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.

  

Brittany Rhone, Jockey/ Blacksmith

 

 

At California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Brittany Arterburn Rhone competed on the rodeo team. She breaks young horses at the Ocala farm of her parents, trainer Lonnie Arterburn and Doris, and enjoys shoeing her own horses – which, from all accounts, does not create a conflict with her husband, farrier Scott Rhone. In addition to managing the family’s string of runners at Tampa Bay Downs, 27-year-old Brittany has won 114 races since becoming a jockey in 2006. Her horses are almost like family members, and riding them soothes the soul of this energetic, dyed-in-the-wool horsewoman. But she is no one-trick pony: she and her sister, Jamie Rocco, just returned from an audition for the CBS reality show The Amazing Race.
 

HOMETOWN: Castro Valley, California.

 

BEST HORSE I’VE EVER RIDDEN: Our 8-year-old mare, Monstrip. We bred her, and I started riding her when she was 2. She has won 13 races and I’ve been on her for every win. She’s a nice, smart mare with a lot of attitude, and that’s what makes her so fun.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: When it comes to Thoroughbreds, my family tree has almost too many branches to count. My father was a jockey before he started training, and his father was a jockey. My dad’s sister is married to (all-time wins-leading jockey) Russell Baze, and my sister, Jamie, is married to a jockey, Joe Rocco, Jr. Plus, my husband Scott’s father, Bernell Rhone, is a trainer, and Scott’s sister is married to jockey Dean Butler. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out.

 

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION: I love being around these horses and I love to work. If I’m not working, I’m actually miserable. I don’t like to quit until the job is done, and done right.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Go to year-round racing at Tampa Bay Downs. We have a nice home here, and I’m getting tired of shipping all over.

 MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: The Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and right wing Martin St. Louis. I like him because he’s small, he’s not a quitter and he’s always in the mix.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Compete in The Amazing Race. It’s something Jamie and I love watching and have wanted to do real bad for three or four years. We auditioned at Gulfstream on Dec. 27 and had to go in front of the camera, tell who we are, where we’re from and why we should be in the race. It was very nerve-wracking. If we don’t get it this time, though, we will continue to try out.

 
WHAT ELSE I’D BE DOING IF. … If I wasn’t into racing and horses, I’d be a high school chemistry teacher.

 FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Amazing Race.

 
FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The round pens for horses. Most tracks don’t have them, and they allow the horses to relax, roll in the sand, sunbathe and just be horses. It gives them a mental break and is really a fun time.
 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Even when you’re doing well, work like you’re broke. As long as you’re a hard worker, there will be a slot for you at the racetrack.

Danielle Ballou, Aspiring Horsewoman

A Tampa Bay Downs insider’s opinions, observations and

reflections about their favorite sport

 

 

 

Despite being only 13, Danielle Ballou played a role in one of the meet’s early success stories. At the Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Two-Year-Old & Horses of Racing Age Sale, Danielle picked out a bay filly from the consignment of Southern Chase Farm for her father, construction executive Steve Ballou. Her opinion was confirmed by bloodstock agent Marette Farrell, and Dad signed the sale ticket for $42,000. Now owned by Steve Ballou, Harriet Waldron and partners, and trained by Joan Scott, Cor Cor is 2-for-2, including a scintillating score in the $75,000 Sandpiper Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 1 under jockey Scott Spieth. Cor Cor’s time of 1:10.02 for six furlongs was a stakes record. The daughter of 1997 champion sprinter Smoke Glacken, out of a mare by 1986 2-year-old champion Capote, is entered in the Grade III Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 1. Cor Cor is named after Danielle’s older sister, Corri. Danielle cares for two retired Thoroughbreds at the Ballou home, riding them on trails at the end of her street.

 

  

 

HOMETOWN: Tarpon Springs, FL.

 

BEST HORSES EVER OWNED/SEEN: Cor Cor, of course, is the best horse I’ve ever been a part of. I saw (2011 Preakness winner) Shackleford in his first race as a 2-year-old at Keeneland, when one of our horses, Fifth District, finished ahead of him by a nose. And I was at Gulfstream to watch one of our horses run when (Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic winner) Royal Delta finished second in the Sabin Stakes to Awesome Maria.

 

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: My dad and my grandfather, Ron Ballou, bought a horse named Who’s There.

 

MY BIGGEST INFLUENCES: In horse racing, Joan Scott and her assistant, Aldana Gonzalez. They are really good with the horses, know what is best for them and care for them deeply. And Marette Farrell – I love going to the sales with her.

 

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Ban the use of whips. I think if everyone didn’t use whips, it would just make the jockeys work harder.

 

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: None, but I played soccer with the West Florida Premier and currently play volleyball for the Pinellas Heat.

 

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Go to the Kentucky Derby.

 

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: I like Matt & Tanya’s ice cream downstairs in the grandstand, and the turf course is really nice.

 

FAVORITE TV SHOW/MOVIE: The Hunger Games and Secretariat.

 

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Be confident around the horses and do what it takes to make them happy. Pay a lot of attention to them!

 

C.C. Lopez, Jockey

 

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

 about their favorite sport

 

 

Charles “C.C.” Lopez was born to be a jockey. His father Carlos Lopez, Sr., who lives in Hollywood, Fla., rode for more than 40 years in the United States and Puerto Rico. Three brothers were jockeys; the best-known, Carlos, Jr., remains active in Maryland. And C.C.’s sons David and Erick are former jockeys who currently gallop horses. A mid-Atlantic fixture, Lopez rode his first winner in 1979, capturing the Meadowlands riding title the same year as a teenager. He has ridden more than 4,000 winners and his mounts have earned more than $86-million. Among his best-known horses are multiple-graded stakes winner Gottcha Gold, who was second under Lopez in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile; Valid Video; Gators N Bears; and Key Lory.

 

HOMETOWN: Brooklyn, N.Y.

BEST HORSE EVER RIDDEN: Gottcha Gold. Besides finishing second to Corinthian in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, we won three Grade III races: the Salvator Mile and Philip H. Iselin Breeders’ Cup at Monmouth and the Skip Away at Gulfstream.

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: My dad was a jockey, so I always thought I would ride. The only other thing I wanted to do was be an astronaut.

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION: My father has always been my idol. He accomplished great things in his career, and I always admired what he could do on a race horse. After he won the biggest race in Puerto Rico, he became a star overnight.

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Do more to promote it at both the national and local level.

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: Thoroughbred racing and my father.

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: Race in a NASCAR event. I’ve done a lot of quarter-mile racing at Englishtown Raceway Park in New Jersey, and I have a Pontiac Trans Am 12-second drag racer. I also own a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado and I’ve restored a 1962 Fleetwood.

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Star Trek. Growing up, Captain Kirk was my hero.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: The turf course. There is nothing wrong with the dirt course, but the turf is a real nice surface to ride on.

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Be the best you can be.

 

 

Joan Scott, Trainer

A Tampa Bay Downs  insider’s opinions, observations and

reflections about their favorite sport

 

Before going out on her own in 2000, Joan Scott galloped horses or worked as an assistant for top trainers Bud Delp, Elliott Walden, Carl Nafzger and Nick Zito. Racing has given her an opportunity to travel extensively, and she worked at such prestigious sales as Deauville in France and Newmarket in England. Scott was a co-owner and trainer of Dr. Zic, a filly who won the Grade I Vinery Madison at Keeneland two years after capturing  the Sandpiper Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in her second career start. Scott won this season’s Sandpiper on Opening Day with Cor Cor, a filly she trains for Steve Ballou and Harriet Waldron.

HOMETOWN: Penn Laird, Va.

BEST HORSE EVER OWNED/TRAINED/RIDDEN: I owned and trained Grade I winner Dr. Zic and trained Grade II winner Freefourinternet, who I ran in the 2003 NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. Also, talk about things coming full circle: Dr. Zic is in foal to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Unbridled’s Song, a horse I galloped for Nick Zito.

HOW I GOT STARTED IN RACING: I went to Kentucky to work with Saddlebreds and got a job working the Keeneland November Sale and breaking Thoroughbred yearlings for Margaux Stud. I loved the opportunities the sport provides.

MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION: My dad – he was kind, honest and always had faith in me.

ONE CHANGE I WOULD MAKE TO RACING: Create national uniform medication rules.

MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM/ATHLETE: My horses, the members of Joan Scott Racing!

NO. 1 ON MY BUCKET LIST: To travel to Machu Picchu in Peru.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Raising Arizona (1987).

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TAMPA BAY DOWNS: It is a great surface to train on. The horses relax here, and so do I!

ADVICE TO SOMEONE STARTING IN RACING: Educate yourself. Work hard, ask questions and keep an open mind. Pay attention to what successful owners, trainers and jockeys do, and learn from it.

The entire staff of Tampa Bay Downs expresses its gratitude toward our fans for their continued support of Thoroughbred Racing.  We look forward to seeing everyone again next fall for the start of the 2012-2013 meeting.