Donato Lanni - X-Men Racing

Article by Bill Heller

Thoroughbred bloodstock agent Donato Lanni cherished trips to the racetrack with his father, Giuseppe, who grew up in Italy and settled in Montreal, making a career as a construction contractor. He did well enough to pursue his passion. “My dad had a love and a desire for horses and horse racing,” Donato said. “He had some claiming horses.”

They were harness horses and Donato and his father shared evenings at Blue Bonnets Racetrack. “I grew up around it,” Donato said. ”As a kid, there’s something inside you that gets alerted. You catch the bug. I don’t think that’s a myth. I was eight or nine.

“Summertime, I got more involved. I spent all my time at Blue Bonnets going to the barn. I became a groom when I was 13 or 14. There I got to meet some really cool guys—some of the most legendary guys in harness racing: Andre LaChance, Sylvan Filion and Duncan MacTavish. Andre never talked and was not very pleasant to be around, but he was a hell of a horseman. He took a liking to me for some reason. I drove in qualifier (non-betting) races.” Donato was 16 when he bought his first horse.

Though Donato graduated from Concordia University in Montreal, he realized that he wanted to head south—far south. Taking advantage of a summer program at Concordia, Donato got a temporary visa to work in the United States, fixating on Kentucky.  

“I didn’t see a future in Canada,” he said. “I asked, `How am I going to make a living with horses?’ I thought I had to go to Kentucky and see what it was like. I left Canada, knowing I was never going back.”

But he had no connections in America. “You take a chance and go to work,” Donato said.

And when you can’t find work? Running out of money, Donato bought a tent and camped out at the Kentucky Horse Park.

He got a huge break when he met John Cashman of Castleton Farm, one of the premier harness farms in North America. “I got a job with John,” Donato said. “He was very nice to me. I became the yearling manager in 1996. I was 25. I kept working. Grind, grind. Eventually doors open and you meet people.”

He counts himself lucky for meeting and then working for John “Big Johnny” Jones, the founder of Walmac International Farm in Lexington, where such super stallions as Nureyev and Alleged stood. Jones was also the founding partner of Four Star Sales. Initially, Donato landed a job with Walmac selling stallion services. 

“If there was one person most responsible for any success that I had, it was Johnny Jones,” Donato told Murray Brown in his October 2021 story in Harness Racing Update. “Johnny was a noted bloodstock agent who ran Walmac International. It was from him that I learned my craft. He sold and bought horses. Eventually, so did I. While I was at Walmac, Johnny supported me on my first route towards becoming an American citizen.”

While with Walmac, Donato got to know Thoroughbred owner and movie theater magnate George Krikorian. He told Donato to let him know if one yearling caught his eye at any of the sales. One did—Starrer. She sold for $35,000 and won multiple Gr. 1 stakes on the way to becoming Donato’s first millionaire. In an article in Blood-Horse magazine, Krikorian said of Donato, “I don’t know anyone who had a better eye for horses than he does.”

Eventually, Donato worked for John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm as director of Bloodstock Services, and became friends with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. “I met Bob 20 years ago at a sales,” Donato said. “He took me around and showed me what to look for. We’re still pretty close. I learned my craft through Bob Baffert. He’s a great horseman. He’s the best.”

Donato has paid Baffert back by selecting two Horses of the Year: Arrogate (2016) and Authentic (2020).

In 2006, Donato reconnected with Canadian horsemen, specifically trainer Kevin Attard. Attard trained Leonnatus Anteas, a yearling colt Donato picked out for Nob Hill Farm. The following year, Leonnatus Anteas won all three of his starts and was named Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. “That was the start of our relationship together,” Kevin said. “He sent me a couple horses over the years. For me to be associated with him has been a boost to my career. He respects me as a trainer.”

A few years back, Donato decided to start a new team. He convinced several Canadian horse owners and hockey fans to form X-Men Racing and then partnered with SF Racing and Madaket Stables. Lanni nicknamed the partnership “The Avengers. We put a fund together and bought a dozen horses,” Donato told Murray Brown in his story. “They’re all guys that are in the horse business—some of them with Standardbreds. But what they all have in common, besides being friends with me, is that they’re all lucky.”

One of the original dozen X-Men Racing horses was Moira. All the filly did in August was defeat colts while taking the $1 million Gr. 1 Queen’s Plate by seven lengths in track-record time. Less than a month later, their two-year-old filly Last Call won the Gr. 1 Natalma. 

Through all the ups and downs, all the twists and turns of his colorful career, he never lost that feeling he first experienced when he went to the track with his father. “They’re majestic animals,” Donato said. “They’re beautiful to look at. You go work with them; it’s very challenging and it’s fun. We got started because we love the horse.”

Dr. Robert and Laura Vukovich

Article by Bill Heller

Going to the track with your father is a powerful experience for a little boy—a treasured memory. “I grew up on the Jersey shore, and my dad used to take me out to Monmouth Park,” Dr. Robert Vukovich of WellSpring Stables said. “I was probably nine or 10. He taught me how to read the Racing Form, and sometimes he would place a bet for me. I’ve always loved horses and horse people. I decided if I ever had the chance, I would try to get involved somehow.”

Seven decades later, he is involved up to his gills and wouldn’t want it any other way. The fact that he can share it with his wife Laura makes it even more special. “She’s been there every step of the way,” he said.

Why did he wait until the 1990s to get involved in Thoroughbred racing? “College and my pharmaceutical career got in the way,” he joked. “I started in pharmaceutical research.”

He eventually developed his own company, Robert’s Pharmaceutical, and sold it to a large United Kingdom company in the late 1990s. That allowed him to return to horses.

Asked if he ever misses his pharmaceutical career, Robert said, “No. I don’t miss all the pressures. I don’t miss all the deadlines and the regulatory commissions.”

That didn’t prevent him from being successful in his industry. “He came from nothing and has worked very hard,” Laura, a native of Brooklyn with no prior history with horses, said. “We both did. He’s just a warm, caring person even to his horses. He says, `You only go around once—no rehearsal.’”

He’s never been happier than he is now with horses. “I wake up in the morning, and I think of horses,” he said. “I talk to people all day about horses, and sometimes I even dream about them—horses like Leave No Trace. Could this be really happening? Did we win the Spinaway?” They did.

In 1999, the Vokoviches bought a horse farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey, where they now also live. “We started with 100 acres and added pieces,” Robert said. “We currently have 168 acres. Laura names most of our horses.”

She named their two-year-old filly star Leave No Trace after a movie she watched some time ago. “I didn’t see the whole movie,” she said. “It was about a father and a daughter and some tragedy.”

Their horse operation has been the complete opposite. They began breeding horses and then started buying them at auctions and racing them. “Over time, I got to appreciate that I could do better than breeding by carefully selecting horses at auctions,” Robert said. “We now buy most of our bloodstock.”

His initial success came with the help of late trainer Dominick Galluscio, who saddled Organizer and Dr. Vee’s Magic to consecutive victories in the rich Empire Classic for New York-breds in 2006 and 2007. “He was a great trainer and a friend,” Robert said.

Now he uses Phil Serpe and Jim Ryerson as his trainers. “After Dominick passed, I asked Jim Ryerson if he’d take a few horses,” Robert said. “He did. I asked him who would be useful to me as a trainer who races in New York and Florida, and he nominated Phil Serpe. Phil and I have been doing business for seven years. We train our horses in the winter down in Florida and bring them up in the springtime and decide whether to send them to Jim or Phil.”

Robert and Laura now have 15 horses in training, including eight yearlings and five weanlings. They have never done better than the last two years. In 2021, Safe Conduct won the Queen’s Plate. Unfortunately, Peter and Laura weren’t there at Woodbine. “We couldn’t get up there to watch in because of Covid,” Robert said. “We had a bunch of people here. When he crossed the finish line, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it. It was remarkable.” More recently he finished second in the Gr. 3 Monmouth Stakes. “He’s still a special horse,” Robert said. 

So is Leave No Trace, who followed a 2 ¼ length debut in a restricted maiden debut at Saratoga by capturing the Gr. 1 Spinaway there at 14-1. Serpe trains both Safe Conduct and Leave No Trace. Robert and Laura purchased Safe Conduct for $45,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland November Sale and Leave No Trace for $40,000 as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic Fall Sale. Combined, they have earned more than $900,000 with a lot of racing still ahead of them.

But, again, Robert and Laura weren’t at the track when Leave No Trace won the Spinaway. “We were in Switzerland when she won the Spinaway,” Laura said. “We watched it on the telephone. It was around midnight. My husband went bananas. We were very proud. Now Phil is asking us not to be there in her future races. He said he’d buy us cruise tickets.”

Regardless, Robert and Laura are embracing the ride. “To see a little baby grow up and become a rockstar in horse racing, it’s very fulfilling.” Robert said.

Actually, they enjoy every horse they have, regardless of their performances. “Horses are very honest,” Robert said. “They’re the best employees you can have. They just give you all they have, and they never question it. Mother Nature created these animals so beautiful, so powerful and, for most cases, very gentle around you. You sit and watch them in awe. They always give you their best. They give you everything they’ve got. You can’t ask for more. I’m going to be 80. The horses keep me young.”

Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and Bill Strauss, Jonathan and Leonard Green (D.J. Stable) and Mark, Stacy and Bob Krembil (Chiefswood Stables)

By Bill Heller

In this issue we profile the owners of three horses who have been major players in the key Triple Crown prep races.

Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and Bill Strauss – Hot Rod Charlie

Five football-playing fraternity brothers seeking a way to stay connected after graduating from Brown University in Providence, R.I., did just that by connecting with two veteran Thoroughbred owners in Southern California. Now all of them are having the ride of their lives with their Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie.

“It’s astounding,” said Greg Helm, the managing partner of Roadrunner Racing, which owns 50% of Hot Rod Charlie after being convinced by bloodstock agent Dennis O’Neil to take a step away from claiming horses and take a shot with a yearling he liked. “Dennis has a good feel for the personnel groups that would fit together,” Greg said. “Thanks to him, we have a unique ownership.”

The world got a glimpse of this unique group immediately after Hot Rod Charlie won the Louisiana Derby. TVG’s Scott Hazelton was interviewing one of his owners, Bill Strauss, in the winner’s circle. Wildly enthusiastic and raspy after cheering his horse home, Bill fairly shouted, “This is what you get in the game for, to go to Kentucky on the first Saturday of May.” In the background, the brothers were jumping up and down on one another’s body as if they were, well, frat brothers playing boat racing—the beer chugging game they used to name their stable.

“We bring a youthful enthusiasm,” said Patrick O’Neil, the frat brother who is a nephew of Dennis and who bought Hot Rod Charlie as a yearling for $110,000, and his brother Doug, their trainer. 

What do the frat brothers get from their elder partners? “The best thing that happened from this is you get to meet a lot of great new people along the path,” Patrick said. “We are meeting so many amazing people in the world. We are attached to Greg and Bill, who have had very impressive careers. They became mentors to us.”

Working together? “We all have the same mindset about racing, about what’s important to us,” Greg said. “All the decisions that had to be made were unanimous and simple.”

Greg, a 73-year-old retired advertising agency owner, and his wife Glenna formed Roadrunner Racing with five other couples. At their golf club, they watched Hot Rod Charlie’s coming-out party in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, when he led late before finishing second by three-quarters to still unbeaten Essential Quality at 94-1. “They said they could hear the cheering miles away,” he said. “At 94-1, we were pretty pleased.”

His golf club, which had offered a special on its menu that afternoon—the Hot Rod Charlie (a spicy, crispy chicken sandwich)—made it a permanent lunch option. “They have a picture on the menu,” Greg said proudly.

He said of the partnership with Boat Racing, “We’re a pretty lively group ourselves. When you get around the Boat Racing people, it’s hard not to get further energized. We met all of them in New Orleans. That was fantastic. We all sat together, partied together and had lunch together.”

Now he has a horse that deserves a start in a Triple Crown race. “I can almost sleep,” he laughed. “It’s tough to get to sleep.”

Maybe a few beers would help. He could ask any of the brothers—all 28 and in successful careers in California, far removed from those New England winters in college. “I was born and raised in Hawaii,” Patrick said. “Providence was a huge cultural change. I had no boots or a jacket when I went to Brown.”

At Brown, all five brothers played football. Patrick was a cornerback; Eric Armagots a safety; Dan Giovaccini, a linebacker and a senior captain; Reilly Higgins a wide receiver and Alex Quoyeser a tight end. All five joined Theta Delta Chi, where they proved themselves as normal college students by playing boat racing. “Reilly was the best at it,” Patrick said. “Now, after a long and tiring day, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the great relationship we have over a beer or two.”

Patrick, who admitted watching TVG while he was in class, was drawn into racing by his uncles, especially after Doug won the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness with I’ll Have Another and the 2016 Derby with Nyquist. “We talk every day,” Patrick said. “My dad passed away when I was 22.”

When Patrick took his frat brothers to Santa Anita and Del Mar, they were hooked. “Doug won a couple of races, and he allowed us to go to the winner’s circle,” Patrick said. “They were like, `Wow!’”

Patrick said of their college football days, “We were very, very competitive. We missed it a lot. We got into this game as an excuse to get together. We missed the competition. Horse racing has given that to us.”

Bill, a 62-year-old native of the Bronx who was raised in New Jersey, attended Syracuse University, which allowed him to frequent Vernon Downs, a harness track a half-hour drive away. “I was a trotter guy long before I did Thoroughbreds,” he said. “I’ve always been attracted to the animals. And I love the action. It’s over in two minutes, not three hours. And you can get money back. I loved handicapping. I really loved the puzzle. Am I smart or not?”

He was smart enough to have a successful career, doing high-tech software in California. He did well enough that he helped his brother Jeffrey, now a master chef who has cooked for five Presidents, to pursue his dream. He now runs The Pamplemousse Grille. “It’s one of the highest-rated restaurants in San Diego,” Bill said. “I’m a silent partner. I write the checks. It was a pleasure writing a check so he could chase his dream.”

At the Pamplemousse Grille, Bill met a frequent diner, bloodstock agent Alex Solis II. “He was always there with friends and owners celebrating,” Bill said. “I became friends with him. I approached him about getting my first Thoroughbred, and I was with him for years.”

   Bill and his wife Margie won back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprints with Mizdirection in 2012 and 2013 with trainer Mike Puype.

Now he’s chasing victory in a Triple Crown race, with a lot of partners. “It’s an amazing experience,” he said. “In the beginning, you’re alone and get excited. Then you’re with these guys all the way. We discuss what to do—the next race. Patrick recommended the Louisiana Derby. We were completely on board with that because we have so much respect for each other—mutual respect—and we care about each other. Who’d have thought at 62, you’d make lifetime friends?”

    Jonathan and Leonard Green (D.J. Stable) – Helium

Jonathan Green’s priorities crystalized for him at an early age. “I was probably eight or nine years old,” he said. “Our neighbor had a $5,000 claimer. He was racing at Monmouth Park, just minutes from our home. My dad took me. The horse won. I cashed a $5 ticket, ate a hot dog and got to go to the winner’s circle.”

Hooked for life.

Fast forward to college. “I went to Lehigh because Comcast showed Philadelphia Park,” he said. “I’d set up my classes to see the races. I took night classes.”

Now, at the age of 51, he is living his dream as the general manager of his and his father’s D.J. Stable—one of the largest racing and breeding operations in the entire country with more than 100 racing stock, foals and broodmares in five states. “As a family, we’ve really enjoyed it,” Jonathan said. “You have to treat it as a business, but it’s such a thrill to win a big race or sell a big yearling and enjoy it with your family. We’ve won more than 2,400 races and over 150 stakes.”

There is one race they covet winning. They’ve had one starter in the Kentucky Derby—a horse they owned in partnership with former Duke University basketball star Bobby Hurley, Songandaprayer, who set the fastest pace in the Derby’s long history: a half-mile in :44 86 and three-quarters in 1:09.25 before tiring to finish 13th in 2001. But the race they want to win most is the Haskell at Monmouth Park July 17th. “Our Kentucky Derby is the Haskell,” Jonathan said. “We’ve always wanted to run a good horse in the Haskell. We’ve never started a horse in it. The Haskell is a million-dollar race in our backyard…. We’ve done unorthodox things before.”

If Helium were to win a Triple Crown race, that would be tough to resist. That’s what’s classified as a good problem to have. And Lenny and Johnny are good at solving problems. They both succeeded in financing. “My father is 84, and he still works 70-hour weeks and loves every minute of it,” Jonathan said. “My grandfather, Abe, lived to be in his late 90s. He said, `Your mind is a muscle, and you must exercise it daily.’

Lenny is an accountant and CPA who explored the business side of horse racing before getting involved. “He wanted to explore the tax laws to see if there was a benefit for owning horses,” Jonathan said. “He remembered something about the tax codes. He studied it for eight, nine months. Doing that was about as exciting as it sounds.”

Lenny survived and dived in. “He found an industry that he enjoyed that he wanted to be a part of—one that had tax benefits,” Jonathan continued. “He was an athlete. He was a tennis player. He loved competition. In the late 70s, he was a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets.”

The Nets, in the American Basketball Association before it merged with the National Basketball Association, had an outstanding guard named Super John Williamson, who helped the Nets wins two ABA titles. “He was the first actual star I met,” Jonathan said. “He was very gracious. We named a horse Super John.”

Jonathan & Leonard Green with jockey Joel Rosario after Jaywalk wins the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filies

Super John was not a superstar, but an allowance winner who is still racing. The Greens have had many major stakes winners and one champion, Jaywalk, as partners with Cash is King Stable. Jaywalk won the 2018 Gr1 Frizette and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly on the way to the Two-Year-Old Filly Championship. 

In 1989, Jonathan went to his first sale by himself to check out the New Sire Showcase section of the Fasig-Tipton July Sale in Lexington. “I couldn’t take my eyes off a beautiful, steel gray filly across the walking ring,” he said. “She walked with a certain confidence, an aura around her, and had a long stride and peaceful walk. I spent 15 minutes watching her walk, graze and stand in the summer sun. Needless to say, I was in love.”

He got the filly, hip No. 11, a daughter of freshman sire Pancho Villa, for $23,000. “I ran back to the phone bank, made a collect call to my parents and excitedly reported the stunning news of our purchase,” he said. “I was almost 19.”

That filly, Do It With Style, broke a track record at Philadelphia Park in her first start, ran second to Meadow Star in the Comely and won the Gr1 Ashland as a three-year-old.”

Thank goodness for night classes at Lehigh. Actually, Jonathan did benefit from his college education, becoming a certified financial planner. “I started my own company and sold it,” he said. “My primary occupation is managing D.J. Stable.”

He is deeply involved in racing, regularly co-hosting the weekly Thoroughbred Daily News Writers’ Room Podcast, and is on the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Board of Directors. He has been the guest lecturer at the University of Louisville Equine Studies Program.

Now Helium, who has made just three career starts, has them thinking about the Triple Crown races and the Haskell. When pinhooker Bo Hunt touted Helium, he told Jonathan he travels so well that his feet don’t hit the ground, that he floats over it. “I looked at the periodic table,” Jonathan said. “I wanted a name of gas to convey that, and helium was the one I picked.”

Helium had won two sprint starts on synthetic at Woodbine in his lone starts at two for trainer Mark Casse, then showed up for the mile-and-an-eighth Gr2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 6th to make both his distance and dirt debut off a 4 ½ month layoff.

Helium won the Tampa Bay Derby impressively. “It was a sensation I’ve only had a couple times,” Jonathan said. “My father called me after the race and said, `The only times I was this excited was when I got married and when your two sisters were born.’” Of course, Lenny could have told him when his three children were born. Jonathan laughed. “My father and I have formed a tremendous friendship over the horses,” Jonathan said.

The team decided not to give Helium another start before the Triple Crown series of races. “We don’t want to wear him out,” Johnathan said. 

Yeah, there’s the Haskell coming up.

 Mark, Stacy and Bob Krembil (Chiefswood Stables) – Weyburn

Weyburn (inside) fends off Crowded Trade to win the 2021 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct

Some people talk about doing the right thing. The Krembil family, who breeds and races as Chiefswood Stables, has been doing the right thing for humans and horses for decades from their base in Schomberg, Ontario. Along the way, they have emerged as one of Canada’s most powerful stables, winning multiple owner titles at Woodbine and receiving two consecutive Sovereign Awards as Canada’s Outstand Owner in 2018 and 2019. 

Now their colt, Weyburn—named for a small town in Saskatchewan—has emerged as the early favorite for this year’s Queen’s Plate, (Woodbine on Saturday, August 22) following his extremely game victory in the Gr3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct March 6th for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

Before his intended start in Ontario, Weyburn will likely make his next starts in the Gr3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 8th and then onto the Gr1 Belmont Stakes in early June.

Bob Krembil, the 78-year-old patriarch of the family, founded a mutual-fund company and sold it in 2000. In 2001, he launched the Krembil Foundation. “It focuses on neurosciences,” his 54-year-old son Mark said. “One of my interests is biology. We’re trying to make a difference helping people solve their problems. We’re hoping to help people with Alzheimer’s.” The Foundation also deals with the immune system and arthritis. 

Mark is in charge of the stable’s 125 horses with the help of general manager Rob Landy, a Hall of Fame jockey who rode the stable’s lone Queen’s Plate winner in 2004. “Rob makes the wheel go round,” Mark said. “He does the daily things. My dad really likes the breeding part of it, determining matches. I really enjoy the animal, and I’m competitive. There is nothing like winning a race. Stacy [Mark’s wife] works on after-care, and she follows up on them. My mom, Linda, keeps my dad going. She tolerates all of us, and she loves the animals. Everyone plays a role.” 

The family’s fascination with Thoroughbred racing stretches back to Mark’s grandfather, Jake. “He was an avid fan,” Mark said. “My grandfather would go every day if he could have. I’d go with him and my dad to the Queen’s Plate every year. Later in life, when my father was in a position to enter the business, we started in the mid-90s. Things changed for us when we sold the business, and we started escalating this hobby, and it grew. We have a broodmare farm, a yearling farm and a 7-8ths dirt track. Our goal has been to race at the top of this game.”

They have won at the top of the game, taking their cherished Queen’s Plate with Niigon, who was ridden by Landry in 2004. Niigon’s more than $1.1 million in earnings is Chiefswood Stables’ second-leading earner. Tiz a Slam, who captured the Gr2 Nijinsky Stakes, earned over $1.26 million. Chiefswood Stables now has 344 victories and more than $20.5 million in earnings.

In a February 25, 2020 story in the Canadian Thoroughbred, Bob talked about recreating a new brand for the sport he loves: “We need to build a brand that features honesty, integrity and fair competition so that we can grow the fan base. We need to create an atmosphere where people want to bring their families and groups can be part of the horse racing lifestyle. Part of building that brand is doing a better job showing our love for horses. In a good year, Chiefswood will breed 20 babies, and we will also transition 20 of our racehorses away from the track.”

Mark’s high school sweetheart, Stacy, administers the unique and highly effective Chiefswood Aftercare Program. “I started attending the Queen’s Plate when I was 16 with Mark,” she said. “That’s our Kentucky Derby.”

Asked why having a program transitioning racehorses after their career, she made it sound simple: “They race for our pleasure. We have to take care of them.”

On its website, Chiefswood Stables tells visitors, “Chiefswood Stables is a family owned and operated Thoroughbred racing farm. Our goal is to breed quality Thoroughbred horses to compete in the classic races. It is our belief that the responsibility of care for our horses extends beyond the finish line of their last career races. It is with this belief that we have developed the Chiefswood Aftercare Program (CAP). Our goal is to find lifelong adoptive homes for our horses. We do this by trying to match the right horse with the appropriate adapter.”

What sets the Chiefswood program apart is its follow-up. For the past 10 years, it has had eight to 12 horses adopted annually. “We only had six last year because of the pandemic,” Stacy said. “About five years ago, they finally built me a barn nearby. It works well because the horses can transition slowly. We list them on FaceBook. We follow the horses for a couple of years after their adoption. Then, people voluntarily keep in touch. We get lots of pictures.”

Mark is justifiably proud of his wife’s program. “For two years, the adopted horses can’t be sold,” he said. “They’re happy, and they have a home. Stacy is a fan just like I am.”

The entire Krembil family wants to see the sport they love prosper. “From an outsider’s perspective, the industry appears fragmented with many vested interests,” Bob told Canadian Thoroughbred. “The industry players need to be open minded and work together for the betterment of racing.”

Unraced since December 5th when he won a maiden race, Weyburn fought every step of the way to win the Gotham Stakes under Trevor McCarthy three months later. After the race, Landry said, “We’ve had high hopes for Weyburn all along. We thought he was the real deal, but until they meet those kind of horses you just never know. He ran a fantastic race. He looked like he really dug in hard in the stretch when it counted. He had every reason to give up.”

In return, whether he wins the Queen’s Plate or Belmont Stakes, or never wins another race, Chiefswood won’t give up on him, making sure he—as all of the Chiefswood horses—has a good home, long after his last race.

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Grade 1 Winning Owners January and March, 2014

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