Page 8 - September 2005 The Game

8 The Game, September 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
By Chris Lomon Garlic Pete's recipe for success "I was in parking for 23 years and seven
The man known as Garlic Pete has plenty on his plate these days, but that's just the way he prefers it.
The fourth race at Woodbine Racetrack has just ended, giving Peter Catsimbras his first real break of a day that began when he awoke at 5:30 in the morning.
With breakfast out of the way and the lunch rush over, the Jockeys’ Room kitchen is quiet for the moment, allowing Catsimbras to step out from behind the counter and put his feet up.
Cook to the Toronto oval riders, the 55- year-old has been the perfect fit to don the apron, well-loved by those he caters to and well-versed in the culinary world, "dabbling here and there," as he puts it, in various kitchens over the years.
Factor in that he has been a fixture on the Woodbine racing scene for four decades and his current calling is, pardon the pun, made to order.
"I love it, I don't really have any complaints," said Catsimbras, who took over the reins as jockeys’ cook at the start of the 2005 thoroughbred season in April. "I'm my own boss, I get to hang out with the jockeys who are my friends and I get to be around the racetrack."
Catsimbras, who resides in Cambridge, Ontario, less than a 45-minute drive from Woodbine, can trace his affinity for horses back to his teenage years growing up in his native Greece.
"My Dad was a little bit involved as a part-owner of horses, but nothing really big," said Catsimbras, who was born in Athens. "I just always liked horses and we lived very close to the racetrack. I got my license and I rode a few horses, but I didn't
have any great success."
Catsimbras emigrated to the United
States, specifically New York, from Greece in 1964, eventually making his way to the barn of trainer Steve Di Mauro, finding work as an exercise rider and apprentice jockey.
Although he enjoyed the camaraderie and competitive nature of the sport, it wasn't enough to keep Catsimbras from heading back to Greece, his career in thoroughbred racing
temporarily sidelined
when he joined the
navy soon after return-
ing to his homeland.
Canada, where he eventually found work with legendary Woodbine-based trainer Glenn Magnusson.
"I started out galloping horses for Glenn and I went on to be his foreman and an assistant trainer," Catsimbras, who stayed with Magnusson after the latter's contract expired with Sam-Son Farm. "I worked with him until 1981."
One year prior to amicably parting ways, Catsimbras experienced his greatest racing thrill, teaming with Magnusson and jockey Bill Parsons to guide Driving Home to an upset win in the
months before I accepted a package from the company," said Catsimbras, who had a bit part in the 1979 big-screen movie, The Black Stallion, starring Mickey Rooney. "After that, the next thing you know, I'm in the kitchen."
And his main clientele couldn't be happier.
"The food is just wonderful," said jockey Jim McAleney. "The quality is second to none. Peter treats everyone well and he's got lots of personality. He really is one of the guys."
"I like it," said Catsimbras, with a smile. "They give it to me, I give it back to them. It's all in fun. I respect them as people and as the athletes they are. We know each other very well."
Which goes a long way when it comes to settling up at the end of each month.
"The boys and girls are good. They always pay their bills on time."
As for how long he sees himself working in the jockeys’ kitchen, Catsimbras is taking a wait and see attitude.
"I promised I would take the job for one year and see how it went. Things have gone pretty well. When the weather is hot, people don't tend to eat as much. Things should pick up when it gets colder. If it doesn't work out to my expectations, I won't come back next year. But I want to wait before I think about it."
At the very least, it gives Catsimbras what any cook would want - food for thought.
"I had a desire to go back and see if I could try to make it in racing there," he recalled. "But before I could even have that chance, I found myself in the navy for a couple of years."
An injury in training, however, took the former Navy Seal out of active duty and into the kitchen.
Peter Catsimbras in the Jockeys’ Kitchen at Woodbine
1980 Queen's Plate.
"It was something I'll never forget," said Catsimbras, who galloped the CFCW Racing Stable star. "He was a very nice horse and it was a wonderful moment for Glenn and everyone connected
with the horse." Catsimbras, who
still remains close
"I've cooked a little bit before and after I got hurt, I got transferred from where I was in to the food division for the last six months of my time in the navy. I learned a lot."
After completing his mandatory service in the navy, Catsimbras decided to return to North America in 1973, this time choosing
friends with Magnusson, accepted an offer to become a part-time cashier in Woodbine's valet park- ing, a job that still afforded him the oppor-
tunity to gallop horses in the morning.
In 1984, he moved up the Ontario Jockey Club ranks, taking over as supervi- sor for parking. Five years later, he became
the manager of the department.
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