One day after guiding Three Witches to a 10-1 upset victory over favored Maryquitecontrary in the $200,000 Princess Rooney (G3), jockey Leonel Reyes enjoyed a five-win day Sunday at Gulfstream Park.
The 37-year-old journeyman, who recently claimed his first U.S. riding title during the Royal Palm Meet, began his day with four straight wins aboard Nunofthisnunofthat ($3.60) in Race 1, Sweet Temptation ($5.40) in Race 2, Ballet Valentina ($10) in Race 3 and Emergency Response ($8) in Race 4 before tasting defeat aboard favored Vanishing Interest in Race 5. He returned to the winner's circle following Race 7 aboard Freedom Principle ($5).
“I try to win every race. [Saturday] was a good day to win a graded race for Saffie Joseph,” Reyes said. “Now, to have five wins today is amazing.”
Reyes has steadily established himself as a force in the Gulfstream jockey's room since arriving in 2016 from Venezuela, where he had ridden 1400 winners. He has ridden 759 winners since venturing to the U.S.
His winning ride aboard Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Three Witches in Saturday's seven-furlong Breeders' Cup 'Win & You're In' Challenge race was Reyes' third graded-stakes score.
Jockey Antonio Fresu, a 31-year-old native of the Italian island Sardinia, has won big races all around the world. Most notably, in 2021 he guided U.S.-based Zenden to victory in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen, a Group I at six furlongs on dirt.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, less than six months after arriving in the U.S., Fresu won his first graded stakes in North America with a strong pacesetting ride aboard Chatalas in the Chandelier Stakes (G1) for trainer Mark Glatt. As a Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win & You're In” event, Fresu will now get his first crack at a Breeders' Cup victory in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.
“You could see how happy I was right before the wire,” said Fresu, who gave a series of fist pumps at the finish. “I couldn't hold the celebration. To win a graded stakes and have a chance at the Breeders' Cup, it's incredible.”
Fresu added he has always watched the Breeders' Cup, wherever on the globe he has been located.
“We watched it all the time. Things like the Breeders' Cup, Dubai World Cup, Royal Ascot, Kentucky Derby (G1)– everyone around the world watches because it is so big. For me to be here and find a filly like this, it's a blessing. It's what I was dreaming of.”
Fresu arrived in the U.S. in April from Dubai, where he normally rides during the winter months. His first domestic win came with his fourth mount on April 29 aboard Trusty Rusty for trainer Doug O'Neill, who played a key role in getting Fresu to the U.S. In recent winters in Dubai, Fresu has been a frequent rider for O'Neill.
Fresu finished the Santa Anita Hollywood Meet, which ended June 18, with 13 wins from 86 mounts (15 percent). It was a solid start to Fresu's U.S. stay, but things would get even better this summer at Del Mar. With agent Tom Knust booking mounts, Fresu finished second in the jockey's standings eight behind Juan Hernandez with 31 wins from 173 mounts, an 18 percent strike rate.
Through the first five days of the Santa Anita Hollywood Meet, Fresu is again second in the jockey's race with seven wins, two fewer than Hernandez.
“Tom Knust, my agent, has done a great job since I've come over here. He's done his best to get me good mounts. Then it's up to me to perform,” he said.
Fresu's quick ascent in the Southern California jockey colony has led to a career choice. He will not return to Dubai this winter. Fresu is staying here.
“No, no, no, I'm staying here,” Fresu said. “I decided after Del Mar I will continue my career riding in the U.S.”
Fresu was married about a year ago. His wife, Veronika, from Norway, has continued to work and reside in her home country. They've managed to see each other a few times this year with Veronika planning to return here at the end of October. But he's not to stay, yet. That will have to come later.
“It's been tough being new here and being alone,” Fresu said. “But I try to just focus on what I'm doing at the track.
“Things couldn't have started any better at Santa Anita.
With a wide variety of supporters including donors, Thoroughbred racing industry representatives, school, police and elected officials looking on, as well as members of the backstretch community, the New York Race Track Chaplaincy on Friday hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and opened the doors to its new Chaplaincy Center at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
The 3,500-foot multi-purpose building and chapel, designed by Frost Hurff Architects of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is located just inside the Gate 6 Hempstead Avenue entrance to Belmont Park.
“The creation and the opening of this facility is something we have worked for and dreamt about for many years and it is absolutely thrilling to see it become a reality,” said Ramón Dominguez, president of the Board of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy. “It will serve the wide-ranging needs of countless individuals from the backstretch community.”
One individual who will appreciate the new building is Lucy Luna, a member of the backstretch community who not only benefits from the programs of the Chaplaincy but volunteers extensively so that others may benefit as well, “We are all so excited to be able to call this new building home,” Luna said. “We can come here and relax, enjoy each other's company, and feel stronger to meet the next day.”
The chaplaincy ministers to the needs of the backstretch community at the NYRA racetracks (Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course) as well as surrounding farms through a wide variety of programs. They include enrichment programs for children, teen mentoring, women's enrichment, social service and recreational programs, as well as educational opportunities, and non-denominational religious services.
“Our collective joy at the opening of the Chaplaincy Center is matched only by our gratitude,” Dominguez added. “We will be forever grateful to the founding partners, and all of our donors and supporters who have made this possible.”
Besides the chapel, which will also function as a multi-purpose room, the building allows for office space for the chaplaincy staff, and a classroom, named after the late Cot Campbell, that will be used as a learning center.
Plans for the new building and initial financial commitments were first announced in 2018. The official groundbreaking took place in March 2022.
“As a horse owner, I deeply appreciate the dedication and skill of backstretch workers who make horse racing possible,” said Michael Dubb, who provided the building supplies for the project and also purchased the original two trailers which have housed the chaplaincy. “This project has been a work-in-progress for a long time and it is great to finally see it all come together.”
Major funding for the new building was provided by founding partners D.J. Stable, Dogwood Stable, Michael Dubb, John Hendrickson, Kristine and Christopher Kay, Seth A. and Beth S. Klarman, the New York Racing Association, the Estate of Dolores Ochota, OXO Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, and WinStar Farm.
“We are glad to support the important work of the Chaplaincy in caring for the community of backstretch workers who give so much to the horses and the sport,” the Klarmans said. “It is exciting to see such an essential organization expand its footprint with the opening of the New York Chaplaincy Center and we're grateful to all who make this work possible.”
The Race Track Chaplaincy of America was organized in 1971 and the New York Race Track Chaplaincy was created in 1986. Norm Evans and Jim Watson served as chaplains before Humberto Chavez was named chaplain in September 2003.
Additional information about the New York Race Track Chaplaincy is available at www.rtcany.org.
For as long and as hard as Mike Campbell fought to keep Arlington Park from being shut down, there must have been a little extra joy when he saddled his first graded stakes winner in nearly two decades on Sept. 23 beneath the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs.
Lady Radler, sent to post at 23-1, put on a show in that day's Grade 3 Dogwood Stakes to win by 2 ¾ lengths. The 3-year-old filly is now based at Keeneland while 72-year-old Campbell prepares her to take the next step up in competition, aiming for the Grade 2 Raven Run on Saturday, Oct. 21.
“I do find it unique that I am in barn 49, which is 10 feet away from Rice Road; I think that there might be a message there!” joked Campbell, the former longtime president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “Actually, Mike Stidham stopped me the other day when I was wearing a CDI hat. He said I was the last person he'd ever expected to see wearing that, and what I told him is true.
“At the time, and in that place, I was fighting for the horsemen in Illinois. It was my job, and if I had to do it all over again, I would. But we lost that battle, and now it's time to turn the page.”
CDI, short for Churchill Downs Inc., is the company that owned Arlington Park and opted to close the track in 2021, selling it to the NFL's Chicago Bears for a potential football stadium. The grandstand was demolished earlier this year.
Don't misunderstand: Campbell said he has NOT given up on racing in Illinois. He remains part of a consortium that hopes to build a harness track just south of Chicago, and believes that another Thoroughbred track in the city is not outside the realm of possibility.
Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., is now just a memory
“All my life, people have told me what I can't do,” he reflected. “But, because of the market we're in, I think it's entirely sustainable. You need good facilities, cooperation from the horsemen's groups, and you gotta believe in the spirit of the horse, the spirit of the people that are involved in this game. Nobody quits after they lose a race, so we shouldn't quit after we lose a racetrack.”
That horseman's spirit is something Campbell has witnessed every day since his youth: both his father and grandfather were what he called “summertime horse trainers.” They'd head out to East St. Louis or Fairmount Park in the late fall, giving $1,000 or so for older, arthritic horses who just needed a break, then bring them home to Wisconsin for the winter.
“Those cold Wisconsin winters would rehabilitate a horse in a very unusual way,” Campbell reflected. “As long as you kept them warm and fed, then you could turn them out in the three feet of snow and man, those arthritic horses would come around and be very useful the next year. It wasn't stakes winners or anything, but it certainly fed families.”
Campbell remembers a time when there were over 140 horses on the farm, between racehorses, jumping horses, and riding horses.
“In our family, we weren't allowed bicycles,” he said, laughing. “My dad thought they were dangerous, but we had our choice of 140 horses.
“I also show jumped at a very small level and had some very good horses. I had an open jumper, a warmblood, that could easily clear eight feet! It was not unusual for us to just give demonstrations at horse shows, because nobody could believe it. Even at that time, though, it was a real money game, and I was small, so between those factors, it just led me to the racetrack.”
Though his career as a jockey was cut short by injury, Campbell remained undeterred. After taking the time to make sure he was healed, Campbell started training full time in 1978 with a few horses at Thistledown in Ohio.
“The first year I trained horses, I was broke, and I had two twin boys,” he reflected. “I told my wife, 'I cannot do this again.' Well, in 1979 I led all trainers at the summit meet at Thistle. I kept getting more horses, doing better year to year, and this year's been my best year yet. But I do think that had I not been able to get my start in a very humble way, I wouldn't have the things I have today.”
Among those successes in racing are a pair of graded stakes winners, both former claimers, in 2006, as well as two of Campbell's sons, Jesse and Joel, both accomplished jockeys. The former won over 2,300 races, including the Queen's Plate in 2013, and Joel rode 718 winners during his career. Though each has now retired from the saddle, Joel remains involved in racing as a trainer, while Jesse is running a successful HVAC company.
Looking back, Campbell is very cognizant that it's the horses themselves who have allowed him and his family to be successful in this business.
“I told someone once that I'd changed my feeding program – I'm feeding better horses!” he quipped. “The thing is, you build on success. You have to be successful. I've always won races, won stakes, won a couple graded stakes with claimed horses. But I think relationships matter, and I also think experience matters. It's relative to your health, too. I've had good health and great relationships with owners, and a wonderful family that enables me to do all of the above. I feel like experiences, going through hundreds of horses, it all adds up and makes you a pretty well-rounded horseman.”
It's fitting, then, that it was a combination of those elements that led Lady Radler to Campbell's barn. Owner George Mellon, for whom Campbell has trained for more than 25 years, pointed out a filly by Kantharos at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Lady Radler, ridden by Jesus Castanon, winning the Dogwood Stakes
Campbell went to check her out, and loved everything he saw. He ended up being able to purchase the filly for a final bid of $37,000.
“I told him, 'I just bought you a stakes horse and I don't know how I did it so cheap,'” Campbell remembered. “There was never a doubt in my mind that she would break through at the graded stakes level. I told George in the Spring, let me do what I have to do, and I will get you a graded stakes winner.”
Thus, Lady Radler entered the Dogwood with two wins from four starts in 2023, but Campbell was surprised that her odds were as high as 23-1. Her two losses were explainable, he said. The first, in April at Gulfstream, was caused by the filly clipping heels and nearly falling. The other loss, her most recent out at Presque Isle Downs, showed a clear distaste for the synthetic track.
Other than those two efforts, Lady Radler had never finished off the board.
Yet, Campbell was quick to admit that in the view of horseplayers, since he's not a mainstream trainer in Kentucky, and rider Jesus Castanon is viewed as a “senior” jockey, it may have been hard to pick Lady Radler as the winner.
“It doesn't offend me in any way, but sometimes I'm surprised about that,” Campbell said. “I wasn't surprised when she won, though!”
Heading into the Raven Run, Campbell is just as confident.
“This filly is doing outstanding right now,” he said. “When the horse is happy, they're sound, and their respiratory system is top notch, they can whip the top guys in the barn.
“It's a Grade 2, so I'm curious to see who enters, but I don't care who they run against her, she'll be 1-2-3. She needs racing luck, sure, but I don't see her going off at 23-1 this time!”
At the same time, while the odds of another Thoroughbred track in Cook County may be quite a bit longer than those his filly faced at Churchill, Campbell remains committed to the cause.
“It was always my distinct honor to try to contribute to racing in Illinois,” he said. “Based on the conversations that I'm having, from the Governor down, they realize that there is a danger here, that the racing industry is on the ropes in Illinois.
“I'm confident to say that there's still interest to build something like Arlington in Cook County, and if the phoenix could rise from the ashes, we'd like to be a part of it. We will never give up.”
