MANY TRAINERS who come to Saratoga often become independent with a solid set of horses before the age of 30.
Thirteen-time Saratoga leading trainer Todd Pletcher was also 29 when he started his own barn in 1996 after being an assistant to Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. Mechanicville native Chad Brown was also 29 when he left Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel to train his own horses in 2007.
For Jorge Abreu, who will be 44 on Aug. 16, not only has it taken him more time to become a trainer, he has also learned how to become successful after starting with just one horse before building that into a 40-horse stable through hard work, committed owners, good help, and long hours.
“Being a trainer is not easy,” Abreu said. “You need to have a good background with a little bit of money saved, especially since everything is expensive in New York. You also need to have clients who are going to support you.”
Abreu’s journey of becoming a trainer has its roots in Saratoga for more than 20 years. Starting with the late Murray Garren, Abreu eventually migrated as an exercise rider for Billy Badgett, who is now general manager of Gulfstream Park.
Abreu then worked for John Terranova as an exercise rider and assistant, which included handling Bob Baffert’s horses when they shipped from California to New York.
After six years with Terranova, Abreu moved to Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito’s barn for another six years as an assistant while galloping horses that included two-time Whitney Handicap winner Commentator and Bellamy Road, the Wood Memorial winner who later finished second in the
2005 Travers.
However for nine years, Abreu may have received a lot of his training skill set by working with a plethora of graded stakes winners – both turf and dirt – from the aforementioned Brown.
“I’ve worked with many people,” the Dominican Republic native said. “I really learned a lot by working with Chad. I was going to train horses on my own the year before [in 2015], but I wasn’t ready. I gave myself one more year because experience is always good.”
Before going on his own, Abreu also wanted to be fair with Brown by staying with him for one year. During that last year in 2016, Abreu trained just one horse: a then 4-year-old New York-bred filly named Woodville who graduated from the maiden ranks and won an allowance race in her first two starts at Saratoga.
“She had been training well,” Abreu said. “So I pointed her to Saratoga and she won. That kind of opened the door a little bit. My background was really good. So, I got some people to support me when I was getting ready to leave.”
One of his first supporters was Steve Weston, owner of Parkland Thoroughbreds, who had given Abreu an unraced filly named Ellie’s Honor. Just like with Woodville, Ellie’s honor won her first race in January 2017 at Gulfstream Park. Abreu’s two-horse stable, which included New York-bred All Show, quickly grew after that win.
“When I won my first race at Gulfstream Park, I got about 15 horses a week later,” Abreu said. “By the time I left Florida, I had 22 horses. Since then, everything has been going well.”
Last year at Saratoga with just 10 starters, Abreu eventually scored a winner on the turf near the end of the meet with Hope’s Roar for NY Final Furlong Racing Stable.
Abreu has been at the Oklahoma Annex barn since the beginning of May. Over the past year, Abreu’s stable continues to expand with stakes-caliber horses that include Goodthingstaketime, who finished third in the Grade 3 Lake George Stakes on Saratoga’s Opening Day card, and Pas de Soucis, who is being trained for Saturday’s Fasig-Tipton De La Rose Stakes as part of the Whitney Day undercard.
Along Pas de Soucis and Goodthingstaketime from owner Peter Bradley, Abreu has also been receiving horses high-profile owner Michael Dubb. Abreu has been surprised and grateful for being this established within three years.
“Michael Dubb and Peter Bradley have been very good supporters by putting good horses in our barn,” Abreu said. “Things have been going well. I never expected to have this happen so soon.”
However, one of the things that has placed a setback on Abreu has been the weather. With over three inches of rain falling in the Capital Region last week, Abreu’s horses have seen limited time in training and racing on the turf.
“I have a good mix of horses, but they are all turf horses,” Abreu said. “The weather is killing me a little bit. Been here since May and there has been a very dry spell. In Sarataoga, when it rains, it really rains. When it’s dry, it’s really dry. There is no in between.”
Abreu doesn’t let the weather discourage him from putting in a 15-hour day that starts at 4 a.m. because he knows the horses are worth it not only now, but for his career and future.
“The horses make me get up in the morning. These horses make me want to come here to see them, train them, and be around them,” Abreu said. “At the end of the day, you are only good as your horse.”
