Tom Pedulla

Dreams die hard. So it is with Cristina Bonilla. She did not grow up around horses. She came to the racing game late, at 24. She is 37 now. She estimates she has suffered at least four concussions, including one in a horrific accident at Arlington Park in 2021, and tells of significant memory loss. […]

The Dutrow racing family appears to have another member in the pipeline. Blake Dutrow can still remember how much fun it would be when he would accompany his grandfather, Dick, a top Maryland horseman, to the barn to treat the horses to carrots and peppermints. He has spent his young life learning about racing from […]

When Arcangelo charged up the rail to win the Belmont Stakes (G1), the spotlight immediately fell on Jena Antonucci. She shed tears of joy as the first woman to train the winner of a Triple Crown race. Antonucci would be the first to emphasize, however, that her historic breakthrough was the product of a special […]

Jockeys often volunteer to take their Kentucky Derby mounts through the last workout or two leading to the big day. They understand how vital those drills can be, and they want to do everything possible to ensure that their horses are as ready as can be. Javier Castellano, winless with his first 15 Derby starters, […]

Sibelius needed an exercise rider who could smooth his rough edges and take him to an elite level. Chelsie Raabe needed him much more. Although Raabe had ridden since she was young, she never planned to enter the racing world after her graduation from Miami University in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in wide-ranging integrative […]

Moises Morales was 17 when he decided to leave Chihuahua, Mexico, and attempted to cross illegally into the United States in 1977. He had little idea what awaited him, but he was intent on getting there. He was so determined that he walked through the desert day and night, only to be apprehended by border […]

Oct. 17, 1992. Simon Harris, a long-time exercise rider and valet on the New York circuit, remembers the day as if it was yesterday. It was a day of roiling emotions – sadness, anxiety, excitement. He was 24 years young and was leaving behind friends and family in Dublin, Ireland, for Ocala, Fla. He knew […]