Every morning, Chicago-area horse trainer Pete DiVito takes his grandson to the track. Daily. Do not failed.
Before school, after soccer practice—whenever there’s time. That’s all Larry Rivelli wanted.
“When I was a kid, I never left him. … Weekends with him. Five o’clock in the morning, get him coffee before we hit the track. That’s all there is to it. what we do. It’s all I do. I love it.”
That love led Rivelli to a career in purebred training. That love has brought Rivelli here, to a new professional peak, days away from his first Kentucky Derby (G1) as a coach.
Family is a common theme for Rivelli and his newcomer, Two Phil . He describes the foal’s owners—Patricia’s Hope, Phil Sagan and Madakat Stables—as a family. And Rivelli’s uncle, James DiVito, is a longtime coach at Oaklawn Park.
That family roots go back to Chicago, where Rivelli was very interested in representing the city and his state of Illinois.
“Trying to make everyone proud. So far so good,” Riveli said.
He said if his grandfather were still alive—he passed away in 1998—he would be with him every step of the way.
With almost a quarter of a century of experience, it begs the question: What took so long?
But Rivelli believes one of his strengths is his ability to gauge the talent at hand.
“A lot of people are ambitious, with their entries, and think they can have a little more than they have. Always want to go with a loaded gun, so to speak. This is the time. First I have a loaded gun for this specific distance, this particular age group, this particular situation.”
Two Phil’s were Riveli’s weapon of choice on 6 May. Son of 2007 Derby runner-up Spin hard and winner Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3).
Now the son is following in the footsteps of his father.
Again, family.
“It’s funny that I didn’t really care much for that before Jeff Ruby, but it’s nice that it seems to be working the same way,” says Rivelli. Hard Spun also won the same standard as his son, as Lane’s End Stakes in 2007.
Rivelli’s top earner of all time is Nicole’s Dream, who made $729,751 under his guidance. During her career, she has won almost half of her starts, but she has never won a graded bet. Now with Two Phil’s, Rivelli has the opportunity to accomplish something he has never made at the forefront of his career goals: winning the Kentucky Derby. If it never happens, he won’t be disappointed.
“It’s fun to do that right now when we’re sitting side by side. As they start to load into the gate, your heartbeat starts to jump out of your chest a little bit,” Rivelli said. “There’s a different approach than it was at the time, but perhaps, I wouldn’t say that’s going to lower my morale for my career and what we’ve achieved.”
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, at least for now, Rivelli feels no pressure to go into the Derby or to take part in his first game.
“Honestly, I don’t feel too much pressure because…the people I train for are like family, and we’re all friends. There’s really no pressure. All in all. “We’re all very excited to be here. And they know me very well. If I don’t think we have a chance, we’re not going to run. I’m not going to let the score or the Derby deal convince me. If I don’t think we’ve got a shot, I’ll run him in another race
“The deal with not pressuring me, I really don’t appreciate that at least right now. …Check back with me in a few days.”
