Tag: People

How do you top winning a $750,000 race and your first graded stakes?

Eric Foster will try to find out Saturday when he runs Johnny Unleashed in the $1 million, Grade 2 FanDuel Turf Sprint at the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs, one of six graded stakes on what will be one of the best betting cards all year anywhere in the country.

Johnny Unleashed will try to one-up Foster's victory with 20-1 shot Kitodan in Monday's $750,000, Grade 3 Big Ass Fans Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs.

“I'm excited for Johnny,” Foster said by phone from Ellis Park. “Even (Monday), we had three horses in and we thought we had a good shot with all three. The first one, I don't know if it was the scenery or the track. The second one just had bad racing luck. So by the third race, I was already telling myself, 'Now don't be too upset if you don't get anything.' So then we won. You want to have fun when you win.”

So did he?

“I did have fun,” he said.

Now he's hoping for more fun with the 5-year-old Johnny Unleashed, a $10,000 yearling purchase who has earned $294,359 for Foster's Foster Family Racing, Lonnie Reynolds, H&H Horses LLC and Joseph Mills, all from Owensboro in Western Kentucky.

“Johnny” has yet to win a stakes, but last April at Keeneland, he finished second to two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal in the Grade 2 Shakertown, in the process beating major winners Gear Jockey (last year's FanDuel Sprint winner), multiple graded-stakes winner Diamond Oops, The Lir Jet (last year's Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson winner) and eight-time stakes winner Just Might. Most recently Johnny Unleashed was fourth in Churchill's Mighty Beau Overnight Stakes on June 11.

“Johnny's always been right there,” Foster said. “Just a matter of everything going his way. Don't know about being as confident in him as like a horse like Kitodan. He's really fast, and if he just got out there going, one of these days he's going to win one of these big races.

“Hey, what about that: If we won the Big Ass Fans and the FanDuel (Turf Sprint)?”

Well, that certainly would make him a fan favorite. Foster laughed, adding, “I mean, Kitodan ought to have a Big Ass Fan blowing on him this morning.”

Foster, who hauls all of his horses to their out-of-town races, was driving back the two hours to Ellis Park Monday evening with wife Brooklyn and assistant trainer Juan Medina when he suddenly remembered that he had bet on Kitodan through his online account.

“I bet $50 across and forgot all about it during the excitement,” he said. “I did not even know what he paid. My assistant said, 'He paid $43.' I said, 'Holy cow!' So that was a pretty good bet.”

Though it pales compared to the $432,450 that Kitodan earned for Foster, Doug Miller and Bill Wargel, the $1,740 that Foster won betting is certainly a nice perk. But beyond the monetary rewards, Kitodan's victory provided public recognition of the years of hard work by the Fosters. Eric trained for a year, back in 2000, when he realized “it was hard to make enough money to be able to settle down and buy a house and a farm, doing some of the stuff you want to make sure to get done.

“Training horses can be tough,” he said. “Sometimes you're just spending all your money just to try to keep being able to work.”

Foster got a job as a tube welder, working mostly on power and electric plants and taking outside emergency welding work to pay the bills, buying their house and farm outside of Owensboro. While raising cattle, Foster built a barn and bought a thoroughbred baby with the intent of re-selling it for a profit, only to determine the costs of preparing a horse for the sale might be more than racing it themselves. So Foster built a track on his farm, again doing most of the work himself.

He jumped back into training in 2014. Today Foster trains 19 horses at Ellis Park and estimates Foster Family Racing is a partner in 75 percent of them.

Foster Family Racing is indeed a family venture. Daughter Jolie, 16, helps take care of the babies and layups on the farm in between being a star soccer player and team captain for Apollo High School in Owensboro. Son Ethan, 23, also helped his parents before opening his own business.

The Fosters' big break came teaming with Miller and Wargel and other notable clients who gave him more financial firepower. That included claiming Kitodan for $80,000 in May. They won Churchill Downs' $200,000 Audubon Stakes three weeks later. While subsequently fourth in a dirt stakes and then a close fifth against older horses on turf at Ellis Park, Kitodan now is 2-for-2 on grass against fellow 3-year-olds.

“It wasn't just one pattern of how we did things that got us going,” Foster said. “It was just a little bit of everything. Until we got with this group of people, we just didn't have the money to claim expensive horses.”

Foster also has Ellis Park's Groupie Doll third-place finisher Recoded – who is on the also-eligible list for the $1 million The Mint Ladies Sprint — and Stonevicious, fourth in Turfway's Animal Kingdom. The barn has easily had its best year at about $1.13 million in purse earnings.

“So we've had a pretty good year,” Foster said. “We went from claimers to stakes horses.”

Among those in the crowded Kentucky Downs winner's circle with Kitodan was Don Campbell, a fellow trainer and owner based at Ellis Park.

“I was so tickled for him,” Campbell said. “It's great to see one of the guys from back there do something like that. Eric and Brooklyn, they work real hard. I came down there because he had those horses in. Kitodan was the main one. I really thought he had a heck of a shot if he took to that track. And he did. It shows if you work hard and get with the right horses, you can achieve anything. Anybody can. That's the neat thing about horse racing.”

Campbell had a lot of company rooting for the Fosters.

“My phone has been busy since the race,” Foster said. “We got back to Ellis about 9:30, then we drove home an hour. Then our dog, she wants a little bit of attention, so we didn't get to bed until 11:30. Then right back up at 3:30. So time flies. But thank goodness, you win and you have a little bit more energy.''

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Patsy Freeman “Patti” Mancini, formerly the vice chair of the California Horse Racing Board, passed away peacefully on Aug. 14 in Thousand Oaks, California, at the age of 86.

Ms. Mancini had a pioneering career as the first female vice president at Rockwell International. She started with Rockwell early in the Apollo moon landing program, and also worked on the Skylab, Space Shuttle and GPS Satellite programs. Her career progressed rapidly, and by 1978 she was named Vice President of External Affairs and Communications, North American Space Operations. She was responsible for all external affairs including government relations at the national, state and local levels, media relations, customer and community relations, and executive communications.

She received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Achievement Award, NASA Skylab Achievement Award, NASA Public Service Award, Astronaut's Achievement Award and many others.

She was also a pioneer beyond Rockwell on broader business issues and community outreach efforts, including her service to the CHRB.

As a racing commissioner, she actively sought to reform medication regulations during nearly six years of service on the Board, from September 1980 to March 1986. Her colleagues on the Board elected her vice chairman, an indication of their great respect.

She is survived by her son, William Mancini and his wife, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Memorial donations can be made to the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation and the Rocket Center Foundation.

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Family and friends of C. Wayne “Skip” Achuff, who served as race director of the Radnor Hunt Races in Malvern, Pa., for nearly two decades, will have an opportunity to celebrate his life in a pair of memorials scheduled for October and November.

The first will be held at Thornbury Farm CSA, 1256 Thornbury Road, West Chester, Pa., on Oct. 9 at 4 pm; the second, at the National Steeplechase Museum in Camden, S.C., 200 Knight's Hill Road, on Nov. 20 at 1 pm.

Achuff, who died at his West Chester, Pa., home on Aug. 28 after a lengthy bout with cancer, was a lifelong horseman, and made an imprint on the sport as a jockey and racecaller for Equibase. He struck a dapper appearance at many National Steeplechase Association meets, notable for his bright colored impeccable attire and distinct bow ties.

“Skip was not only a calm, cool and collected race director, but he also served as an official at my (Winterthur in Delaware) and other race meets for many years,” said Jill Abbott, who serves as the chairwoman of the NSA's Race Chair Committee. “The Winterthur Race is only two weeks before Radnor's and he was always there to support our race when I am sure he had a million things to do to prepare for his race. It shows how vested he was in the success of racing, and his devotion to help our steeplechase family.”

Carol Griffin, who was in charge of the Radnor Races at the Brandywine Conservancy from 1997 to 2016, fondly recalled her associate:

“Working with Skip was great; he loved racing and helped make the Radnor Hunt Races one of the top three meets on the circuit. He always had ideas for new ways to grow. Most of them were a hit, so we had a lot to celebrate. Skip did that well, too. Lots of good times.”

A tribute on the Radnor Races Facebook page lauded Skip's “can-do” and “positive” outlook, traits that were much-admired by friends and colleagues.

“Dearly missed by us all, he will be remembered for his love of horses, decadent carrot cakes and splendid collection of pink ties,” his friends at Radnor happily remembered.

Born on Aug. 20, 1945, to Wayne and Yvonne Achuff, in Glen Riddle, Pa., Achuff graduated from Penncrest High School and attended Philadelphia College of Art. He had many interests, but an abiding passion since adolescence was riding horses.

After service in the U.S. Navy (from 1962 to 1968), and active duty on Flagship for the Second Fleet, USS Newport News, Achuff made a career working with horses. He rode steeplechasers as a professional jockey, trained racehorses for a time, and was also an owner. Even after retirement from riding, he stayed connected to the sport.

Outside of his equine pursuits, Achuff owned, operated, and developed Brass Ladle Products from the restaurant he had shared with his father. Despite his casual demeanor, he was a perfectionist in all his endeavors, his family recalled.

Some of Skip's friends called him “a man's man,” others, “a ladies' man,” they remembered. He had many friends, male and female, who joined him in pursuing his many interests: tennis, golf, sailing, camping, travel, antiques, art, hunting and, of course, anything to do with horses and dogs. He was thoughtful about his dress and created his own style, sometimes flamboyant. Skip valued family and friends above all else, always supportive, and non-judgmental. All will miss his open invitation to join him by the fire on the back porch to enjoy a cigar and a bourbon.

Achuff was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife, Kathy; daughters, Jacquelyn Michelle (Sheila) and Sarah Tantorski (Mark); only grandson, Nicholas Trafficante; sisters Carolyn Duff of Columbia, S.C., Nancy Coffman (Ken) of Berwyn, Pa., Sherri Quigley of Chadds Ford, Pa., and brother, Douglas (Barbara) of Laurel, Del.; also 13 nieces and nephews; and his Parson terrier, Harry.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Achuff's pet project, Twenty for the Tower, a campaign to restore the Stewards Tower at the Radnor Hunt racecourse. Contributions can be sent to Brandywine Conservancy, P.O. Box 141, Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 (please indicate Twenty for the Tower on the memo line) or made online at www.brandywine.org.

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Joel Rosario began his Labor Day at Kentucky Downs with a workout, jogging over the undulating, nonsymmetrical 1 5/16-mile European-style grass venue that opened in 1990 as Dueling Grounds.

It ended in familiar fashion, with Rosario, the 2021 Eclipse Award-winning jockey, making multiple trips to the winner's circle Monday, Day 3 of the scheduled seven-day FanDuel meeting.

Rosario won the ninth race, the $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 5/16 miles aboard Vergara ($10.96) for trainer Graham Motion, and the 11th and final race aboard Play the Music ($10.36) for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. The seven-furlong nightcap, which had a hefty $150,000 purse, was for 2-year-old maiden special weight fillies.

Rosario, who dominated the standings last year at Kentucky Downs, missed the first two days of the 2022 meeting (Sept. 1 and Sept. 3) because of a riding suspension and commitments at Saratoga. Rosario was named on horses Monday at Saratoga – the final day of its meeting – but he and his agent, Ron Anderson, opted to chase the ultra-rich purses at Kentucky Downs after Sunday's card was cancelled because of torrential rainfall Saturday. Sunday's program (Rosario was named on horses) was then transferred to Monday.

“My agent had a decision,” Rosario said after Monday's first race. “He told me I've got to ride today here. We've got horses later today in the stakes races that we've got to ride.”

Rosario said he is scheduled to ride the balance of the Kentucky Downs meeting that ends Sept. 14. Rosario was the runaway riding leader at the 2021 Kentucky Downs meeting, with a single-season record 17 victories over the six-day session and his mounts earning a whopping $2,949,307 in purses (also a meet record). Tyler Gaffalione finished a distant second in the standings with eight victories.

“It was unbelievable,” Rosario said. “Really helpful and I thank all the people that gave me the opportunity to ride their horses. It's a little different here. You go up a hill and up and down, things like that. It's a little bit different for the rider and also for the horses.”

Rosario immediately stormed up the 2022 Kentucky Downs leaderboard with Monday's double. Gaffalione has a meet-high five victories. Gerardo Corrales and Julien Leparoux each have four. Rosario already ranks fourth in purse earnings ($434,467) entering Thursday's card.

“Hopefully, I can catch him,” Rosario said, referring to Gaffalione. “Tyler's a nice guy. We got here a little late, but you never know. If he wins it, he deserves it.”

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