Trainer Jon Arnett and his wife Susan have a couple of rituals they perform each night after their duties at Tampa Bay Downs are completed and they've had dinner.
First, they'll go over the day's races, studying past performances in detail to find horses they might be able to claim from another barn.
“If we agree on a horse, we'll do a little more research, watch replays and pick out two or three we really like,” Jon (pronounced Yon) said. “Then we'll check with a client (owner) and if they're OK with it, we'll make the claim.”
The day's work done, the couple gives thanks for the blessings that have come their way during 40 years of marriage.
“We've always believed if we lead a Christian life, that's the best we can do,” Susan said. “We make mistakes every day, but we know that to be happy, we have to have God in our lives.
“If a problem comes up, we sit down and talk about it, and we ask God 'Where are we?' and 'What are we doing?' ” Susan said. “That has held us together, and it's what we live by on a daily basis.”
Success on the track is defined by victories, and the Arnetts have experienced more than most. Jon, a fixture at Prairie Meadows in Iowa during the summer and early fall, has saddled 2,018 winners since launching his career in 1979 while winning 16 meet titles at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, Albuquerque and SunRay Park & Casino in New Mexico and Arapahoe Park in Colorado. Susan has sent out 162 winners as a trainer from a limited number of starts since 2010, winning at a 19.4-percent rate.
But their racing accomplishments have always taken a backseat to their love for their children. Their son J.R., 30, owns a water well company in El Paso, Texas. Two grandsons, Brett and Preston – the children of their daughter Joni, who died in 2007 – inspire Jon and Susan on a daily basis. Brett, 19, is a pre-law student at Baylor University, and 15-year-old Preston is a talented cross-country runner and top-notch student who is eyeing the medical field.
While Susan continues to raise Preston in El Paso, the Arnetts were so impressed by Tampa Bay Downs and the area they bought a home in nearby Safety Harbor next to their close friends, trainer Dennis Ward and his partner, Jeanne Shand.
Ward and Allison De Luca, the Racing secretary at Tampa Bay Downs, had persuaded the Arnetts to try the Oldsmar oval after COVID-19 forced the suspension of racing at Zia Park and Sunland Park.
Jon, a Tucson, Ariz., product, arrived here a few weeks before the meeting began to acclimate his horses, and the results have been startling: 13 winners and 15 seconds from 64 starters, good for third place in the standings. He won the first race on the Nov. 25 Opening Day card with (now)-5-year-old gelding Campaign Spy, and he hasn't slowed. Jon even won a turf race for the second time in his career (most of the tracks he has raced at do not have grass courses) on Dec. 30 with NBS Stable's 3-year-old filly Queen of the Green on Dec. 30.
“It wasn't an easy decision to come to Tampa, because we were moving outside our comfort zone and we didn't know anyone except Dennis,” Susan said. “We're so happy with how everything has worked out. We love the people, we love the track and our horses are loving it, too. The (main dirt) surface is very kind to horses.”
The hope from all sides is that the Arnett operation will become an Oldsmar fixture.
“We're planning to go back to Prairie Meadows in the summer because we have so many Iowa-breds, and if they run until October, it will set me up perfectly to come back to Tampa next season,” Jon said. “You're probably not going to get rid of me too quick.”
Ward is impressed by Arnett's fast start, but not surprised.
“He keeps his horses looking great and runs them where they belong. He's not afraid to drop one (in price, increasing the risk it will be claimed) to win a race,” Ward said. “And he is at his barn from dawn to dusk. Attention to detail is a big thing for him.”
Jon has about 10 owners, each of whom gives him free rein to claim horses from other outfits on their behalf and to run horses for prices where they are more likely to win, also increasing the risk of getting claimed.
“It's a business. You're in it to make money for your clients,” he said. “I'm fortunate to have owners who understand the game and have authorized me to claim what I want if I think it can upgrade their stable.”
Licensed owners and trainers can claim, or purchase, horses from a race in which the claiming price is stipulated beforehand. Jon has been as active as any trainer on the grounds, claiming seven horses while losing three. Two of his recent additions, 5-year-old gelding Quick Entry and 5-year-old mare Pioneerof New York, won in their first starts after being claimed, while four have not returned to action.
“When we settle on a horse, I'll try to watch the horse walk up (to the paddock) for its race before we drop the claim. We don't claim one if it seems a little off,” Jon said. “Then, when the horse moves to our barn, we start from the ground up – checking its blood count, the hair and the overall appearance and health, getting the animal into tiptop shape before we run it back. It's nice when you get one that everything is clicking right off the bat and you don't have to put all the work and money into it.”
Whether a horse is coming or going, the Arnetts don't skimp on their care and upkeep.
“These horses are athletes. I think if people from the outside could see how they are taken care of, they'd be amazed,” Jon said. “You want to keep your horses happy, and you have to be patient. If they're not ready to compete, there is no use putting them out there.”
The little things that go into making a racehorse happy and eager to perform have been passed down to Jon through two generations. His grandfather, Claude Arnett, was a trainer known for taking problem horses and turning them around, often through paying strict attention to the feet.
“A good blacksmith can make a horse or really hurt a horse. My grandfather could take one that had foot problems and correct them and win with that horse. He really enjoyed that aspect of it,” Jon said.
Jon's father Bob Arnett, who died in 2019, won 2,431 races during his career, capturing a record 11 consecutive training titles at Sunland Park. Jon witnessed firsthand how his father would take horses other trainers had given up on and win with them through patience and unspoken communication.
“One of the main things he taught me was checking their legs first thing every morning, making sure there was no heat or filling before taking them to the track for training. To me, my father was one of the best leg men in the sport,” Jon said. “He also told me to make sure they ate real well the night before and not to cut corners. If you want to do well, you have to put a lot into them.”
Jon found himself thrust into the Thoroughbred racing game at a young age, cleaning stalls and rolling bandages by the time he was 5 or 6 years old.
“Instead of staying home and watching cartoons on the weekends, I'd be at the barn working,” he recalled.
“When I was about 12 and my dad was racing at Albuquerque and Sunland, he put me on a pony and gave me two horses to walk, one on my left side and one on my right. I started galloping horses at Sunland when I turned 14 before I went to school, and once I saw the school bus go by the track, I knew it was time to go to school,” Jon said. “My mom, Wilma, worked as hard as any man I've known and did a lot of the physical work.”
Jon started galloping horses a couple of years later. The connection he formed with his father's horses bordered on mystical. “
It got in my blood, and there was nothing else I wanted to do,” he said.
His high school principal was a racing fan, and he'd page Jon to the office on racing days at Sunland so the teenager could get to the track before the first race without being hassled by his friends.
“I had the Daily Racing Form with me, and the principal asked me what I liked. We'd split our bets, then he would say 'I'll see you there when I can get away,' ” Jon remembered.
Jon took out his trainer's license at 18 and has kept moving forward. Getting to 2,000 victories with Downtowner on Sept. 18 at Prairie Meadows was a big deal, but he was back at the barn before dawn the next day to do the work.
Susan marvels at her husband's devotion to the horses and their program. Although he has campaigned some good stakes winners, such as City Sage, Shock Hazard, Zeki, Cainam and Happy Humor, Jon has yet to saddle a graded-stakes winner; many of the winners he sends out are reclamation projects, horses he has spent hours with to discover a key to being competitive at whatever level is available.
“Jon is up at 4 a.m. every morning, 365 days a year, and our crew knows what needs to get done before he gets there,” Susan said. “They know to have the wraps off by 5 so he can check every horse's legs, and he makes sure they've eaten the night before. If there is feed left, he'll get the thermometer and check their temperature.”
Working off charts posted outside his barn office (which are more for everyone else than himself), Jon puts the plan into motion, accompanying workout horses to the track from atop his pony while Susan assists the grooms. She'll make her own notes on various horses for discussion after training hours.
Following the last race, Jon will come back to the barn to make sure every horse is fed and has enough water before turning out the lights.
“His work ethic and determination and his knowledge of the sport are unbelievable,” Susan said. “I'm so proud to be able to do life with such a great person who is so dedicated to his work and his clients.”
Jon Arnett never knew any other way.
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