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Smaller, But Still Super: David Donk

The concept of the super trainer is by no means a new phenomenon in horse racing, but the huge stables run by super trainers have undoubtedly changed the landscape of the sport in many ways, from the backside to the racing entries. Are super trainers bad for the sport? Are there any benefits for an owner in using a “smaller” trainer? We asked these questions and more to a few trainers who may not be considered super trainers in terms of their stall numbers, but they have made the most of the horses they're given to build competitive racing stable over their careers.

David Donk's stable has been a fixture in New York for over 30 years. His most notable runners include MGISW Awad (Caveat), plus graded stakes winners Hessonite (Freud), Ordway (Salt Lake), King Kreesa (King Cugat) and Pennine Ridge (Cure the Blues). The easygoing and approachable horseman enjoys spending time developing young horses and takes pride in being one of first ones at the racetrack each morning. Donk is approaching 800 career wins and is represented this year by Shesastonecoldfox S. winner Shesawildjoker (Practical Joke).

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

DD: I grew up in a small town in upstate New York near Finger Lakes Racetrack called Clifton Springs. My dad owned and bred some horses and we were neighbors with the trainer that he used. I got hooked at a very young age and realized, probably when I first got into high school, that it was something that I wanted to pursue.

After I graduated high school, I did train on my own at Finger Lakes for five years, mainly with my dad's horses, and then I got a break in the spring in 1985. Phil Gleaves left to go out on his own so I got hired as an assistant to Woody Stephens.

I worked for Woody for five and a half years until his health wasn't doing as well and then I went out on my own in 1991. I started out with seven horses. I had a couple for Henryk de Kwiakowski, Jim Ryan [Ryehill Farm] and John and Theresa Behrendt. I was able to stay in New York and gradually have a bit of success, enough to where I was able to stay in New York to make a living. I've been here for 36 years.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

DD: The number has been a little bigger for the last few years. I'm at about 50 over the summer. I try not to have any more than that. In the winter, I try to get to the low 30's. I have a lot of people who are on visas and have to go back, so I try to reduce the size of the stable to make it a little more comfortable and easier on us all in December and January before we gear back up again.

KP: Who have been your biggest mentors throughout your career?

DD: First would be my dad, who is still with us, and then the biggest break of my career was getting a job for Woody Stephens. I like to say that I went to one of the best universities in the country when I worked for him.

KP: What horse was the most influential to your career?

DD: My most influential horse is obviously Awad (Caveat). He made $3.2 million in his career, had over 70 starts and won a few Grade I races. We got to travel all over the country and we went to Japan twice. That's the horse that put me on the map and where I'm at financially. There's no question that he was the horse who is most influential for me.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

DD: This is a business, so when you are a trainer, you are the president and CEO of your own company. One of the classes I took in high school was bookkeeping. I always knew that if I was going to have a business, I needed to be able to do the financial side of it. Horse racing today is different from when I was a kid or even from one or two generations ago. There's a lot more to it. You are the president and CEO of your own company and there's a lot of federal, state, immigration and law regulations. Even if you don't do the bookkeeping yourself, you need to understand it. You're the one that's liable and you're the head of the company.

It's not just about training horses. There's also the customer service side of it with clients. I'm a little bit unique in that I like the paperwork and the business side of it. I do most of my own bookkeeping. My dad taught me this as a kid and now I preach it to my kids-it's not a bad thing to be your own boss. The biggest difference is that you work 80 hours a week instead 40 hours a week, but at the end of the day, it's your own.

I've been here a long time, but I've had a number of clients who I've had for 25 years with John and Theresa Behrendt, Charles Marquis, Bill Punk and Bob Spiegel. I've been fortunate that I've had a lot of loyalty and at the same time, they're very successful in their own professions and they've taught me a lot.

Shesawildjoker (Practical Joke) breaks her maiden on debut this summer before running in the money in three stakes, including a win in the Shesastonecoldfox S. | Coglianese

KP: What do you believe are the benefits, for owners, in using a “smaller” trainer?

DD: They're going to run more often. I come from a different era and the game has changed a lot. I sometimes say that owners, to a degree, are brainwashed. Horses can run more than once every two months. Sometimes economics don't come into play for them.

I understand the financial side of it for an owner. In New York, we run for a lot of money. I always say that I don't win enough. Sometimes I don't run my horses quite where they belong because I cater to what a client wants to do. I call it customer service. Maybe it's too far to an extent, but if you're running second or third in New York all day long, it pays a lot of bills for the client and keeps money in circulation. We're not always looking at it by numbers or in percentages. That's where technology has changed things a little bit. Everybody is worried about their numbers.

I enjoy 2-year-olds and trying to educate them to shed a little light onto what their quality might be. Sometimes you might run them a little over their head to find that out and appease someone.

Of course, we live in a democracy so I wouldn't take anything away from the big stables. But at the same time I think those owners should be willing to diversify their stable a bit more and give younger trainers who are up-and-coming an opportunity. There are a lot of really good people out there. We have some in New York now, even some female trainers who I hope are successful because we need 20 or 30 more of them.

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

DD: It's fair to say that it's not good for the sport when we're trying to sell races. Handle is based off of field size. We see it in New York that in the better allowance races, the field sizes are not as big as you would like them to be. That goes back to horses not running quite as often. There are rules in place where a trainer can only run two horses in a race and in New York if a race overfills, a trainer can only run one. So I think the biggest downfall is that it affects field size.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

DD: I have two kids so I do a lot of coaching and I always tell them that in life, if you find something you like to do, you'll be happy. If you find something you love to do, you have a chance to be really successful.

I love what I do. I love the early mornings. I think the greatest part of the day is the first set at 5:30 when it's really quiet and has that serene feeling to it. I'm getting a little older so I try to get away a little bit or a couple of days a week during the winter, but at the same time when I'm away for a few days, I miss it. I'm at an age now where I see people who I went to school with who are retiring. But boy, I don't know if I could ever retire. I love the quality of help that I have and the quality of clients that I have. I love the challenge of training two-year-olds and then continuing to learn and do a better job. I love the human aspect to it as much as the equine aspect.

With Ramon Dominguez aboard, Hessonite wins the Ticonderoga S. for Donk in 2012 | Horsephotos

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

DD: The most frustrating part of this industry is getting people to come to the table to make compromise. It takes too long to make changes in our industry. I believe that a lot of common sense heads could come together and make decisions. It's frustrating that as an industry, we seem to be behind the times, even in the U.S. compared to the standards internationally.

KP: Do you have any thoughts on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)?

DD: Not at the moment, but there was a great comment the other day from [NYTHA President] Joe Appelbaum, who sent out an email to our membership. He said that at the moment, the bill is written by lawyers for lawyers to understand. So right now with the way the bill is written, no one understands it. So it remains to be a bill that obviously needs a lot of input.

So it's far from being done in a way that is understandable and has a common sense approach, but it is needed in our industry. I think we can always do a better job and we need the rules to be the same in every jurisdiction. Again, we're behind the times and I think it's a good thing, but there's a lot more work to be done and hopefully now that the bill is out, a lot more good people will get involved with it.

KP: If you didn't have a career in horse racing, what would you do?

DD: I don't know. I always say that if it wasn't for racing, I'd probably be driving a truck for UPS. I knew what I wanted to do when I was a freshman in high school. I think as I've gotten older, I could have gone into management, but at the same time and more importantly, I love being my own boss.

To nominate a trainer for this ongoing series, email katiepetrunyak@thetdn.com. General criteria: Multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, fewer than 300 starts this year, has trained for over 20 years and accumulated no more than approximately $50 million in career earnings.

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Dr. Jennifer Durenberger Elected Chairperson For Racing Officials Accreditation Program

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program's (ROAP) board of directors elected its 2022-2023 officers during its Dec. 6 board meeting, held at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona.

Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, The Jockey Club Steward for NYRA, was elected ROAP chairperson; Frank Lamb, a ROAP-accredited steward was elected ROAP vice chairperson; Wendy Davis, former director at the University of Arizona RTIP was re elected ROAP secretary; and Kristin Werner, senior counsel at The Jockey Club, was re elected ROAP treasurer.

Dr. Durenberger stated: “I am thrilled to take the reins of this organization at this critical time in our industry's history. The implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will bring challenges and opportunities to our membership and we remain committed to upholding the integrity of horse racing at all levels and for all breeds.”

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The mission of ROAP is to accredit and provide continuing education to all racing officials, stewards and judges in the horse racing industry. By doing so ROAP is enhancing the image and upholding the integrity of horse racing at all levels.

ROAP, which receives primary funding from The Jockey Club and is based in its Kentucky office, is a 501(c)(6) organization whose board of directors is made up of representatives from 15 industry organizations and 10 at-large representatives. The website address for ROAP is www.horseracingofficials.com.

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ROAP Board Elects Officers for 2022-23

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program's (ROAP) board of directors elected its 2022-2023 officers during its Dec. 6 board meeting, held at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, The Jockey Club Steward for NYRA, was elected ROAP chairperson; Frank Lamb, a ROAP-accredited steward was elected ROAP vice chairperson; Wendy Davis, former director at the University of Arizona RTIP was re-elected ROAP secretary; and Kristin Werner, senior counsel at The Jockey Club, was re-elected ROAP treasurer.

“I am thrilled to take the reins of this organization at this critical time in our industry's history,” said Dr. Durenberger. “The implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act will bring challenges and opportunities to our membership and we remain committed to upholding the integrity of horse racing at all levels and for all breeds.”

The post ROAP Board Elects Officers for 2022-23 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Takeaways From Tucson: HISA Talk Dominates Global Symposium On Racing

With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) beginning to roll out proposed regulations to the Federal Trade Commission in advance of its scheduled start-up July 1, 2022, the agency created through federal legislation to regulate anti-doping and safety policies for Thoroughbred racing dominated discussions on the opening day of the 47^th annual Global Symposium on Racing at Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday. The Symposium is conducted by the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program under the leadership of its new chair, Robert Hartman, a graduate of the program and a former racing industry executive.

Here are some takeaways from the day's presentations and discussions, which included four segments focused on HISA, a keynote address from new National Thoroughbred Racing Associations president and CEO Tom Rooney, and a high-powered panel featuring the top executives of four major racetrack organizations: 1/ST Racing (The Stronach Group), Del Mar, Keeneland and the New York Racing Association.

HISA Drug Testing Will Be Phased In

Charles Scheeler, the chairman of HISA, outlined the progress the organization has made during a very compressed timeline from passage of the legislation in December 2020 until its mandated launch July 1. A board of directors and chairman was named in May 2021, interim staff including a CEO was hired in July, when meetings and collaboration with the presumed enforcement arm, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), began. In September, stakeholder talks started, along with meetings with current state regulators. HISA presented its draft of proposed safety regulations to the FTC on the eve of the Symposium. It requested and received a waiver from the FTC to delay submission of proposed anti-doping and medication policies for at least 10 days (until Dec. 16). Draft anti-doping/medication regulations shared with industry organizations were met with considerable feedback. The FTC will conduct public register review in January and February and the rules must be approved by March 1 – four months in advance of HISA's launch.

Scheeler said the final regulations approved “will not be perfect” or “written in stone.”

When HISA does begin operations on July 1, it will only conduct out-of-competition testing, leaving post-race testing and adjudication of any violations from those tests in the hands of the state racing commissions for the rest of the year. Scheeler said HISA would take over post-race testing on Jan. 1, 2023. HISA would adjudicate any violations detected from out-of-competition tests.

Scheeler said HISA also hopes to work with racing commissions when it begins post-race testing to use existing personnel for race-day blood and urine collections, adding that if something isn't broken HISA is not interested in fixing it.

Technology And Big Data Will Be Critical

Scheeler and Dr. Susan Stover, a HISA board member and chair of the Racetrack Safety Committee, spoke about the importance of technology and data to HISA's success. The “transformational database” referred to by Scheeler would include information on both covered persons and covered horses and provide trainers and owners an interface to report whenever a horse's location changes, an important component for out-of-competition testing.

Stover, whose breakthrough research at the University of California-Davis has led to greater understanding of injury prevention, said the opportunity to collect comprehensive data is extremely important for racing to reduce the rate of fatal or serious injuries and for the sport to maintain what she called its Social License to Operate (SLO) with the public.

Stover pointed out that the United States has in recent years reduced its rate of fatal injuries per thousand starts by 40% but still has a rate higher than in the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand and Hong Kong. “We have work to do,” she said.

Dr. Sue Stover (right) and Ann McGovern

Fatalities aren't the only concern to Stover, who said 3% of horses at the tracks are taken out of training each month, an attrition rate she estimated costs nearly $82 million to horse owners every month.

Some form of pre-existing condition was detected in almost 90% of fatally injured horses she has examined over the years, Stover said. Factors that led to increased risk included corticosteroid injections, recent lameness and abnormalities in pre-race exams. Stover said data collected on training intensity (speed works at longer distances) may help HISA develop best training practices, especially for horses coming off layoffs.

Racetrack accreditations by HISA will be phased in, with tracks currently accredited by the NTRA getting an interim three-year accreditation with HISA, provided they make good faith efforts in certain areas and adhere to data reporting requirements.

Ann McGovern, a racetrack safety committee member, said in response to a question from the audience that tracks that fail to be accredited will lose their ability to conduct interstate wagering.

HISA/USADA Price Tag Remains a Mystery

Scheeler said HISA was not yet in position to submit a budget for HISA operations, in part because it does not have a contract with USADA. Costs, he said, would also depend in part on how things are worked out with state racing commissions. “It will cost money,” Scheeler said, “but this is an investment.” He compared the industry's failure to advance safety and anti-doping programs to bridges and roads crumbling because of the lack of infrastructure investment. Some of that investment will be in what Scheeler described as a “powerful and rigorous investigation program” similar to the 5Stones Investigations unit hired by The Jockey Club that investigated many of the trainers, veterinarians and drug suppliers who were indicted on federal charges in March 2020.

In a separate panel, Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, said language in the bill that created HISA was flawed because it does not require state racing commissioners to help with funding. “They made a mistake with this bill,” said Martin. “They allowed the states to walk away.” Martin suggested that state budget directors will withdraw funding for horse racing regulations and drug testing once they find out they aren't required to help fund HISA.

Therapeutic Medication List Still Being Developed

A group that included Adolpho Birch, HISA board member and chair of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee, reviewed how medication violations will be adjudicated, separating primary (most serious) and secondary (therapeutic) drug positives.

Jeff Cook, general counsel for USADA, said a goal will be to adjudicate cases more quickly: four weeks when doping violations for secondary medications are challenged and eight weeks for primary drugs. A national stewards panel will adjudicate the secondary cases with an arbitrator used for the more serious violations. Cases can also be appealed to an FTC administrative law judge.

Two notable changes from the current process are that split samples would not go to a lab of the trainer's choosing and public disclosure of complaints may come as soon as the trainer is notified.

Birch, general counsel for the Tennessee Titans, served previously as the NFL's top anti-doping officials and helped draft the league's drug policies. Birch said the NFL was struggling with controlling the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs, with some players dying from drugs and others feeling the need to cheat to compete. “If we didn't change,” he said, “the sport was going to suffer irreparably.”

Dr. Tessa Muir, USADA's director of equine science, said the HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee is still in the process of drafting a therapeutic medication list and screening limits for those drugs.

Mr. Rooney Goes Back To Washington

In his keynote address – his first as NTRA president and CEO – former Florida Congressman Tom Rooney said his mission will be to represent the horse industry in Washington, D.C., where he served five terms in the House of Representatives, from 2009-'19.

Rooney succeeds Alex Waldrop, who served as NTRA chief executive for 15 years. Waldrop was honored on Tuesday by the Race Track Industry Program with the Clay Puett Award for outstanding contributions to the industry.

From a family that owns the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and has been involved in Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Greyhound racing, Rooney brings a solid resume to the position. As a former member of Congress, he understands how important it is to have an industry representative in the nation's capital.

That's never more important than today, he said, referencing high profile events like the sudden death of Medina Spirit, the first-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, and the fact that “our opponents have not gone away and they never, ever will go away.”

Incoming NTRA president and CEO Tom Rooney

Rooney's family owns the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida, where Greyhound racing was recently eliminated in a state-wide vote.

Rooney said he will work to support a smooth transition to HISA, help racing benefit from sports betting and maintain favorable tax benefits for horse owners.

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