Page 81 - January 20 2012

the
Dream
that WoUldn’t die
Breeder Steve Zamler now nurtures the dream that lay dormant for nearly 30 years.
by Diane Rice
it hurts to give up on a dream. Yet in light of the economic challenges that touch us all today, it’s understandable. When times get
tough, it’s natural to dig in and take care of the must-dos, and relegate the want-tos to the shadows for the time being.
That’s exactly what Steve Zamler did when the economy tanked in the early 1980s. Yet today, he has re-entered the horse racing busi- ness and is growing a broodmare band that he hopes will re-establish his name as a top market breeder of racing Quarter Horses.
His early acHievements
Zamler’s interest in horses began at about age six. Then, while in high school, he bought his own horse and ponied at the racetrack in his spare time. In the early 1960s he bought a stable in Detroit, Michigan, where he rented horses by the hour.
In 1965 he moved to Missouri, and at
age 30 he bought the Circle Z Stables in Wentzville. His first racehorse, a two-year-old, was Go Lad’s Vanalea. “Everybody said she was too small to run, but I sent her to David Fry in Oklahoma,” said Zamler. “She won her first out, qualified for six stakes races and won two stakes races at Blue Ribbon Downs.”
not by cHance
Zamler did some homework and found
one of the best breeders in the business—Earl Shapiro—who lived nearby in St. Louis, Missouri. Shapiro’s equine charges included race horses Johnny Dial and the Thoroughbred Zevi, and the Tommy Manion-trained World Champion reiner Annie Blitzen.
“I started going to Earl for advice,” Zamler said. “He told me to start buying great
broodmares, so I started buying some of his. My friends and family all thought I was crazy but it was what I wanted to do. It was my pas- sion, and I did the crazy thing anyway.”
Zamler acquired several Johnny Dial mares and, following his coach’s advice, bred them to racing greats Easy Jet, Hempen-TB,Chick’s Deck, the Bold Ruler-TB sons Master Hand-TB and What Luck-TB, Alamitos Bar, and Shapiro’s Thoroughbred stud Zevi.
The purchase that led to perhaps Zamler’s greatest achievement in those early days also led to his greatest regret. It was the broodmare Princess Dial (Johnny Dial-Leo Princess, by Leo). Under Zamler’s breeding program, the mare produced the 1978 Chick’s Deck colt Mystic Eye, who went on to take third in the 1980 All American Futurity.
“I’d sold Mystic Eye as a yearling for $7,500,” Zamler lamented. “The buyers offered him back and I refused. He won a lot more money than that!”
During those years, Zamler became
friends with and sought advice from other racing experts—Ruidoso Downs Hall of
Fame inductee Johnny T.L. Jones; auto glass giants Joe Kellman and R.D. Hubbard; Lazy
E General Manager Butch Wise; and Ruidoso Sale Manager Lowell Neumayer—all of who influenced his breeding and business decisions. “We stayed in touch over the years as friends,” Zamler said.
Neumayer, who has known Zamler for decades through the horse industry, said Zamler’s friendliness made him a pleasure to do business with. “He never forgets anybody’s name. He’s always been good for the indus- try; he’s the kind of guy you like to know,” Neumayer said.
SPEEDHORSE, January 20, 2012 79
Robert tigg