Hale enjoying life with his homebreds

Hightstown, NJ — Whatllyadoboutme (Racing Hill) is an outsider — literally and figuratively — in Thursday’s (Feb. 2) $27,000 Filles-and-Mares Open Pace at Miami Valley Raceway, but to paraphrase a famed equine-related quote, she is good for the inside of harness racing owner-trainer Daniel Hale.

Hale bred, owns, and trains Whatllyadoboutme, who will start from post seven in the open’s seven-horse field and is 20-1 on the morning line. A 5-year-old mare, Whatllyadoboutme is one of an entirely homebred stable operated by Hale, a retired Columbus, Ohio, police officer who first got involved in racing as a teenager.

Whatllyadoboutme enters Thursday’s start with two wins in three conditioned races this year. Overall, the daughter of Racing Hill-Lismaraslady has six victories in 61 career starts, with $91,746 in purses. This will be her first start in an open.

Two past winners on the Grand Circuit, Marloe Hanover and Alexa Skye, are the top picks on the morning line, at 2-1 and 5-2, respectively.

“We didn’t have any choice, other than a claimer, and I’m not going to do that,” Hale said. “I got the lucky seven hole. We probably would have been all right down on the inside. She’s showed us some good miles. She was very good at Dayton (last October); she paced (1):52 with a last quarter in :27. She’s showed us, but at this time of year it can be a little tough.”

Whatllyadoboutme is the fourth of five racing-age foals out of Lismaraslady. All were bred by Hale and have won at least two races, with Tony Too Tall being the top money-earner at $382,151. Hale had sold Whatllyadoboutme at the 2019 Ohio Selected Jug Sale but bought her back after her 3-year-old season.

“I owned a piece of every one of them out of that mare except for Tony Too Tall,” Hale said. “I kind of liked (Whatllyadoboutme) the best, and I got her back. She’s here now, and she’s going to stay here. She’s been good to me. She is probably one of the best bred out of that mare as far as the fillies go and I definitely like her conformation and size.”

Hale, who spent 25 years with the Columbus Police Department, reduced his involvement in racing while his children were in school, although he remained active in breeding and owning some horses.

“I always sold the best and kept the rest,” said Hale, who started training his own stable in 2019. “When I got my boys out of high school and into college, I said I’m going back to racing. I enjoy every minute of it, but it’s become a fulltime job.

“If I sell horses now, it’s after I get them started. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I may do that this year because I have too many. I get them started and get them a new ZIP code, let somebody else have a little fun. It’s kind of worked out.”

Hale’s stable won 11 of 117 races last year and earned $146,018 in purses. Among his other top horses was Aeroblast, who won an Ohio Fairs Championship for Hale as a 3-year-old in 2019.

“I’m just having fun,” Hale said. “I enjoy the horses. Each one is a different individual. We’re with them from start to finish, breeding the mare, raising them, breaking them, shoeing them, putting them behind the gate. It’s quite something. I guess that’s how I get my adrenaline rush these days.

“(They say) there’s something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. So true.”

Racing begins at 4 p.m. (EST) at Miami Valley. To download free race programs, visit the track’s website.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA