The end of the road for our great warriors

The world of athletics is quite amazing.

It’s especially amazing when athletes of age still compete at a high level at that advanced age.

Satchel Paige of Major League Baseball fame comes to mind…as does football’s George Blanda, Hockey’s Gordie Howe and Women’s Tennis’ Martina Navratilova.

Paige was a few days short of 60 when he pitched in 1966 while Blanda was in process of being a quarterback and kicking field goals all the way up close to 50 (in age and yards kicking field goals!)

Gordie Howe was 52 before taking off his skates in 1980 and Navratilova was in her 50th year while serving up some of her greatest on the tennis court.

Those names, surely, are quite familiar with many of you HarnessLink devotees but the names of some others like Albert Hughes, Pierluigi Matzorati and, even, Carmen Salvino, may have been left in the dust.

Hughes stepped into the boxing ring at age 70, Matzorati was still on the basketball court at age 56 and Salvino was still competing on the bowling lanes at age 86.

That brings us to our great heroes that grace our harness tracks throughout the world.

Foiled Again, Southwind Amazon, Rambling Willie, Admiral’s Express and the like need no introduction if you are any sort of fan of harness racing…

Mariner Seelster, Atta Boy Dan and Oldfriendskentucky are a trio of others.

Mariner Seelster and Atta Boy Dan need no introduction, either—nor do their trainers, respectively Travis Alexander and Peter Pellegrino, who been around the block a few times themselves.

Still racing in Amateur events at The Meadowlands at 15 years-of-age—that’s somewhere between 56 and 60 in “human” years, they are grand equine examples of the above mentioned greats.

Both are million-dollar winners…both are still racing, although amateur racing rules may preclude that very soon.

Both have survived the rigors of racing to the nth degree, Mariner Seelster going to the gate 442 times thus far earning a “bit” over $1,020,000 after going over the million-dollar mark earlier this year at the age of 15 and Atta Boy Dan about to embark on his 300th career start while piling up $1,112,001 to go along with his 1:48.4f mark achieved 10 YEARS AGO!

Talk about durability…

About the “Mariner,” trainer Travis Alexander lamented, “Yes, he’s quite a horse. We we’re the underbidders on him as a yearling and always liked him.

“He’s been around the block a few times and we got him the last time in May of last year (2023) as he’d been going back and forth via the claiming route.”

At 14?

“He’s meant a lot to us, and he has had his best years at 12, 13 and 14 (year-old). He’s been quite a campaigner at 15 in the amateur races and the end of his career on the racetrack is getting close—maybe one or two more starts.

“After that, he’ll be trained for a new career as he’s still sound and strong. Maybe a therapeutic career or show horse or just a riding horse. We haven’t decided yet…but he’ll have a great life in retirement.”

Atta Boy Dan, now 15, is still racing competitively at The Meadowlands under the training expertise of Pete Pellegrino.

“He was claimed from us for $10,000 five years ago and we claimed him back for “5” and he’s been with us ever since.

“Everybody should be so lucky to have an ‘Atta Boy Dan’ in their stable.”

About retirement, Pellegrino said, “No retirement plans until he’s forced into it…He loves what he does.

“He plays in the field all week long, gets excited to come to the track and absolutely loves what he does. He has an enthusiasm that is really unbelievable.

“He’s pretty comical, too. When he gets visitors, he anticipates getting a treat or cookie from the visitor. If they don’t have anything, he turns around and just about says, ‘KISS MY BUTT!’

“Plans are to train him as a therapeutic horse at the Freedom Horse Farm in Stillwell, N.J. as horses are very valuable in that field helping every age group from young children to those in their 80’s and, even, ’90’s.”

Oldfriendskentucky has had little—if any—fanfare during his career stretching an astounding 467 starts…and neither has his trainer, Stephen E. Roberts, who has had him in his “family” since shortly after he was purchased at an estate sale for $800.

It all began when Mr. Roy Steele was driving through western Ontario and happened to stop at that sale without even an inkling of making a purchase—but he did.

Knowing the work of the Old Friends equine retirement facility in Kentucky, Steele asked permission to name his new prized purchase “Oldfriendskentucky” with that request granted.

Trainer Roberts has had him in his care pretty much from day one explaining, “In one of his earliest races, he jumped a shadow or something and, from then on, became a problem child going to the gate.

“My friend (great trainer) Richard Moreau seemed to get him straightened out a bit but, since I got him back, he’s always balked at the gate, and I have to turn him by my hand to lead him forward going to the gate.

“His manners kind of earned him the nickname ‘The Beast’ but he did have speed and is a ‘pussycat’ in the barn.

“He took a mark of (1):52 and 4 at Georgian Downs…but that was as fast as he’d ever go.

“He was a warrior, tho. He loved racing and LOVED to be on the front end of things.

“I think his last 15 wins were all ‘front-enders.’ He loved the front end!”

While Oldfriendskentucky didn’t break any banks during his career measuring those 467 starts, he did accomplish something that hasn’t been done for, quite possibly, several decades—winning races at two separate tracks on consecutive days.

On September 19, 2015, at Hiawatha Horse Park (SAR), Oldfriendskentucky won his race in 1:56.1 and, just hours later, was in the winner’s circle at Leamington Raceway in 1:57.4.

Trainer Stephen Roberts doesn’t get many headlines and never has had the luxury of a big stakes champion or a million-dollar winner but, as he says, “I grew up in an era where my expertise was in working with horses that had aches and pains and I was happy to get them back to the races.

“That era is gone now with speed and shortened racing careers making my expertise kind of work a thing of the past.”

The end of a career for Oldfriendskentucky  began on September 23 last season when he was scratched when refusing the gate, necessitating a “refund” to the bettors.

After years of competition with one year having 55 starts, the end of a grand career was fast approaching with a scheduled Qualifier on October 1 a no-go when Oldfriendskentucky refused the starting gate.

One last try on December 14 and Oldfriendskentucky refused again and “telling” Stephen Roberts that he had had enough.

Instead, he led the post parade in a retirement ceremony closing out his career!

Oldfriendskentucky may not have been a stakes champion or a million-dollar winner—far from both—but he was a racing secretary’s dream and harness racing needs a few thousand more like him to survive.

As for trainer Stephen Roberts, he, too, has never had the luxury of a stakes champion…and, though he has been in the game as a trainer since 1988 with his modest stables, has been to the winner’s circle only 181 times and has yet to reach $1,000,000 in earnings.

Harness racing needs a thousand more “Stephen Roberts” in our grand sport, too.

by John Berry, for Harnesslink