Maria Kabel, Assistant Trainer

 

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their favorite sport

 

Cincinnati native Maria Kabel faced a crossroads when she was 25: move to Florida with the Golden Skates speed roller-skating team, or make a living working with horses. Although the Golden Skates were ranked No. 1 nationally, Kabel’s background showing hunter-jumpers stoked her passion for all things equine, and she has been in the Thoroughbred game ever since. An assistant the past 16 years to William “Buff” Bradley – the trainer of 2012 Eclipse Award-winning Female Sprinter Groupie Doll – Kabel is in her second season handling Bradley’s string at Tampa Bay Downs. Kabel started on her own buying retired racehorses off the track and reselling them for show careers, then worked at River Downs for trainer Bill Sweeney before joining forces with perennial leading Turfway Park trainer Arthur Zeis. In 1994 Zeis entrusted a 5-year-old gelding named Distinguished Bid to Kabel’s care, and he won seven races in a row at Turfway in a 14-week span. Kabel, who lives on the Bradley family’s Indian Ridge Farm in Frankfort, Ky., galloped and groomed their outstanding gelding Brass Hat, who won nine stakes (including the Grade I Donn Handicap at Gulfstream) and more than $2-million in his seven-year career. Brass Hat resides on Kabel’s end of Indian Ridge Farm. She has broken the 12-year-old to Western tack, and she and Buff ride him on trails around the property. Brass Hat always will have a special place in Kabel’s heart, but 5-year-old Groupie Doll – bred by Buff and his father Fred out of their mare, Deputy Doll – has achieved even more, with a five-race graded winning streak last year capped by her tour de force in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita.

 

 

 

HOMETOWN: Frankfort, Ky.

 

BEST HORSE I’VE EVER BEEN AROUND: Groupie Doll trumps Brass Hat. When I got to Santa Anita for Breeders Cup week, she was bucking and jumping around in her stall, and on the way to the track for her works I had to run behind her to keep up. She worked three-eighths in 34 and change, and it didn’t even look like she was going fast.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: I competed in my first horse show when I was 13. We had a couple of Thoroughbreds and a really cool half-Arabian, half-Quarter Horse we named Gray. A woman named Karen McCleary kept layups at the same farm where I kept my show horses, and I rode her horses and started liking it. I groomed and galloped for her, and that’s how I learned before I went to work for Bill Sweeney at River Downs.

 

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION: Buff’s father, Fred Bradley. He is an amazing man who has been a lawyer, a judge and a state senator, flown fighter planes and raced cars. I look up to him.

 

CHANGES I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Establish unified national racing rules and put more money into drug detection to find the cheaters.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: I follow the Cincinnati Bengals religiously. My favorite athlete is Groupie Doll. She is a sound, tough, iron mare who can put up with a lot.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Visit New Zealand, go hiking and see the country.

 

FAVORITE TV SHOW/MOVIE: Grey’s Anatomy and Gone with the Wind.

 

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: It’s so horse-friendly. My horses get out in the round pens at least twice a week to jump around and have fun.

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … I’d probably be an interior decorator. I like to decorate everything; it’s my second passion.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Start slowly and have realistic expectations. Too many people go overboard and don’t last in the business.

 

 

Dennis Petrucelli, Clerk of Scales

 

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their

favorite sport

 

Dennis Petrucelli orchestrates weigh-ins, juggles late rider switches and interfaces with racing officials with the smooth grace of a symphony conductor. Nothing seems to escape the notice of the former jockey, who was a member of the Tampa Bay Downs riding colony from the early 1970s (when the track operated as Florida Downs) until he retired from the saddle in 1983. After a six-month stint in the U.S. Army at Fort Polk in Louisiana, Petrucelli began riding in 1967 under contract to Del Carroll, Sr., the trainer of 1972 Preakness winner Bee Bee Bee. Petrucelli rode his first winner at the old Miles Park Race Track in Louisville, Ky. Among the Illinois native’s top mounts were Abe’s Hope (a member of the same class as Buckpasser, Graustark and Kauai King) and Illustrious, a son of Round Table piloted to victory by Petrucelli in the 1969 Native Dancer Handicap at Bowie in Maryland. When his jockey career ended, Petrucelli switched gears deftly, becoming an assistant trainer under Sturges Ducoing and Dave Kassen for eight years. He next took a warehouse job, but the siren call of the racetrack was too powerful to ignore. Petrucelli has been a fixture at Arlington Park outside Chicago for more than 20 years, the first 18 as the colors man – the person in charge of jockey silks – and the past four as Clerk of Scales. Last year at Tampa Bay Downs, he was an agent for jockey Dean Butler. Petrucelli has a daughter, Stephanie, who works for Radiant Oil and lives in the Tampa Bay area. His trademark “Have a super sparkly day” reflects his approach to his job and the friendships gained from a lifetime on the track.

 

 

HOMETOWN: Oldsmar, Fla.

 

BEST HORSE I’VE EVER RIDDEN/SEEN: Illustrious and Kaskaskia were probably the two fastest horses I rode. Illustrious set a track record of 1:09 1/5 for six furlongs in the Native Dancer in 1969. It was a $25,000 race then, and now it’s $125,000. Kaskaskia was a Florida-bred horse who I won with on the turf at Delaware Park going five furlongs in 57 1/5, which was a track record, and 57 3/5 seconds. I saw Dr. Fager run in Chicago, as well as Secretariat and Cigar. Graustark was a great horse and Umbrella Fella was a very fast sprinter. I think Personal Ensign was probably the best filly that ever ran. I’ve seen a lot of good ones.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: My baseball coach at Weber High in Chicago saw I couldn’t really hit the ball and got me in touch with a guy at the Chicago Tribune who told me to see Del Carroll, Sr., at the racetrack. I started out hot-walking horses and took care of the ponies for a year before I ever got on a horse. It’s not like now, where guys gallop for two weeks and get a jockey’s license.

 

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS: My late parents, Angeline and Charles. My dad was a tool-and-die worker and my mom took odd jobs to make ends meet. They showed me the value of hard work. My dad was scared of horses, though, and wouldn’t get in the winner’s-circle picture when they saw me win a race at Commodore Downs.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Less racing might actually improve the quality. Year-round racing up north is hard on everyone, especially the horses. I’m also not a big fan of Sunday racing.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: I root for the Chicago Bears, but I have fond memories of meeting the old Yankees slugger Moose Skowron, who also went to Weber High. He told me great stories about Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Joe DiMaggio and those great teams.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: I’d like to get a hole-in-one. I almost had two in one day, but I’m still swinging.

 

FAVORITE MOVIE/TV SHOW: I’ve watched the Stephen King horror thriller Dead Zone six times. Once in a while, I watch the finals of Dancing with the Stars.

 

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The weather, the fans and all the old friends I get to catch up with when they ship in to race.

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … I’d probably be a multimillionaire computer programmer. I took a test for IBM out of high school and got a real high score, but I was already working at the racetrack for Del Carroll. Who knows what would have happened?

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Sharpen your money-management skills, especially if you want to be a jockey. And pick out a good gate rider and study how they break on top, even on a horse that doesn’t show speed.

 

 

Stephanie Van Minos, Track Photographer

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their

 favorite sport

 

In her first racetrack assignment at Finger Lakes in Canandaigua, N.Y., Van Minos was preparing to shoot the finish when a horse blew the far turn, bolted to the outside rail and headed for the gap leading back to the paddock. Which was precisely where Van Minos was standing, focused on the finish line and blissfully unaware of her impending peril. Fortunately her boss, Tom Cooley, saw the situation develop and yanked her aside before she got run over. “He told me, ‘That’s the first rule of this job – keep your eyes peeled, because you never know what will happen,’ ” Van Minos recalled. A similar situation happened last season at Tampa Bay Downs during a turf race when a horse jumped the outside rail and continued down the grassy path between the two courses; Cooley screamed to Van Minos to watch out, and she dove under the rail just in time. In her eight years at the racetrack, Van Minos has developed into a consummate professional, smoothing over the rough spots when a horse gets fractious in the winner’s circle and turning out quality pieces of art for winning horsemen. Van Minos, who works in tandem with fellow Tampa Bay Downs photographer John Duca, doesn’t consider herself a Thoroughbred racing authority, but has learned Tampa Bay Downs beats upstate New York in the winter.

 

 

 

HOMETOWN: Rochester, N.Y.

 

BEST HORSE I EVER WATCHED: This is a stretch, but I’d have to say Mouse, the Miniature Horse and Tampa Bay Downs mascot. She brightens my day when I see her walking around the track greeting everyone.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: I graduated with a photography degree from the University at Buffalo. A friend put me in touch with (track photographer) Tom Cooley, and I went to the track to see what it was all about. I didn’t know anything about horses – and still don’t – but I knew about photography, so I got the job.

 

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION: Music. It’s a huge part of my life. I love reggae music and Indie rock, love going to concerts, and I’ve even started playing the ukulele!

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: I think every racetrack should have a Thoroughbred adoption program right on the grounds, like they do at Finger Lakes. They do a great job of adopting out retired horses and trying to get them into new careers.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: I’m not a big sports fan, but my dad would be disappointed if I didn’t say the Buffalo Bills. Growing up in my house, you were either a Bills fan or not allowed to live there.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: To surf the waves in Hawaii. I’ve surfed in southern California and Cocoa Beach, which is probably my favorite spot in Florida.

 

FAVORITE MOVIES: The Goonies and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

 

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The weather—you can’t get weather like this during the winter back home in Rochester!

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … I’d be a starving artist, eating Ramen noodles. I’ve tried it before, selling still life and fine art pieces, but not enough to make a living.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Have a good portfolio, and know your camera. And try to take the picture quick. There is a lot of finger-crossing when you take pictures of horses, because you never know what you’re going to get.

 

Jane Cibelli, Trainer

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their

favorite sport

 

Jane Cibelli’s reputation for being a shrewd judge of horseflesh extends beyond her barns at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park. At the 2011 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Cibelli picked out Purple Egg for her Goodwood Racing II syndicate for the bargain price of $22,000. After winning his first two races in impressive fashion last summer at Monmouth Park and Parx Racing in Philadelphia, the gelded son of Lion Heart-Luminous Prize, by Prized, won the $75,000 Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 1. His beaten foes that day included Falling Sky, the winner of Saturday’s Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes. Purple Egg was sidelined until recently due to lingering effects from a fever, but is back to full health and training smartly. Cibelli, a native of Leicester, England, is tied for second in the Tampa Bay Downs standings with 14 victories, and her 40-percent strike rate is tops among all conditioners with 25 or more starts. She is also a healthy 6-for-30 at Gulfstream. Cibelli has won back-to-back training titles at Monmouth Park in New Jersey and was the first woman to top the standings at the summer showcase meet.

 

 

 

HOMETOWN: Odessa, Fla.

 

BEST HORSE I EVER TRAINED/WATCHED: In terms of accomplishments, my best horse was Chirac, a Sligo Bay gelding. In 2009, he won the Grade III Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth and the Skip Away Stakes, and the next year he was third in the Grade II Monmouth Cup Stakes. But I believe Purple Egg has the most potential of any horse I’ve trained and is a better horse than Chirac. Purple Egg still has to prove himself, though. The best horse I’ve ever seen is Zenyatta.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: From the time I was in school, I always wanted to work with horses, and by the time I was 12 I knew I wanted to train. I worked in a racing stable in the United Kingdom and came to the United States in 1983. I worked as an assistant exercising horses for Linda Rice, but I really committed myself to my career soon after I fell off a horse and broke my back.

 

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE: One of my owners, John Hewitt, was a great inspiration to me. He overcame a lot to be successful in life, and he always showed faith in me and was very supportive. I’ve tried to glean as much information and knowledge as I could from everyone I worked for.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Establish universal medication and licensing regulations. Especially when I’m racing in New Jersey, it’s difficult to manage because you’re shipping to other states where the rules for withdrawal times and licensing are all different.

 

MY FAVORITE ATHLETE: Zenyatta. She beat the boys, she beat the best in the world, and she made it look effortless. She should have gone undefeated.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: I’d love to go to China, see the Great Wall and experience that culture.

 

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Downton Abbey.

 

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The track surface is very forgiving and great for getting horses fit.

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … Being a veterinarian would be an option. I’ve never had any doubts about working with horses.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: It takes discipline to be successful, and you have to be able to keep going through adversity. Just keep getting up and going to work. Good things happen if you’re honest and hard-working.

 

Luis Garcia, Jockey

 

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their

 favorite sport

 

 

It doesn’t take Luis Garcia long to make a positive impression. Besides being one of the most cheerful, enthusiastic athletes you could hope to meet, the 28-year-old native of Puerto Rico has stamped himself as one of the track’s top riders since arriving at Tampa Bay Downs for the 2010-11 season at the urging of trainer Leigh Delacour. Garcia won 34 races that season, highlighted by his sterling ride aboard 43-1 shot Watch Me Go in the Grade II, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby for owner Gilbert Campbell and trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Since beginning his career 10 years ago, Garcia has ridden almost 1,300 winners, with total purse earnings above $27-million. Garcia and his younger brother, Geovany, are well-known on the mid-Atlantic circuit; their uncle Julio is also a successful jockey. In 2007, Luis rode Forty Crowns to victory in the Maryland Million Turf at Laurel. Garcia is married to a jockey, Elizabel Navarro, and has a 2-year-old son, Justin, and a 5-year-old stepdaughter, Brithany. Riding for such outfits as the Delacour stable, H. Graham Motion and Jonathan Sheppard, Garcia’s optimistic outlook is well-founded.

 

HOMETOWN: Hanover, Maryland.

 

BEST HORSE I EVER RODE: I got to ride Drosselmeyer here in the 2011 Challenger Stakes, the year after he won the Belmont for William Mott. It was his first race in nine months, he wanted more distance and we finished fourth. But I could tell what kind of horse he was (Drosselmeyer won the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic). I’ve also been on a bunch of good fillies for Leigh Delacour, like (eventual Grade I winner) Her Smile, who I won a stakes with as a 2-year-old; (stakes winner) Supreme and (stakes-placed) Ageless.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: I used to watch the races all the time with my grandparents, but I didn’t realize I wanted to do this until I was 15. Watching my uncle ride a lot got me motivated, and I went to the El Comandante jockeys’ school when I turned 16.

 

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE: Frankie Dettori. I’ve never met him, but I admire his style, the way he handles horses and how he rides the turf. Just the way he sits back on a horse, waiting, waiting, waiting. … and riding pretty aggressive at the end.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Better insurance for all the riders. The Jockeys’ Guild and workmen’s comp programs are good, but they won’t cover everything if you are seriously injured.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: I always liked the way (former NBA point guard) Jason Williams played. My favorite teams are the Lakers and the Ravens.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: I want to take my family to France, Italy, all the European countries. And I want to take them to Disneyworld when they are old enough to enjoy it.

 

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The weather is great, the people are friendly and the grandstand is always full. You don’t get that up north in the winter.

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. ... I might be an aviation mechanic or in the military police. I graduated from that program back home.

 

FAVORITE TV SHOW/MOVIE: Two and a Half Men and Mama. I like scary movies.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Take your time and try to learn something different every day. And if you fall down, don’t let anyone keep you down – get up and keep trying.

 

 

 

Richard Grunder, Track Announcer

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and reflections about their favorite sport

 

Richard Grunder has called Thoroughbred horse races at tracks the average fan doesn’t know exist. He was 20 when he broke into the profession in 1972 at Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, roughly 17,000 furlongs from Tampa Bay Downs. He narrowed that distance early in his career, announcing at Portland Meadows in Oregon, Arapahoe Park in Colorado, Prairie Meadows in Iowa, Canterbury Park in Minnesota, several tracks in Nebraska and Waterford (now Mountaineer) in West Virginia. Now in his 29^th season at Oldsmar, Grunder has made enough friends and spun enough track tales to last a lifetime. His masterful call of the 2007 Tampa Bay Derby stretch duel between Street Sense and Any Given Saturday is a YouTube classic. Grunder also hosts the track’s Morning Glory Club on Saturday mornings. He is a jockey’s agent in the summer at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, where he has helped Derek Bell win six track titles and Tanner Riggs claim the 2012 crown. The Dodge City, Kan. native and wife Diana celebrate their 39th anniversary in April. Their son Chad is a high school teacher and coach in El Dorado, Kan.

 

HOMETOWN: Oldsmar.

 

BEST HORSE I EVER WATCHED: Here at Tampa Bay Downs, Street Sense. But I was at the 1988 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs on a cold, dark, rainy day – the only Breeders’ Cup I’ve been to – to see Alysheba win the Classic and Personal Ensign rally in the Distaff when she looked to have no chance. It’s an afternoon I’ll never forget.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: My dad, who worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, took a leave of absence every summer and ran a small stable. I cut my teeth in first grade at La Mesa Park in New Mexico, where I ran the photo-finish pictures to the glassed-in display case.

 

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE: No doubt, my father, who passed away in 1996. He was from the Greatest Generation; a tough guy who served in the Army in World War II. He told me I would be a very rich man if I was able to go to a job I liked every day.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Eliminate artificial surfaces. I guess it’s being a traditionalist, but I don’t think it’s fair for stakes horses to have to switch from dirt to synthetic.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: Kansas State football and Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze. I don’t hardly know Russell, but just his steadiness every day, whether it’s the first race at Golden Gate or a major stakes, is impressive.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Making my living at the racetrack. I feel pretty blessed.

 

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: Quality racing, even playing surfaces and ownership and management who are horse people and love racing.

 

BEST MORNING GLORY CLUB GUEST: A three-way photo finish between a couple of Hall of Famers and friends – trainer Carl Nafzger and jockey Kent Desormeaux – and a future Hall of Famer, jockey Ramon Dominguez.

 

FAVORITE MOVIE/TV SHOW: The Godfather and 48 Hours Investigates on CBS.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Enjoy the run, be ready to travel and remember: it beats a regular job.

Jason DaCosta, Trainer

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations

 and reflections about their favorite sport

 

Gradually, but with unwavering purpose, DaCosta is emerging from the shadow cast by his father, perennial-leading Jamaican trainer Wayne DaCosta. The 27-year-old Tampa Bay Downs newcomer was his father’s assistant for five years, but his memories of accompanying the Jamaican Hall of Fame conditioner to his Caymanas Park barn date to early childhood. After two years in college studying business administration, Jason arrived in the United States in 2009. Despite slow going his first two seasons, he has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in Florida. At the current meet, he has saddled eight winners and four runners-up from 18 starters. His 5-year-old gelding Silver Cloud finished second in the recent $75,000 Turf Dash.

 

HOMETOWN: Kingston, Jamaica.

 

BEST HORSE I EVER TRAINED: My first horse, a Florida-bred filly named Miss Aristocrat owned by my father. She won her first two races at Calder in 2009 and was third here in the Gasparilla Stakes and second in the Suncoast Stakes.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: Being around my father and his horses since I was a baby.

 

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE: Again, my father. He is the best horseman I know. He taught me to be hands-on, check all my horses every day and not to cut corners.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Establish more aftercare programs for retired racehorses. These animals bring us so much pleasure, and I’d like to see as many as possible rehabilitated and pointed toward second careers, not neglected or mistreated.

 

MY FAVORITE ATHLETE: My countryman, Usain Bolt. He dominated at the last two Olympics, and he was the first man to win gold in the 100 and 200 meters and the 4x100 relay.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Winning a Breeders’ Cup race.

 

WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … This is what I’ve always wanted to do. I really haven’t thought of anything else.

 

MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JAMAICAN AND U.S. RACING: On race days, the fans back home are a lot more passionate. You see guys on street corners with a transistor radio pressed to their ear, the stands are packed and there are off-track betting parlors everywhere.

 

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The track is an excellent surface to train on, the atmosphere is quiet and laid-back and the people are friendly.

 

FAVORITE MOVIE/TV SHOW: Secretariat and The Big Bang Theory.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Keep at things and work hard. It’s a tough game with a lot of ups and downs, but hard work does pay off.