On Tuesday, June 13, OwnerView hosted the fifth workshop, Prepare for Race Day, in the Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series with trainer Jena Antonucci, who recently became the first female coach. first won the Belmont Stakes, along with Arcangelo; Ken McPeek, who won the 2020 Preakness Stakes with Swiss Skydiver; and multi-stakes winner Joe Sharp and owner Ramiro Restrepo, who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby against Mage.
The conference is organized by the Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by the Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden and The Green Group. This workshop is sponsored by Centennial Farms.
Attendees could ask questions through Zoom’s Q&A feature, sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and questions were answered at the end of the webinar.
The workshop was hosted by OwnerView’s project manager, Gary Falter, who started the workshop by sharing videos created by America’s Best Racing (ABR) showing each coach leading or during a big race and then discuss topics such as starting to ride for the first time, Horses 2 years old versus older horses, training at the gate and the importance of groomers, exercise riders and horse rider.
On the first start, all three coaches agree that winning is not the goal; The more important thing is to make the horse stable and confident.
“In the long run, I think the horses that can settle down and finish with energy the first few times and then, you know, get on to the finish line a second or third time are the ones that we seems to do better on the road,” Sharp said.
Antonucci says most trainers train “basically the same,” but the difference is that the details take place inside the cage. “We make sure the horse, first, thrives and is happy,” she says.
Speaking of the groom and the exercise equestrian, McPeek said, “Well, you want continuity. A groom riding the same horse for a long time, I think that’s a really good idea. Someone who rides the same horse every day can definitely give you feedback.”
The panel also featured an ABR video tracking the Restrepo leading up to Mage’s Kentucky Derby win and discussed with Restrepo the owner’s role on race day.
Restrepo emphasizes how important it is for ownership teams to get everything sorted out before race day. “There’s been so much stress in the preparation that the coach has, that the last thing you want them to worry about is taking on the responsibility of the ownership team,” he said.
A replay of all conference tables can be viewed here: bit.ly/OVVideos.
Six more virtual boards of the Thoroughbred Owners Conference are planned for 2023.
The next session will be held on July 11 at 2 p.m. ET and will showcase how the jockeys prepare mentally and physically for race day. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.
There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owners conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or [email protected].
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