On the surface, trainer Ron Faucheux could not have been doing any better. He came out of the Fair Grounds meet on Mar. 26 with his third straight training title at the New Orleans track, his 42 winners five more than Bret Calhoun and Brad Cox. He had a career best 81 winners in 2022 and his stable earned $2,066,757. But when Louisiana racing moved to Evangeline Downs last week, Faucheux was conspicuously absent from the entries. The latest horsemen to say it has simply become too difficult for a trainer to make a decent living, he is now a jockey agent, representing rider Jose Luis Rodriguez.
“Basically, the last couple of years, I was just breaking even doing what I was doing,” Faucheux said. “I love training horses, but I wasn't getting the kind of day rate trainers in places like New York and Kentucky get and our expenses are pretty comparable to their's. This was a lot of work and, in all honesty, over the last several years, I wasn't making any money doing it.”
Faucheux, 40, started training in 2009 and quickly became established as one of the top trainers on the Louisiana circuit. In 2021, he won his first training title at the Fair Grounds, finishing ahead of Steve Asmussen, Cox and Tom Amoss.
“That meant so much to me,” he said. “I was a kid growing up in New Orleans and I idolized the trainers like Asmussen, Amoss, Al Stall, Dallas Stewart. Three leading trainer titles at the Fair Grounds is three more than I ever thought I'd get.”
He had arrived, with a big stable and the type of horses that could compete at a top-tier track like the Fair Grounds. But it came at a cost. He said that the bigger his stable got the harder it became to make money. His overhead kept growing and his income couldn't keep up.
“Over the last couple of years, the prices for everything kept going up,” he said. “The more horses I got the less money I made.”
His day rate, which was $75, was a problem. He said that the trainers who come and go between the Fair Grounds and Kentucky, like Asmussen and Cox command a higher rate. But the trainers like himself who spend the entire year in Louisiana had to charge less. It was not, he said, enough.
He was able to stay focused throughout the Fair Grounds meet and secured the title with three winners on closing day. But he was already looking ahead to the next chapter in his racing career.
Rodriguez, a native of Venezuela who had been riding in Panama, came to the U.S. in August and had an immediate impact. He was 22-for-104 (21%) in 2022 and stayed hot at the Fair Grounds, where his 35 wins were good enough for sixth in the standings. Faucheux saw him as an up-and-coming rider who could be a force at Evangeline, where Faucheux was fifth in last year's trainer standings.
“My kids are getting a little bit older and I can spend a little bit more time with them being a jock's agent,” he said. “There is quite a bit of work that goes into it, but not nearly the amount of work that I was used to as a trainer. He's a good rider and he finished sixth at the Fair Grounds, his first full meet ever in the U.S. This is a good opportunity to spend more time with my family, have a little more free time and a little less stress and try this out. I'll see how it works.”
There are things about training that he misses and others that he does not.
“There's no question that I am going to miss training,” he said. “So far as the training and the horses and connections I made with my owners and the people around me, I'm absolutely going to miss that. Being an agent, I'm still a part of it. But I trained a lot of horses, had a lot of employees and there were a lot of expenses. That's all part it. So there are things I won't miss.”
Faucheux said he might train again.
“I could go back to training for the next Fair Grounds meet,” he said. “I'm not sure. Or I could never go back to training. I'm just going to enjoy this meet at Evangeline and not make any decisions until the meet is over with.”
Should he come back, winning races won't be the problem. Faucheux has won 740 in his career and his winning percentage is 23.7%. But will those numbers, as good as they are, ever translate into making a decent living? It's the problem he needs to solve.
Leroy Trotman can effortlessly remember the moment he first heard the horses calling.
It was a typical Barbados day, the sun beaming down on a near cloudless morning high above the dirt road in the parish of St. Thomas, along the familiar route the teenager would sometimes traverse to and from Grantley Adams Secondary.
This walk, however, was unlike any other he had taken before.
“There was a horse farm, no more than a quarter-mile from my house, probably less than that, which I could see from my window,” Trotman started. “One day, I heard these voices, and they seemed like they were calling to me. And I thought to myself, 'I'm going to go see what this is all about.' I made the decision to do that, to take those steps, and it changed my life.”
A young life that was in turmoil.
“Growing up in an abusive family, knowing how things were in my house, I used to pray every day and ask God when things were going to change, when they would get better. Seeing my father abuse my mother, it was horrible. All she did was work hard and support her family. She was a stay-at-home mom, who did everything to take care of us. I needed something to turn to. It became the horses.”
Some days, Trotman would skip school just to be around them.
Gradually, his connection with the horses grew, as did his self-confidence and the want of a better life.
“I got caught up on the streets, hanging out with the wrong company. It's not what or who I wanted to be. I knew that wasn't the life I wanted to live. I wanted something better for myself. God, he put me into horse racing and because of that, my whole life changed.”
More than he had ever imagined.
In 1990, Trotman made the decision to leave Barbados to pursue a life in racing.
“My brother was reading the newspaper and saw that there was an opportunity to go to Canada to work with horses at Woodbine. Here I was, a skinny teenage kid from Barbados showing up on the backstretch at one of the best racetracks in the world.”
His first job was as a groom for Hall of Fame trainer Gord Huntley.
Trotman also freelanced when he was done each morning working for Huntley, a conditioner whose operation typically saw several of his band claimed or sold.
“By July or August, there weren't many horses around with Gord. [Trainers] Steve Owens and Rich Papa were in the same barn and when I finished work with Gord around 10 in the morning, I would go work for other people doing different things here and there. When I got laid-off from Gord, I continued to help Steve.”
His association with Owens would eventually be a game changer for Trotman.
But it wouldn't come without its hurdles.
“I ended up going back home because the government in Canada felt it was unfair to give certain jobs to workers who came from outside of the country. But thankfully, it got cleared up and when I came back, I started working with Steve. One day, we were just talking and he told me to go out and get my assistant trainer license. Steve and his wife, they gave me the opportunity to get my assistant trainer's license and to start making a name for myself.”
Trotman did exactly that.
He remembered what he was taught in Barbados, words he recalled every morning he came to the backstretch.
“I had to earn respect from people, and I worked hard to do that. Growing up in Barbados, you were taught early on that respect is something that you earn. Respect can take you so far. I always had that in my head. I listened and learned from people every day.”
Leroy Trotman worked his way up the ladder from groom to agent
When tragedy struck the Woodbine backstretch in August – a barn fire swept through multiple barns with 32 horses perishing as a result – Trotman was thrust into a new role working for Owens, who lost all 14 of his horses.
In the aftermath of the fire, he began working with the veterinarians assigned to the case, leading to a new racetrack role in the form of veterinary assistant.
Those new skills, along with countless others he had learned along the way, would play an integral role in the next chapter of his Thoroughbred career when he went to work as assistant trainer to Reade Baker.
Trotman recalled two early conversations he had with the veteran conditioner.
“Reade would be in Florida at times, and I would have to run the barn until he came home. The first time I called him and asked him what he wants me to do, he said, 'I gave you a job to do and if you can't do it, let me find somebody else.' And that really made me think. A little while later, I had another question for him because there was a problem going on. His response was, 'Don't call me with a problem, call me with solutions.' For me, a young guy from the Caribbean, someone telling me that meant so much because I was always hoping for this kind of opportunity, to have that responsibility, and he gave it to me. That's how I took it. I felt like I just won the lottery. I said to myself, 'Let's get to work and solve the problem.' And I did.”
The two men formed a formidable duo over their time together, sending out a slew of horses to stakes success while perennially charting in the upper ranks of the Woodbine training colony.
They got out of the gates quickly working as a tandem.
“My very first horse I prepared for Reade as an assistant went out and won. The horse was called Fire Power. We ran the horse a few weeks later, and he won again. It was so thrilling.”
But it was an Alberta-bred named Free Fee Lady who delivered Trotman with his most cherished moments working alongside Baker.
The daughter of Victory Gallop, owned by Harlequin Ranches, didn't show much in her morning works in the weeks leading up to her first start in the spring of 2006.
Something, however, caught Trotman's attention.
“Other fillies she worked with kept on getting the better of her. My eyes were seeing something no one else was seeing. Reade wanted to run her in a claimer but I asked him to run her at maiden special weight. He said, 'I don't think she'll be able to do that.' I begged him to give me one chance with her and she just got beat in a maiden special weight race.”
Free Fee Lady would go one better in both the Bison City and Wonder Where, the final two jewels in the Canadian Triple Tiara.
After the Wonder Where score, Baker, in his post-race interview in the Woodbine winner's circle, praised Trotman.
It took a few seconds for Trotman to process the moment and words he was hearing.
“Reade said my name in the winner's circle. He said that if it wasn't for his assistant trainer, this filly would have been running for claiming. Hearing him say that in the winner's circle, that meant the world to me. He didn't have to do that. He could have taken all the credit, but he didn't. I never forgot that.”
Just as he didn't forget an offer that had come his way during his 11 years with Baker.
Fellow Barbadian and champion jockey Patrick Husbands had approached Trotman in 2012 about becoming his agent.
Trotman mulled over the opportunity, but not for long.
“I'm a loyal person and things were going so well. It wasn't the right time and that's not me.”
A few years later, Husbands asked the question once more.
“It was the right time. I had a chance to be farm manager, but after talking to Reade, who I always passed things by, he told me to be in the public eye and that wouldn't have made me happy. When Patrick asked me again to be his agent, I asked Reade what he thought. He said, 'Leroy, go get it.'”
And so, Trotman did.
In 2016, he took over the reins as Husbands' agent, a job that came with a steady number of new challenges and plenty of unknowns.
“I was a horseman, but I learned about the business side with Reade. You need an understanding of business to do this job right. Self-employed, paying taxes – all of those things were new to me. I went into it with a little bit of fear, but life challenges are something you need to accept. If you want to go forward in life, you have to face those challenges if you want to go anywhere.”
Forty-one years after leaving his island home, Trotman, who at one time held the book of Keveh Nicholls, and is also the agent for Sahin Civaci, has gone further than he had ever envisioned.
It's something he's reminded of every time he walks through the barns at the Toronto oval each racing season.
“I have earned the respect of people at Woodbine and I'm thankful for that. I'm able to go into any barn and I'm accepted, whether they wanted to ride Patrick or not. I have so much respect for the trainers, in that I'm able to have conversations with every one of them. The acceptance of being an agent is something I am grateful for. People can say I got lucky by getting one of the best riders at Woodbine the first time I was an agent, but I worked hard to get that point.”
Others certainly took notice.
“Leroy has always loved working in the racing industry,” said Owens. “He is truly dedicated to his job, from groom to assistant trainer and now in his role as agent to top rider Patrick Husbands. Leroy is a gentleman and it's been a pleasure working with him over the years. We have always considered him part of our family.”
“I know that Leroy always has my best interests at heart, as a rider and a person,” added Husbands. “He's worked hard to get where he is, and he has never taken any of it for granted.”
There isn't trace of conceit in Trotman's voice when he speaks of his accomplishments.
Rather, there is an unmistakable humbleness in his tone, underscored by a graciousness that comes with the contentment of a dream realized.
“Horse racing has given me so much. I came to this country as a boy leaving school at 15, with nothing in my pocket. I continued to work hard and put in the effort. My thought every day was that I wanted to be a good horseperson. People say that someone is a good groom, a good jockey or a good trainer. I wanted to be a good horseperson. That's the only title I have ever wanted. I cherish that. Now, I have so much because I have the horses and horse racing in my life. I have three kids and a wonderful family life. How could I not be happy?”
Soon, Trotman will be back working at Woodbine in preparation for the upcoming season, eager to soak up the camaraderie and atmosphere of the bustling backstretch.
The once conflicted teenager who had yearned for a better life, the one who prayed to escape the unhappy times he knew, now walks a placid path to the place that has become his second home.
To where he'll hear the familiar sound of the horses calling.
Manny Franco, who has been among the winningest riders on the tough NYRA circuit for the last several years, has fired his agent, Hall of Famer Angel Cordero Jr.
“It's true,” Cordero said Tuesday by text. “There's no problem. He just wants to do better. I don't blame him. Everybody wants to be No. 1.”
In 2020, Cordero was also dismissed by Hall of Famer John Velazquez after working as his agent for 22 years. Cordero, 79, is still the agent for apprentice Jose Gomez. He has not yet found a journeyman rider to replace Franco.
Cordero and Franco, 27, enjoyed much success together. Franco attended the jockey school in his native Puerto Rico and began his career at Camarero Racetrack in 2013 and shifted to the New York tracks later that year. In 2019, he picked up the mount on Tiz the Law (Constitution) and would win four graded stakes with the New York-bred, including the 2020 GI Belmont S. and the 2020 GI Runhappy Travers S.
“I'm just happy to have him on my side,” Franco said of Cordero in a 2020 interview with the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. “He's been in this position before. He always talks to me about how to handle this time, and I'm just blessed to have him in my corner.”
Franco, who has always stayed in New York year-round, won 183 races at the NYRA tracks in 2021, finishing just behind Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. Franco was NYRA's leading rider in 2018 and 2019 with a combined 456 wins, but he is off to a slow start at the current Aqueduct meet. With 13 wins from 94 mounts, he is tied for fourth place in the standings.
As far as his future as an agent, Cordero was understandably downcast Tuesday.
“I've got the bug boy, Jose Gomez,” he texted. “I'll see what happens there until he fires me, too. It's ok. I'm used to it.”
Franco did not return a phone call seeking comment. Cordero said he was not aware who Franco had hired to replace him.
Tyler Gaffalione rode top 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver to win the G1 Alabama and then to a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, and according to her trainer Ken McPeek, was scheduled to ride her in her next start, as well. This week, McPeek told the Thoroughbred Daily News that Gaffalione's agent, Matt Muzikar, had reneged on their agreement.
“I announced that we're going to run in the Preakness and Tyler was on board,” McPeek said on the podcast. “By maybe 6:00 that night, his agent tells us that he can't ride. And I'm like, 'Look, you've given us a two-race commitment [GI Kentucky Oaks and Preakness].' He said, 'Oh well, sorry, I've got to ride for Chad Brown at Keeneland.' I said, 'You can't do this. It's dishonorable.' I've been doing this for 35 years and I've never had something like that happen. I still find it dishonorable. Shame on Tyler Gaffalione and his agent.”
Muzikar responded Friday, telling TDN that McPeek had informed him, nine days prior, that Swiss Skydiver would be running in the Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, held on the day after this year's Preakness Stakes. Thus, Muzikar began booking Gaffalione mounts for Keeneland that weekend.
When McPeek announced that he planned to run the filly in the Preakness at Pimlico instead, seven days ahead of the race, Muzikar wasn't able to get out of his commitments at Keeneland on Saturday. McPeek wound up giving the Preakness call on Swiss Skydiver to Robby Albarado, who won the race.
“What did he expect us to do? Not take business for the Preakness card or at Keeneland and sit there and wait for Kenny McPeek because the world revolves around him?” Muzikar said. “Knocking me and the jockey, he crossed a line.
“Tyler had nothing to do with this whole situation, so I don't like him knocking the jockey. Tyler is the greatest kid and the greatest jock I have had in the 26 years I have been doing this. He did nothing to him.”
