Page 148 - Speedhorse October 2018

Sunland Park Feature:
Cliff and Casey Lambert
by Dick Alwan
Trainer Cliff Lambert Recalls First All American Win
by Al Rosa, Ruidosos Downs President • Aug. 14, 1974
“I’ve been around horses all my life,” Lambert said. “My father owned a few race horses he competed around the small bush tracks in the Midwest. I first started riding
in competition when I was nine years old. I remember we had a Shetland pony who was half Quarter Horse. That’s who I won my first race with. In fact, we raced him three years and he never lost at 100 yards.”
When Lambert turned 16, he was off to Fonner Park in Nebraska, to try his hand on a recognized race track.
“I had some pretty good seasons,” Lambert recalls. “But later on when I reached my early 20’s, I began to have problems with my weight. So, eventually I started to lean more and more to training.
“It came to the point that I was riding a half year and training the other half. It wasn’t too bad as far as my jockey career went, but every time I’d start to build a decent stable, my commitments forced me to go back to riding.”
Lambert continued the role of half-jockey and half-trainer up until 1961. And along the way, he captured riding championships at such West Coast tracks as Bay Meadows and Los Alamitos.
“In 1965, I left the Southwest and became the Quarter Horse racing secretary and steward at Seminole Downs in Florida. The following year, I took the job as Quarter Horse racing secretary at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana.
“The funny thing is, that was in 1966, and I had an offer to ride Go Dick Go, who went on to win the All American Futurity that year.”
In 1967, Lambert left Evangeline and returned to Ruidoso Downs and the Southwest to pursue a training career.
“Once I started to train horses on a full-time basis, things began to really look up. Each year my stable would get stronger and stronger until finally I began to win plenty of races. My first real great year came in 1968 when I won the Ruidoso Downs trainer title for the first time.”
And while Lambert has developed many fine
Trainer and former jockey Clifford Lambert
stakes winners, he feels the key to operating a successful stable is versatility.
“The dream of any trainer is to have three or four big handicap horses. But that, unfortunately, is not the usual case. I think if you have a couple of horses who are able to compete in every class, you’ll come out ahead. Even though big stakes winners are in demand, you should also have good horses who can compete in the lower claiming and allowance races.”
Ironically, though Lambert is best known for his exploits with Quarter Horses, he now trains mostly Thoroughbreds.
“It really doesn’t make that much difference to me,” Lambert said. “I think the important thing is to understand the horses you have. While Quarter Horses require a little different training technique, I really can’t say I would rather have one over the other.”
When it comes to recalling his most exciting moment in racing, it doesn’t take Lambert long to reply.
“No doubt about it,” he said with a smile. “Winning the All American Futurity has been my greatest thrill. I remember the race like it was just yesterday. When we crossed the wire, I couldn’t believe it. I remember I rode the following race and won easy. Heck, I was so high I could have won on a Shetland pony. It took me a couple of weeks to get over the win.”
146 SPEEDHORSE, October 2018
Casey Lambert, 17, is now back at El Paso’s Coronado High School. The object: to finish up his final semester and pick up a diploma.
But, the youngster has already compiled
an education, at least in horse racing. He’s ridden some of the best horses in this part of
the country, won some of the biggest races, picked up two jockey championships at the New Mexico State Fair, and made plenty of cash. At this writing, he’s among the leaders in jockey standings at Sunland Park.
Casey would get five stars and a letter of endorsement from the local Junior Achievement chapter.
With flashy success of this sort, you’d think Casey would be a kid with his head in the clouds and a future locked into horse racing.
But, his cool-headed logic belies his tender years. “Right now, I tack out at 114 pounds. I don’t plan on riding forever. I know I’ll be getting too heavy. When that happens, I’ll go back to rodeoing. Then it’s college. I don’t know what
I’ll major in, but I’m set on a college degree. I’m about 2 1/2-years away from college.”
Although Casey has more riding ability that the law allows, his chances of getting a toehold in racing weren’t dampened by the fact his pop is Cliff Lambert, a former jockey, and now one of the most prominent trainers in the Southwest.
“I’ve been around the racetrack all my life, but I didn’t give much thought to being a jockey until I was 14,” Casey explains. “My parents never said I had to be a rider, but I suppose they’d hoped I would be. When I was 14, I was galloping horses for my father. It was something to do during the summer – when I wasn’t rodeoing.”
Two summers ago, Casey (then 15) applied for his jockey license at Ruidoso Downs. But, he had to wait until the end of August – until he turned 16 – in order to make his first appearance. He didn’t win, but the results were gratifying. He explains: “I rode Kellerville in a six-furlong race. She finished fourth, and I was satisfied to have done that well.”
A few days later, Casey was aboard Double B Express as a 38-1 longshot in the Ruidoso Sprint Championship. It was Casey’s fifth ride, and it produced his first victory. “That win is still the biggest thrill I’ve had in racing,” he says.
LOOKING BACK - AN EXCERPT FROM MARCH 1983 ISSUE