It’s common that families involved in Thoroughbred racing—whether it is ownership, training or breeding—pass that business on to their next generation. John Dutrow could be the next generation for his family.

The former Division 1 and high school standout wrestler who majored in communications and media studies has become more active around the Team D barn by helping with the daily tasks of caring for horses while learning about managing a stable that has led to the family’s success.

Dutrow believes his family’s achievements can be attributed to their horsemanship that started with his grandfather, Richard Dutrow Sr., and carried through his father, Anthony Dutrow.

Dutrow Sr. had a strong presence on the Maryland and New York circuit as he compiled 3,665 winners with horses such as Lite the Fuse, who started his first race at Saratoga with an impressive six-length victory under allowance conditions in 1994 before becoming a two-time Grade 1 Carter winner; and King’s Swan, a reformed claimer known as the “King of Aqueduct,” who won multiple graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Vosburgh.

Anthony Dutrow has won multiple Grade 1 races with horses such as Grace Hall (2011 Spinaway), Mo Town (2017 Hollywood Derby), Rightly So (2010 Ballerina), and Embellish the Lace (2015 Alabama). Besides winning 2010 Jim Dandy with A Little Warm, he also had three graded stakes winners in 2014 with Big Trouble (Sanford), I Spent It (Saratoga Special), and The Big Beast (H. Allen Jerkens, formally known as the King’s Bishop).

Over a 47-year career that started with back-to-back winners (His Bid and Friends Advice) on Dec. 15, 1978, Anthony Dutrow has over 2,000 winners from nearly 8,500 starters.

“They’re all horsemen; they have been doing it for so long,” John Dutrow said. “It’s not really about the money. It’s about doing the best for the horse. They take pride in the horse. We are all here for the horse.”

During his Drexel University years, Dutrow was uncertain about working for the family stable. If anything, he was interested in the business side of the Thoroughbred racing industry that included a three-year co-op program with the New York Racing Association, where he was an intern for the Communications Department and Special Events during the Saratoga Race Course meet starting in 2015.

After graduating from Drexel in 2018, Dutrow expanded his business, educational, and nutritional interests in the sport by starting as a veterinary technician and sales account manager for Dr. Steven Allday, co-developer of LubriSyn and one of the top equine veterinarians after diagnosing and treating several champions such as Cigar, Point Given, and Saint Liam.

Dutrow then became a senior account manager for Winners Equine and a sales representative for EnviroEquine and Pet that allowed him to educate and offer support to those who work with horses on nutrition and physical improvement.

“I got the experience on the front side and got to see how things worked,” Dutrow said. “I was teaching people how to stop horses from physical issues. It’s so simple. It’s just changing up their feed. It’s about a lot less sugar and a lot less fats. It’s like us as humans. When your diet gets better, you can get better.”

By working with other horsemen and others who handle horses, Dutrow eventually started helping with the grooming and care of the other horses, as well as other tasks, around the family barn.

However, the turning point for Dutrow didn’t occur until the winter when his father and his mother, Kim Dutrow, brought him to Palm Beach Downs, where the horses trained for the Gulfstream Park meet.

For the meet, John Dutrow helped bring six horses to track in which two of them won — Cdakhat (IRE) and Big Beautiful – while Vino Rouge and Parade Ring finished on the board. With those finishes, Dutrow was hooked.

“I was always kind of one-foot-in-one-foot out. It’s almost impossible to do that in this game,” he said. “They gave me more hands-on [experience] to run every horse down there at Gulfstream to build my confidence. It’s so hard to get into that Winner’s Circle. Once you win, that’s the best feeling. I got the bug. I caught it. This was fun.”

That fun and confidence brought Dutrow and his mother with 12 horses to their Saratoga base once the Oklahoma Training Track opened on Apr. 19 this year.

As soon as they were set up with their barn, which was once occupied by Marjorie Cordero (the late wife of Hall of Fame jockey and Saratoga great Angel Cordero Jr.), Dutrow and his mother started preparing for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and July 4th Racing Festival.

The first week of June went well for Team D. Along with More for Sure graduating from the maiden ranks, Big Beautiful just got caught in the final strides in an allowance race. On top of that, Dutrow was helping other trainers that include Dominic Schettino with Bernietakescharge in the Critical Eye Stakes, and Doug O’Neill with Raging Torrent in the Metropolitan Handicap.

“We helped everybody,” John Dutrow said. “I was running them back and forth. Of the last 12 horses that I helped run, I think nine of them went to the receiving barn (a supervised area). That was a fun time when everything goes well because you work so hard for these moments.”

Team D carried that momentum into the near-full first week of July with Vino Rouge getting beat by just a head in an allowance race and Mermaid making a late run to finish second in her debut.

Just like taking college classes, learning how to take down a wrestler, or gaining experience through an internship, John Dutrow knows these racing moments cannot happen without knowledge and support from the barn, especially from his parents. 

“It’s amazing what I have learned,” he said. “I’ve learned that support is the biggest thing. If you have the support, it’s so hard to fail. As long as somebody is always there if you are struggling, there is really no reason to fail.”

Regardless of the knowledge he has gained from his father, John Dutrow has learned a life-long lesson about this sport.

“This game always keeps you guessing,” he said. “Whenever you think you know something, you don’t.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Racing kicks into high gear this weekend at Saratoga Race Course with the return of three-year-old pro tem champion Sovereignty. 

Seeking to match his rival Journalism‘s impressive victory in New Jersey in the Haskell Stakes, Sovereignty runs in the Jim Dandy. The traditional prep for the Travers Stakes and named after one of the greatest upsetters in Travers history, the Jim Dandy has attracted a small, but extremely talented field of five. The group includes strong challengers in Baeza and the social media darling Sandman. At first glance, the field seems to be devoid of early speed, placing Sovereignty at somewhat of a tactical disadvantage.

While Journalism’s connections have stated they will stay out west prepping for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Sovereignty’s connections have spoken openly about the Travers Stakes being their most important target. One gets the sense that the Breeders’ Cup Classic and another potential meeting with Journalism is a lesser priority. A Travers victory by Sovereignty would seem a crowning achievement for Sovereignty’s owners Godolphin, his trainer Bill Mott, and his rider Junior Alvarado. This week’s Jim Dandy is a means to an end for them. For racing fans, the Jim Dandy is an opportunity to see Sovereignty perform in person.

Journalism

Journalism won a hard-fought victory in the aforementioned Haskell Stakes last week, lengthening his stride late in the stretch to run down two game and talented rivals in Gosger and Goal Oriented. His effort was remarkable and one that shows his honesty and tenacity. He shows up every time and is atypical in his ability to perform at a top level after dancing every dance on the Triple Crown trail. Unfortunately, racing shot itself in the foot once again on the large stage by imposing a fine on his rider, Umberto Rispoli, for violating an arbitrary rule regarding use of the crop. A similar sanction was placed on Sovereignty’s rider, Junior Alvarado, for his ride in the Kentucky Derby. This HISA rule is arbitrary and needs to be refined. No fan or horseman saw anything about Rispoli’s ride that warranted a fine.

Victor Espinosa

Hall of Fame rider Victor Espinosa, riding full-time at Saratoga, scored a longshot victory last week on Navy Seal, trained by Wesley Ward, in an eventful grass marathon. Espinosa, represented by the young, capable, and affable agent Jose Santos, Jr., has a world of experience, riding more than 3,500 winners and earning over $200,000,000 in purses while competing at the highest levels. 

Espinosa over the years has been generous with his time and money (his lifetime philanthropic efforts are impressive and extensive). Here’s hoping we see more winning Espinosa rides at the Spa.

Strange Doings 

This column has pointed out many times that strange things happen each year at the Saratoga Race Course. Maybe it’s being away from home in unfamiliar surroundings, maybe it’s fatigue from the long days, maybe it’s Sundays, maybe it’s the famed spring water, but over the years there are simply odd occurrences here. Races have been run at the wrong distances. Races have been halted mid-race by outriders thinking there was a fallen rider in danger. Famously, the wrong horse was disqualified from a victory (Allemeuse – look that one up). In other words, anomalies abound. 

Last week added one to the list. In Sunday’s second race, two horses were placed into the wrong starting positions, an error which this writer does not recall ever seeing. The horses, Sonje Hennie and Fast Market, were to be loaded into stalls three and four, respectively, but those positions were transposed and no one noticed prior to the race. Fast Market managed to finish second in the race putting the stewards in a quandary.  Given the circumstances, they reviewed the race and determined that the wrong post positions had no impact on the outcome of the race and let the results stand. It was the correct decision. Mistakes happen, they just seem to happen up here more than elsewhere.

The inductee list for the 2025 Class for the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame is an odd one. None of the contemporary human nominees were selected for induction despite impeccable credentials. It continues a recent trend. Only one of the contemporary horses nominated, Smarty Jones, received enough votes for induction. 

This results in the upcoming annual ceremony celebrating only one living inductee, Arther B. Hancock III, selected by Pillars of the Turf Committee along with Edwin L. Bowen and Richard Ten Broeck, who were each elected posthumously by the same committee. Trainer George H. Conway was also chosen by the Historic Review Committee posthumously. In addition, the Historic Review Committee selected two horses, Decathlon and Hermis, for induction.

Many racing people, including this writer, believe some, if not all, of the nominated contemporary trainers and one jockey nominated deserve induction. It is somewhat puzzling as to why none received the required majority vote. Speculation by one voter expressed in a letter to the editor of the Paulick Report, a racing publication, based their vote on a preference for nominees being retired prior to induction, which, in the case of trainers who often train well into their years, proves problematic.

This was painfully highlighted by the recent passing of trainer Christophe Clement, at the age of 59, who has been on the ballot numerous times without garnering the required votes. His accomplishments, as well as those of all of the other nominees this year, are stellar. In Clement’s case, he garnered more graded stakes wins than many Hall of Fame members, some of whom are quite prominent. In a career that spans decades, I would posit that retirement should not be a factor, but apparently it is with some voters.

Caton Bredar, a member of the fourteen-member Nominating Committee, expressed some surprise that none of the human nominees were selected: “Voters seem to be randomly self-limiting or changing criteria for inclusion. The instructions are clear: vote for as many candidates in each category as are deemed worthy.  I would love someone to explain to me why someone like Christophe Clement is NOT Hall of Fame-worthy—or any of the candidates for that matter.  To be on the ballot, each candidate must clear a very high bar. To me, it is imperative that voters treat each candidate individually and evaluate him or her on a standard set of criteria—and as if they are going to be gone tomorrow. The point of the Hall of Fame is to memorialize the accomplishments of great horses and individuals, not to wait until they are dead to do so.”

Certainly, there have been numerous significant oversights over the years (to this writer, trainer Jose Martin, who developed no less than three champions in Groovy, Wayward Lass, and Lakeville Miss, being a very notable one). It is submitted that a tweaking of the admission criteria to permit a super-majority of the Nominating Committee to induct a nominee regardless of vote total should be considered going forward.

Despite the controversy, The National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame will conduct its ceremony on Friday Aug. 2 at 10:30 a.m. at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga. It is open to the public and free of charge. 

The most prominent inductee this year will be the horse Smarty Jones. The colt was an extremely popular horse with the public during the triple crown campaign of 2004, winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and then running second in the Belmont Stakes before an absolutely huge (and frightening) on-track crowd in Elmont. Clearly, Smarty Jones captured the imagination of the public with his name, his connections, and his wins across the country. But his abbreviated career of only 9 starts in two seasons, with none past the Belmont Stakes, makes his induction somewhat controversial to racing historians.

Among the human inductees, Arther B. Hancock III’s election seems well overdue. From one of Thoroughbred racing’s most influential families, he established industry-leading Stone Farm and owned or bred Kentucky Derby winners Gato del Sol, Sunday Silence, and Fusaichi Pegasus; as well as Kentucky Oaks winner Goodbye Halo. He is quite clearly a deserving entrant.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the lineup of attractions, entertainment, and events for the 2025 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.

Highlighted by the 156th edition of the Grade I, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on Saturday, August 23, and the Grade I, $1 million Whitney on Saturday, August 2, the 40-day summer meet will open on Thursday, July 10 and run through Monday, September 1.

Following the four-day opening week, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.

First post will be 1:10 p.m. every day except Saturdays, when first post will be 12:35 p.m. The only exceptions are Whitney Day featuring a 12:05 p.m. first post and DraftKings Travers Day with first post at 11:40 a.m. Post times for Labor Day weekend will be announced at a later date.

Admission gates will open for live racing at 11 a.m. for all but Whitney Day, when gates will open at 10 a.m. and DraftKings Travers Day, when gates will open at 9 a.m.

Saratoga Blanket giveaway (presented by Rivers Casino):

Friday, July 25

Fans can get a head start on their summer weekend with a Saratoga blanket perfect for a picnic at the track. Presented by Rivers Casino, the red 50”x60” polar fleece blanket displays a one-sided print with the Saratoga emblem. Available free with paid admission, while supplies last.

Kids Day:

Sunday, July 27

Fans can get a head start on their summer weekend with a Saratoga blanket perfect for a picnic at the track. Presented by Rivers Casino, the red 50”x60” polar fleece blanket displays a one-sided print with the Saratoga emblem. Available free with paid admission, while supplies last.

Stake Races

*Mondays and Tuesdays = Dark Days. No racing.

FRIDAY, JULY 25

Amsterdam (G2) pres. by Albany Med Health System: 3YO, 6 1/2 Furlongs-
Dirt, Purse $200,000

Saturday, July 26

Lake George (G3) pres. by Surfside: F3YO, 1 1/16 – Turf, Purse $175,000

Jim Dandy (G2) pres. by Mohegan Sun: 3YO,  1 1/8 – Dirt, Purse $500,000

Sunday, July 27

Glens Falls (G2): F&M 3&UP, 1 1/2 – Turf, Purse $250,000

Wednesday, July 30

Johnstone (NYB): F&M 3&UP, 7 Furlongs- Dirt, Purse $150,000

Thursday, July 31

John Morrissey (NYB): 3&UP, 7 Furlongs – Dirt, Purse $150,000

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Old Tavern Farm owner Walt Borisenok gave a crash course in the horse breeding industry last Friday morning while a colt that could one day fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction munched absent-mindedly on his breakfast.

The peek behind the curtain of how horse breeding works in New York State was part of the New York Racing Association’s (NYRA) breakfast and breeding farm tour program, which will continue Thursdays through Sundays until the end of this year’s summer meet.

At Old Tavern, Borisenok said that Saratoga County has more than 30 breeding farms, making it the “hub” of the industry in New York. He also explained what buyers look for in a yearling, how horses are evaluated to ensure they’re healthy enough to race, why horses that win on the track are not always successful breeders on the farm, and why fillies in the same enclosure can get along fine, but colts…not so much. 

Trainer Dale Romans also stopped by the tour, about seven hours before his horse Gallo de Fuego won the 8th race at Saratoga that afternoon.

For more on the NYRA breakfast and breeding farm tours, visit www.nyra.com/saratoga/visit/tours/.

SARATOGA RACE COURSE — Last week, more than 175 4-H youth, volunteers, and families from across New York State gathered at the historic Saratoga Race Course for the first-ever 4-H Open House at the Track, hosted by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

Participants spent the day enjoying reserved picnic tables and grandstand seating, paddock tours, and even a special moment in the Winner’s Circle during the 4-H New York Race on July 3, which was won by Iron Orchard.

Throughout the day, the 4-H community booth welcomed attendees with free giveaways, games, and crafts (including “draw your own jockey silks” and horseshoe painting). Youth and families also heard from Jenna Antonucci, the first woman trainer to win a Triple Crown race; Davis Klein, NYRA’s Equine Biometric Specialist; and other professionals such as track veterinarians and race horse owners.

The inaugural event was a celebration of New York’s equine industry and 4-H’s long-standing commitment to youth development.

M

aury Povich had been known to deliver shocking results to his guests on his syndicated television show.

However, the retired long-time television personality had his own shocking results on Friday when My Flicker gave him, trainer Phillip Capuano, and jockey Carlos Lopez their first winner at Saratoga Race Course.

Coming from Laurel Park, My Flicker stalked the pace from the outside through the first quarter before jockey Lopez made his move going into the far turn, then cruised to a four-length victory in a $50,000 claiming race for fillies and mares.

“When I saw that race in the book at Saratoga, if there was a race that I could win for Maury, even as competitive as it is up there, then this would be it,” Capuano said. “It reaffirmed me when I saw the form and the perfect post position. She has good tactical speed to break sharp. From there, she can go on the front end or she can sit just off the pace. She ran a great race.”

“When he was a kid, his father used to bring him to Saratoga a lot,” Capuano added. “More than anything, we wanted a win at Saratoga. I’m happy for him.”

Povich and his wife Connie Chung, a journalist and news anchor, have been involved in Thoroughbred racing over the last six years on the Maryland circuit with their Mopo Racing Stable. Dale Capuano, who won 3,662 races during this 41-year career, had been their trainer before his retirement in 2022. During their time, they had the multiple stakes-winning gelding Alwaysinahurry and the undefeated Moquist.

At the latter part of Dale Capuano’s training career, his nephew Phillip Capuano helped him. Simultaneously, Phillip Capuano had been working for his father Gary Capuano, who trained Captain Bodgit to win the Florida Derby and Wood Memorial before finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness in 1997. Phillip Capuano assisted his uncle for a couple of months before taking over his horses, which included Povich’s horses.

“I worked for my father for years,” Phillip Capuano said. “I learned a lot from him. He has been a fantastic trainer. He is continuing to have a lot of success in the mid-Atlantic region, especially with young horses and 2-year-olds. He’s fantastic in developing and keeping horses going. My only regret is not working long enough with Dale before he retired.”

“In this game, there are so many things that have to go your way.”

Over the last couple of years, Povich and Chung have raced just five horses that make up the Mopo Racing Stable. With the help of Phillip Capuano, they are hoping to build on that, especially with horses like My Flicker, who they claimed in April for $40,000, and a pair of 2-year-olds who were bought at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales at Timonium in May.

“We had talked back in December. His stable was dwindling down and he wanted to get a couple of horses,” Phillip Capuano said. “A mare like [My Flicker] who has proven to win or be right there and be ultra-competitive, those are the kind of horses that Maury is looking for. He doesn’t mind buying horses out of the sales or claiming.”

“Maury and Connie are such great people,” Phillip Capuano added. “Even when things are down, they are always optimistic. I couldn’t ask for better connections to work for. I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity after my uncle Dale retired. They had no problem bringing their horses to me. It means the world to me. I’ll do anything and everything that I can to provide them success and fun.”

Before the Saratoga meet comes to an end on Labor Day, Phillip Capauano is hoping he can continue that success in bringing two more of Povich’s horses for ideal races: Mopo and Miss Notion – both purchased as yearlings at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Sale.

Since her impressive debut in November, Miss Notion continues providing hope for Phillip Capuano and Povich, even with some setbacks and challenges that include losing her rider in the Maryland Juvenile Filly Stakes.

Sold for $52,000, Ms. Notion had been consistently posting good workouts at Laurel Park since her return to Capuano’s barn in April, then she was given a break starting in early June.

“She’s very talented. I have been high on her when she was a 2-year-old,” Capuano said. “I gave her a little bit of time. I brought her back and had her ready to run, then she ran into another setback. The good thing about Maury and Connie is they are very patient people. The last thing they want to see is something happen to any of their horses. They are more than willing to give their horses time.”

Mopo, a Maryland-bred who Povich bought for $65,000, has been showing gradual improvement in her five career starts, including her maiden win in May followed by a close second-place finish in an allowance race last month – both on the turf.

“I am hoping that if I can get MoPo up here, I think she could be competitive,” Phillip Capuano said. “She can run all day on the turf.”

With My Flicker now returned to Maryland following her win, Phillip Capuano is satisfied with the way everything came into play, especially because he can still keep the mare since no one claimed her.

“I’m glad this worked out,” Phllip Capuano said. “In this game, there are so many things that have to go your way. I was happy with the way everything lined up. Hopefully, I can have a little more success up there this summer; pick the right spots and win a couple of more races and keep everyone happy.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opening week (for the third time this year) was a party that was largely spoiled by rain. Heavy localized downpours each night over Saratoga Race Course resulted in numerous races being moved off the two turf courses onto the main track (many run out of the dreaded Wilson Chute). It’s an all-too-familiar routine. 

When the rains come, fans who salivate over the large juicy turf fields are disappointed to see them dramatically reduced due to the surface switch. The outcome is unappetizing racing and a significantly reduced betting handle. There is also frustration for all involved. The tension between wanting to keep races on the grass and wishing to protect the grass courses from damage done by running in wet conditions is palpable. The New York Racing Association fears damaging the grass courses, thereby risking additional cancellations or unsafe conditions for the bulk of the meet, but fans and horsemen bristle at seeing racing moved to the main track on sunny days.

This problem has grown with increased popularity of grass races (and the seasonal weather patterns in Saratoga Springs). There is no easy solution to this conundrum, but solutions are worth exploring. Each suggestion has its drawbacks and limitations. Among them:

– Replacing one of the turf courses with a synthetic course. This leaves turf racing more vulnerable to damaged course conditions as more races will be run over the remaining course while providing no guarantee that trainers will run over the synthetic course rather than scratch (and that bettors will bet). There is also the aesthetics damage of removing lush green acreage. 

– Carding actual substitute races as opposed to taking “Main Track Only” entries. Each grass race would be cancelled when the course was unavailable and replaced with a completely new race with different entries. While better than the hodgepodge remainder in these races, this is a logistic and practical nightmare which may cause even smaller fields and more frustration.

– Install/use a tarp system to cover the grass courses to protect the courses – like what is done in baseball. The dimensions and cost of equipment and manpower makes this impractical as does the speed with which storms develop in the area, but it should be studied for some instances. 

– Run grass races only in the second half of the meeting when damage to the course would have less of a lasting impact. Obviously, this is self-defeating – promoting grass racing by not having grass racing for much of the meet – but it might provide some consistency with the first half promoting dirt racing and the second half turf racing. 

– Stop carding an inordinate number of grass races on a particular card. Last Sunday’s card had six of ten races on the grass course which seems unwise, particularly early in the season. Balance would seem to be the key.

– Promote dirt racing. The dirt races are difficult to fill with trainers and owners preferring the grass races. However, incentives to run on the main track and the prospect of fewer grass races could be the impetus to change that. Grass racing is popular with horsemen and betters, but it cannot be ignored that Oaklawn Park in Arkansas has seen large fields and healthy mutual handle each year without a turf course. 

Grass trips

Speaking of grass races…two weekends in a row, odds-on grass favorites were narrowly beaten after wide trips with no cover. When riding the best horse, the cautious approach is to make sure the runner has clear sailing. But as the connections of Nitrogen in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes and She Feels Pretty in the Diana Stakes can attest, lost ground can prove too taxing. Both fillies were gallant in defeat but were asked to do too much. 

Journalism to the Haskell

Saratoga will share the racing spotlight this weekend with Monmouth Park, where Preakness winner Journalism returns in the Haskell Stakes to face Gosger and Goal Oriented, both of whom he defeated in the Preakness. Journalism “dances every dance” and his connections are to be commended for racing him while he is fit, but history has shown very good horses are vulnerable after a taxing triple crown campaign. Let’s hope a rematch with Sovereignty later in the year is in the offing.

Live music in Saratoga – Kiah Saxe

Top line professional music fills the Saratoga Performing Arts Center each year but live music in bars and downtown clubs has been a staple of the racing season for a century. The quality varies (which is what makes it fun). One high-energy crowd-pleasing band is The Hey Nows. The Hudson Valley-based cover band led by vocalist Paul Serrao has often played in the area. The group now features an extraordinary young female vocalist – Kiah Saxe from New Paltz. The enthusiastic crowd at The Ice House was treated to a powerful, enthusiastic, and talented performance by Ms. Saxe that was worthy of many repeats and portends a bright future. The Hey Nows return to The Ice House on Aug. 22. Mark your calendar to see this woman perform.

The first week of the 2025 race meet at Saratoga saw trainer Michelle Nevin notch a victory, and Linda Rice win four. Also the two-year-old bay colt named for the late veterinarian, Dr. Bob Agne, and trained by Cherie DeVaux, achieved a storybook win.

Saratoga has proven a fortunate location for women trainers with an interesting and early example being Suzanne Zinser. She certainly had a fascinating trip on her way to the saddling paddock, having been born in Stuttgart, Germany where her father was an art collector and merchant.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, following the invasion of Poland and prior to US involvement, her father Richard H. Zinser was in New York on business.  Fourteen year old Suzanne and her mother fled to Belgium, staying ahead of the Nazis by moving to France, Spain, Portugal and North Africa before the family was reunited in Forest Hills, New York, a suburban section of Queens.

At high school during the War, a girlfriend took her to Belmont Park, not for the races but because they could visit and pet the horses along the backside there. Trainer Frank Moore saw Suzanne’s enthusiasm for the animal and handed her the lead shank. Soon after that, she began walking hots for Mr. Moore, before and after school. Eventually she joined his string, via city bus, at Gotham’s other two racetracks, Jamaica and Aqueduct. Following her high school graduation at Forest Hills, Suzanne continued her education at Skidmore, where she graduated with the Class of 1949.

By time she arrived at Skidmore, or perhaps due to the unbelievable influence of the Spa, Suzanne knew she wanted a career in the equine industry. She studied English and Journalism in college with the notion of becoming a turf writer. She worked hard in Saratoga, correcting papers and doing office work, as well as working mornings around what had been the old Beverwyck Stable on East Ave, where some owners wintered their horses. Suzanne built a savings account while away at school.

The press box of the 1950s was an all-male domain, with powerful guilds in place to protect their membership. The New York Turf Writers Association would find temporary positions for out-of-work scribes as pari-mutuel clerks, in the publicity department, as ushers or hot-walkers, to keep these guys on the track and their hand in the game. Their editors were reluctant to introduce a pretty young woman into that cloistered environment.

Suzanne Zinser exercised an option no one could prevent; she bought a thoroughbred, a brown filly named Give Thanks, price $1,000. An amazing bit of irony and coincidence regarding female conditioners needs to be noted here, Give Thanks was a daughter of Thanksgiving, who won the 1938 Travers Stakes for trainer Mary Hirsch, the very first female trainer. Give Thanks ran well for Suzanne, and she made a profit, retiring the mare when she detected her maternal desire taking over.

Suzanne’s next step in 1952 was to take out a trainer’s license and condition for clients on the New York circuit, supplementing her income by also striding the sales floor of B. Altman. Suzanne owned horses most of her life and was one of just a few female thoroughbred trainers in America in the 1950s. 

She appeared on the popular TV shows What’s My Line and Wide World of Sports because she was performing an unusual occupation at the time for women, which also opened unique advertising opportunities for her. Returning to Saratoga Springs to conduct her professional duties, Suzanne frequently roomed at the venerable Race View structure on Nelson Avenue, directly across from the Wilson Chute.

Suzanne married Rutger Rosenborg in 1957 and they operated Pennfields Farm in Stockton, New Jersey for many years.  Suzanne Zinser Rosenborg died of lung cancer at her farm July 9, 2005, but only weeks before, on May 29, 2005 wrote in the New York Times:

“To the Sports Editor: I resisted commenting until now on Bill Finley’s article (“A Good Rider’s Looks Can Get in the Way,” May 18) elevating a girl jockey on the basis of harassment without ever establishing what abilities she brings to the sport. I speak from personal knowledge because I was a horse trainer in 1952 – one of at most three female trainers before women were accepted in the game. But I found that when I established my abilities and desire to work in that male-dominated field, I received respect and never heard a derogatory word spoken in my presence. I think we dwell on harassment and never mention that it is our own attitude that brings these things to pass. Let’s ask jockeys Julie Krone, Donna Barton and others how they managed to succeed. When I returned as a horse owner in 1988, my trainer and I never hesitated using girl riders based on their abilities in handling a horse.”