If there is a hierarchy to horse racing, it is horseplayer to owner of horses. An owner of horse has way more skin in the game than a mere horseplayer. They, with luck, skill, a good trainer, a decent jockey, a good ride, and patience —lots of patience— get to stand in the winner's circle with their entourage and have their photo taken and be memorialized.
Enjoying the game no less than a mega-owner like Repole is someone like Richie, Bobby G's longtime friend. Richie owns mainly New York Breds, usually not having more than 2 or 3 horses at a time. He's been in the ownership game for decades.
Somewhere in that hierarchy of horseplayer and horse owner is someone in the middle who knows someone who owns horses. And through friendship with Bobby G. I know Richie for over 20 years now.
I was once treated to lunch with him and his entourage of friends and wives in Belmont's Trustees room. I've been the paddock when his occasional entries were saddled. Those visits never coincided with an appearance in the winner's circle though.
Richie has had a box at Saratoga now for decades. A box at Saratoga is as plain as it gets. Dusty wood and four Bentwood wicker chairs. It is not plush, but it's location, location, location. He doesn't even get a TV monitor..
Bobby G. and I always put a few bucks on Richie's horse in a race. Like anything else, we win and we lose. Over the years Richie has passed through a slew of trainers: Frank LaBocetta, Stanley Hough, Gregory DiPrima, Barclay Tagg, Lisa Lewis. He's won with some of them, some not. When you're an owner like Richie, you don't get Todd Pletcher or Chad Brown. Not even Linda Rice.
No problem. It's the game. I once asked his good friend Bob why don't you go in with Richie on some partnerships. Richie has been in partnerships with other small owners, like himself. Bob quickly told me: "Partners? It's bad enough one of us has the disease."
Richie has bred New York Breds. In the early aughts, Richie had a horse he was able to name Sweet Moving D after his wife, who apparently is a darn good dancer. Sweet Moving D did win some races, and finished second and third a few times to amass $88,538 in earnings.
And so it goes for owners like Richie. They have a horse who probably breaks its maiden, then might win a second race, but is not in the league with horses who race for lofty conditions and purses.
Here we are in 2025 and Richie is still at it. He's got two lately, Accelerated News and Fleeting Free, both New York Breds, and now trained by the latest trainer Richie has worked with, Melanie Giddings, one of the emerging female trainers on the NYRA circuit.
Melanie is a seasoned horsewoman, starting her own solo career in 2023, after working as an assistant trainer for Mark Casse, Steve Asmussen and lately Jeremiah Engelhat's assistant for nearly six years.
All trainers start out working as assistants. Some stay in that role, others feel good enough to go off on their own and develop relationships with owners and take home more of the prize—of course when you do well and start to pull in some winners. It's a tough game being the lead trainer.
Richie has just hooked up with Melanie, with Accelerated News having raced 4 times with Lisa Lewis, not winning and only finishing second once, fourth two times, and amassing only a paltry $13,580 in purses this year. No world beater.
Accelerated News comes into the race this past Friday at Saratoga with Melanie being Richie's trainer for the first time. It's a new dawn, it's a new day.
Accelerated News is a four-old in a race for New York Bred maidens going 6½ furlongs with only 5 other horses, all 3-year olds, two unraced.
Accelerated News is of modest breeding. It she were a dog she'd be a mutt, or more politely called a "mixed breed." Her mare is undistinguished, bred with a sire for only $10,000, auctioned for only $51,000 at a Saratoga sale in 2022
She did not race as a four-year old, a sign there might have been some problems that had to be worked out. That's why patience is required in all aspects of the sport.
A trainer's job is not to just insure the safety of the animal, but to also think about where the horse should be entered. What distance, what surface are major points to consider.
There is something in racing called the condition book produced by the racing secretary's office of what races the track proposes to have run. This of course outlines distance and surface, turf or dirt, enter in a restricted New York bred, weight to carry, age, gender, (races can be restricted to fillies and mares) and most importantly the eligibility conditions of the race. Who can be entered in any given race based on their prior wins or no wins in prior races.
Horses, if ready, can start racing at two. Accelerated News did not race as a two-year old, or as a three-year old. Richie's Accelerated News started as a four-year-old in Florida at Gulfstream Park in January of this year.
Gulfstream has an artificial dirt track and a regular turf course. There aren't many tracks these days that race on artificial all reason. Lisa Lewis had Accelerated News going in routes, a mile or more, on the turf course, or the artificial surface at Gulfstream. The results were hardly anything to crow about. Less than mediocre. Enter Melanie.
There is one thing you can gain by knowing how to read the Racing Form. It contains all the information you can know about how a horse has been running without asking the horse itself. The Form notes that Lisa Lewis was the trainer of record prior to Melanie taking over.
Melanie's numbers are not gangbusters, but she shows two wins at the Saratoga meet, where some trainers can go the entire meet without a winner. She shows a 15% win ratio for the year with 12 wins on 82 starts. A 15% win ratio is nothing to be ashamed of. Lisa was showing 10% on 31 starts. Anemic.
Florida does not card New York Bred races. Racing states have their own breeding programs. The New York Breeding program was started by Governor Carey, a governor who liked horses. Trainers gain success by finding the right race to enter a horse. As for Accelerated News, being a New York Bred, a filly maiden, all Melanie had to do is find a race in the condition book restricted to New York Breds, for maiden fillies. She found the 6½ furlong race to be run on dirt, Accelerated's first try on natural dirt.
I once asked a racing secretary how do they create a condition book of races. There are only so many named races, Listed Black type races, or Grade I, II or III races where the conditions are spelled out way in advance, requiring trainers to sometimes pony up advance nomination fees to enter. The rest of the races are created by the racing secretary based on who is working out, getting in shape, and showing a desire by trainers to get in a race.
Keeping track of these possibles, the Racing Secretary will create a number of proposed races for the coming two weeks in the hope that enough trainers will enter their horses to "fill" the race. Not all created races attract enough starters—they do not fill. Thus, there are always more races proposed than can be run.
With a race in mind to enter, a trainer can then train a horse for that distance and surface. This is where they either succeed, or fail. Good trainers pick the right spots and train up to the race accordingly.
Success is not guaranteed, because there are other trainers who are doing the same thing. But do they have the right horse and the right jockey lined up to do it?
Accelerated's competition doesn't look too tough. She in the only four year-old, and thus carries the most weight, 124 pounds vs. the 119 for the other entries. At this time of the year the right four year-olds in decent shape should beat the three year-olds. They should be bigger and ostensibly more developed.
There is one enrtrant that looks like what is called a "career maiden." A career maiden shows numerous starts with no wins. Our Preferred Pal shows second three times and one third in 5 starts this year, the last two starts are both seconds. This can reveal what is called "seconditis" where the horse just can't seem to be urged past anyone to win. (Our Preferred Pal finished second again.)
There is another horse, Sunshine Lily, trained by Richie's old trainer, Gregory DiPrima, who has yet to win a race this entire year. DiPrima must be semi-retired because he's only saddled 10 starters this year. Sunshine shows nothing, 4 starts so far, and is in with a trainer who is not clicking.
There are two unraced horses, both trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, with one sporting a hefty auction price of $100,000 and decent breeding, and first time Lasix, Manhattan Beauty.
Unraced horses are the great unknowns. You might apply parts of what is now Don Rumsfeld's famous opaque quote about unknowns: "But there are also unknown unknowns—those we don't know we don't know." You basically only have the works to determine readiness. Word of mouth might seep out from the backstretch, and you can see activity on the tote board that someone thinks they're in with a chance. This is called being "live on the tote." Manhattan Beauty, because of the Bill Mott connection, and probably the auction price is sent off as the favorite at $1.55 (3/2) to $1, Manhattan Beauty finishes last in the 6 horse field.
The Racing Form is packed with info. Aside from everything else, they crunch numbers and produce all important, useful trainer stats. They are a thing of beauty.
While Trainer Mott might win with a firster, it is only the occasional firster, since we see that his win percentage with them is a weak 6%.
Many trainers do not have a firster fully cranked to win. The race is meant to be a bit of public workout, seeing how they break from the gate with competition. It's a feeling out process; the first round is a boxing match.
And then we come to Richie's horse, Accelerated News who shows something if you know where to look.
•First, Accelerated News is the only 4 year-old amongst 5 other 3 year-olds, two of whom have never race.
•Four year-olds at this time of year have an edge over 3 year-old. Four year-olds are bigger and stronger at this time of year compared to a 3 year-old.
•Richie has taken the horse from the care of Lisa Lewis and is now going with Melanie Giddings, who I feel he's going to have a beautiful friendship with.
•Melanie is already an accomplished horsewoman who has gone out on her own after being an apprentice to several top trainers. Her numbers are good, and in certain instances they stand out. She is part of an emerging group of females who have gone out on their own and are looking to build a stable on their own.
•Melanie is hitting at a 15% win ratio with 82 starts. At the meet, she's already got 2 winners. Two training victories at Saratoga this early in the meet is a great accomplishment. There are trainers who haven't won a race yet,
•But it's in the trainer stats that Melanie shows her hand. These stats became part of The Racing Form now for many years. They started when Steve Crist was the publisher, and they are a man-made wonder of programming.
•The Form has maybe 30 categories of events that its computers track and print out several of the results of the categories as they apply to the race, e.g. if the horse is a firster, the computer tells you how that trainer does with first time firsters.
If the horse is moving from dirt to turf, or turf to dirt, there is a stat for that. The stats for Melanie are encouraging.
She wins 13% of the time when she's starting a horse for the first time her care: 1st/trn.
She wins 29% of the time when she's starting a horse after a layoff of 61-180 days. Her horses fire off the bench. VERY good to know.
There are some other categories, but the results nearly equal her overall win ratio of 15%. When you get a trainer stat that exceeds the win ratio there's more to consider. It's a good thing. And 29% is significantly more that the overall 15%. A green light.
•Accelerated's 4 starts have all been on artificial dirt, or turf, and all at a mile or more. Starting at Gulfstream you have to race on an artificial dirt surface.
•Trainers have success,—and therefore owners—when they find the right spot for a horse to run. Accelerated being a new York Bred is a natural for entering a New York Bred race. And not winning, is a natural for a maiden race, hopefully a Maiden Special Weight race where the horse cannot be claimed out of.
•Melanie has found a race for Accelerated in the condition book which in on the dirt—first time for Accelerated—because it's 6½ furlongs, a sprint, not a route race. Melanie is looking for where Accelerated can win. There is in no money in not winning.
The jockey to ride is Shaun Bridgmohon, not seen too much at NYRA tracks these days. He came on the scene quite a few year's ago and was cleaning up in races at an Aqueduct winter meet because he had a had 5 pound weight allowance afforded apprentice jockeys until their 35th winner. He mostly rides in Kentucky these days.
•There is another stat that tells you how often the trainer/jockey combination is winning at the meet. For Accelerated and Melanie, it's 24%. at the meet. A good win ratio. Turns out, Richie tells us Melanie and Shaun are a romantic item. They are coupled in the winner's circle as well.0
So wagers are placed on Accelerated and last Friday's first race is eagerly awaited to watch. Fox Sports does a fantastic job covering the sport with good camera shots and highly knowledgeable people commenting. Their telecasts are a delight.
This first race is not a stellar field. I don't yet have a personal way of quantifying the competitive strength of a field. Like boxing, it's who did you beat. None of these horses finished behind a next out winner.
The Racing Form does a nifty piece of programming which tells you if the winner of a race the entrant was in went on to win the next time out. If your horse is reasonably behind the italicized horse, then you can deduce that your horse was probably in a competitive race, since the winner was good enough to win next time out as well. You got beat, and maybe close, to what might be a very good horse. Nothing wrong there, especially if that horse is not in today's race. Being close to repeat winners is a strength.
"Pace makes the race" is an adage that goes back probably before Pittsburgh Phil, a legendary handicapper and bettor from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. All the analysts on any racing show will ask out loud, "who takes the lead?" An unfolding race is imagined.
It's easy to see that Accelerated News is not a front runner. That quality goes to Miss Im Pulsive, ridden by Katie Davis, a journeyman jockey from a racing family that boasts of her father Robbie Davis being a jockey (now retired), her brother Dylan being a jockey, and sister Jacqueline being a jockey. All with varying degrees of success.
Of the three siblings, Dylan is the most successful. You can feel comfortable with Katie if the horse is a front runner and you think they'll go all the way. Jacqueline rides mostly at Finger Lakes, but there was a race when all three of them were in the same race.
Miss Im Pulsive's two starts have been with Katie. Continuity with the same jockey is a positive. The jockey/trainer ratio is a solid 29%, but the trainer, Amelia Green, hasn't won at the meet with only 4 starts. Miss Im Pulsive is sure to take the lead.
So what happens when the gates open up?
If you can't see the race you can see replays, or you can read the chart of the race shortly thereafter. The chart is the historical record of how the race unfolded. It too contains a raft of information.
Aside from seeing Manhattan Beauty being the favorite at $1.55 to $1, we see Miss Im Pulsive going off as the second choice at $1.80 to $1 and Accelerated being $3.40 to $1. Hardly a long shot.
As expected, Miss Im Pulsive takes the lead and cuts some ungodly fractions for horses of this caliber: 221/5 for the quarter; 451/5 for the half. These are stake horse fractions.
There are pretty much 4 of them across the track, with Accelerated on the outside, running the furthest distance. But Miss Im Pulsive shows her colors and quits, and Accelerated is in front by a head at the quarter pole and starts to explode.
The lead at the top of the stretch is 5½ lengths and is looking like a winner. Richie is probably getting ready to leave his box and trot downstairs and have his picture taken.
By the time Richie reaches the bottom step Accelerated News finishes with an astounding 123/4 length lead. Nice work when you get it.
Richie is snagged for a post race interview by Acacia Courtney Clement, an attractive, knowledgeable horse woman who is a communications graduate from Fordham, and whose great-uncle was Tom Courtney, a winner of two gold medals in track at 800 meters and as the anchor in the 4x400 relay for the U.S. at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Acacia was once Miss Connecticut. She is married to Miquel Clement, the head trainer now for the Clement barn since his father passed away at 59 a few weeks ago.
Miguel is the apple that didn't fall far from the tree. He's already won graded races. Racing people are a lot like circus people: there are lots of family connections.
Richie bursts with excitement and tells Acacia that Bridgmohon has won races for him in Baltimore. Richie is a seasoned owner who has been in the game for decades.
Richie has won races before at Saratoga. But any win is good; a win at Saratoga is wonderful, since he takes home a purse of $49,000, of which 10% goes to Bridgmohon and 10% to Melanie. Some bills are getting paid.
What's next for Accelerated? It is not impossible to think Melanie will find another race for her before the meet ends at Saratoga. You can only win a maiden race once. From here, the waters get a little deeper. Most horse don't win more than 3 races in their careers.
Melanie has to hope the condition book has a New York Bred next level allowance race, or find a non-winners of two lifetime. Accelerated's competition will next consist of horses that have won a race. They won't be complete pushovers like this race.
But for now, Richie is smiling.
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