Reflections on a historic run of success in a very tough game

Thoroughbred racing, more than perhaps any other sport or business endeavor, is a game of highs and lows. Recently, Kenwood Racing experienced a memorable run of success; five wins in a row with five different horses at five different racetracks.  None were favored, all won easily. Two horses won by 11 lengths each; the smallest winning margin  was a going away 2 length win. Collectively, the margin for the 5 wins was over 32 lengths, all in the span of just 9 days. Hope you enjoy this personal perspective of a winning streak that will be long remembered.

It’s Friday, October 25^th and we are at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The day begins badly. Kenwood has two horses running at two different tracks. First, Big Apple Brit (named for one of our co-owners) runs in a maiden race here at the Meadowlands. We paid $50,000 for this horse as an un-raced two year old at the OBS (Ocala Breeders Sales) auction in April, the highest price Kenwood paid for any horse in 2013. Every year, Kenwood purchases 6-8 two year olds, many of them at this sale. We’ve enjoyed a great deal of success buying winning, profitable horses for bargain prices at OBS, but not all of them work out. Even billionaires who pay $500,000 - $2,000,000+  per horse for the supposed cream of the crop at public auctions are lucky if 7% or 8% of them ever win a stake race of any kind and few horses sold for those prices are ultimately going to be profitable, so a $50,000 purchase (while a lot of money to us) offers no guarantees. Big Apple Brit showed nothing in his debut on August 30th at Monmouth Park, trailing the field the entire race. He improved when trainer Steve DiMauro made some changes for his 2nd start (adding blinkers, lasix, and racing on the grass), pressing the pace for most of the race at 39 to 1 odds before tiring late to finish 5th. Today we are hoping for another step forward, but instead see him sit a perfect trip and totally fall apart late to finish 9th of 10 horses. This horse really impressed us at the OBS sale but has obviously been a major disappointment thus far. If he had run well here we had reason to believe he was a late maturing type that given time, still had the potential to be a decent runner down the road. Now it appears increasingly likely he just lacks the heart and/or talent to be a quality racehorse. He’ll go to Penn National for the winter in hopes that against easier competition he'll show some much needed improvement. Most likely it will be a struggle to get this horse into the winner’s circle and recoup a small part of our investment. What I don’t know at this moment of disappointment, is that this is the last time a Kenwood horse will fail to visit the winner’s circle for nine days.

Most of the Kenwood co-owners who came to see Big Apple Brit run head home. Understandably, they are disappointed. This is the last year of racing at the current Meadowlands facility (a brand new grandstand complex has been built on the other side of the racetrack that will open shortly) and the place is nearly empty and rather depressing on a Friday, particularly if you just watched your horse run 9^th out of 10 horses. Carl D’Angelo, a good friend and a co-owner in the Kenwood groups that own Big Apple Brit and our second runner of the day Alarming Affair, who runs at Laurel Racecourse in Maryland in about an hour, decides to stay and watch her race with me. I am glad for the company. “If she wins at Laurel, we’ll end the day on a good note” I tell him. We claimed Alarming Affair this summer at Monmouth Park and she has had two good efforts (a 2^nd and a 3^rd) in three starts for us so far. This looks like a good spot for her to hit the winner’s circle, a 6 horse field with no world beaters in it, but you never know. Alarming Affair is #1 and logically she and the #6 horse should vie for favouritism here, but a ton of late money comes in on the #5 horse, who goes off the heavy 6 to 5 favourite, while we are the 8 to 5 second choice. Many betters are convinced that when a horse receives unexpected heavy betting, particularly ‘late money’ wagered in the final moments before the race, that the outcome is somehow ‘fixed’. People run to bet on horses like this, further driving down the odds. But odds mean little. Horses don’t care how much is bet on them, and the results aren’t pre-arranged the way the conspiracy theorists believe. What the heavy money most likely means is that the horse is training particularly well, and her ‘connections’ (owner, trainer, barn crew and friends) are betting on her. When the gate opens, the #5 horse is immediately gunned to a big early lead. Out there by herself, she’s dangerous. The #6 horse takes a run at her on the far turn, while Daniel Centeno, a capable veteran rider who usually rides very well for us, bides his time on Alarming Affair near the back of the pack. As they approach the top of the stretch Daniel asks Alarming Affair for her run and she responds; as they turn for home she’s three wide but drawing even with the two leaders. Carl & I are out of our seats yelling for her to “finish mama, finish!” and she does exactly that, gradually drawing away in the final 16^th of a mile to win by just under 2 lengths. The heavily bet #5 horse holds on for 2^nd. We watch from the Meadowlands as two of Kenwood’s co-owners, Denine & David Hasan, walk with Denine’s father into the winner’s circle at Laurel Park. Enthusiastic new owners, they drove three hours each way from New Jersey to Maryland to cheer Alarming Affair on in person and were rewarded with a richly deserved victory. Carl & I leave the Meadowlands in good spirits. We have a filly running at Penn National the next day who has yet to run a good race for us, but I think she has a real chance to turn things around and give us two wins in a row tomorrow evening. Winning races back to back is not easy to do in a game where the leading owners win 20% of the time. One win in five is pretty good, since in a typical field of 9 horses, the overall winning average will be one race out of nine, but 20% wins also can be defined as 80% losses, and that doesn’t give you a lot of back to back visits to the winners circle.

Saturday, October 26^th. This evening Listening Ears is running in a maiden race at Penn National. We paid $40,000 for this two year old filly at the OBS Sale in Ocala, Florida last April; the same sale where we bought Big Apple Brit, who was such a disappointment yesterday. This was the second highest price we paid for any horse at the sales in 2013 but thus far, she too has been a disappointment. Listening Ears was named by good friends and Kenwood co-owners Robert & Anita Weiner to honour their Grandchildren. Robert & Anita have been partners with us in a number of our co-ownership groups over the last few years. Twice they have brought a bevy of family members to the track to see this attractive, well bred chestnut filly run. Thus far, they have been rewarded with two 7^th place finishes; the first time beaten 25 lengths and the second time beaten 40 lengths. Understandably, they and the other Kenwood Partners and co-owners don’t hold out much hope for this horse’s future, but trainer Steve DiMauro and I are both cautiously optimistic she has the potential to be a productive runner given time and patience. Unlike Big Apple Brit, who has shown little in his training since we purchased him, this filly has some natural speed and ability. Like ‘Brit’ she’s mentally very immature. Just like with human athletes, each horse learns and matures at their own pace. A two year old racehorse is roughly comparable to a 14-15 year old human athlete. The high school track star at 14 is rarely the one who is an Olympic Champion 5 years later, and so it goes with racehorses. Listening Ears has been in heat most of the summer and her mind has not been on racing.  In her first race at Monmouth Park back in September, she pressed the pace for about half the race before falling back to 7^th.  She ran as an entry that day with another one of our two year olds, a precocious filly named Hug a Tree, who won that day, so we had a 1^st and a last in the same race. Hug a Tree is scheduled to run in an allowance race a couple of days from now, and we have high hopes for her. As for Listening Ears, she ran a second time a couple of weeks ago at the Meadowlands in a distance race on the grass. That day, she got into a vicious head to head speed duel with another horse and after battling courageously for the first 6 furlongs in a fast pace, slowed to a crawl in the stretch to be beaten by 40 lengths. Now she’s in a shorter race against much lesser competition at Penn and we think she has a real chance to beat these horses. What most owners don’t understand is that a lot of winning involves running horses at the right level of competition. “Keep yourself in the best company and your horses in the worst company” is the old racetrack saying. If we are correct that this filly is gradually maturing and she can carry the speed she showed last time just a little further, she can win here. As with Big Apple Brit the day before, this race will be a key test. If she can’t run well in this spot, she too is probably never going to be a quality racehorse.

Listening Ears is 6 to 1 in a seven horse field. I am watching by myself in Kenwood’s office in Interlaken, New Jersey. It’s a 3 hour drive to Penn National and while I travel frequently to see our horses run at different tracks, I can’t go tonight. Trainer Steve DiMauro isn’t there either, he sent Listening Ears to our Penn National based trainer, Mark Salvaggio, to saddle for the race. Like most stables with more than a couple of horses, Kenwood has different trainers at each circuit where we regularly race. Our trainers work as a team, and horses go back and forth between them regularly. Listening Ears has been with Steve all summer, now she’ll stay with Mark at Penn for the winter. Trainers hate to see any productive horse leave their barn, but smart trainers understand how the business works. If Listening Ears does well with Mark, Steve will see her again at Monmouth Park next spring. Our success anywhere means more business for all our trainers in the future.

When the gate opens, Listening Ears comes out alertly. Another horse rushes to the lead and she is sitting a comfortable second, well behind the early leader and well ahead of the rest of the field. It’s a perfect ‘stalking spot’, no excuses here. If she doesn’t run well now, she’s just not the horse we thought she might be. As they approach the far turn, jockey Clinton Potts, one of two experienced jockeys who usually ride for us at Penn National, gives Listening Ears a nudge, asking her to go after the leader. I am holding my breath, waiting to see how she responds. She’s shown speed in her two previous races but never gained ground on another horse when asked. But she’s running now, the leader is tiring and she’s gaining with every stride. By the top of the stretch she’s grabbed the lead and I am yelling for her to keep going. Then the unexpected happens; she’s not just maintaining the lead, she’s swishing her tail like a propeller (not what you usually want to see) but drawing away with every stride. 2 lengths, 5 lengths, 8 lengths, so far ahead you can’t see the rest of the field in the picture. “Listening Ears has it by 5... Listening Ears has it by double digits, it’s all Listening Ears” says the track announcer.  Steve DiMauro calls me saying “that’s more like it!”. I speak with trainer Mark Salvaggio who says jockey Clinton Potts said she did everything right. In just over a minute, this filly has gone from a 40 length loser to an 11 length winner. In addition to the winner’s share of the purse, we have a horse with a promising future. While we felt she was in a winnable race, none of us expected an 11 length romp in the park. That said, it’s not totally shocking, especially with a young horse. As I frequently tell our partners, they’re not race cars, they’re racehorses!  They can change dramatically from race to race. Sometimes, that can make you very disappointed, other times that can make you very happy. This is one of the happy times.

Tuesday, October 29^th. Today Hug a Tree is in the feature race at Philadelphia Park, a starter allowance event for two year old fillies. Having impressively won her debut in September against what appeared to be a modest field of maiden claiming horses at Monmouth Park, this is a key test to see just how good she is at this point in her career. A race like this generally brings together a group of young horses with potential; most will usually turn out to be average claiming horses while one or two end up being really good runners on their way to stakes company, even future stars. Hug a Tree looks like the strong second choice in here, with a horse trained by Scott Lake likely to be heavily favoured off a debut win by 6 lengths in a fast time. Scott claimed the horse out of that race and on paper she appears tough to beat, but I tell trainer Steve DiMauro I think she’s vulnerable and we have a real shot to beat her. Over two decades of studying trainer patterns tells me a lot sometimes, and in this case I see a horse who hasn’t run back in almost two months since Scott claimed her, with a limited published workout pattern in-between. That tells me she’s a horse with some kind of problem, and I am also not convinced she beat much in her debut. “I hope you’re right” Steve says. He’s going to be in Florida with his string of horses at Gulfstream Park today, so trainer Ron Dandy, an old friend and neighbour when I owned-managed a farm in Massachusetts in the 1980’s, will saddle the horse for us and I will give jockey John Bisono instructions in the paddock. Two of our co-owners, Chris Driscoll and Robert Weiner have come to watch the race.  I see Ron in the owner’s section where he usually sits and greet him with “I heard a rumour my old neighbour is saddling a horse for me”. We chat for a few minutes and reminisce about beginning our racing careers in Massachusetts and the 20+ years we have known each other. We walk to the paddock and I introduce Ron to Chris & Robert, who are eager to see Hug a Tree run. Both were there for her winning debut at Monmouth last month. That was the first time Chris, who has been in our co-owner program for over a year, had the opportunity to stand in the winner’s circle with one of his horses. He’s had many winners with us, but had not been at the track when they won until Hug a Tree last month. I tell them she is training great and will probably go off a strong second choice to a heavily favoured horse who looks tough but might be beatable. I know the odds mean little, but most people like the idea of their horse going off one of the favourites.

I watch as Ron Dandy saddles Hug a Tree. She is alert and eager; not overly nervous and handling herself well. If you know what you are looking for, you can frequently tell if your horse is going to run well by how they act when they are being saddled and on the track before the race. Each horse is an individual, they know they are about to run; some become nervous and “leave their race on the track”.  Hug a Tree, despite being a two year old with just one previous career start, is the consummate professional; a good sign not only for this race but for her future racing career. Jockey John Bisono comes out of the jockey’s room and greets me warmly. John, along with jockey Joe Hampshire, is one of two veteran riders based at Philadelphia Park we try to ride whenever we race there. Both have won a lot of races for us and we have a high level of confidence in them. John is having a career year; he’s the leading rider at this meet and I congratulate him. I tell him that Hug a Tree has been training well and has natural speed. I expect her to come out of the gate running and would be happy to see her on the lead, but we think she is rateable and if another horse is intent on the front, it’s fine for him to tuck in behind them and sit in a stalking position. “You decide when the gate opens, it’s in your hands” I tell him. When a group of 1100 pound animals comes flying out of a gate going 35 miles an hour, things can change in a heartbeat. You can’t script it too much, your rider needs to have the flexibility to adjust to whatever develops. John & I and Ron Dandy walk out to the saddling area and John shakes hands with Chris and Robert before Ron gives him a leg up on Hug a Tree. We wish him good luck and walk into the owner’s seating area where we will watch the race together. Hug a Tree is the 5 to 1 third betting choice; a great value, but I expect her odds to go down. Scott Lake’s horse as expected is heavily bet. She’s 3 to 5, even more of a favourite than I had expected. I am quietly confident that Hug A Tree is going to run a huge race. She has been training well; her last workout prior to this race was excellent. Of the six two year olds we purchased this spring, this is the horse I think has shown the most talent to date. Trainer Steve DiMauro & I, having worked together for over a decade, usually agree, but he feels another filly, Charlie Renee, who is still a maiden after 4 starts but has shown promise, is our best two year old. Charlie is scheduled to run in New York three days from now, so by the end of the week we should have a much better line on where both of them stand.

As they enter the gate, the odds on Hug A Tree have dropped from 5 to 1 to 3 to 1; she’s the strong second betting choice, just as I expected. When the gate opens Hug A Tree is away alertly and as I hoped, goes right to the front. The heavy favourite is pressing her from the outside less than a length away and another horse is not far back on the inside, but Hug A Tree is running easily without being asked by John to maintain her advantage, a very good sign. The rest of the field is strung out further behind. As they approach the far turn the 2^nd and 3^rd horses draw a bit closer, trying to put the pressure on. We are all standing and cheering loudly, urging Hug a Tree to keep going. Turning for home, John Bisono gives Hug A Tree a tap on the shoulder with the whip, just enough to tell her it’s time to pick up the pace, and she responds instantly. They straighten out for the stretch drive and she’s three lengths in front. The favourite is struggling, she’s dropping back out of contention. The 3rd horse makes a run on the outside and for a moment it appears she’s gaining, but Hug a Tree has a lot left in the tank. She’s widening her lead and I tell Chris & Robert “she’s going to air” (win by a huge margin). She’s 5 in front just inside the 1/8^th pole, we are walking towards the winner’s circle before the race is even over. I hear Ned Allard, another trainer I have known from the Boston area for many years, congratulating me as we walk outside. Chris asks how much she won by and I tell him “8 or 9 lengths”.  He can’t believe it was that much. Even though I was confident going into the race, I too am stunned at the margin, and at the apparent ease with which she won. As we walk into the winner’s circle I hear the trainer of one of the other horses say “that’s a racehorse”, the ultimate compliment in the business. After we pose for the photo and thank John for a great ride, he pulls me aside and says “this is a nice horse, when I asked her on the far turn she really responded. I had plenty of horse left, she wasn’t tired at all”. John’s perspective, sitting on the horse, confirms that what we just watched was very special indeed. We went into the race thinking we had a solid filly who could run, now we might have a stakes a horse, a future star. It’s just one race, still too early to say just how good she is, but she’s never been challenged in two lifetime starts. After destroying allowance horses we’ll probably look for a stake for her next start,  that will be another huge test. The official chart shows she won by 11 lengths in a very fast time. Right now, we are revelling in the moment.

Friday, November 1^st. Today we are at Aqueduct Racecourse in New York to see Charlie Renee run in a maiden race, scheduled for the turf with a full 12 horse field. I am driving up to Aqueduct with Kenwood partner and friend Jack Czajkowski. Jack has a beautiful, comfortable car and has offered to do the driving; a real gift as we are going from the Jersey Shore across Staten Island onto the notorious Belt Parkway, known as “the world’s biggest parking lot” because of its endless stopped traffic. Aqueduct is near the JFK airport and is really difficult to get to, one of many reasons we don’t race too often in New York (it’s a lot of stress for the horses to spend hours on a van stalled in traffic too). But there’s a really good race for Charlie Renee today so here we are. The weather is overcast, it rained last night, and we are hoping the race might be taken off the grass and run on the dirt. Charlie Renee is a young horse, a two year old maiden who has run well on both turf and dirt previously. She’s had a 2^nd on the dirt and a 3^rd and a close up 5^th on the turf so it’s not yet clear what her favoured surface is, but the way this race sets up we think she has a chance on either surface but looks particularly strong on dirt. While Jack drives, I call the racing office and am told that they are still running on the turf “so far”.  Jack & I chat about the upcoming race and how well our horses have been running, three wins in a row this week. He joined Kenwood several years ago with our very first co-owner group and after being part of the first 6 groups we offered, became a Kenwood partner last year. Jack has made a considerable investment in our company, he’s a very astute businessman and a long time student of the thoroughbred game who understands the ups and downs of racing.

We arrive at Aqueduct and discover the race has now been taken off the turf. There are three scratches but still a field of 10 horses; quite competitive but I feel confident we have a real shot in here. We meet trainer Steve DiMauro in the paddock, he is happy to see the race on the dirt as well. Steve thinks that Charlie Renee might be the most talented of the six two year olds we purchased this winter. So far, she’s run some decent races but has yet to break through with a win. Charlie Renee saddles calmly, she’s alert but not nervous, a sign she’s about to run well, and my confidence grows.  Steve & I chat about how professional she is, and about the great winning streak we have been on the past week.  Jockey Chuck Lopez comes out and greets us all warmly. A veteran rider, he has ridden a number of horses for us at Monmouth Park, including our champion Hermosillo to a win in probably the biggest race of his career. He usually rides on the New Jersey circuit in the summer and in New York at Aqueduct in the winter, but last year he went to Indiana to ride there, so we haven’t seen him in awhile. Now he’s back in New York for the winter. Chuckie has a loyal following in New York among both horse owners and racing fans. He’s known as a front running rider, horses naturally show speed for him, and he’s made a nice career for himself over the years. Steve tells him a little about Charlie Renee, explaining “she was way back early in her last start on the grass, didn’t show any early speed, but I don’t think she needs to be that far out of it. You don’t need to put her on the lead but hopefully not too far back in here”. Chuckie says “well, most horses show speed for me” and we all laugh. Steve gives him a leg up on the horse and says to me as we leave the paddock, “he’ll probably have her on the lead anyway”. I don’t see a lot of speed in this race so while neither Steve nor I want to see him run the horse off her feet early, if she’s on or near the lead early it’s not a bad thing. A lot of racing comes down to “pace”. In a reasonably closely matched field, the horse who gets the best “trip” usually comes out the winner, and it looks like the track will favour horses on the pace today.

Steve & Jack & I all walk upstairs from the paddock and settle into a box seat to watch the race together. New York is not an easy place to win races, the purses are huge and with that comes tough competition, but Steve & I are both quietly confident.  “She couldn’t have saddled any better or be doing any better” I tell Jack.  “Now it’s up to her”. The horses load into the gate and the race is off. Charlie Renee breaks well, she’s on the inside, not always the best place to be, she’s up near the lead with several horses outside of her. Particularly with a young horse, some of them can get intimidated squeezed on the rail with horses all around them and we are watching closely to see if she’s able and willing to hold her position. The pace isn’t that fast and Chuckie knows it; he asks her a little and she quickly grabs the lead from the two horses outside of her. Suddenly she’s almost a length in front, a couple of others aren’t far behind but now she’s in the clear and has the advantage. The time for the second ¼ mile of the race goes up on the board and it’s a lot faster than the first quarter. Chuckie had to use her a bit to get the lead, but she’s running easily, maintaining her advantage. As the approach the turn she’s two lengths in front.  This is exactly what were we were hoping for, the race is hers to win now. We are all out of our seats, I’m yelling for her to “give them the slip mama!” and she does just that. She turns for home and she’s 3 or 4 lengths in front. I hear Steve say to me “it’s a long stretch, it’s not over yet”, but she’s pouring it on and I tell him “she’s going to air, it’s over” and it is.  She’s on cruise control the entire length of the stretch, galloping home 6 lengths in front.  Pure joy watching her come home. As we greet Charlie Renee and Chuck Lopez in the winner’s circle, a huge cheer goes up from a large group of fans. They are cheering for Chuckie, not the horse. Presumably they bet on her and are cashing a nice ticket, and they are clearly happy to have him back in New York for winter racing. We leave Aqueduct winners of four in a row and head back to Jack’s house to watch the first day of the Breeder’s Cup races from California together later on that afternoon.

Saturday, November 2^nd. Today we are at The Meadowlands racetrack with our filly Be My Love race, looking for our 5^th win in a row. This filly has had her ups and downs since we claimed her for $40,000 at Monmouth Park this spring. We tried to claim her for $30,000 earlier in the year at Gulfstream Park in March and lost a “shake” (random draw) when two other owners put in a claim for her also. She ran a very good 2^nd that day, and when she re-appeared in a $40,000 claiming race at Monmouth in May, we decided it was worth paying a premium and put in a claim for her again. Once again there was a shake, this time we won it. She ran a very good 2^nd the day we claimed her and we thought we had purchased a promising horse for our stable. The first time she ran for us, she got in all kinds of trouble in the race and finished a flying 3^rd. Then, the bottom fell out. Twice races were rained off the grass at Monmouth and she finished 4^th out of 4 in rain shortened fields on the dirt in both. Back on the grass she was a closing 4^th, then 8^th in a race where we tried a longer distance and she ran well but tired in the stretch. After four straight out of the money finishes, the owners were understandably disappointed, but we felt if we could get her back in the right kind of race for her, a turf sprint, she could still be an effective runner. Finally on October 14^th at The Meadowlands we found the race we were looking for and she responded with an impressive win. Now she’s back in a similar spot on closing day at the Meadowlands, looking for her 2^nd win in a row. It’s a tougher field this time, and Paco Lopez, leading rider at the meet who rode her to a win a couple of weeks ago, is out of town. We have apprentice Jonathon Zayas riding her this time. Jonathon is zero for 25 at the Meadowlands this year, and several of our co-owners who have come to see her run are quietly horrified. Owners can’t comprehend that if (as in this case), a new rider has been given a series of mounts on overmatched horses with no chance, they aren’t going to win races, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good riders. Jonathon has been exercising horses for us all summer at Monmouth, he’s been on Be My Love many times for morning training and knows the horse. We are confident he’ll ride her well.

Our co-owners aren’t the only ones who think the switch from leading rider to losing apprentice is the kiss of death. Be My Love is 6 to 1 as they head towards the starting gate, despite having won a similar race at the same track and distance just 18 days earlier. I have already bet on her, but seeing the generous odds, I run up and bet an additional $50. I am not a big gambler; my focus is on managing a racing stable, not betting, but a value like this is too good to pass up. As they go into the gate I glance at the tote board and see her odds have risen to 8 to 1. When the gate opens, Be My Love comes out running, and it’s all Jonathon can do to restrain her a bit to rate just off the early leaders. The plan is to have her make a run from slightly off the pace, the same way she won last time, but Be My Love has other ideas. When a horse is feeling this good and eager to run, it’s a fine line between getting her to relax and not use herself too much early, and restraining her so much she loses interest. She is tugging at the bit down the backstretch and Jonathon wisely decides to let her go. In a flash, she’s on the lead, running easily. As they turn for home she extends her stride and takes command. She’s flying down the stretch, drawing away, the race is over. Once again we are walking towards the winner’s circle before the horses cross the finish line.

Be My Love has won by 3 lengths, a huge margin for a 5 furlong turf race. It’s a fitting way to cap off a five race winning streak in which every horse won easily. No photos, no close finishes, all going away wins. In the winner’s circle trainer Steve DiMauro congratulates Jonathon for a great ride. “She did it all on her own” Jonathon tells Steve “she dragged me to the lead and I just let her go”. I walk back up the stairs after the win, sit down in a box seat overlooking the finish wire, and call Allen Katz in Florida, Kenwood’s co-managing partner and my college friend of 30 years+. I am stunned; after so many years in this incredibly tough game, five wins in nine days with such ridiculous ease is too overwhelming to completely absorb at this moment.  Allen answers the phone and as if reading my mind says “I have nothing to say”. That sums it up very well. “I don’t either I tell him, I’m truly at a loss for words”.  My Mother, a Kenwood partner who watches every race from her home in Massachusetts calls and says “it’s going to be hard to go back to normal when this streak ends”. “It will indeed” I tell her, “enjoy every minute while it lasts”. There are two races left at The Meadowlands, the place is nearly empty. This grandstand is being torn down after 37 years, a brand new facility has been built directly across from where I am sitting, on the other side of the track. It will open in November. The track announcer makes an announcement “ladies and gentleman, this is a historic occasion. This will be the last race run here at the old Meadowlands. 37 years of racing history is coming to an end. Please join us for the opening of our new grandstand on November 23^rd”. Be My Love’s two wins will make Kenwood the 2^nd leading owner by purse earnings for the final meet at the old Meadowlands. A fitting way to cap off an amazing winning streak.

Two days later, Carl’s Only Vice will run into a slow pace and a tough field at Philadelphia Park and finish a well beaten 7^th of 8 horses. The winning streak finally is over. Kenwood remains hot however. Big Apple Brit, the horse who lost so badly on October 25^th at the Meadowlands before Alarming Affair began our winning streak at Laurel Park, breaks his maiden by five easy lengths at Penn National just four days later. With Big Apple Brit’s win, all six of our two year olds have reached the winners circle this year. If only the game was this easy all the time.