KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

HP: My dad was a steward at the racetrack. He worked in Maryland for 20-some years and was there when Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado and those guys were there. My mom trained steeplechase horses, so this was kind of in my blood and I didn't have a whole lot of choice. I did fox hunters and pony club growing up and went to the races a lot. Dad always tried to deter me from going to the racetrack, but I rode steeplechase horses and ended up working for several steeplechase trainers. [Hall of Fame steeplechase trainer] Jack Fisher got me started and then I ended up also going to Frannie Campitelli at Pimlico.

After that, I started working for Kenny McPeek. He got me to move to Kentucky. I learned a lot from Kenny and was around really good horses. I galloped Take Charge Lady and Harlan's Holiday. When Kenny retired to do bloodstock, I was fortunate to carry on from there.

On July 1 of 2005, the first horse I raced actually won at Churchill Downs. Her name was Cat Quatorze (Louis Quatorze) and I'll never forget it.  Then I won my first Grade I that fall with a filly called Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever) at Keeneland in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S.

KP: How did your steeplechase background help you as a flat trainer?

HP: They intertwine a lot actually. Steeplechase is a lot more fitness-focused because they have to go so much further. In terms of horsemanship, I think I benefitted from it and it did me a world of good.

A lot of steeplechase horses are older flat horses. My mom is a wonderful horsewoman and she would take flat horses that would have a year off from a bowed tendon and she would bring them back to perfect health and they would win countless races for her.

KP: Where is your stable based today?

HP: Kentucky is pretty much home for us. Churchill Downs is our base basically year-round and I'm at Highpointe Training Center just outside of Louisville in the winter. I give a lot of horses time off in the winter to let them down a bit so they are ready to roll in the spring.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

HP: I'd say we normally have around 10, but that number can go up and down especially in the spring when we get babies in. I do think back on the days when I would have 40 horses in the barn, but the game has changed a lot since then. It's hard to find help these days and so to be honest, 10 is a good number for the stage I'm at.

I have good owners and a lot of my owners breed their own, so we can take our time with them and I'm not pressed to be running babies in May. I train for great people, some of whom have been with me since I started.

KP: Who would you say has been your biggest mentor throughout your career?

HP: That's a tough question. Kenny gave me the opportunity to be where I'm at today. He introduced me to a lot of people and put me in a great position. I learned so much from him.

Looking way back, it would also be my mom. She's a wonderful horsewoman and she's 87 now, but she's actually in Kentucky this week selling babies at the sale. She still has the farm in Maryland and breeds babies. She is a very good horsewoman and gave me my work ethic to put me where I'm at today.

This is a hard question because there's also Jack Fisher and Frannie Campitelli. They both had big influences on my career. I think everybody helps you get somewhere.

KP: What horse has been the most influential to your career?

HP: Oh, it would have to be my boy Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck). He was my best friend and I had him for his whole career. He took me all over the country. He was the coolest horse and had so much personality. I would pull up in my car in the afternoons and he would start hollering when he saw me.

Then there's also Curlin, who put me on the map. I only got to run him once before they sold him, but I took the time with him and did right by him. He made it all worthwhile for that one start and now I can say I trained Curlin. He helped me get my name out there.

What do they say? Good horses will make you look good.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

HP: My employees are great. I have one couple who has worked for me since I first started.

We're very small and hands-on. If I'm not getting on them myself then I'm on the pony with them. We give them a lot of TLC and it doesn't matter to me what type of horse they are because they all get treated the right way and they're all special to me. They all think they're big horses in my eyes.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

HP: I'm not going to sit here and say that they're bad for the sport. I give them all a lot of credit. I think that's what some owners want these days. They want the high-percentage guys. If you list the names of super trainers today, they're very good horsemen and very good trainers. With the way the game is and the way finding help is today, what they do is difficult.

I do think there is a different aspect in being involved with a big outfit as opposed to a smaller one. There are pluses and minuses to it.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

HP: I just love the horses. I love seeing them come along and develop and I love the competitiveness of it all. Right now I have a little filly named Zawish (Mshawish) who is two for two. This filly just thinks she's King Kong. She loves the game and loves to train. I actually trained her mother, who was owned by the same clients and was their first-ever racehorse.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

HP: There are many different approaches you could take with this one. Would I love consistency within our sport and to have everyone on the same page? Absolutely. I just hope our sport continues to get better and better, but it seems like it's going in the right direction.

It's hard between finding help and keeping your system rolling, which I have found is easier now with the size that I'm at. Even when I worked for Kenny, you would walk in some days and find out you're missing a groom so you're rubbing down four and galloping seven. That's part of it and you have to be able to roll with it.

This game is hard. You can be on the absolute biggest high in the world and it will jerk you down in a minute. I'll never forget the morning after I won my first Grade I, I was breezing horses and had a 2-year-old break down. That will jerk the heart right out of you and you have to be able to tough it out. A lot of it is just the ups and downs. It's definitely a game of highs and lows.

KP: What is your bucket list race that you hope to win someday?

HP: Obviously everyone's goal is to get to the Kentucky Derby or the Oaks. I ran in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with Einstein in 2009. It was the year Zenyatta won it. Einstein actually won the GI Santa Anita H. that year and I was the first woman to win that race, so that was awesome and I felt like that was a great feat.

I would love to win a Breeders' Cup race or of course the Oaks or the Derby–something of that prestige.

The post Smaller, But Still Super: Helen Pitts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Steve Margolis spent one summer walking hots at Monmouth Park when he was in high school and has spent just about every morning on the backside since. The New York native worked for various top-level trainers before going out on his own in 1999. He quickly rose to the top of the game with a Kentucky Derby starter in 2002 and a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint with Cajun Beat (Grand Slam) the following year. Since then, the horseman has continued to amass a list of talented performers including GSW Bouquet Booth (Flower Alley) and, most recently, six-time stakes winner She'sonthewarpath (Declaration of War). Margolis said his favorite aspect of training is the hope and excitement he feels every time a new horse joins his stable.

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

SM: When I was in high school, I worked one summer at Monmouth Park walking horses and it evolved from there. I wound up working at Belmont for quite a few years with John Veitch when he was training privately for Darby Dan around 1985. I also worked for Pat Byrne along the way. He was my first foreman and assistant job and then I went to Howie Tesher, who was like a dad to me. I worked for him from 1989 to 1996.

At that point I wanted a change and I wanted to get out of New York, so I came to Kentucky in the spring of '97. I worked for Stanley Hough for a few years and he was very good to me. I was on my own for most of the time working for him. A few years later, I went out on my own with a few horses.

I started at Turfway Park and it grew from there. I spent a couple winters at Turfway and then I spent three winters in Gulfstream at Palm Meadows, but this is now our 15th year coming to Fair Grounds in the winter and we spend the rest of the year in Kentucky.

Margolis and Breeders' Cup champion Cajun Beat | Horsephotos

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

SM: Right now we're pretty light. We've been hovering around 15, 16 or 17 horses and of course are hoping to get some more. It's tough right now. The foal crop is down and with the big stables getting a lot of horses, it's very competitive.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

SM: I'm very hands on and I'm here every day. I'm seeing my horses basically seven days a week. I'm feeding them and doing a lot of stuff myself, so I'm able to get more of a feel of what's going on with the horses, which is how I like to do it.

The biggest stable I ever had was back when we were training for Bertram, Richard and Elaine Klein, who were great clients. We got up to close to 60 horses and it was a little tough, but it all depends on who you train for and how you manage your time.

We used to go to Saratoga and Churchill Downs, but over the past few years I've pretty much had one string that goes to Fair Grounds in the winter and spends the rest of the year in Louisville.

KP: Is there a particular division of horses that you feel your stable is particularly strong with?

SM: It's funny, Tom McCrocklin is a good friend of mine and he breaks some of the horses that I train. Last winter, we were winning a lot of grass races and he called me up and said, 'Oh, I didn't know you were a turf trainer.'

It's all about the horses you get. If you get horses with turf pedigrees, you win turf races. But they're all individuals and when you first get them, you have to figure out who they are and what best suits the horse. With anything you get, you have to be able to maximize the horse's effort and ability.

KP: What horse has been the most influential to your career?

SM: Years ago I had Cajun Beat (Grand Slam) and we won the 2003 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. It was a cool story because I got the horse from Satish Sanan [Padua Stables] and John and Joseph Iracane. When we got him, he was coming in off a bad race but had won a few listed stakes. We figured out a few things with him, nothing major, but we got lucky and the horse got good. We won the GIII Kentucky Cup Sprint S. in the fall at Turfway and then he went on to win the Sprint.

I also had a really good filly named Wine Princess (Ghostzapper) about eight years ago who won a couple of graded stakes and then I had a really cool mare named She'sonthewarpath (Declaration of War) who we just retired recently for Robert and Lawana Low, who have probably been my greatest owners to date. They're a class act and I've had horses for them for about 14 years now. This filly was a hard-knocking daughter of Declaration of War and I won six stakes races with her.

KP: What do you believe are the benefits for an owner in using a “smaller” trainer?

SM: I'm hands on and I go back every afternoon to see how they ate and to look at them as individuals. A lot of times with these horses, it's just about paying attention. I think if you see them every day, you pick up on some extras that you would miss if you aren't there as much because you have several different strings.

She'sonthewarpath takes the 2021 Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf S. at Ellis Park | Coady

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

SM: I give those guys credit because it's a really hard thing. It just seems like this is the trend now and in some ways, it makes it easier for these big owners if their trainer has four or five divisions because they can utilize those other tracks as opposed to me being at just one track. On the other hand, I guess it does hurt [the sport] because with trainers who have 100 maidens, it can be an issue at some tracks when it comes to filling races. But again, for an owner, if your trainer has five outfits and your horse doesn't fit in one division, they can just send them to the other division.

With training in general, you're trying to manage the horses and handle the clients and do right by them. When you have four divisions, it's like managing four different businesses, so it becomes a challenge. I can remember back in the early 1980's, D. Wayne Lukas was one of the first guys to have the big divisions. When I worked for John Veitch at that time, if someone had 30 or 40 horses, that was considered a huge string. Nowadays that's not nothing, but it might be considered small.

It's an owner's prerogative and it's their choice. Everyone has their reasons of why they go to a certain trainer and of course the better you do as a trainer, it seems to be the best advertisement for getting new clients. It's a numbers game. When you have more horses, you're going to run more and you're usually going to win more.

It's a trade-off in different things. Most of the guys that have the big outfits have really good help, like Dave Carroll who is the assistant trainer for Mark Casse. Dave trained on his own for 20 years. So it all depends on the owner. I have some good, loyal people who always send me horses.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

SM: It's about the excitement of coming in every day and having new hope. When new horses come in or you get some young horses, you always have that hope that they're going to turn out to be something really good. Working with the young horses, teaching them about the gate and the other different things you teach them before they get to the races is a challenge, but it's exciting. After you've put in the time and effort with the horse and they turn out to be good, it's a great accomplishment for everyone involved.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

SM: In this day and age, it's harder finding employees with the way things have gone and with me having a smaller stable.

It's always disappointing when horses get hurt. You always try to do right by them and give them the time between races and works. It's never easy, no matter how long you've been training, if they get an injury that they can't come back from. Unfortunately that comes with the territory of training.

KP: If you could change one thing about the state of racing today, what would it be?

SM: I thinks things are going in a positive direction. Since I started in the industry, most things are better in terms of medication and I'm glad of that. I think basic things like licensing can be frustrating and would be much simpler if you could get a general license, but I know all these jurisdictions make money on it so that's a hard thing.

It is hard that over the years, there are these guys like the Navarro's of the world who have pushed the envelope and then there are people like me who play by the rules. Everyone gets penalized and every trainer gets put in the same box. If you do really well, people think you are cheating, but when you don't do well, people look at your statistics and say that this trainer doesn't know what he's doing.

It's disappointing that people have made it come to this because of what they've done. I'm all for doing right by the horse in not over-running them and not over-medicating them, but I do feel like taking away Lasix for these horses is wrong. You're asking these horses to perform and if they do turn out to bleed, they're not getting the Lasix that they need so they can run at the level they're supposed to, so it's unfair to the horse.

KP: What is your bucket list race that you hope to win someday? 

SM: Of course, it would be so exciting to win the Kentucky Derby. I actually ran a horse, Request for Parole (Judge T C) in the Derby in 2002 and he finished fifth. That's the race that all your friends who don't following racing know about. To win a race of that magnitude or to get another Breeders' Cup win would be unbelievable.

The post Smaller, But Still Super: Steve Margolis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

   For longtime California-based trainer Patrick “Paddy” Gallagher, it all comes back to the horse. “The best part of my job is being around the horses…and spoiling them a bit,” said the amiable Irishman. Once the assistant for Bill Shoemaker, Gallagher went out on his own in 1997 after the legendary jockey retired from a brief stint as a trainer. Some of Gallagher's most notable runners include four-time Grade I winner Magical Fantasy (Diesis {GB}) as well as millionaire Flamboyant (FR) (Peer Gynt {Jpn}), a multiple graded stakes winner who Gallagher still follows today as the gelding excels in a second career.

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

PG: I grew up in Ireland and on school holidays I used to go down and work in the racing yards. After I finished school I needed to get a job so I went back and got a job there and got started on the Curragh. I worked there for a couple of trainers and then I moved to America in 1980.

When I went to California, I worked at Green Thumb Farm in Chino, California. While there, I met some people who worked at the racetrack. I went home for a time but came back and worked for a trainer named John Sullivan for about nine years. When Bill Shoemaker started training, he asked if I would come work for him. He had spoken with Sullivan before he approached me and they both agreed that it was a good move for me, so I ended up working for Bill Shoemaker.

I started with Shoemaker in 1990. After his accident the following year he kept training until around the end of 1997. When he told me that he wanted to retire, he helped me from the get-go in keeping the business going and he was always here at the track when I had runners. He was a big, big help to me.

Ridden by Sarah Pinfield, MGSW Flamboyant takes on his first eventing show this fall at Galway Downs | photo courtesy Paddy Gallagher Racing

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

PG: Right now we have around 30. It's usually always between 30 to 45 head.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

PG: I think in certain ways I'm a bit old-school, but I have a lot of younger staff so they don't let me be too old-fashioned. We like to keep up to date and we just like to take good care of the horses as best as we can and hope that at the end of the day, it shows.

KP: What do you believe are the benefits for an owner in using a “smaller” trainer?

PG: Like everything, it depends on each individual owner and what makes them happy and keeps them comfortable. I'm not as big because I like to be in contact with my owners at all times. I want to be accessible at all times and keep them up to date. I want to make everyone feel comfortable, including the horses.

It comes down to the fact that some people like the bigger operations and others prefer ones not quite so big. I guess that's what keeps the business going. The bigger guys have to have the smaller guys to keep the business going.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

PG: No, I think super trainers, for one reason or another, get used and get big, so best of luck to them. I don't like to call anyone a smaller trainer because they might be trainers who have less horses, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not as good of a horseman as anyone else. I think everyone deserves to have a good horse, whether it's once in a while or all the time. That's what makes the game so great. There are some good horsemen with not a lot of horses who can take on the big guys once in a while and it's great for the game when that happens.

Red Lark (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus}) wins the 2020 GI Del Mar Oaks for Gallagher and owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners | Horsephotos

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

PG: I enjoy the owners who like their horses and the way they act when they win–hopefully even the way they act when they loose. But the best part is being around the animals, taking care of them, keeping them happy and healthy and spoiling them a bit. We want to bring out the best in them.

It's also important to me that we find a second job for our racehorses so that someone else can experience these horses. It helps us an industry because now you have owners who are not involved in racing and they get to enjoy these Thoroughbreds that are so enthusiastic and eager to please.  We had a horse named Flamboyant (FR) (Peer Gynt {Jpn}) who won several graded stakes for us. We retired him when he was eight and he has gone on to be a show-jumping and dressage horse and he is doing really well. He has made the new owners very happy and he still has that same enthusiasm he had on the track. We put a big emphasis on aftercare in our stable.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

PG: I never like to see anything bad happen to anyone's horse. I just like to see horses that are happy and healthy when they're running. Things happen and if you don't say anything about them, it will keep you frustrated. I learned from Bobby Frankel a long time ago that it's not good when you don't talk about things right when they happen. You're better off saying something at the time and then moving on.

KP: What horse has had the most influence on your career?

PG: Where I come from, the obvious horse that comes to mind was a rockstar named Arkle. He represented Ireland as a steeplechaser and he had a big influence on me as a kid. Another horse that always sticks out in my mind is Dubai Millennium. He always to me acted as if there was something special about him.

Thinking back, I've been lucky enough to have success with several fillies and Magical Fantasy might stand out on paper because she won four Grade I races. But for one reason or another, all of the horses I've had in my stable stand out to me. Every one of them deserves the chance to be that superstar. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but I still think they all deserve to be given that chance.

To catch up on our 'Smaller But Still Super' series, click here.

The post Smaller, But Still Super: Patrick Gallagher appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Michael Matz offers a perspective on racing and training that perhaps no one else in history shares as not only a successful trainer, but before that, an accomplished international equestrian who competed in three Olympics and took home the silver medal in the team show jumping competition in 1996. Two years later, Matz transitioned to the racing world and it wasn't long before he made it to the big stage with the unforgettable 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro (Dynaformer). Other top performers include 2012 GI Belmont S. winner Union Rags (Dixie Union) and 2006 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff victress Round Pond (Awesome Again). As Matz approaches 800 career wins, he compares the state of racing today to that of the show jumping industry several decades ago.

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

MM: When I first got involved in racing, I had a prior commitment with a young horse named Judgement to try and go to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. We made it into the top 15, but we had some better horses on the team. I ended up giving him to Beezie Madden and he was a really nice horse for her.

After that, I felt like the show jumping industry was going the wrong way and I didn't like some of the things going on with management. I always enjoyed the racehorses so I thought I would give it a try and I had my first winner in 1998.

I started out with about five horses in my stable. I have always trained for my family, but over time we started to get some better horses and more clients. At one point we had 60 to 70 horses, but that got hard with the help situation and I didn't want to have so many people watching over my horses. I didn't like being separated with a barn in one place and another barn somewhere else. I like to be a little more hands-on without having these big strings.

KP: When you moved from the show jumping world to the racing world, what was the biggest challenge in making that transition?

MM: Good horses make good riders and good horses make good trainers. When I first started, I didn't have that many good horses and I was looking into how I could get better-quality horses. As anyone can tell you, the good ones are easy to train. I watched and spoke with a lot of the bigger trainers when I first started and I think mostly everyone does things the same way. It's the same as with the show jumpers–the people who have the better horses are winning. You just have to find a way to get those horses.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable today?

MM: Now, we only have between 20 and 30 horses. It's a little hard right now because it is a numbers game. Things have really changed from how it was when I first started. I mostly train for breeders. I don't have anyone going to the sale and spending millions of dollars. We'll buy some at the sale but that's always a hard situation when you buy one or two and there are four thousand at a sale.

It's getting a bit difficult right now and I think the big thing is that the ownerships have changed. More people are going into partnerships and you have half a dozen trainers getting all the horses. When I first got involved, I think a lot of the owners were a bit more loyal than they are today. The bottom line  for them is asking their trainer, 'What have you done for me lately?' So it is a hard situation when you don't have the numbers.

Matz ponying undefeated Barbaro ahead of the colt's Kentucky Derby victory | Horsephotos

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

MM: Any small stable can be a bit more personalized. You know your horses better than someone who has 200 or 300 horses. At this point in my career, I don't think I could handle that physically or mentally. Also, now that my children are competing in show jumping, I want to be able to watch them ride.

KP: What do you believe are the benefits for an owner in using a “smaller” trainer?

MM: The obvious benefit is that if you ask someone to train your horse, that person is going to be training the horse. It won't be his main assistant or second assistant or third assistant. The biggest opportunity that you have is that you know who will be training your horse and know that they can probably keep a better eye on the situation. That's my opinion and it's why it was hard for me when I had more than 50 horses. I just felt like everyone has a different view of something and if you don't keep your own eye on the horse, there are things that can happen that will go unnoticed.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

MM: I don't know that they are bad. Obviously if they're getting all those horses, they deserve those horses because they've done well. For an owner, it's all about personal preference. If you want to be one of 200, that's fine. But it is all about numbers. It seems like it has gotten to the point where if one horse doesn't work out, they can just bring in the next one.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

MM: It's a pleasure to be around the animals all the time. The enjoyment and thrill when a horse wins is such an accomplishment. I'm very lucky right now that the people I have as owners could not be a nicer group. I don't have a lot of clients now at this point in my career, but the people I do have are wonderful and they all really love their horses.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

MM: I do think there are things going wrong in our sport. It's funny, some of the things that I think were going wrong when I was involved in show jumping are the things we have problems with now in racing with each state wanting to do their own thing and have their own rules.

Matz-trained Union Rags races to victory in the 2012 GI Belmont S. | Horsephotos

I do think that when people are penalized, it should be a lot harsher penalty. Right now, I think organizations are afraid to do anything because someone can just get a lawyer and sue them. Whatever the rule is, we need to make sure it's the same for everyone and that we all start at the same starting gate and finish at the same finish line without one person starting 10 lengths in front of everyone else.

That's the discouraging part for small trainers in the business right now who want to do it the right way. I'm not saying any of these big trainers don't do it the right way, but there are things going on right now that need to be figured out.

KP: Do you think the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) would help achieve the uniformity you mentioned in regards to rules and penalties?

MM: Nothing is really happening otherwise, so I think we have to go that way so that something does happen. I wish that something could have already happened, but right now every state has their own rules and regulations and nobody has a set standard that they're going by. The disappointing part about it is that nothing changes. If people get caught with something, they have to have serious penalties.

I think the biggest thing I don't care for is that if a trainer does get suspended, all they do is put their assistant in and the stable keeps running like normal. Maybe if penalties were actually enforced, things could happen so that smaller trainers could get some more horses.

KP: What horse was the most influential to your career?

MM: With show horses, it would be [1981 Show Jumping World Cup winner] Jet Run, who I had for a long time and was a great horse.

With racehorses, the best horse I ever had was obviously Barbaro. We will never know just how good he was, but he was pretty good.

To catch up on our 'Smaller But Still Super' series, click here.

The post Smaller, But Still Super: Michael Matz appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Growing up in Ireland, Eddie Kenneally's favorite day of the week was when his father would take him to visit their local steeplechase track. Now a multiple Grade I-winning trainer, Kenneally looks back and pinpoints those days at the track as defining moments in his life when he developed his love for the horse at a young age. After nearly 30 years of running his own operation, the Kentucky-based trainer has developed two million-dollar earners–2007 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Kelly's Landing (Patton) and 2016 GI Stephen Foster H. victor Bradester (Lion Heart). This year, he earned his 1,000th career victory and was represented by GI Bruce D. S. winner Point Me By (Point of Entry).

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

EK: I grew up in Waterford in Ireland and my dad was a big fan of steeplechase racing. He would take us to the local races at least once a week. That's when I first got a liking for horses and racing. We grew up on a dairy farm and we always had some horses there that my dad would break and train, so I grew up riding from a very young age.

I was fortunate enough to get my first real job in the industry working for one of the leading pinhookers in Europe with Tim Hyde at Camas Park Stud. He has a great reputation and I spent a few years doing yearling prep and breaking for him. He was connected with Pegasus Stud Farm in Lexington so I was able to come here for a work experience program in 1987. I loved the Lexington area and decided that I wanted to stay. I worked at Pegasus for a year and then galloped horses for Rusty Arnold at Keeneland.

After I spent a year with Rusty, I had an opportunity to become an assistant for Tom Skiffington, who was one of the leading trainers in New York at the time. It was a great education and I learned a lot from him. Through the exposure I got as an assistant, I decided to start training on my own in 1993.

For the first few years, we started out pretty small. It took a while to get established. I was spending my summers in Kentucky and winters in New Orleans and we were holding at about 12 to 15 horses for the first six or eight years. The business wasn't growing as big as I had hoped and the success hadn't really happened as much as I had hoped.

Eventually we had an opportunity to start working for Jack Lally of Summerplace Farm, who had a really nice horse named Kelly's Landing (Patton). That horse helped propel my business to the next level. At around the same time we started to train for Ron and Ricki Rashinski of Homewrecker Racing. They had a filly named Bushfire (Louis Quatorze) who won three Grade I races for us and was an Eclipse finalist as a 3-year-old. We still train for both of those clients today and they really helped get my career off the ground along with longtime client Joe Sutton, who had Grade I winner Bradester (Lion Heart) with us a few years ago.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

Eddie and Catherine Kenneally have two sons, Vincent and Liam | photo courtesy Eddie Kenneally

EK: We're at a comfortable number now because I am spending a lot of time with my two young kids. They play a lot of baseball so I have a lot going on with family. Our stable has been at about 50 head for the past few years. We have about 20 at Keeneland and 30 at Churchill Downs, so we have two divisions and two assistant trainers, Kelly Wheeler and Kevin Glodowski, who are a huge part of our operation.

Six or eight years ago, we would have had closer to 70 horses, but 50 is a good number for where I'm at right now. About five years ago, I decided to discontinue my New York division. I've scaled back a little bit and we don't spend nearly as much time in New York, partly because we decided to stay closer to home and also because the purses have increased dramatically in Kentucky. I probably could have more horses if I wanted to, but this number works for me.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

EK: I'm very hands on. I'm on the road a lot between Louisville and Lexington all year and I like to be at the barn every day. I look forward to going out every morning, but it's hard work and I think a person needs to stay on it. You can't get complacent and you need to be willing to put in the time to maintain it.

We've had some good people work for us in the past who have gone on to have their own success. Tom Morley is in New York now and Brendan Walsh spent a few years with us as well. I take pride in the fact that we've had some good people who have come through and go on to do very well.

KP: What do you believe are the benefits for an owner in using a “smaller” trainer?

EK: Obviously, the smaller trainers aren't going to win as many races because they don't run as many horses. So you aren't going to get as much exposure as with a guy who has 10 times more horses than I do. But I don't envy any of [the larger outfits].  I say good for them for having 300 or 400 horses. 50 works well for me and we have some great clients who appreciate what we do and we certainly appreciate them.

I think that the clients of super trainers might not get the same opportunities because for every condition, their trainer may have several horses and will probably only end up running one of them. For instance, if you have a turf maiden filly, the trainer might have 20 of those when the race comes up but they're only going to run one or two. The owners of the other horses will have to just wait for their turn. So it wouldn't work for me. I think we can give better customer service with a smaller operation like ours.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

EK: A lot of the stuff that goes on in this game is out of our control. This is out of my control so it doesn't matter what my opinion is about it. If some guys have a lot of horses, then good for them.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

EK: I enjoy waking up every morning and being hands-on with every horse in my barn, getting to know them and develop them. Being self-employed and having my own business allows me to have flexibility where I can spend time with my kids and my wife. Sure, I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to work, but I've been doing that a long time and I've adapted to it.

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

One of the most frustrating things with the state of racing in this country at the moment is how penalties are not equal for violations of the same sort in different states. Violations and penalties are not implemented in the same way and the testing and rules are different in every state.

When we get under uniform rules, I'm hopeful that will take away some of the frustration and maybe establish a more level playing field because I do think it's not quite as fair as it could be. The penalties are not harsh enough for the people who can't abide by the rules and it's frustrating for someone like me who has never had a suspension to run against people who are multiple offenders and continue to bend the rules when there's no real incentive for them to stop.

Bushfire wins the 2006 GI Ashland S. and later goes on to claim the GI Acorn S. and GI Mother Goose S. | Horsephotos

KP: Do you think the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) would help achieve the uniformity you mentioned?

EK: I think uniformity would be great if it could be implemented, but I think it's going to be a tough process going from where we are right now to where that is up and running and achieving what it is set out to accomplish. In theory, it sounds good and hopefully we'll be able to get there, but it won't be easy.

KP: Earlier you talked about when you first set out on your own and your stable was very small. What advice would you have for younger trainers who are just getting started and hope to establish a stable like yours someday?

EK: The advice I would give to younger people who want to train is that the key is to try to get around someone who is successful that they look up to and admire. Spend the time working as an assistant for long enough that they can get enough contacts and experience before they begin to train. The game has changed a lot and I think communication is vital. For young people starting out, I would recommend to travel and go to another country to work in racing and see as much as you can before you start training on your own. Put in the time beforehand and it will benefit you down the road.

KP: What horse do you look back on as one you will always remember for having one of the biggest personalities? 

EK: The first horse that comes to mind is a filly called Girls Know Best (Caleb's Posse). I claimed her in partnership, which is something I do with a large portion of my stable, with Brian Chenvert. She won over half a million in purses after we claimed her, winning three stakes and placing in about seven others. She was just a filly who was rock solid and tried hard every time. She was around the barn for quite some time and was often on her toes. She was just a really fun filly to be around.

Another horse would definitely by Kelly's Landing. He was such a dude. He was very particular and definitely wasn't nice to everyone, but we go along great and he eventually became my stable pony when he retired from racing.

To nominate a trainer for this ongoing series, email katiepetrunyak@thetdn.com. General criteria: Multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, fewer than 300 starts this year, has trained for over 20 years and accumulated no more than approximately $50 million in career earnings. 

The post Smaller, But Still Super: Eddie Kenneally appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

David Donk's stable has been a fixture in New York for over 30 years. His most notable runners include MGISW Awad (Caveat), plus graded stakes winners Hessonite (Freud), Ordway (Salt Lake), King Kreesa (King Cugat) and Pennine Ridge (Cure the Blues). The easygoing and approachable horseman enjoys spending time developing young horses and takes pride in being one of first ones at the racetrack each morning. Donk is approaching 800 career wins and is represented this year by Shesastonecoldfox S. winner Shesawildjoker (Practical Joke).

KP: How did you first get involved in horse racing?

DD: I grew up in a small town in upstate New York near Finger Lakes Racetrack called Clifton Springs. My dad owned and bred some horses and we were neighbors with the trainer that he used. I got hooked at a very young age and realized, probably when I first got into high school, that it was something that I wanted to pursue.

After I graduated high school, I did train on my own at Finger Lakes  for five years, mainly with my dad's horses, and then I got a break in the spring in 1985. Phil Gleaves left to go out on his own so I got hired as an assistant to Woody Stephens.

I worked for Woody for five and a half years until his health wasn't doing as well and then I went out on my own in 1991. I started out with seven horses. I had a couple for Henryk de Kwiakowski, Jim Ryan [Ryehill Farm] and John and Theresa Behrendt. I was able to stay in New York and gradually have a bit of success, enough to where I was able to stay in New York to make a living. I've been here for 36 years.

KP: How many horses are normally in your stable?

DD: The number has been a little bigger for the last few years. I'm at about 50 over the summer. I try not to have any more than that. In the winter, I try to get to the low 30's. I have a lot of people who are on visas and have to go back, so I try to reduce the size of the stable to make it a little more comfortable and easier on us all in December and January before we gear back up again.

KP: Who have been your biggest mentors throughout your career?

DD: First would be my dad, who is still with us, and then the biggest break of my career was getting a job for Woody Stephens. I like to say that I went to one of the best universities in the country when I worked for him.

KP: What horse was the most influential to your career?

DD: My most influential horse is obviously Awad (Caveat). He made $3.2 million in his career, had over 70 starts and won a few Grade I races. We got to travel all over the country and we went to Japan twice. That's the horse that put me on the map and where I'm at financially. There's no question that he was the horse who is most influential for me.

KP: What do you believe makes your stable unique?

DD: This is a business, so when you are a trainer, you are the president and CEO of your own company. One of the classes I took in high school was bookkeeping. I always knew that if I was going to have a business, I needed to be able to do the financial side of it.         Horse racing today is different from when I was a kid or even from one or two generations ago. There's a lot more to it. You are the president and CEO of your own company and there's a lot of federal, state, immigration and law regulations. Even if you don't do the bookkeeping yourself, you need to understand it. You're the one that's liable and you're the head of the company.

It's not just about training horses. There's also the customer service side of it with clients. I'm a little bit unique in that I like the paperwork and the business side of it. I do most of my own bookkeeping. My dad taught me this as a kid and now I preach it to my kids-it's not a bad thing to be your own boss. The biggest difference is that you work 80 hours a week instead 40 hours a week, but at the end of the day, it's your own.

I've been here a long time, but I've had a number of clients who I've had for 25 years with John and Theresa Behrendt, Charles Marquis, Bill Punk and Bob Spiegel. I've been fortunate that I've had a lot of loyalty and at the same time, they're very successful in their own professions and they've taught me a lot.

Shesawildjoker (Practical Joke) breaks her maiden on debut this summer before running in the money in three stakes, including a win in the Shesastonecoldfox S. | Coglianese

KP: What do you believe are the benefits, for owners, in using a “smaller” trainer?

DD: They're going to run more often. I come from a different era and the game has changed a lot. I sometimes say that owners, to a degree, are brainwashed. Horses can run more than once every two months. Sometimes economics don't come into play for them.

I understand the financial side of it for an owner. In New York, we run for a lot of money. I always say that I don't win enough. Sometimes I don't run my horses quite where they belong because I cater to what a client wants to do. I call it customer service. Maybe it's too far to an extent, but if you're running second or third in New York all day long, it pays a lot of bills for the client and keeps money in circulation. We're not always looking at it by numbers or in percentages. That's where technology has changed things a little bit. Everybody is worried about their numbers.

I enjoy 2-year-olds and trying to educate them to shed a little light onto what their quality might be. Sometimes you might run them a little over their head to find that out and appease someone.

Of course, we live in a democracy so I wouldn't take anything away from the big stables. But at the same time I think those owners should be willing to diversify their stable a bit more and give younger trainers who are up-and-coming an opportunity. There are a lot of really good people out there. We have some in New York now, even some female trainers who I hope are successful because we need 20 or 30 more of them.

KP: Do you think super trainers are bad for the sport?

DD: It's fair to say that it's not good for the sport when we're trying to sell races. Handle is based off of field size. We see it in New York that in the better allowance races, the field sizes are not as big as you would like them to be. That goes back to horses not running quite as often. There are rules in place where a trainer can only run two horses in a race and in New York if a race overfills, a trainer can only run one. So I think the biggest downfall is that it affects field size.

KP: What do you enjoy most about your job?

DD: I have two kids so I do a lot of coaching and I always tell them that in life, if you find something you like to do, you'll be happy. If you find something you love to do, you have a chance to be really successful.

I love what I do. I love the early mornings. I think the greatest part of the day is the first set at 5:30 when it's really quiet and has that serene feeling to it. I'm getting a little older so I try to get away a little bit or a couple of days a week during the winter, but at the same time when I'm away for a few days, I miss it. I'm at an age now where I see people who I went to school with who are retiring. But boy, I don't know if I could ever retire. I love the quality of help that I have and the quality of clients that I have. I love the challenge of training two-year-olds and then continuing to learn and do a better job. I love the human aspect to it as much as the equine aspect.

With Ramon Dominguez aboard, Hessonite wins the Ticonderoga S. for Donk in 2012 | Horsephotos

KP: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?

DD: The most frustrating part of this industry is getting people to come to the table to make compromise. It takes too long to make changes in our industry. I believe that a lot of common sense heads could come together and make decisions. It's frustrating that as an industry, we seem to be behind the times, even in the U.S. compared to the standards internationally.

KP: Do you have any thoughts on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)?

DD: Not at the moment, but there was a great comment the other day from [NYTHA President] Joe Appelbaum, who sent out an email to our membership. He said that at the moment, the bill is written by lawyers for lawyers to understand. So right now with the way the bill is written, no one understands it. So it remains to be a bill that obviously needs a lot of input.

So it's far from being done in a way that is understandable and has a common sense approach, but it is needed in our industry. I think we can always do a better job and we need the rules to be the same in every jurisdiction. Again, we're behind the times and I think it's a good thing, but there's a lot more work to be done and hopefully now that the bill is out, a lot more good people will get involved with it.

KP: If you didn't have a career in horse racing, what would you do?

DD: I don't know. I always say that if it wasn't for racing, I'd probably be driving a truck for UPS. I knew what I wanted to do when I was a freshman in high school. I think as I've gotten older, I could have gone into management, but at the same time and more importantly, I love being my own boss.

To nominate a trainer for this ongoing series, email katiepetrunyak@thetdn.com. General criteria: Multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, fewer than 300 starts this year, has trained for over 20 years and accumulated no more than approximately $50 million in career earnings. 

The post Smaller, But Still Super: David Donk appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post