One of the familiar names who has been prominent in training horses in New York for over three decades has returned to Saratoga Racecourse this year.
It’s been eight years since Stanley Hough had trained horses at Saratoga with his last winner at the Spa being Tar Heel Mom in the Honorable Miss Handicap.
In 2015, he became the racing manager for Sagamore Farm in Maryland, who is owned by Under Armour founder, CEO and chairman Kevin Plank. Shortly after the end of last year’s Saratoga meet, president Hunter Rankin and Hough started restructuring Sagamore.
The reorganization included selling horses since Sagamore have been producing homebreds and keeping horses in Maryland for trainer Horacio DePaz while Hough brought horses to Kentucky in the fall and Gulfstream Park over the winter.
“I was buying horses and helping them build the stable,” Hough said. “We had some restructuring to do. This is the first crop that Hunter and I produced from the matings. We sold several mares. We actually sold more than what we bought.”
Prior to working and now training for Sagamore, Hough already had a solid training career. One of his early successful horses that he bought for Meadow Bay Stable was Proud Appeal, winner of the Swift, Bay Shore and Gotham at Aqueduct, as well as the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, in 1981.
A year later, Hough represented Bert and Diana Firestone well with Half Iced, winner of the Secretariat at Arlington Park, the Japan Cup in Tokyo and eventually the Seneca at Saratoga, and Expressive Dance in the Ballerina at Saratoga.
Hough continued his Saratoga success with Caller I.D., who just fell short of sweeping the 2-year-old Saratoga stakes by taking the first two legs of the Sanford and Saratoga Special in 1991, Caller I.D. with a third-place finish in the Hopeful. A year later, Spectacular Tide rallied from last to win the Sword Dancer.
Over his near five-decade career, Hough has won over 2,100 races for over $45 million in earnings. With this success, Hough knows that none of it comes easy.
“Everyone comes with high hopes,” Hough said. “It’s always tough to win. I’ve had good meets, and I’ve had bad meets. Saratoga has always been a tough place. You get rewarded, too. It is very satisfying to win here. It’s like that at Keeneland and certain places. There is more interest from the public.”
When Hough came back to training in September, 7-of-8 of his horses finished in the money that included a winner at Churchill Downs. The next month at Keeneland, Hough won 2-of-7 races. He then finished the year winning the Gravesend Stakes at Aqueduct with Recruiting Ready.
While several Sagamore horses had been training at Oklahoma Training Tracks weeks before the meet had started, Hough didn’t necessarily plan of coming to Saratoga, especially since many of the horses were racing well in Kentucky.
Hough currently has 15 horses for team Sagamore at his barn near the Saratoga far turn that range from unraced 2-year-olds to graded stakes winners.
The biggest prospects in his barn are 3-year-old Global Campaign, who defeated Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston in the Peter Pan at Belmont in May, and Recruiting Ready, who came back with another stakes win in the Gulfstream Park Sprint in March.
“I had no intention. I just came up,” Hough said about coming to Saratoga this year. “We have some very nice horses here. I like being back here. We have raced here for years. Saratoga is great.”
Hough, who is 71, suggested he may be training just Sagamore horses through next year before considering retirement.
“I’m enjoying it,” Hough said. “I’m not going to do this forever. I’ll stay with the outfit as long as they want me. I just need to see a couple of these horses. We’ll figure it out. We have no time frame.”
