein was among the first to have victories on all three track surfaces: dirt, turf, and synthetic.

In all Einstein made 27 starts, winning 11 races. He won or placed in 13 stakes, all of which were graded, and his career earnings totaled $2,703,324.

Einstein retired from racing in 2010 to stand at The Stronach Group's Adena Springs near Paris, Ky. He later stood at Adena Springs North in Ontario, Canada, and at Magali Farms near Santa Ynez, Calif.

His top runners include G3 winner Rankhasprivileges and multiple-stakes-placed E Equalsmcsquared. In 2019 Einstein was retired by Adena Springs to the non-profit organization.

“When we first retired Einstein, he was diagnosed with a tumor,” noted Old Friends's Blowen. “Dr. Rhodes Bell of Park Equine performed a delicate operation and removed the tumor. The procedure allowed Einstein to enjoy more than a year of happy life with Old Friends before the fast-growing tumors re-occurred over the weekend.

“Einstein was as classy and smart as he was handsome,” Blowen added. “He was a farm favorite, and he was especially fond of John Bradley. I wished we could have taken care of him for another decade.”

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