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Robert LaPenta Bio
Talkin' Horses with Robert LaPenta transcript:
Ron: Welcome to Bloodhorse.com's Talkin'
Horses podcast. Today we're pleased to
have as our guest, Robert LaPenta, a major horse owner who just first started
his stable in the early 2000s and with Nick Zito as his trainer's come a long
way in a short period of time. This
year, he has two top prospects for the Kentucky Derby, obviously the Florida
Derby winner Ice Box and another horse who hasn't achieved as much yet but
certainly, for which he has high expectations, Jackson Bend.
Welcome to the podcast, Mr. LaPenta.
Robert: Well, thanks for having me.
Ron: Some of our readers may not know that you
first got started in the horse business in the early 2000s and one of your
first partners was University of Louisville basketball coach, Rick Pitino. We've gotten quite a few questions. A lot of them are long, similar lines so
we'll just go ahead and start off with those.
The first one is from Bob Smollen - Congratulations on your
win with Ice Box in the Florida Derby.
Are you comfortable with the six-week gap leading up to the Kentucky
Derby for your horse or would you have preferred something else?
Robert: Well, to answer the question directly,
yes, I am comfortable with the six-week break.
You know Nick Zito's a pro at getting horses ready for these big races,
I think the horse is in top shape, he's training well, and as you know, with
Birdstone, he proved that it could be done I think when he won the Belmont off
of a long layoff. So the answer is I am
comfortable and I think the horse is going to be in great shape on the first
Saturday in May.
Ron: Next question from Kelly Inman - Do you
think Ice Box's running style as a closer will need to be altered at all to
have a shot late in the race with this large of
a field?
Robert: No, actually, I think the way this race
is setting up, I think it's setting up perfectly for a closer like Ice Box and
maybe even Pleasant Prince. They've had
a pretty good duel already in two or three prior races and I think this one
sets up for a closer. I think everybody
knows that there are a lot of front runners in any race and you know this is a
long race and I think this one's going to set up well for Ice Box.
Ron: Let's just say you probably would not
want to be as far back as Mine That Bird was last year.
Robert: {laughs} No. Actually, you know I was surprised that Ice
Box was as far back as he was in the Fountain of Youth and the Florida
Derby. So maybe he'll be a little bit
closer but again, it's a long race and I think there are going to be a lot of
tired horses when they hit the top of the stretch.
Ron: And again, and Mine That Bird showed that
it can be done.
Robert: Well, I think his performance there was
really one for the ages. I mean that
performance, if you looked at it from the aerial view, it looked like something
you'd see on a videogame. {laughs}
Ron: Yeah.
In fact, you probably can't expect that type of thing to set up every
year in the Kentucky Derby.
Robert: No.
And I think the one X factor in this race, you know there's going to be
Eskendereya and this is a horse that has a very, very versatile running
style. If he can get in the clear in a
stalking position, he's certainly going to be the one to worry about as far as
I'm concerned.
Ron: Well, and that brings us to the next
question which is from Joe in Niskayuna, New York. He says Eskendereya beat Ice Box pretty
handily in the Fountain of Youth and came back easily to win the Wood, what
makes you believe Ice Box is close to gap on him and gives you a chance to beat
him in the Derby?
Robert: Well, you know if you looked at
Eskendereya's performance in the Fountain of Youth and particularly in the
Wood, I think anybody would have to say that there's no question he's the horse
to beat. As we know in the first
Saturday in May with 20 horses in the field and everybody jockeying for
position, a lot of strange things can happen.
I think he's an improving horse and he certainly proved a mile and a
quarter is not going to be any problem for him.
I think Ice Box is also an improving horse. I think he gets better and better. He's done two turns now at a mile and eighth
and I think his performance and his closing kick in the Florida Derby would
have to give anybody in that race a concern.
So I think they're both getting better.
It's going to be a very difficult race.
I think Eskendereya is the horse to beat and we'll just have to see what
happens. One thing's for sure in this
game, nothing is ever for sure.
Ron: That is correct. Who else do you see as the biggest challenges
as far as the horses we're pretty sure are going to be in that Derby
field?
Robert: Well, we've all watched all the Derby
preparations. There are a couple of big
ones coming up this weekend in the Arkansas Derby and the Blue Grass. I think the Blue Grass has lost some of its
luster because it's gone to Polytrack and the winners there, the good
performances are question marks, as are a lot of the horses on the West Coast. So I think a horse that is a closer is going
to have a particular advantage in this race.
So although he's not in the Derby yet, I expect a horse like Pleasant
Prince, maybe Awesome Act, some of these that come off the pace I think is
going to be in a good position in the Derby.
Ron: Next question comes from racefan47 - What are
your thoughts on Jackson Bend's second place finish in the Wood and what's down
the road for him?
Robert: Well, you know, I think Jackson Bend is
probably one of the best 3-year-olds in the country. I think if you look at his record and what
he's been able to accomplish and the tenacity that he shows whenever a horse
comes up to him in the stretch, he just refuses to lose. If Eskendereya weren't in both of those
races, he'd certainly be one of the top horses, top picks in the country but you
know visually, it was not impressive because of the way Eskendereya just ran
away from the field. I mean Eskendereya
in the Wood looked like a horse that was on jet fuel. It was just amazing.
Jackson Bend in nine races, you know he won the Florida Stallion
Stakes, he had an amazing performance in his last race there where he stumbled
coming out of the gate, he went five wide, he was challenged in the stretch,
caught another gear and you saw a little bit of that in the Wood. So he's an amazing horse and I think he's
underrated.
As far as what we think of him for the Derby and can he do
the distance, I think Jackson Bend never runs a bad race. So we're going to see how he develops over
the next couple of weeks, we're going to see, hopefully, he'll put on a little
more weight. But for me, it'd be nice to
have a horse that could be in the stalking position, you know, four or five
lengths off and then have Ice Box maybe a little further back. So that, to me, would be an ideal position
for us going into the Derby.
Ron: And along the same lines with Jackson Bend,
this question is from Dick Downey . He
wants to know how he's been doing since the Wood Memorial and when is he
scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs?
Robert: Jackson Bend came out of the - he came out of
the Wood in phenomenal shape. I mean
that night he ate everything, he was kicking the barn, he actually does not
like to lose and he knows when he loses.
So he's in great shape, thank God, he's doing well and in fact, I think
he'll be going to Churchill I think maybe even this week.
Ron: Concerning another one of your 3-year-olds, a
reader named Paul asks - I am the breeder of one of your promising young three
3-year-old colts named Miner's Reserve, I was hoping you might provide some
information with regards to your future plans for him.
Robert: Miner's Reserve is another great - you know
we're just fortunate to have a number of nice horses in our barn. Certainly, Miner's Reserve is one of them,
Our Dark Knight is another and we have a couple of more that I think are going
to be coming on a little later in the year.
Miner's Reserve, obviously, it was a risky decision off of just a couple
of races to put him in. It's such a
tough position in the Florida Derby but a lot of people felt that he was really
going to be the horse to beat aside from Eskendereya and a couple of the
others. Rule I think was the other colt
favorite.
So he came out of the race well and our fallback position
there when we decided to run him in the Florida Derby was to run him in the
Cliffs Edge Derby Trial on the opening day of Churchill Downs and right now
that's what we're thinking about.
Ron: Wow.
Wouldn't that be something to be winning the race that you're
sponsoring?
Robert: That would be awesome.
Ron: I guess you present yourself with the trophy,
correct? {laughing}
Robert: That'd be a great day.
Ron: And what about Our Dark Knight, is he going
to be in one of the Triple Crown races?
Robert: You know I don't know if he's - right now
we're looking for another - he had a really nice race on the day of the Florida
Derby, you know coming from behind, very strong kick in the stretch. We're looking for maybe a little easier race
for him now. Depending on what happens
there, we'll think about what we're going to do. When things get to around the Belmont, a lot
of strange things can happen so we're going to keep our options open but one
thing's for sure the Belmont is a race that if you make a decision to run in
it, you really have to think about the horse because a lot of horses come out
of that race and they're just basically done for the rest of the year. So we're going to think real hard about that.
As far as the Preakness, again, I think we'll have to see
what happens in the Derby.
Ron: Next question comes from Sheila - Do you
think that having 20 horses entering the starting gate for the Derby cheapens
the field by allowing horses that obviously do not belong in the same race with
top flight runners just because the connections have a breathing 3-year-old and
then an attack of Derby fever?
Robert: You know the Derby is Thoroughbred's racing
Super Bowl; everybody wants to go to the Super Bowl. It's just an incredible day, the ambiance,
the excitement, the crowd, the international coverage, so it's a day that
everybody wants to participate in. I
think 20 horses is not too large. I
think if you limited the field you actually would probably keep out some pretty
good horses like what happened last year; but you know, every horse in the
Derby is a quality horse. There's no
question about it.
This year, it's going to take somewhere between $225,000 to
$250,000 of stakes earnings to get in so there's no question every horse is
going to be a quality horse and the fact that you have 20 3-year-olds out of
the 30,000 3-year-olds that are born says that there's no question you'd have
the cream of the crop in the race. The
only question you might ask and I really don't know the answer to it or whether
it's ever been considered is quite often, horses that win 2-year-old stakes
races are different horses and really don't step up and mature when they make
the conversion to pre. So there maybe
some consideration, maybe discounting 2-year-old earnings a little bit but that's the only thing that I would consider.
Ron: Next question Claude Ciancio - Besides his
record of success on the track, what traits and attributes did you see in Nick
Zito that has led you to use him as your trainer for so many years?
Robert: Well, going back to when I began in my partnership
and even before I got directly involved, I use to watch the classic races and
one thing always stood out and that was that Nick had a tremendous eye for
talent and a real ability that I think differentiates him from a lot of the
other trainers in being very patient with young horses, not pushing them too
hard and being able to develop them and hopefully keep them healthy to get to
this level of racing. So that was the
one trait that I looked for, his ability to - you know he's got a great eye and
I think patience, perseverance and a tremendous amount of experience and
success.
Ron: Also along the same lines of your trainer,
Jim Labadini asks - I admire your dedication to the sport and also I greatly
approve of Mr. Zito as your trainer, how do you select the horses that you
purchase at sales and do you solely rely on your trainer?
Robert: No, actually - well, I'm a firm believer of
picking a good team, people that are experts that are really good at what they
do and that to me is the key to success of every operation. So I really don't try to get involved too
directly in things that I should leave to the experts but we've had a great
relationship and really what I do is I give Nick some guidance on horses or
maybe sires that I like. For instance, I
said to Nick let's go find a good Fusaichi Pegasus, let's go find a good
Mineshaft, let's go find a good Medaglia d'Oro, let's go find a good
Bernardini. So with loose guidelines and
then saying let's buy some speed horses, let's buy some distance horses, we try
to get a nice mix. You know I have an
annual budget and basically, beyond that though I allow Nick and the team to go
and execute on that plan.
Ron: Who else is on the team, can you say?
Robert: Well, I have my racing manager, Ernie Richards
who really knows everything about racing and breeding and he really tracks the
horses and he's very important to me at the sale. You know I have a breeding expert who's on
the team, Dave Floyd, really very into the whole bloodline thing and he assists
in the process. My son is very
involved. We track all of the horses and
the sires and so it's kind of a team effort and it's working out real well so
far.
Ron: Next question is from Eric Mitchell who asks
- To what do you attribute your fortune, great people, racing luck, what has
allowed you to remain successful?
Robert: Well, I think like anything else, you've got
to have good people which we just talked about.
I think you need a good plan. I
approached the racing game and when I entered it, a lot of people said why
you're getting involved in a game when all you do is pour money down a hole and
lose a lot of money. And my answer to
that question was I thought that if you could have a good business plan, if you
had good people working with you to execute it, then you could put together a
successful program. There's no question
in this game with the Thoroughbreds and oddly, the better they are, the more
prone they are to getting injured. So
this is a very, very difficult sport to be successful in, there's a lot ego,
there's a lot emotion, there's a lot of competition but I think if you have a
good business plan and good people to execute it, you can be successful. And so far, {{knocking on wood}, I'm
knocking on wood as we speak, we've been able to do it.
Ron: And I guess a certain element of luck.
Robert: There's no question that luck plays a big
part of success in this game.
Ron: Next question is from David who asks - What
advice do you have for an owner just getting into the business on the selection
and purchase of young horses?
Robert: My advice to a young owner getting into the
game for the first time would be to join a partnership to really become
familiar with a lot of the intricacies of the sport, the horse selection
process, really get into the game. I
would suggest you get in very slowly and spend literally a number of years
before you become heavily involved because there are so many different things
that can happen along the way and so many obstacles that a novice getting into
the sport and trying to do it on his own right off the bat I think would be a
mistake.
Ron: So pretty much I guess just kind of segue
into it and I guess by spreading your risk among other people in a partnership,
it's a good entree at a level of which you're not going lose too much money as
you learn.
Robert: Exactly right, yeah. I think it'd be a paid internship for a new
owner.
Ron: Along similar lines, what do you think racing
can do to attract new people to the game?
Robert: Well, you know it's a frustrating part of it
for me. I mean it's really one of the
greatest sports. I mean it's been around
for hundreds if not thousands of years and you know I think today that the
sport is not anywhere near the level of popularity that it should be. So I look at it almost like basketball maybe
15 to 20 years ago when the sport was waning, weren't a lot of people attending
the games, I think you need to bring young people into the sport, you got to
make it much more relevant. I mean
nobody wants to go to a racetrack and be there with 500 people. I mean you want it to be vibrant, you want it
to be alive, you want music, you want a lot of activity, you know you want to
make it an event and I think racing is missing that and they've just got to
bring it to the next level and bring a lot of young people into the sport. I think there's no question that OTB has
altered the sport because it's brought a lot of people away from the track and
they can make a phone call or they can go to the various OTB parlors but you
got to bring people in the door. It's
advertising, it's appealing to the young, maybe getting rock groups at a lot of
these not only on a Saturday when a Wood Memorial or a Saturday when the
Kentucky Derby or some of these big races.
You got to make people want to come, you have to have good food and I
think the VLT thing is actually going to help the sport also because you'll
pull them into the parking lot, like Gulfstream. I mean you can go there during the week and
there will be a thousand cars in the parking lot. So you feel like it's relevant, you're
participating in something that people want to participate in and that's what I
think we need to do.
Ron: In other words, make it a little bit more
special?
Robert: Make it more special, make it more lively,
bring in events, you've got to bring young people into the sport.
Ron: Do you think that year-round racing has kind
of sapped the energy from those types of things you're talking about right
there?
Robert: No, I don't think so. Racing is like a seasonal thing and there's a
season for every part of the sport. You
know at the beginning of the year it's all about the Kentucky Derby and the
young 3-year-olds and when you get past the Triple Crown races, you know
Saratoga is a national venue that everybody's there. It's a party atmosphere. It's a great thing. And then when you get into the fall, you know
Belmont, Aqueduct and the other tracks that reopen, it's a great thing. November/December, you're looking at the 2-year-olds
who may be stars in the following year.
You have the Breeders' Cup. So I
don't think the year around racing is the issue because I think there's a
season and the sport I think handles that pretty well. I think you just got to make it more lively
and whether it's limiting, you know maybe the weekday races and doing more from
Friday to Sunday or Thursday to Sunday kind of thing, I'd consider doing that
because you know during the week people are working, you're not going to get a
lot of people out, and I think that does detract to a certain extent from the
popularity of the sport.
Ron: Have you and would you recommend to your
friends and business associates that they become involved in horse racing
either as fans or owners?
Robert: Well, there's no question. You know this is a great spectator sport and
I don't think people realize it's a great family sport. I mean you've seen me at a lot of races and
they don't have to be Breeders' Cup races or Triple Crown races. When we have a horse running on a weekend, I
get my whole family out, I get friends out, anybody that has a connection to
the sport wants to be involved. They
love going to the paddock, they love attending the race, a great day. So family, you know a lot of times you'll
invite them over for a Sunday dinner and nobody will come. If you say we have a horse running on Sunday
or Saturday at the track, you'll get the whole family and grandchildren and so
everybody wants to be involved. So
there's no question it's a great sport if people feel a connection to it.
The first part of your question would I recommend that
friends get involved in this sport? I
think it's a great sport. A lot of
people can't get directly involved in owning a football team or a basketball
team or a baseball team. Here, you can
get involved and you can get involved to the extent of your financial and your
time. You can get involved as much or as
little as you want to. So yes, I would
recommend people get involved in this sport and once they get involved it's
infectious. I mean people will tell you
- I mean even George Steinbrenner, winning a horse race to him was in some
sense a greater experience than winning the World Series. So it's a very, very emotional sport. It's a great sport, great hobby. But again, I would recommend that if you're
going to get involved, you start with a partnership, you learn the ropes, you
learn what it's all about and then you could decide where you want to take it
from there.
Ron: Next question - Obviously, you've gained
quite a bit of success quickly in the industry and have a lot of respect among
your peers in the industry, do you have any interest in getting involved in the
alphabet soup organizations that run racing or are you happy with your niche as
an owner?
Robert: Well, I think if I would ever get to the
point where I'm not as active in my professional career, learning businesses
and doing thing, I think I would like to get involved in the management area of
sport because over the years, I've learned a lot. There are a lot of things that I think I
would like to contribute. I think one
thing that the sport lacks is a governing body that really regulates the whole
sport. I would really do a lot more in
the areas of substance, drug testing, I would increase the penalties for
anybody that's caught crossing the lines in that regard. In life, I think we all know that if anybody
steals something, a thousand dollars, they go to jail. In this industry, if people are doing things
that they shouldn't be doing, they get a 20-day suspension. There's something wrong with that because
it's stealing millions of dollars. And
then I'd like to get involved from the perspective of making this sport more
popular. I'm thinking about things of
how we could do that, how we could bring more people into this sport. So two things: regulation management and
getting more people involved.
Ron: I think there'd be a lot of organizations
looking forward to you kind of segueing out of your primary business and moving
more into the racing aspect of it that you just mentioned.
Next one is from M R Bradley - What is your opinion of the
idea of a permanent site for the Breeders' Cup?
Personally, I think it is a colossal mistake.
Robert: I agree.
I think the Breeders' Cup in many respect is like another Super Bowl,
it's an international event, great, great coverage around the world. So I think it should be treated like that and
cities should actually bid, different sites should bid to get the Breeders' Cup
for different years. It brings a lot of
tourism and revenue into the hosting city.
So I think it's a great thing.
The thing that, to me, I would consider though is the different
surfaces, the synthetic surfaces I think are greatly altered. What happens in these races and unless it
caters to the majority of Thoroughbred racing participant, I think it detracts
a little bit from what it should be. So
for instance, Santa Anita and the Polytrack I think detracted somewhat from the
broad appeal of the Breeders' Cup because it gave it much more of a European
turf flavor. So that's a consideration
that I think the Thoroughbred, International Thoroughbred Association people
and the Breeders' Cup association should consider when selecting a site.
Ron: So in other words, have it on a surface that
has far greater appeal on a more universal basis across all the lines of the
industry.
Robert: That's right.
Ron: Next questions from Esther Marr - Looking
back over all your successes, what has been your favorite moment or memory so
far in the industry?
Robert: Well, I've had a lot of great moments myself,
my family, my friends and I think it would be hard to pick one because each one
of them was a little unique but certainly, The Cliff's Edge, winning the Blue
Grass and becoming a favorite for the Derby early on, that was my first real
success. So like anything else, it's
right up there as far as just great, great memories and days but certainly, War
Pass, winning the Breeders' Cup was just an incredible day and Da' Tara coming
out of nowhere at 35 or 36-1, whatever and beating Big Brown who everybody
considered to be the Triple Crown winner, that was an incredible day. So there have been a number of - the Florida
Derby certainly was right up there at the top and we just had a great day and
I'm hoping that one day soon the Kentucky Derby will be on the list.
Ron: And she has a follow up which is - Who
has been your favorite horse of all the ones you've had, not necessarily the
most successful but just your favorite even from a sentimental point of view?
Robert: Well, I think the fact that I sponsored
The Cliff's Edge in the Derby Trial I think is an indication of what the answer
to that question is. He not only was my
first great one winner but for me, he really exemplified what the sport is all
about and what horse racing is all about.
He was an underdog, he was a very unlucky horse but he just kept trying
and trying and he was actually voted the most unlucky horse of the year but he
has a horse with tremendous ability, tremendous heart, never gave up but to me he
displayed a lot of the qualities that people should have in life.
I had an executive meeting once and I actually sited The
Cliff's Edge as really a horse that exemplified what it means and what it takes
to be successful in life. And despite
hard luck and setback, he kept trying, you try to win and you become
successful.
Ron: Well, let me wrap up our podcast today
with a question from Paul Sedgwick. Your
philanthropy is very commendable. Do you
also support Thoroughbred retirement programs and what became of Little Cliff?
Robert: I'm a big supporter of Thoroughbred
retirement programs. Again, I'm glad to
see that this thing is now garnering national attention, people are focusing on
it, there is current legislation pending about penalties and criminal actions
against people, transporting horses for other than racing and retirement. So I'm a benefactor. I support two or three of the foundations, the
retirement foundations, and I think a lot of work has to be devoted in this
area.
I think mentioning Little Cliff as one in particular on
everyone of our ownership certificates for horses, we have a sticker that says
if I ever sell a horse or if the horse is ever in the ownership of anybody
who's considering selling that horse for the purpose other than retirement or
racing, then I would buy that horse back, and we were able to save Little Cliff
who was on his way to a very unhappy
fate and we were able to rescue him at the border and bring him and put him in
the retirement.
Ron: Wow, that's great. Congratulations. Certainly, more owners should be doing those
kinds of things most definitely.
Robert: Absolutely, absolutely.
Ron: Well, that's all the questions I
have. I want to thank you for your
time. It's been very enjoyable and I
think our readers really get a lot from your expertise. There are a couple of things here that aren't
on the subject that are more personal.
Tony Repola has written in and said - Bob, a name from the
past, Tony Repola of H&S White Plains Office just wishing you and Jackson
Bends, Ice Box exacta box.{Robert laughs}
And then someone asked whether or not you are related to a
Christopher LaPenta. He was from Colts
Neck, New Jersey. Ring a bell?
Robert: No.
At least I hope not, I'm embarrassed to say, because I don't know.
Ron: Okay.
Listen, it really has been an enjoyable.
I do want to thank you for your time.
It's been great.
Robert: Well, I really appreciate it and it was
good talking to you also, Ron.
Ron: Okay and I'll see you at Louisville.
Robert: Alright.
