I spent hundreds of Saturday mornings jogging horses. Sitting behind a horse like this was usually an enjoyable few hours. I think this horse was Reason to Rise.
One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to the races with my parents,
relatives and grandparents. I distinctly remember filling popcorn boxes
with losing tickets and then racing down to the fence when the trotters
and pacers came thundering down the stretch. I love the noise, the smells
and the excitement. I remember my grandfather was always in his glory at
the racetrack. This love of horses and racing was sort of strange because
we were basically city folks, we did not have any connections or knowledge
about the world of horse racing on the other side of the fence.
I continued going to the races as a fan. One day I decided to pull back the curtain and get involved in horse ownership and training. I attended a seminar in Wooster Ohio in the early 1990’s. I did some reading and research. Soon I put together a little syndicate and we bought our first horse, Broadway Beau. The horse did not do well but I had a blast. Soon I was buying horses every year with my friend and partner, Rich Vrable. Then I was jogging horses, training (sort of) horses, staking horses, bidding on horses, making friends in the horse business and continuing to have fun.
This “hobby”, expanded into other areas, I took students on tours of the backstretch, wrote a travel publication about horse racing, and began to write a steady stream of magazine articles on harness racing. I still love the harness racing. I have my eye on a few yearlings and some additional projects on deck in the wonderful world of trotters and pacers.
Here is a list of horse I have owned so far.
• Broadway Beau (pacer)
1995 – 1997
Started 46 times, 2 wins, 5 seconds
Best time 2.02.2
Purse money $7,796
• Reason to Rise (trotter)
1997 – 2000
Started 34 times, 2 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds
Best time 2.08.3
Purse money $3,389
• Absolute Magic (pacer)
1998 – 2004
Started 47 times, 1 win, 4 seconds, 7 thirds
Best time 2.02.4
Purse money $7,718
(Magic was a free-legged pacer and spent several years being breed to Jet
Laag with whom she foaled 3 babies)
• Noble Lies (pacer)
2001 – 2004
Started 5 times, with only a 3rd
Did not take a mark, usually went in 2.07 area.
Purse money $264
• UrascalToo (alleged pace)
2003 – 2005
This horse was a foal of Absolute Magic and he was an absolute disaster.
Never paced a single step.
• Arizona Indigo (pacer)
2001 - 2004
Another dud.
Qualified a few time but never made any money.
• Stoke the Coal (trotter)
1998 – 2000
Another dud
Qualified a few times but did not make any money
• Mite B Begonia (trotter) and Powerful Mover (trotter)
Begonia and Mover were only around for a short time. They were a couple of
horses from our ill-fated year or two in the claiming game. I think each
horse won a race or two before moving on.
• Hey Romeo (2yo trotter)
Injured and retired from racing after only four months of training
• Walk Softly (2yo filly pacer)
Is a horse we purchased at the Harrisburg Sale in partnership with Jim Beluscak. What a fun ride!
Her original name was Toy's Lil Sis. She is very well bred, very smart, and very talented.
We raced Walk Softly at ages 2 and 3, the sold her as a broodmare.
WalksSoftly should make a great mom and her first baby will go to sale in 2012.
• Whisk Hanover (2yo filly trotter)
Jim picked her out at eh Harrisburg Sale. What a great choice.
Whisk is REALLY well bred and it showed. She enjoyed a fine season on the PA fair circuit at age two.
She competed successfully in the PA Stallion series at age three.
For the first time ever we kept a horse to race as an "aged horse."
She did fine at the racetrack and is still racing away.
• Beyond a Glance (2yo filly trotter)
Another one out of the Harrisburg Sale. She was our most expensive at $16,000.
A terrifically bred filly, but a slightly crooked front leg was her nemesis.
She wanted to race, but could not quite make it to the races.
Interestingly, we sold her at the end of the season to some folks from Finland.
• Fantail Haover (2yo pacer fily) / Mariko Hanover (2yo filly trotter)
For the first time we bought two babies. I am keeping a diary of the season.
At the end of the year, I will publish the adventures and post a link here so you can read about almost
every step the horses take
Next?