What's Going On Here : larry jones

Higher Power - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:15:00 GMT

(Originally published in the May 2, 2009 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)

This time of year people invariably talk about, and write about, the “racing gods” and “Derby gods.”

Of course, we all know what really wins Kentucky Derbys is horses and horsemanship. Well, most of the time anyway, because we also know the best horse doesn’t always win.

Still, it is nice to imagine a higher power had something to do with people such as Frances Genter and Paul Mellon ending up in the Derby winner’s circle, and that more than a good horse enabled an ailing Roy Chapman (Smarty Jones), a gracious Jim Tafel (Street Sense), and the lovely Bob and Beverly Lewis (Silver Charm, Charismatic) to win racing’s most coveted prize.

If there are Derby gods, this year belongs to Larry Jones.

Lots of trainers have had horses lose the Derby, many by a narrow margin and perhaps more due to a rough trip. But few have suffered through what Jones faced a year ago, when Eight Belles ran second in the Derby and then tragically broke down while galloping out.

After the incident, no one would have blamed Jones had he locked himself in his tack room, left the track, or simply said, “I can’t comment right now.”

Instead, Jones appeared in the press box, and despite tearing up several times, answered the media’s questions.

The next morning he was back at the barn, again conducting interviews despite a heart shredded by the emotions of the previous 12 hours.

At least Jones and his wife, Cindy, had 24 hours to revel in the excitement of Proud Spell’s win in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) the day before Eight Belles became headline news.

Just two months after last year’s Derby, Jones, who also ran second in 2007 with Hard Spun, received a package he thought could return him to Churchill Downs for the 2009 running.

In July 2008, Tom Simon’s Vinery moved the horses it had with trainer Steve Asmussen to other trainers employed by the farm. Among those sent to Jones was a colt named Friesan Fire.

“This is the type of horse that can get you back to the Derby,” Jones said privately the first time Friesan Fire breezed for him.

On Aug. 25, Friesan Fire won his maiden voyage at Delaware Park, covering six furlongs in 1:10.89 and winning by a facile three lengths. Jones was ecstatic when he contemplated that a horse that had shown from day one he wanted to run long, as his pedigree would suggest (A.P. Indy—Bollinger, by Dehere), had run a quick sprint and won in such convincing fashion.

Friesan Fire failed to win in his subsequent three starts at 2, though he ran third in the Belmont Futurity (gr. II) and fourth in the Nashua Stakes (gr. III). After his third start, Rick Porter, who owned Hard Spun and Eight Belles, purchased an interest in the colt.

This year Friesan Fire is unbeaten in three races, taking the LeComte Stakes (gr. III), Risen Star Stakes (gr. III), and Louisiana Derby (gr. II) in succession.

There are those questioning Jones’ decision to bring Friesan Fire to the Derby off a seven-week layoff and never having raced farther than 81⁄2 furlongs. They questioned the handling of Hard Spun and Eight Belles as well, but a trainer’s job is to know his horse and do what he believes is right for each runner.

Perhaps Jones will win the Derby, or maybe the racing gods have another plan. Perhaps Jones is to win the race earlier on the card re-named the Eight Belles with Just Jenda, owned by his wife and named for their granddaughter.

It is the type of thing the racing gods would do.

Renovation Break - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:59:00 GMT

At 10 p.m., an exhausted Larry Jones finally fell asleep. Just two and a half hours later, he was back up, making training charts for that day’s sets before loading his trailer to drive from his barn at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland to Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.

Jones was tired, and not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as well. This was not the lifestyle he wanted. So a few weeks after turning 52 on Sept. 2, he told others what he and his wife and assistant, Cindy, had decided weeks earlier. By the end of 2009, they are retiring.

Just a few years ago, Larry and Cindy Jones had a small barn of horses at tiny Ellis Park in Western Kentucky, not far from where Larry grew up farming in Hopkinsville, Ky. Cindy is a Tennessee native who also enjoys the quiet lifestyle of living in the country, far away from big city lights.

But Larry Jones is a skilled horseman whose talents were evident. When a trainer wins 20% or more of his races with lesser stock, more than just handicappers take note. When a trainer purchases yearlings for less than $20,000 and turns them into stakes horses, the word spreads.

But when a trainer goes from 30 or 40 horses to 120, something has to give.

And when that same trainer has to suffer through what Larry Jones has endured since the tragic breakdown of Eight Belles, it takes its toll.

At dinner Sept. 26, Jones said, “I don’t know what it feels like to have a nervous breakdown, but I have to think it is like this. I drive up to the barn and start shaking before I get out of the truck. I turn on TVG and I don’t even have a horse in the race and I can’t bare to watch. I used to love every aspect of this business. I don’t mind mucking a stall or driving a horse somewhere. But if I can’t get on the horse, like a 2-year-old I need to be on and know, I don’t enjoy it.”

It could be asked why Jones did not just scale back, telling some of his owners to move their horses to other trainers so he could again work with a manageable number. To him, that would not be fair. Whom does he turn his back on, the guys who have been with him 20 years, or the new owners that have helped him elevate his stock?

Perhaps Jones just should quit galloping horses, or discontinue trailering on his own. That would be like asking him to quit wearing a cowboy hat.

Jones doesn’t want to change, nor should he have to. He wants his current lifestyle to change.

Jones took out his trainer’s license in 1982, and that first year failed to find the winner’s circle in 20 starts. He had earnings of $3,480. The next year, he won two races from 37 starts, and his earnings jumped to $7,665. He made ends meet by galloping horses for other trainers.

Though his first stakes winner, Capt. Bold, came in 1986, Jones’ earnings did not reach six figures until 1989. It was another 15 years before they advanced to seven figures. While he had earnings of $5.9 million in 2007 and has $5.8 million so far this year, the first 17 years combined his horses won $1,835,601, an average of $107,977. The rub is, he made a lot less money but was a lot happier.

He won his first grade I in 2004 with Island Sand, now followed by Wildcat Bettie B, Hard Spun, and Proud Spell. If not for a perfect trip by Street Sense, and a buzzsaw named Big Brown, he would have won two Kentucky Derbys (gr. I).

Jones admits he will probably come back, though with far fewer horses. The fact he can walk away shows how much he loves the horse.

Hopefully, that same love will draw him back, because it is hard to believe we have seen the best yet, as a person and horseman, of Larry Jones.

Healing the Wounds - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:09:00 GMT

There were 417 races run on the flat in North America May 3, but only one captured the attention of the public. Normally that attention would be in celebration of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner, but this year the attention came in the form of criticism due to the tragic catastrophic breakdown suffered by second-place finisher Eight Belles.

The industry has been forced to defend itself in the wake of this criticism, mostly from those outside the sport, many with limited knowledge of Thoroughbred breeding and racing.

Criticism, constructive or otherwise, comes in many forms. There is little need to pay serious attention to radical groups calling for the immediate end to Thoroughbred racing, a multi-billion-dollar agribusiness that employs hundreds of thousands. But it is important to listen to those who suggest the industry should closely examine itself and discuss ways to make the sport safer.

Similarly, when a driver dies in car racing, or a fighter in boxing, those sports owe it to their participants and fans to examine the reasons why the accident occurred and see if significant changes can be made to diminish the odds of further injuries.

That, however, is where the similarities end between horse racing and other sports. When a pro football player breaks his leg, the bone is set and the leg is placed in a cast. No one calls for the sport to be banned. But because of the musculoskeletal system of the horse, too often the injured limbs cannot be repaired, and, as in the case of Eight Belles, unfortunately require euthanasia instead.

Those placing blame on the racing surface, owner Rick Porter, trainer Larry Jones, and/or jockey Gabriel Saez are way off base. Likewise, those who question running a filly against colts should watch a tape of last year’s Belmont Stakes (gr. I); a single protest cannot be recalled after Rags to Riches’ victory.

Since the moment Eight Belles fell after fracturing both ankles while galloping out after the Derby, Thoroughbred industry officials have been busy spinning the news of the heartbreaking accident on racing's greatest stage. Blue ribbon panels have been put together to look at racing’s important issues and present reports to industry stakeholders.

More than likely, the issues that will be discussed will not be new topics. For years, industry groups have been studying such things as racing surfaces, medication, soundness, and durability. Perhaps, however, with the industry now under a microscope—from the press, the public, and possibly federal regulators—owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians, and researchers will debate the issues with more urgency.

Those who have said good can come from the breakdown suffered by Eight Belles are correct, but it should not be done only in her name. On May 3, chart footnotes also stated:

• Camarero Race Track, race 3, Ahi Viene Cundo, broke down, fell three-eighths pole;
• Evangeline Downs, race 3, Hack Rein, broke down, vanned off;
• Evangeline Downs, race 11, Watchmybluff, pulled up, vanned off;
• Indiana Downs, race 7, Sparkling Sherry, pulled up, vanned off;
• Suffolk Downs, race 2, Elusive King, broke down, vanned off;
• Suffolk Downs, race 10, Evoked, broke down, vanned off;
• Turf Paradise, race 7, Global Boy, in contention early, went wrong at three-eighths pole, vanned off;
• Will Rogers Downs, race 8, Middle Earth, taken up, vanned off;
• Woodbine, race 8, Sargeant Silver, broke down, vanned off.

Network television cameras were not pointed at the other horses that broke down May 3, but they are no less important than Eight Belles. Although horses were breaking bones long before man ever thought about racing them against each other, they are breaking down all too often.
It should be the goal of everyone connected to the industry to help figure out why, and bring about meaningful change to make the sport safer for every Thoroughbred.