Page 29 - April 2005 The Game

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, April 2005 29
No 'sibling rivalry' in the Giliforte family
Steve LymWoodbine's racing secretary
By Harlan Abbey
There's no such thing as "sibling rivalry" in the Giliforte family, which might accurately be termed "The First Family of Fort Erie Racing."
There's Joe Giliforte, the father, a racetracker since his teens and a trainer for many years.
Then there is his son Layne, a former groom who went on to be
Fort Erie's leading trainer in six of
the last seven years. Layne's wife, Diana, is a former groom who now brings home horse show championships and ribbons with Go
For Donut, a runner formerly trained by Layne.
Jason, entering his fourth year as a trainer after being a groom, is married to Kristine, also a former groom. Although expecting the couple's first child in August, she hopes eventually to follow Diana's show ring example with Swabby, a former stakes winner trained by Layne who was given to her by another trainer, Alan Bird, after Swabby broke down in a race when Bird claimed him.
Lance, a third brother, also has groomed but now is involved with the family's feed business and training centre. A fourth brother, Jarret, 18, grooms for trainer Dave Murray.
Jason began working at Fort Erie at the age of 12 -- for no pay.
"Walter Solly, a trainer, had a pretty Palomino named Buddy that I always liked," Jason explained. "He told me if I worked for him for the summer, he'd give Buddy to me. I kept him for a long time."
Jason then groomed for his father and after graduating high school -- where he admitted "majoring in hockey" -- he went to Toronto to work for SamSon Farm, then Kinghaven, then Mike Wright Sr. "I want- ed to be away from home, but not too far away," he said. "Both my older brothers were working at Woodbine then, too.
"I was a 'swing groom,' working with every horse in the barn one day a week. One of the best horses I groomed was Very Formal as a two-year-old. He was second to Isvestia in the Plate the next year.
"But my favorite horse was Wright's Victoriously Bold, barn-named 'Vito.' He was pretty aggressive and many grooms were afraid to be in his stall. But I never had fear, even of the most difficult ones. 'Vito' was bred by Knob Hill and meant to be a nice horse but was injured as a baby. He won four or five races after Wright claimed him for $10,000. He won at the $12-, $16- and $20,000 level. We lost him for $25,000 and then claimed him back for $32,000 -- that was the only race he lost.
"For some reason, there's something about the aggressive horses that always appealed to me. 'Vito' would almost bend himself in half trying to bite you while you were grooming him. But I'd tease him and trick him to get into his stall -- he'd be in the corner with his rear toward you. To trick him out of biting me was fun."
Two years in Las Vegas followed but Jason said he missed his family and horses both. He returned to work for Layne for five years, "trying to follow in his footsteps and the great things he's done."
Trainer Jason Giliforte with Amber Ale
But, Jason continued, he doesn't try to imitate his brother's training routines:
"Every trainer I've worked for does things a little differently. Some train the horse the day before a race, some jog or send a horse to the gate on the day they race. Others think that would be crazy. Some give a horse a day off, some don't believe in it.
"I try to let my horses tell me what they want to do. When they come back from the track still playful, maybe next day I have them do a little more. I want to know they got something out of their workout. They're training for a reason, it's still a business."
Jason's first horse as a licensed trainer was White Horse Pass in 2002. He was claimed for an uncle for $7,500, won an "owner's appreciation" purse of $30,000 and had a second. But the next year he was injured and sold as a riding horse. Another horse from that year, and still in Jason's barn, is Amber Ale:
"He was claimed for $7,500 and won two in a row at $10,000. Last year he had four seconds. He had two poor races at Finger Lakes, he just didn't like the track. Canyon Strategy was another $7,500 claim; she won at $10,000 and had some seconds."
Jason has 14 horses for Bill and Iris Bristow, including three two-year-olds and four three-year-olds. One of their best older horses is Kris Dancer, a winner of five races, including an allowance; he was fourth, beaten just a length, in an optional $50,000 claimer.
Operating mainly a claiming barn, Jason said he looks for consistency in a prospective claim, watching how horses walk or jog back to the backstretch after running. "You don't claim a horse who was sixth five times in a row and then wins," he said. "You want a horse that looks like he tries all the time. You claim one who's already running good and hopefully they'll do as well.... maybe better. Maybe the horse will agree with my training and feed programs better than the other guy's. Maybe I'll train him more aggressively, or less aggressively."
But as for the future, Jason Giliforte doesn't feel he has to become Fort Erie's leading trainer like his brother Layne.
"My dream is to be successful in the best game there is," he stated. Asked to define his version of "success," he replied:
"If I can make a living for my family and have fun while I'm doing it -- that's being successful."
By Elena Fenech
"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance" - Harrison Ford.
Steve Lym was
exposed to horses his
entire life. His father's
career as a thoroughbred
trainer began during the
late 70's when he trained
in Kingston Jamaica, it
was a profession that
expanded and prospered
for several years. Over time the love for the sport was passed on from father to son and when Steve was sixteen years old he became his father's assistant and dreamed of becoming as successful as him.
Time does not stand still and Steve is no longer enjoying those care free childhood dreams of becoming a legendary trainer although the love for being close to thoroughbreds is still flickering. Like the rest of us, he would love to find “the big horse" and says that one day he might get back to training.
He has come a long way in his career at the racetrack and he is now reaping the fruits of his labour and is happy with his new position as Woodbine's Racing Secretary at Woodbine.
Having walked in the shoes of a trainer he understands the concerns and constant challenges faced by horseman and has adopted an “open door” policy explaining that he is available to discuss concerns at any time and says he is committed to contributing to the future of Woodbine.
Steve nostalgically looks back to his younger days and says how ironic it was that as a child he never realized the importance of the administrative offices in the racing world.
Perhaps it was providence that gently swayed Steve to the administrative side of horse racing.
His first year as a trainer was successful with six wins and 12 seconds with twelve horses under his care however the follow- ing year the majority of his runners had been claimed and the horses he had left might not have qualified for stabling at Woodbine. That was when he decided to hang up his binoculars and take a look at other employment opportunities.
During the spring of 1987 Tom Cosgrove offered Steve a clocker position and within three years he proved that he had what it took to be the head clocker at Woodbine. During this time he also maintaining his employment as the original chart caller for Equibase.
His hard work and dedication would prove to be his most valuable assets when the position of Racing Secretary became available in 2004.
Although Steve is the youngest Racing Secretary at Woodbine, there is no doubt that he is qualified and knowledgeable enough to handle the challenging position.
Steve and the new dynamic team in the Race Office are committed to take horse racing in Ontario to the next level. Steve says he would love to see a healthier racing
industry where there are more Ontario breds and the horses are more competitive. He would like to see the owners and trainers be successful and the size of the racing fields larger.
At the end of the 2004 season there were several
changes on the administrative side at Woodbine with the vice-president of thoroughbred racing, John Whitson, retiring.
The new team that has been put in place for 2005 is eager and is already working toward a common goal of making sure that racing survives and prospers in the very competitive world of entertainment.
Steve shared his notion that one of the aspects of horse racing that poses a challenge with regards to moving to the next level is the simple fact that the business aspect of racing has evolved quickly while racing itself is still deeply rooted in the past.
In the past decade the business side of horse racing at Woodbine underwent a metamorphosis with the introduction of slot machines at the racetrack. Fueled by the revenue from the slots the purses increased and racing was restored to its former status. The flip side of the coin is that the physical aspect of horse racing has remained the same. The trade of working with horses is passed down from generation to generation. Learning to work with horses is hands on and comes mostly through trial and error. This much has not changed over the years and it is hard to imagine that it ever will.
Steve Lym
Alison Read through the glass of the training track clocker stand
Former Woodbine Paddock Judge Alison Read has been named Chief Clocker at Woodbine in 2005. Alison will oversee the Clocking Department which consists of 10 full and part-time staff members during live racing. Her responsibilities include accurately producing the daily work sheets as well as keeping informed and up to date on all of the horses at Woodbine. Fenton Platts has been promoted from Horse Identifier to take over as Paddock Judge and his position is currently posted and available.