Since Opening Day of the Saratoga Race Course meet, there has been occasional solo cheer that echoes from the cavernous porch area of the clubhouse area near the finish line every time particular horses cross the wire, especially when they win.

That voice comes from Orlando Noda and he has every reason to celebrate. One of the principal owners of Noda Brothers LLC and trainer is having another solid start after 14 days of the meet. The 31-year-old Miami native has already won four races from 13 starts, including three wins as an owner, in his second year at Saratoga.

“That was the plan. I would like to accomplish six wins this meet,” Noda said. “We wanted to put them where they could win. As long as they are feeling good and eating good, I am going to run my horses and they can run. The competition is tough, but you have to place them aggressively. The thrill of this Saratoga meet is what racing is all about. Not many people can say this in a short period of time.”

With support from his brother Jonathan who is a finance director for a car dealership in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Noda slowly developed a stable that led to his first runner – a homebred filly of G.T. Sonia – in late December 2018.

As G.T. Sonia was trying to graduate from the maiden ranks, Noda got several horses from the claiming box. Eventually, one of those claiming horses helped Noda become successful: T Loves a Fight.

Claimed for $10,000 in May 2019, the once stakes-winning gelding gave not only Noda his first career win as an owner and trainer, he also gave him his first Saratoga victory during the meet’s opening weekend last year. Then nearly two weeks later, G.T. Sonia also picked up her first win as Noda finished the meet with three wins, a second-place finish, and a pair of third-place runners from just nine starters. 

Even before this year’s Saratoga meet, Noda continued to win races with seven different horses at Aqueduct and Belmont during the winter and spring and around the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, he has been winning races that go beyond his ownership that includes Zilla Racing Stables based in Guilderland and Mad Dog Racing Stables.

“T Loves a Fight put me on the map,” Noda said. “We’re growing. Slowly and surely, I think people are noticing us. People are sending me horses. Everyone thinks that we can claim a horse for $10,000 and become ‘T’, but it’s not that easy.”

While T Love a Fight may have started Noda’s success, it was G.T. Sonia who helped start the stable. In 2012 while learning how to gallop a horse at Westampton Farm in New Jersey, Noda, his brother and his father Jose Noda Fernandez, who later claimed Very Very Stella for $12,500 and finished third in the Grade 3 Smile Stakes at 134-1, brought 10 horses to compete primarily at Parx and Charles Town.

The family managed two wins at Charles Town, then they brought the horses to compete in Florida before dispersing all the horses except one: Bfit. After Bfit led from start to finish in a $6,250 claiming race at Calder, she retired in December 2013 to become a broodmare.

With the help of Pick View LLC in Ocala, Fla., the Noda family bred Bfit to graded stakes winner Brethren and produced G.T. Sonia, who raced 13 times with two wins before being retired late last year. Today, G.T. Sonia is in foal to graded stakes winner Flameaway, a horse who Noda had groomed while working for Mark Casse. Noda is expecting the foal filly to be born in March 2021.

“G.T. Sonia had some injuries,” Noda said. “Instead of pressing her, I wanted her to be a mom and be happy in the field. I am going to send that foal to Ocala to be broken, then have her come back here to race. I would like her to break maiden here in Saratoga, just like her mama.”

Noda is now looking to make an impact at the next level by entering recent maiden winner First Line for Saturday’s 151st running of the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes where he is expected to compete against Sackatoga Stable’s Belmont winner Tiz the Law.

Competing at 1 1/8 miles for the first time, First Line pressed the pace, then engaged in a pace battle through the stretch to win his first start by a neck in a finishing time that is comparable to other candidates in the Travers field.

“He came out of that race in good shape,” Noda said. “He fought a mile and an eighth through the wire. 

I cannot ask for anything more. Overall, our luck is running good and we are going with the flow. I think we are a go. We’re in it.”

Even before his 3-year-old gelding won his first start, Noda had a lot of promise in his horse, who was purchased privately last October. After a disappointing debut in January, First Line showed some improvement through a pair of sprint races. Now that First Line has won his first race, Noda is hoping the horse can continue moving forward for the Travers.

“I think he should have won his first race, but he got dirt kicked in his face and raced green,” Noda said. He has matured through each race. It’s not always you get a horse like this. I think things are playing out well. Win, lose or draw. I know people are rooting for me. We might be the longest shot on the board, but we might outrun them all.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS- All eyes were on Saratoga this weekend as Saturday’s 12-race card featured four graded stakes races. Whitney Day did not disappoint this year as along with the great races, Saratoga generated an all source handle record of close to thirty-six million dollars compared to last years Whitney day record of around thirty-two million.

Starting off the highlights for this weekend, in the ninety-third running of the Grade 1 Whitney, Improbable’s victory on Saturday garnered the most attention in the $750,000 stakes race. While looking shaken and unruly at the gate, Improbable’s trainer, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, was quick to give his praise to the NYRA gate crew in a release to the NYRA.

When asked about this seemingly unexpected choice in praise, Baffert humorously replied “It’s like being in the gate with a bull sometimes…You have to thank the gate crew, the guys they had in there with him. He could have easily turned over, but they did a tremendous job, so I give them a big assist there because they did a great job.”

However, he did not stop there also giving his praise to jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who managed to snag his second Whitney in three years. In the same release, Baffert commented more on the race saying “As much as he acts up in the gate, he always breaks really well. He breaks like a shot. After that, Irad got him in a nice rhythm. He followed Mr. Buff on the lead and tightened him along there and turned for home. Improbable had been working so well down here at Del Mar. It was a big effort there.”

Improbable’s win matched his namesake as the Whitney was his second time racing outside of California. Going off at 3-1 odds, the horse returned $8.30 on a $2 bet. With this win in the Whintey, Baffert becomes the first trainer since the mid-nineties to win this race back-to-back, the last being Hall of Famer Scotty Schulhofer in 1994-1995. Even with all of the big wins Baffert has had over his career, he still recognizes each new victory saying, “It’s such a prestigious race, and to win it, it means a lot…I’m lucky enough to train for some big outfits, and when you train for them, you get a lot more chances at it.”

While the Whitney did steal most of the spotlight this weekend, the other high grade races did not disappoint either with some upsets and small name victories. In the G1 Personal Ensign, Vexatious managed to pull off a major upset over the reigning champion Midnight Bisou in a last stretch duel. Going off at 5-1, the horse managed to pull off a clutch victory in the seventy-first running of the race. 

Trainer Jack Sisterton was elated upon seeing his horse pull off such a win, but was quick to give his thanks to the rest of the team along with him exclaiming, “Words can’t describe the feeling… That’s what we live for, the opportunity to have horses in races like this, let alone win one. It just goes to show how good the people behind me are. I have a great staff and great owners. If it weren’t for the staff or the owners I wouldn’t be in this position.”

In the H. Allen Jenkins Memorial race, Echo town managed to get the first graded score for L and H racing. It was a big win for the small racing partnership. Partial owner Michael Levinson had this to say about the win, “It’s tough to win any race at Saratoga, but to win a prestigious race like the Allen Jerkens is fantastic. I can’t put into words what it means for us…We’re a small group of guys from Oklahoma trying to make a splash and that was a big victory yesterday.

With a weekend of great racing, look forward to this week’s big races such as the GII Saratoga Special, the GI Runhappy Travers, the GI Ballerina Hdcp., the GI Longines Test, the GIII Troy, and the GIII Waya. 

Kimberly Weir still remembers the date from earlier this year: January 23. She was waiting in the Albany International Airport for her Florida flight so she could attend the Pegasus Invitational and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a newly-built barn as part of the horse-care program at the Juvenile Justice Center in Ocala.

While waiting, she received a call from Anita Graham, the wife of trainer H. Graham Motion and Executive Director for the Pastures of Point Lookout in Chadds Ford, Pa., about the plans of well-known American artist Jamie Wyeth adopting 10 retired Thoroughbreds to put on his 250-acre farm in honor of his late wife Phyllis Mills Wyeth, owner of 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags who also won the Saratoga Special and Champagne Stakes as a 2-year-old.

Six months later through a COVID-19 pandemic, those 10 horses from the Wallkill Correctional Facility who were part of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Program were loaded on a Brook Ledge trailer for the farm. Those horses, ranging from age 11 to 23, raced at least once in their life, including Vow who finished behind multiple graded stakes winner Narjan in an allowance race at Saratoga Race Course in 2002.

“It seemed too good to be true, but this was not,” Weir said. “We were in awe. They are really there now. It’s wonderful and amazing. You cannot make up this stuff. It wasn’t Herculean. Somebody wanted to do this. It was all in baby steps and following through. Mr. Wyeth is a role model.”

Just like with each retired racehorse has his or her own story, Weir has a lot of stories and experiences that drives her energy, enthusiasm, and creativity as Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation since May 2018.

With an M.B.A. from William and Mary, Weir spent numerous years in the private sector. At the same time, she spent most of her life around horses, especially as an equestrian rider. Weir believes she has learned a lot from the horses as they have played an integral part of her life and vision in thoroughbred aftercare.

“These creatures made me who I am today,” she said. “I am fundamentally, profoundly and completely aware of how much I have learned growing up with these creatures. I am excited to be in this role and in the industry of thoroughbred aftercare. As a part of a community, I can help solve this.

“Every racehorse that is born could have a life of happy health care,” she added. “It’s not a luxury. Civilization owes so much to them as well. Our human race wouldn’t be here without them. They have been so important to us and they deserve it. Their magic, value and impact are huge. They are unlike any other creature.”

Two horses who have made their return to the Bloomfield Farm in Saratoga Springs for the summer are Bold Mon and Uptown Joey. Recently, Bold Mon was featured on Steve Caparizzo’s regular segment “Pet Connection” – or “Horse Connection” – on WTEN-10. Weir is hoping that exposure will allow the former Richard Schosberg-trainee become adopted.

“These two are really good examples of adoptable horses for the right situation,” she said. “They’re pets. They’re friendly. They don’t need much, but they love to be loved. We find it hard to believe [Bold Mon] won’t go this summer because he is such a sweetheart. During the filming, he was playing around with the cameraman by putting his nose up to the lens.”

If either horse is adopted, it helps the Adopt One, Save Two program: each time a horse is adopted, there is space for two horses to take into the Thoroughbred aftercare. That has become crucial for anyone who can no longer care for the retired racehorse due to hardships, especially this year due to COVID-19.

“People love their horses,” Weir said. “The first thing they give up is dinner, then they give up their car, then they don’t buy any clothes. At some point, they will call us to give up their horse. I think it will happen this winter, perhaps starting in October with the grain bills and the hay bills.”

Weir said the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has been fortunate this year through the COVID-19 pandemic with the amount of support, donations and sponsors. At the same time, she also has long-term concerns going into the winter due to the uncertainty and lack of events.

“Everyone is asking us if we are OK and people continue to give,” she said. “People have responded by doubling down. We are totally fine this year. I am super terrified for next year. We don’t know what the winter will be. It is all about saving for the long winter ahead. We are looking at the long term and making sure that we are the most sustainable as we can.”

One of the areas that Weir is looking at sustainability is the Sanctuary Guardian program, which allows anyone to make a monthly donation as fundraising can be inconsistent and cyclical while expenses are consistent.

“If someone is giving $10 a month, that’s $120 a year,” Weir said. “To know that it’s coming every month, that is flattening the curve because fundraising is erratic and the expenses are static. It’s just like any seasonal business.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has put a limitation on gatherings and events, Weir has become creative with social events. One of those is the TRF Drive-Thru BBQ at the Saratoga Winery on Aug. 11.

Along with pre-order carry-out dinners that include pulled pork and chicken, as well as choices for pie as dessert, people can drive through a greeting from racing personalities that include Maggie Wolfendale-Morley, Ramon Dominguez, Tom Durkin and Peter Thomas Fornatale. The deadline for preorders is Aug. 7 at noon.

For more information on the Drive-Thru BBQ, please visit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation website at trfinc.org/event/bbq-at-the-barn-2020/

SARATOGA SPRINGS- No matter how hard current world events have tried to drain the hype surrounding this year’s season of racing, Saratoga struck back with lots of exciting races and powerful displays this past week. 

If you were watching the races last Thursday, you’d probably be quite familiar with the name Irad Ortiz, Jr. Ortiz, Jr. had a tremendous day at the races winning with five out of eight mounts on the days ten race card. While no stranger to success at Saratoga, having been a two-time leading rider in both 2015 and 2018, these wins helped propel him to second place in the jockey standings. Currently, his brother Jose Ortiz sits ahead of him at 16 first place finishes with Ortiz, Jr at 14 at the start of Week 3 of racing. 

When asked about his strong performance, Ortiz, Jr. beamed “When you have the right horses, they make you look good…Days like this are great. To win five races in one day at any track is so special. You work so hard in this business and on days like this all that hard work pays off.” 

Strangely enough, around a year ago on July 31, 2019, he also had a strong day, winning five out of seven races for the day. While not the most races won on single card at Saratoga, it comes awfully close to Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez’s six wins in 2012 and Hall of Famer John Velazquez’s six in 2001. 

To follow up the strong performances throughout the week, in Saturday’s Grade 2 race, Starship Jubilee looked strong as she triumphed in the thirty-second running of the Ballston Spa Stakes. Hall of Famer jockey Javier Castellano rode Starship Jubilee and after an awkward start out of the gate managed to beat out Call Me Love by Neck and Sistercharlie by a length and a quarter. Sistercharlie was favored to win being the 2018 Champion Female Turf Horse, but Starship Jubilee showed that even with age, she hasn’t lost a step. Castellano was very proud of the horse saying, “The way the race developed was phenomenal… She’s such a great horse; to beat Sistercharlie, she’s one of the best fillies in the country…I think we were in the right time and the right place to beat her today. I give all the credit to my horse”

With the strong performances of last week, fans are excited to see what this upcoming week will bring. The Coronation Cup is on Friday slated as the nineth race on Friday’s ten-race card. On Saturday there are three Grade 1 races and one Grade 2 race scheduled: the GI Whitney (BC), the GI Personal Ensign (BC), the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial presented by Runhappy, and the G2 Bowling Green.

Be sure not to miss out on any of the racing this season by either streaming the race online, listening in through radio, or catching a live TV Broadcast. For the full racing schedule and more information on broadcast times, check out the NYRA website at nyra.com/saratoga. Updated daily, you can find all the race details and stats to stay in the know for this unique season at Saratoga.

Sometimes, it takes something as simple as watching a horse race on the television for someone to eventually make a career of being in that sport.

That’s what Eddie Cibelli has done.

Over 34 years of working at the racetrack, Cibelli has spent the majority of that time handling thousands of horses as a member of the starting gate crew in New York. However, a popular horse was the starting point to his career.

When he was 15 years old, Cibelli watched the excitement on television when Secretariat cruised by 31 lengths for the Belmont victory and the Triple Crown. At that point, he wanted to work at the racetrack.

“I was mystified by this horse,” Cibelli said. “I saw that race and I saw everyone go crazy. From that moment, I had the bug. I said to myself, ‘This is what I want to get into. I want to do this.’”

Cibelli had been working with Morgan show horses when he lived in Millbrook, just a little over 100 miles south of Saratoga Springs. After graduating from Arlington High School in Poughkeepsie, he lived with a friend attending Hofstra that allowed him to take the bus to Belmont.

Cibelli’s first job was a hotwalker with Gilbert Puentes, who was also in his first year of training, in 1976. From there, Cibelli became a groom Stephen L. DiMauro as he regularly rubbed three horses in which two of them won at Finger Lakes and the other was beaten just a nose at the same track.

Trying to get away from the cold Long Island winter at Belmont and Aqueduct, Cibelli worked for Maryland-based trainer Edmond Gaudet as a groom before becoming a foreman and an assistant.

“I have learned a lot,” Cibelli said. “One thing I have learned is what to do with the horse’s legs – how to feel and look for something. You learn through the years to where your eye is your best friend.”

Cibelli took that knowledge to become a trainer himself in 1984 and started working with thoroughbreds and quarterhorses in Florida and Louisiana. Three years later while galloping in New York, he asked the late assistant starter Fred Lewis about becoming a member of the gate crew.

“I had asked Freddie if there was a shot for me to get on the gate,” Cibelli said. “I wanted to learn that aspect of the game because that was one thing that I hadn’t done. I was good with horses and reading horses. He got me involved and I have been there since.”

The job of being an assistant starter can be challenging, but Cibelli has used his knowledge, experience, instincts, patience and care with any horse going into the gate – whether it is in the morning during training or in the afternoon at the races – for that calming experience.

“I watch their actions to see if they are jumping around. I look at who is lathered up and who is extremely calm,” he said. “With the ones who are moving around a little bit, I pay attention to them a lot more.”

“I do a lot of talking to them,” he added. “I try to keep that calm gentle voice around them so they aren’t headstrong and might hurt themselves. The whole thing is being calm and patient with the horse, and to let them know that everything is OK.”

While Cibelli has been attentive to the horses entering the gate, there have been some tough moments, such as Pomeroy kicking him at the start before winning the King’s Bishop Stakes in 2004.

“One of the toughest parts of this job is when the horse rears up and goes over,” he said “Sometimes, you feel like it’s your fault and how you could have prevented it. These horses are 1,200-1,400 pounds. Once they make a move, it’s already done.”

“I think the biggest aspect is not getting hurt,” he added. “I have been kicked at the back of the gate while putting these horses in there. When I got kicked by Pomeroy, it was a little embarrassing since it happened on TV.”

Still, Cibelli has memorable moments of working with champion horses that include Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, both who he helped school in the gate before they won the Woodward Stakes in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Even then, those moments cannot happen without a solid gate crew.

“I think the biggest aspect is the teamwork you need to have in the gate,” Cibelli said. “Everyone has to know each other and how they can help each other. You need everybody on board. What we do in the morning, we bring it in the afternoon.”

The 62-year-old Cibelli, who lives about 1½ miles away from the Great Sacandaga Lake in Northville from April through November before going to Florida for the winter, started scaling back on his hours last year as he now works in the mornings on the Oklahoma Training Track.

Even though he has worked grueling days starting 6 a.m. to the last race, which could be as late at 7 p.m., Cibelli knows it has been worth it for everyone involved in the horse.

“It has been a long road,” he added. “It is a good feeling to know that you have done your part to make it easier for everyone around you. We have had some really good horse racing over the years and I am glad to be a part of that.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — With Opening Weekend for Saratoga coming and going with less fanfare than usual, it comes as a surprise that NYRA saw a nine percent increase in total source income from last year’s Opening Weekend. While the lack of a live audience certainly hurt this number, it appears that Saratoga has done a good job allowing fans and competitors to still become immersed in the normal excitement and tradition that follows each Opening Weekend.

Fans lined the fences to the track this weekend to try and catch a glimpse of the horses despite New York’s call for no live audience. Their fiery passion for racing was only matched by the hot temperatures this weekend, reaching all the way up into the nineties during midday. As per Saratoga tradition, along with the weather comes races to match. There were plenty of hot races this weekend with 19-1 upsets and plenty of close Grade 1 and 2 races.

Many riders and trainers were feeling comfortable to be back at Saratoga. Seasoned horse trainer, Chad Brown, said regarding this notion of comfort, “NYRA has really done a good job… It feels very safe on the backside training in the morning. It’s well organized and I think it’s a very safe environment.” Being a native from Mechanicville, he’s well acquainted with the area but couldn’t help share his sentiments regarding the empty stadium mentioning, “It’s really nice to win this race but definitely a bittersweet day when this beautiful place is empty where I grew up… We’ll do the best we can and we’re grateful they’re running here. Hopefully, this is the only year we have to do this.”

Fans are taking every opportunity to get in on the action this season and one new way is through the ESPN 104.5, The Team radio broadcast. The broadcast will feature live coverage of the racing from Saratoga on the weekends starting at 1 p.m. These live broadcasts, presented by NYRA Bets, NYSCOPBA, and Bud Light, will be throughout the racing season and can be listened to via radio, online at 1045theteam.com, or by downloading 104.5, The Team app on mobile devices. 

When asked about the broadcast, NYRA Bets President Tony Allevato commented that, “we are excited to expand the opportunity for racing fans in the Capital Region to enjoy the audio simulcast of Saratoga Live this summer …Fans in the Capital Region will now have a trifecta of options to enjoy exciting thoroughbred action from Saratoga by watching on FOX Sports, streaming on NYRA Bets.com or listening on ESPN Radio.”

In addition to the radio broadcast, NYRA Bets is also looking to keep fans involved this season by promoting their official wagering app. For those looking to getting into horseplay, NYRA Bets is having a $200 promotional membership bonus with the code ESPN.

With Opening Weekend now in the books, racing at Saratoga will go into its usual schedule of racing Wednesdays through Sundays. Stay up-to-date with all things Saratoga by either catching the live TV broadcasts, tuning in to the radio broadcasts, or watching the streams online. For a complete broadcast schedule, check out the NYRA website at nyra.com/saratoga.

SARATOGA SPRINGS ­— The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has worked closely with the City of Saratoga over the past couple weeks to set up Saratoga for another year of horse racing. However, with the threat of the Coronavirus still looming about they are going to be switching to a more virtual approach to racing this year. While fans won’t be able to get the full in-person experience of a day out to the races, the NYRA is still looking to offer them a way to partake in the quintessential Saratoga summer experience.

While broadcasting the races on live television and online is nothing new for Saratoga racing, the NYRA is promoting their “Saratoga Live” broadcast nationwide for all racing fans to watch. These broadcasts can be viewed on Fox Sports 2 and MSG+ from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. or on FS Regionals from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on all racing days. Be aware that with the uniqueness of this racing season, all times and dates are subject to change. Be sure to check the NYRA Website for more information on broadcast times and channels as to not miss out on the best races this season.

One of the main appeals for fans and newcomers alike is betting on the races. The amount of upsets and the thrill of close stake races definitely backs up the nickname of the Saratoga Race Course, “Graveyard of Champions.”  Off-Track Betting (OTB) is becoming more popular with the absences of on course betting. The thrill of betting on horses, whether it be letting it ride on long odds, taking the safe bet, or just choosing the horse with the best name is an experience that is many horse racing fans enjoy. There are many different OTB sites across the capital region that make it easy to stop in and place bets on your favorite horses. Also, there is OTB Mobile Wagering so people can place horse bets easy. The ease of using a mobile app to bet, as well as the constant access to race results makes it a popular way for people to partake in Saratoga Racings main appeal.

However, NYRA isn’t just looking to simulate the racing experience, but are also looking to highlight local non-profit organizations in the Saratoga County area as part of Community Outreach. While racing is center stage during any visit to the track, the booths setup also help to contribute the atmosphere and helps to give back to the local community for being so supportive of the race course. This year, NYRA will be featuring these non-profit organizations on their websites community tab. In statement by NYRA’s President and CEO, Dave O’Rourke, “We encourage fans to visit our website throughout the season to learn more about the impact these organizations have on our community.”

Also, to go along with this unique season, NYRA and the City of Saratoga Springs are joining with two local non-profit organizations in a joint initiative to fundraise for the community through the sale of Saratoga Race Course face masks. This announcement comes after their original launch of the masks in mid-June which quickly sold out. The masks come in packs of three featuring different designs: a white mask with a red Saratoga logo, a blue mask with a red logo, and a red mask with a white logo. Fans that want get some of this limited time merchandise should act fast and preorder on the NYRA webpage before they sell out again.

With the first few days of racing underway, be sure not to miss out on any of the action and know that NYRA is doing their best to keep things fresh and new this season. For any scheduling or event news, be sure to check out the NYRA webpage for Saratoga at nyra.com/saratoga.

Roy Lerman is not one for reflection, but he does have a unique career to reflect upon.

This will be the 35th season at Saratoga as the owner, trainer, and breeder of Lambholm. Initially, Lerman planned to stay at the former Hobeau Farm in Florida for the summer due to the uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, when Belmont Park started racing at the beginning of June and the Florida weather started getting warmer, he decided to bring a small group of horses to New York.

“I had made no plans of coming up here because I didn’t know what was going on,” Lerman said. “I was planning to stay on the farm in Florida for the 2-year-olds still in training. Once [the track] said they were going to run, we decided to come up here. It wasn’t a good alternative to stay in Florida because we are 300 miles from Gulfstream Park. Plus, it’s brutally hot down there.”

Lerman has brought just 12 horses to his well-manicured private stable, which is a few hundred yards from the main track. Besides the improving 3-year-old Joyous Times, he has seven 2-year-olds who are still in training, including East Wing (by Soldat, winner the 2010 With Anticipation Stakes) and Private Code (by Honor Code, winner of the 2015 Whitney Stakes). Although, Lerman indicated those young horses may still need time.

“None of these 2-year-olds are ready to run yet,” he said. “I never push them along, but if they get ready, then they are ready. They have been training and breezing regularly in Florida. Now, it’s time to start increasing their speed.”

Each day since coming to Saratoga in mid-June, Lerman noticed that the area is not quite the same – especially around the track – as everyone is trying to be safe.

“You don’t get a sense of excitement or anticipation here,” he said. “I see a couple of guys who are here. There is no socializing. Saratoga is not the same. People can go to a restaurant, but I haven’t. I don’t want to be paranoid, but I also want to be safe.”

Lerman even had similar experiences when he was racing horses in Florida and more recently at Belmont.

“Nothing is the same,” he said. “When I was racing at Tampa, I knew it wasn’t the same. That’s a nice small facility that can hold 5,000 people, but no one was there. It was like virtual racing. When I was at Belmont a couple of weeks ago, it was bizarre. I came in, checked the horse in the barn, saddled the horse in the paddock, watched the race, got in my car, and drove back.”

Horse racing was not Lerman’s first career. He started as a lawyer for the Department of Labor and a private practice after graduating from Syracuse University and Georgetown Law School. At the same time, he had an interest in horse racing as he slowly made a career of buying a farm to develop and race horses in the mid-Atlantic region.

“It was a long slow process,” he said. “I had farms in Virginia. The principle reason I kept the practice going was for my son. If he ever wanted to become a lawyer, that would make his life easier. I wanted to leave possibilities for him.”

Today, his son Ethan is an assistant judge and has a general practice firm in Missoula, Mont., which also focuses on equine and racing issues. Even Lerman continues to be an occasional consultant on legal matters.

“I still have people who call me about cases in which I can tell them about as a lawyer,” he said. “I will tell them that not every lawyer is the same just like not every doctor is the same. There are different qualities and specialties. It happens all the time. We review the case with them. I am only a consultant in that sense.”

Lerman also indicated there are some similarities in being a lawyer and a trainer, especially since it takes time to develop a case – or a horse.

“The development of a race horse is not too dissimilar of the evolution of a case,” he said. “It takes a long time to get to the end of a civil case and a complex criminal case. You can’t jump over any step in a legal case. It’s the same thing with racehorses. If you skip over a step, you might get away with it, but not often.”

Since saddling his first horse at Shenandoah Downs in West Virginia in February 1978, Lerman has seen his fair share of winners. This includes his first stakes winner with Lava in the 1982 Capital City Handicap at Penn National, back-to-back victories with Dance Mask in his first trip to Saratoga in 1985 and winning the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap in 2016 with Evidently.

Lerman has also bred, raised, and sold many horses, including 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup, whose auction bid was never met for $29,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in May 1993. George B. Ridder eventually purchased Alphabet Soup privately before the late-developing horse won five other graded stakes races in California.

Lerman knew Alphabet Soup had a lot of potential as a 2-year-old, which was confirmed by two of his exercise riders on the farm: Kim Keppick and Olympian medalist Karen O’Connor, the spouse of Olympian gold medalist David O’Connor.

“I knew something about him,” Lerman said. “However, these two riders were excellent. Kim and Karen rode this horse with a couple of other girls in Virginia. They loved this horse. That opened my eyes to the horse.”

Alphabet Soup, who was also a sire at McMahon Thoroughbreds in Saratoga from 2011-2013, has been retired from breeding since 2015 and stands at Old Friends Farm in Kentucky.

As for Lerman, he plans to stay in this business as long as he can. However, one thing Lerman does not regret is his career decision from being a lawyer to owner, trainer and breeder.

“It’s beats spending a career in the labor department as an attorney,” he said.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs Race Course got the all clear to open up without a live audience for the hectic 2020 summer. Lots of fans were bummed about not being able to go out and experience one of Saratoga’s top summer attractions. However, NYRA is looking to keep these enthusiasts entertained over the summer by streaming their races online and by making off track betting even more accessible. With eight weeks packed full of stake races and derbies, be sure not to miss out on any of the action this summer. 

WEEK 1

• Thursday, July 16
   GIII Schuylerville and GIII Peter Pan

• Friday, July 17
   Shine Again

• Saturday, July 18
   GI Coaching Club American Oaks and
   GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame

• Sunday, July 19
   GII Lake Placid

WEEK 2

• Wednesday, July 22
   Lubash (NYB)

• Thursday, July 23
   GI A. P. Smithwick (Steeplechase) and
   NYSSS Statue of Liberty Division

• Friday, July 24
   GIII Quick Call

• Saturday, July 25
   GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt (Hdcp.) and
   GII Ballston Spa

• Sunday, July 26
   GII Bernard Baruch (Hdcp.)

WEEK 3

• Wednesday, July 29
   Dayatthespa (NYB)

• Thursday, July 30
   John Morrissey Hdcp. (NYB)

• Friday, July 31
   Coronation Cup

• Saturday, August 1
   GI Whitney (BC), GI Personal Ensign (BC),
   GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial presented by 
   Runhappy, GII Bowling Green, and Caress

• Sunday, August 2
   Birdstone Stakes

WEEK 4

• Wednesday, August 5
   Summer Colony

• Thursday, August 6
   NYSSS Cab Calloway Division

• Friday, August 7
   GII Saratoga Special

• Saturday, August 8
   GI Runhappy Travers, GI Ballerina Hdcp. (BC),   
   GI Longines Test, GIII Troy, and GIII Waya

• Sunday, August 9
   Alydar Stakes

WEEK 5

• Wednesday, August 12
   GII Adirondack

• Thursday, August 13
   Union Avenue Hdcp. (NYB)

• Friday, August 14
   Perfect Sting

• Saturday, August 15
   Saratoga Derby Invitational and GI Alabama

• Sunday, August 16
   Saratoga Oaks Invitational

WEEK 6

• Wednesday, August 19
   Bolton Landing

• Thursday, August 20
   GI New York Turf Writers Cup (Steeplechase) and
   Tale of the Cat (NW GSS)

• Friday, August 21
   Skidmore

• Saturday, August 22
   GI Fourstardave (Hdcp. BC)

• Sunday, August 23
   GI Diana

WEEK 7

• Wednesday, August 26
   Mahony

• Thursday, August 27
   NYSSS Times Square Division and Smart N Fancy

• Friday, August 28
   GIII Lake George

• Saturday, August 29
   GI Sword Dancer (BC), GI Forego presented by
   America’s Best Racing, GII Amsterdam, and
   GIII Saranac

• Sunday, August 30
   GIII Shuvee

WEEK 8

• Wednesday, September 2
   GIII With Anticipation

• Thursday, September 3
   P.G. Johnson and NYSSS Park Avenue Division

• Friday, September 4
   Albany (NYB), Fleet Indian (NYB), Funny Cide  
   (NYB), Seeking the Ante (NYB), West Point Hdcp
   (NYB), and Yaddo Hdcp (NYB)

• Saturday, September 5
   GI Woodward Hdcp, GII Glens Falls, GII Prioress,  
   and GII Jim Dandy

• Sunday, September 6
   GI Spinaway, GII Honorable Miss (Hdcp.), and  
   Lucky Coin (NW SS in 2020)

• Monday, September 7
   GI Runhappy Hopeful and Lure

NOTE: Dark Days are Mondays and Tuesdays (excluding Mon. Sept 7). 
For live racing, scheduling, and news updates, check out the NYRA website atwww.nyra.com/saratoga.

LIKE MANY IN THE NEW YORK RACING INDUSTRY, Bond is looking to come back from the pandemic shutdown for his 33rd Saratoga meet from both the racing and breeding areas.

H. James “Jim” Bond is one of the optimistic and well-liked people in New York racing as an owner of a racing stable and farm, a trainer, a breeder and a personality on the backstretch.

That optimism and hard work, which came from his late father through their years of training horses at Finger Lakes during the 1970s and 1980s, has brought him success and winners that include Tizway, Behrens, Will’s Way, Val’s Prince and Buddha. Though, just like with other people in the industry, there have also been challenging times.

However, when the COVID-19 (the coronavirus) pandemic forced New York horse racing to shut down for a little over two months, that may have been the biggest challenge for the 62-year-old Rochester native, especially since it was close to impacting his family’s livelihood.

“I was very nervous,” he said. “It was really hard for myself and my family. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had earned around $60,000, compared to last year at this time when we earned over $400,000. It was shaky. If we hadn’t started racing by June, I don’t think we would have made it through July and August. We would have had to do some soul searching.”

The situation is looking better for Bond and his team as he continues to prepare and train horses for his 33rd Saratoga Racecourse meet, but it didn’t happen immediately.

Within the first eight days of when Belmont resumed racing June 3, Bond’s horses were struggling to finish in the money. Then after Queenofeverything graduated from the maiden ranks on June 12, several of his horses have followed suit with better races, including recent maiden winners Graetz and Giacosa, as well as a good second-place finish from two-time stakes winner Rinaldi coming off the near 10-month layoff.

The Bond Racing Stable, which includes his wife Tina Bond, is currently fourth in wins with three and ranked among the top 25 owners in earnings (just under $100,000) over 21 racing days of the Belmont Spring Meet that includes the end of the Fourth of July weekend. That’s a respectable accomplishment as they race against hundreds of owners, including leaders Klaravich Stables, Michael Dubb and Juddmonte Farms.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, two people have kept the Bond Racing Stable together at Belmont: Kevin Bond and Ryan Bond, Bond’s older son and younger son, respectively.

However, Ryan was then brought back to the family’s Song Hill Farm in Stillwater to work with the mares to foal on March 1. That left Kevin alone to work with the Belmont stock during that challenging period, which included trying to keep the stable clean and everyone healthy.

“Kevin has done a great job,” the father Bond said. “He has a crew that has been together for a long time. I would send him charts to look over before feed time, then put those charts on the board for training the next day.”

“It has been different,” he added. “We’ve had to have our temperatures checked. Thank God no one got sick around the barn. We run a tight ship. I like cleanliness. We have been a step ahead of everything so far.”

While Kevin Bond had been training horses and managing the barn, Jim Bond knew the restrictions and shutdown around the pandemic were eventually going to impact his son, especially being limited to the living in his downstate home and the barn for the last five months.

“We talked about five times a day,” Jim Bond said. “I heard it in his voice. He would like to come home and have a home-cooked meal. I told him we were going to give him a break before Saratoga.”

While the race horses have been coming together, Bond also has concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on the breeding industry that includes the development of horses and the sales. Since the Saratoga horse sales are canceled this year, many New York breeders are looking to go out-of-state to sell their 2-year-olds and yearlings.

Because of that, there is the possibility that some of those state-breds won’t come back to compete in New York, which means those breeders don’t receive awards from New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Corporation.

“There is a 50-50 shot that they may never come back to New York,” Bond said. “If they don’t run in New York, you don’t get any breeders’ awards. That is devastating for us.”

One of the areas that the Breeder’s Awards help recover is the stud fee cost. In past years, Bond has usually spent from $10,000 to $20,000 per stud fee for each of his mares. However, over the last two years, he has paid from $25,000 to $35,000 for each stud fee that includes champions Goldencents, Midnight Lute, and Mineshaft, as well as multiple graded stakes winners Tizway, Sky Mesa, and Munnings.

With just over a dozen 2-year-olds and 11 yearlings, Bond has the flexibility to sell some of them and keep others to develop into racehorses, especially since he had built an indoor arena for winter use rather than having those horses run around on a frozen ground with ice.

“We are very fortunate. I’ve got some great 2-year-olds,” he said. “We decided to keep the yearlings to race next year. We are probably going to invest $15,000-$17,000 more to find out if we have race horses. We have great clientele. Over the past few days, I’ve had investors, who have never bought a horse before, now buying 10 percent and 20 percent shares.”

While these last few weeks before the Saratoga meet have been hopeful for Bond, he is still concerned about the future of his racing stable and his farm, especially if COVID-19 forces another shutdown.

“I have been blessed and fortunate,” Bond said. “However, if COVID-19 comes back in the fall and they shut down racing, then basically we might done. We can only weather so much.”