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Sam Huff, 87, Passes: NFL Legend Played Big Role In West Virginia’s Thoroughbred Industry

Sam Huff and his partner Carol Holden were driving back to their West Virginia home after attending the inaugural Maryland Million races at Laurel Park in 1986 when Huff came up with the idea of having a similar day for state-breds.

“We're going to do that in West Virginia,” Huff said, according to a 2011 Bloodhorse.com article by Tom LaMarra.

Sure enough, they did. The first West Virginia Breeders' Classic was held at Charles Town Races less than a year later, thanks to Huff's tireless advocacy for horses bred in West Virginia and fueled by a fiercely competitive personality that earlier in life made him among the most feared players in the National Football League.

Huff and Holden sold sponsorships for the event and found additional revenue from uncashed pari-mutuel tickets. The initial running, which included Charles Town's first-ever $100,000 race, was a success, and it's steadily grown over the years, becoming second only to Charles Town Classic day.

The couple also bred and raced horses in West Virginia and hosted a radio show, Trackside, that ran for 28 years, ending in 2016, when Huff began suffering from dementia. His condition led to a court fight later that year between Holden and Huff's daughter over his custody and care.

Huff died on Saturday in Winchester, Va., at the age of 87.

Born Robert Lee Huff on Oct. 4, 1934, in Edna Gas., W.Va., Huff was called Sam at early age and never learned why, according to a 1988 autobiography. Growing up in Coal Camp No. 9, he was from a family of coal miners but escaped that occupation when he accepted a football scholarship to West Virginia University, where he played both offensive and defensive line positions and was named an All-American before being drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1956 NFL draft.

During his years in the National Football League, Huff was known for an aggressive defensive style that led CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite to narrate a documentary, “The Violent World of Sam Huff,” that aired as part of the network's “Twentieth Century” series. As the leader of the New York Giants defense, he helped the team reach the NFL title game six times in eight years before being traded to the team then known as the Washington Redskins, where he finished out his career and worked as a commentator on the team's radio broadcasts for 38 years, retiring in 2013.

Huff was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

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‘The Russell Baze Act Of Yesteryear’: Jockey Terrero Back In The Saddle After Near-Fatal Accident

Jockey Pedro Terrero suffered a severe head injury when his mount clipped heels in a race at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 2, 2019. He had to be resuscitated on-track and underwent emergency surgery to relieve swelling in his brain. Over two years later, reports berkeleyside.org, the rider is not only back in the saddle, but currently leading the jockey standings at the Berkeley, Calif. track.

Terrero started getting back on horses in March, and built up his strength over a series of months. He's already won two riding titles since his return.

“Terrero is here six days a week and will jog, gallop, work a horse,” trainer Manny Badilla told berkeleyside.org. “He's doing the Russell Baze act of yesteryear, and he deserves every bit of the success he is having right now. He has earned every bit of it.”

“Maybe I am riding better,” said Terrero. “If I am, maybe it's because I love what I do and I almost lost it. I really love it. This is my second chance. I'm lucky to be alive and I'm lucky to be riding horses again.”

Ohio Thoroughbred Race Fund Administrator, Former Trainer Greg Veit Passes

Greg Veit, the administrator of the Ohio Thoroughbred Race Fund (OTRF), passed away suddenly on Nov. 10, 2021.

Greg was born Sept. 28, 1958, and had been immersed in the Thoroughbred industry all his life. He began working for the Ohio State Racing Commission (OSRC) as OTRF administrator in 2010, after serving as a horse trainer, caretaker, and valet. His favorite horse was September Dream, a 1981 son of Pocket Park, who Greg conditioned to 12 wins and $52,151 in earnings.

Greg was preceded in death by his parents, Roger E. and Edythe M. Veit. He leaves behind his loving wife Neva; children Damian and Joseph; siblings Margaret, Susan, and Linda; and countless nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.

Visitation will be held 3-6:30 pm, Nov. 17 at Newcomer Funeral Home, SW Chapel, 3393 Broadway, Grove City, Ohio 43123, with a prayer service beginning at 6:30 pm. Graveside burial will be at 10 am, Thursday, Nov. 18 at Obetz Cemetery.

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Lesson Horses Presented By John Deere Equine Discount Program: Anna Seitz On Rags To Riches

You never forget the name of your first lesson horse – that horse who taught you what you need to know to work with every one that follows.

In this series, participants throughout the Thoroughbred industry share the names and stories of the horses that have taught them the most about life, revealing the limitless ways that horses can impact the people around them. Some came early on in their careers and helped them set a course for the rest of their lives, while others brought valuable lessons to veterans of the business.

Question: Which horse has taught you the most about life?

Anna Seitz, Fasig-Tipton: “I worked for Todd Pletcher when he had Rags to Riches and she won the Belmont Stakes. Somehow, she changed me…just because she was so amazing, beating the boys. I just remember she made me want to be better at what I do.

“She was a cool horse. She was mean and nasty in the stall, but then, when I got to pony her out on the track, she was a completely different horse. Just to be around something so great, and to be a part of that team, it was pretty special.

“When she won the Belmont Stakes, I started hyperventilating, and I'd never hyperventilated before. I didn't know what was going on. I just remember Todd's assistant being like, 'You've gotta breathe,' and I said, 'I can't.' I was just so overwhelmed. It was like a dream.

“I ponied and walked hots for Todd, but I also did a lot of office stuff. I took care of owners, and whatever Todd needed. I got to see everything, so it was cool to get to work with the horses, but also deal with the owners. It was a great experience, and now I have horses with Todd.”

Anna Seitz leads I'm Already Sexy into the winner's circle

About Rags to Riches
2004, m., A.P. Indy x Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister

One of the great fillies of the 2000s, Rags to Riches established herself at the top of her division early in her 3-year-old campaign with wins in the G1 Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks before taking the Kentucky Oaks by a dominant 4 1/4 lengths. She then became the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes in 102 years when she bested Preakness Stakes winner Curlin by a head in one of the most exciting renewals in the history of the classic race.

Rags to Riches finished the season with an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly of 2007. She retired with five wins in seven starts for earnings of $1,342,528.

Bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, Rags to Riches was a $1.9-million purchase by the Coolmore partnership at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Now a broodmare, Rags to Riches is the dam of two winners from five foals to race. Her most notable runner to date is the Galileo colt Rhett Butler, who was a two-time champion in Hungary.

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