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‘The Little Guy, The Nobodies, Pulled It Off’: Racing Neophyte Mike Langlois Celebrates Unlikely King’s Plate Victory

Mike Langlois, a co-owner of King's Plate winner Paramount Prince, is not a lifelong racing participant. The financial services advisor from Brampton, Ont. has owned two racehorses, and Paramount Prince's victory was just his fourteenth start as an owner.

So, you can understand why he was up early the morning of the $1 million dollar first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown pres. by OLG.

“I slept well, but I didn't sleep a lot,” said Langlois. “I only slept for about two hours and got up around 4:00 in the morning. I was so emotional. I can't even tell you. I had tears in my eyes, and I was a mess.”

Langlois turned to Facebook to help calm his nerves. He composed a post thanking everyone for their support and expressing his excitement. The journaling helped and Langlois pulled himself together for the day ahead.

The King's Plate is the pinnacle of Canadian horse racing and every horse in the field has taken a long road to get there.

Paramount Prince's story began at the Stouffville, Ont. farm of breeder Ericka Rusnak. He is the fifth foal out of the Eddington mare Platinum Steel, and is by Ontario Sire Society's Chairman.

“I've been breeding for about 20 years now and he's probably one of the toughest babies that I've owned and bred,” said Rusnak. “He just had a lot of personality, and was unique and special in that way and very athletic looking.”

Rusnak entered Paramount Prince in the 2021 Canadian Premier Yearling Sale, where Langlois and Jamie Attard, a childhood friend of Langlois's late son Roger, purchased Paramount Prince from Rusnak after he didn't meet his reserve price.

It marked the next step on Langlois's ownership journey that began by claiming a horse for Attard's stable a few months earlier. He wanted to help out the trainer who he reconnected with after his son's passing in 2017.

“It made me feel closer to the old times because me and him spent a lot of time reminiscing about when him and Roger were kids,” said Langlois.

Attard brought Paramount Prince along slowly. He didn't debut until November of 2022, when he romped to a nine length victory and attracted interest from leading owner Gary Barber.

Langlois was hesitant about making a deal because it would move Paramount Prince from Attard's barn to Mark Casse's, and supporting Attard was the reason he purchased the horse.

“Jamie was the one who said you have to take the offer,” said Langlois. “He said it's the best thing for the horse because of the facilities and everything he will have access to.”

Paramount Prince transferred barns, and Langlois became partners with two of the most recognizable names in North American racing.

Casse has won twelve straight Sovereign Awards as Canada's top trainer, and is a Dual Canadian and American Hall of Famer. He told Langlois that it doesn't matter if he has an owner with one horse or ten, they're all his clients and he treats them the same way.

“He has held true to his word and has been so good to me,” said Langlois. “All of the guys, Gary and Mark, they treat me like part of the team.”

So, it was Langlois's first King's Plate, but alongside Casse and Barber who won the Queen's Plate in 2014 with Lexie Lou and 2018 with Wonder Gadot.

After watching the first seven races on the Plate card Langlois went to the paddock to visit Paramount Prince. He calls 'Paramount' his baby, going against one of the first things Sid Attard told him about the racing game, don't fall in love with every one of your horses.

“I like to build relationships with whoever I deal with, and I loved Paramount Prince even before this,” said Langlois. “I go and see him every week. In the paddock before the King's Plate, I went up and told him 'I believe in you,' and my wife said, 'He's staring right at you. He knows you.' I told her I have been trying to build that relationship with him, and let him know it isn't just about money, we really care about him.”

When the gate opened Paramount Prince broke alertly, and Patrick Husbands put him on the lead. The pair controlled the pace, and held off a stretch drive challenge from Elysian Field to win by a length and a half.

“I just couldn't believe it. I said to (my wife) Charmaine we won, we won, and we both started crying we couldn't believe that the little guy, the nobodies, pulled it off. I was just shocked,” said Langlois.

A trip to the winner's circle, and Woodbine's Northern Dancer room to celebrate among friends and family followed. Among the surreal moments was someone asking him to sign their King's Plate program.

“I said, 'You're joking my signature isn't worth anything' and they said, 'Yes, it is, I get everyone to sign my King's Plate program.' Someone took a picture of it, and my grandson was like papa is famous now,” chuckled Langlois.

It takes a team effort to put any horse in the winner's circle, never mind win the King's Plate and Langlois is so appreciative of Casse and Barber and the success their partnership has created.

He downplayed his own involvement, but when he was on the phone with Attard, his first call after the race, Paramount Prince's first trainer noted how critical Langlois's patience was to the gelding's development.

“I told him so what I paid some bills,” said Langlois. “What Jamie said is owners can be very pushy, as soon as they see a horse, they want it ready. He said, 'We didn't run for a year. You stayed patient, and let him grow, let him get us ready and look what you got.'”

Paramount Prince is pointing towards the Prince of Wales Stakes on September 12 at Fort Erie Race Track and Langlois is looking forward to another incredible experience. When he asked Charmaine how he has been so lucky, she said it's because he has done everything for the right reasons.

His first goal was to help Attard, then he was happy to support Rusnak, a smaller breeder dealing with the financial realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he listened to Attard's advice and did was best for the horse by accepting Barber's deal.

“You don't get into this business to make money, you do it because you love it,” said Langlois. “When I look at the entertainment value my friends and family have had visiting the horse, and watching all the races it is worth every penny.”

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Luis Saez Transported To Hospital After Saratoga Incident; Burning Bright Suffers Likely Cardiac Event

Jockey Luis Saez has been transported to Albany Medical for further evaluation after an incident at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, reported the New York Racing Association's Keith McCalmont on Twitter.

Saez was alert, conscious, and moving all extremities when he was loaded into the ambulance on a back board.

Per David Grening, Saez was complaining of pain in his shoulder/collar bone. The jockey is booked to ride Kentucky Derby winner Mage in Saturday's Grade 1 Travers Stakes, as well as

The incident occurred during the John's Call Stakes, a 1 5/8-mile turf contest. Burning Bright, a 6-year-old son of Empire Maker trained by Norm Casse, suffered a probable cardiac event on the second turn, breaking through the inside rail where he collapsed and died.

More information on this story will be provided when it becomes available.

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Rob Whiteley Doing His Part To Make World A Better Place: Difference Makers Presented By Avion Law

“Do something each day to make the world a better place.”

That's been Rob Whiteley's mantra for as long as I've known him, from his days as general manager of Carl Icahn's Foxfield breeding operation to running his own Liberation Farm, and now living in semi-retirement on his New Jersey farm.

That phrase is a lot more than the signature on Whiteley's emails or the greeting on his voicemail. Whiteley truly has done something that has helped make the world a better place through the establishment in 1996 of the Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund. Nearly 750 students have received financial aid since the fund began, with over $1.65 million distributed to the scholars who are children of horse farm workers.

“It's been a team effort for 27 years now and it's still going strong,” Whiteley said. “It's a small group of horse people at the farm level coming together to make a difference.”

The HFWEAF, which depends solely on donations, was co-founded by Whiteley, Tom Evans of Trackside Farm, and Fred Seitz of Brookdale Farm.

“I'd been eight years developing Foxfield for Carl Icahn as a commercial breeding operation,” said Whiteley, “and during that time I was very taken by the hard work and dedication of our farm workers who cared daily for the mares, foals, and yearlings in all kinds of weather for not much pay and little recognition. I wanted to come up with a way to show meaningful appreciation for all they do. I had this idea of educational assistance for their children after high school.”

Whiteley bounced the idea off Evans and Seitz, who agreed that it was worth pursuing. Attorney Judge Wilson set the organization up pro bono as a 501(c)(3) charity and they began soliciting donations. Carl Pollard and the late William T. Young were among the early supporters and Pollard has remained close to the fund as an adviser and financial backer. His son, Stu Pollard, is on the all-volunteer organization's board of directors along with Evans, Whiteley, Wilson, Dan Pride of Godolphin, educator and horsewoman Mary Ryan, veterinarian Chet Blackey, and program coordinator Muffy Stuart. Evans succeeded Whiteley as president several years ago.

“Anyone who knows Tom Evans knows that when he is involved in something, it is done well and done right,” Whiteley said. “Tom has been all-in from the very beginning and has been incredibly important in managing much of the nitty-gritty year after year.

“Many years ago, Tom and I were lucky enough to find Muffy Stuart,” he continued. “She is a very warm but no-nonsense person – the quintessential earth mother. She coordinates our application process and is a liaison to the students throughout the year.”

The process includes in-person interviews with board members that can serve as confidence builders for the applicants, many of whom will be the first in their family to attend college or trade schools.

“We don't believe in just handing out money,” said Whiteley. “We provide personal connectivity and support to the scholars and Muffy is the person who stays in contact with the students throughout the year.

“The interviews give us an opportunity for a personal connection and the chance to say, 'We believe in you.' That, as it turns out, for some applicants can be as important as the money itself,” said Whiteley.

“The encouragement is very valuable to most of our scholars,” said Evans. “Many of them don't have anybody in their household to go to for perspective on the college experience. The interviews allow us to get to know them and to give some advice and counsel them as needed and when appropriate. It also establishes a level of accountability on their part. The scholarships are given on an annual basis. When the scholars come back each year, they have to show us their transcripts and submit an essay.

“It's gratifying to watch these kids grow up and mature when we talk with them each year,” Evans added. “You think back to the first time that we met them – wide-eyed and most of them a little intimidated – and two, three or four years later they have a lot of self-confidence.”

The fund's goals are to eliminate financial obstacles that would prevent the scholars from finishing school and get them through college with as little student debt as possible. To be eligible, the applicants must have a full-time horse farm worker in Kentucky as a parent and be accepted into a college or trade school program.

Many of the applicants plan to work part-time jobs while attending school.

“These kids grew up working,” said Evans, “a lot of them on horse farms. They have a good work ethic, but we want them to work less and focus on school more. We tell them school is going to be your No. 1 job.”

“We're in awe of the work ethic and determination of the scholars,” said Whiteley. “Children that apply to the program have fully internalized their parents' work ethic.”

Whiteley and Evans both had the opportunities for higher education themselves. Whiteley earned a doctorate degree in counseling psychiatry at the University of California-Berkeley and then headed the counseling psychiatry department at Rutgers University. Evans earned a degree at Vanderbilt University and then chose to get in the horse business. That decision was influenced by attending the 1973 Kentucky Derby, won by eventual Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

“From my perspective, if you look at the world's social problems and try to find solutions – what really needs to be done to make things better – you wind up with education,” said Evans. “We tend to throw money at symptoms and ease the symptoms, but that's hardly a long-term solution.”

The HFWEAF scholars have gone on to an array of professional positions both in and outside of the horse industry. They work in racing, breeding, veterinary medicine, health care, law, social work, teaching, and many other businesses.

“In my view, it's helped make the world a better place,” said Whiteley. “It's turned out to be a wonderful thing.”

“Rob has been the driving force since the very beginning,” Evans said of Whiteley. “He's always been a cheerleader for the little guy, and that's who the fund is set up to help, the farm workers in the trenches.

“If we can help one person get an education that makes a difference in their life, it's a worthwhile project,” Evans said. “That one person can make a difference for generations to come within that family.”

The Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund has been a difference maker for many families since its inception, and so have all the people behind it. As Rob Whiteley signs off on every email: “Be well … be kind. Do something each day to make the world a better place. Remember those who helped you along your way and PAY IT FORWARD!”

If you would like to make a difference, please consider a donation to the Horse Farm Workers' Educational Assistance Fund.

Difference Makers is presented by Richard Pearson's Avion Law, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm that primarily represents owners in the private aviation sector. Avion Law has a “giving back” program supporting awareness campaigns and donating to charitable organizations in and outside of horse racing. For more information on Avion Law, click here.

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‘It’s Pay Back Time’: Mage Co-Owner Teams Up With Steve Dwoskin In Fight Against Pediatric Cancer

Kentucky Derby (G1) hero and Curlin Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Mage will carry the hopes of OGMA investments LLC, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing LLC and CMNWLTH in Saturday's Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The 3-year-old son of Good Magic will also help champion the cause to find a cure for pediatric cancer while clashing with Curlin Florida Derby winner Forte, Preakness (G1) victor National Treasure and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo.

Earlier in the summer, Restrepo pledged to donate a portion of his share of Mage's winnings for the rest of the 2023 racing season to the Dwoskin Children's Cancer Research Fund at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was named to honor Steven Dwoskin, the Gulfstream Park-based owner and trainer who has donated many, many millions of dollars to the university's cancer research.

There is no doubt Dwoskin will be rooting for Mage, who finished second in the $1 million Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth Park following Restrepo's pledge.

“Absolutely,” Dwoskin said Wednesday morning. “The owner [Restrepo] went to the University of Miami and saw that I was a big contributor there to cancer research. He got in touch, and we had lunch. He wanted to give part of the horse's earnings. Mage came in second after we met, and he donated part of his earnings to children's cancer. Beautiful!”

The 80-year-old horseman and auto parts businessman feels fortunate to be able to help fund the fight against pediatric cancer.

“It's very rewarding. It's a beautiful thing. I've worked my butt off all my life,” said Dwoskin, whom the University of Miami had previously honored with the naming of the Dwoskin Proton Therapy Building. “God's been good to me by giving me gifts to earn some money. It's pay back time.”

Dwoskin went on to describe a very special motivation for his dedication to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

“I had this calling, when I saw this lady on TV who had a son who died of cancer. She started a place called Heroes Hangout,” he said. “We went to visit her and saw that she let all the kids go to her place to play games and take home little gifts. When I saw that, I got very moved and said, 'We've got to cure children's cancer.'”

Dwoskin has somehow found the time between his philanthropy and business obligations to train the winners of 934 races, including Fay's Rhonda Cares, a 2-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn who scored an impressive off-the-pace 5 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream Park last Sunday.

Dwoskin had intended to pinhook the $100,000 yearling purchase at the OBS April sale, but the Kentucky-bred filly failed to meet her reserve.

“Nobody wanted her. We raced her Sunday and now the phone is ringing off the hook,” Dwoskin said. “Her dam produced Flameaway, so the breeding is very good. We'll run in her in a non-winners-of-a-race [other-than] and see what she does and then decide what to do in the future.”

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