Just trying to 'stay in the business,' Caldwell approaches milestone
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If past performances are an indication, four-time Oaklawn leading owner Danny Caldwell will reach 1,000 career Thoroughbred victories this year, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization.
Caldwell, a former high school coach, won his first Thoroughbred race in 2007 and entered Friday with 925. He had at least 100 victories every year in 2014-2018 and finished with 93 in 2019 to rank eighth nationally. Caldwell has ranked in the top 10 nationally in victories every year since 2014, when he won his first of four consecutive owner’s titles at Oaklawn.
“I never would have dreamed I’d win 1,000 races,” Caldwell said Thursday afternoon. “I hope we can reach that milestone this year. If everything goes good, I think we can.”
The immediate chase will continue primarily at Oaklawn, which opened its 57-day meet Friday. Caldwell said he has 34 horses at Oaklawn with his private trainer, Federico Villafranco, and seven more at Delta Downs in Louisiana. Caldwell said his 2020 stable mirrors previous years, with several home-run claims leading the way.
“Actually, I feel a little better this year coming in here because I went to Keeneland and bought some horses to restock,” Caldwell said. “I’ve still got some of the horses that I claimed here last year that we kept all year and done really well for us.”
That successful claiming contingent includes Chris and Dave ($45,000), D’Rapper ($40,000) and Heavens Whisper ($6,250).
Chris and Dave has won four races since being claimed, including the $65,000 Jim Rasmussen Memorial Stakes last July at Prairie Meadows, and is entered in the first division of Saturday’s $100,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses.
D’Rapper won three consecutive races last summer at Prairie Meadows, including the $100,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap. Heavens Whisper has won six races for Caldwell and nine victories overall made her the co-winningest horse in the country in 2019. Heavens Whisper is scheduled to make her 2020 debut in Saturday’s ninth race, an allowance/optional claiming sprint for older fillies and mares.
“They’re just good hard-knocking horses,” Caldwell said. “We give them breaks through the year, give them a little time off and bring them back.”
Caldwell purchased four horses at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, including social media sensation Southern Phantom, a 4-year-old son of Bodemeister noted for a bald face, one blue eye and four long stockings. Caldwell said Southern Phantom, winless in seven career starts, is scheduled to make his 2020 debut in late February or early March. Southern Phantom was purchased for $20,000.
Caldwell bought four more horses at the 2020 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, including unraced 3-year-old Happy Tapit, a son of super sire Tapit and half-brother to millionaire and multiple Grade 1 winner Palace. Caldwell said the $15,000 purchase is also at Oaklawn preparing for his career debut.
Caldwell has 137 career victories at Oaklawn. He won 22 races last year to finish a distant second to M and M Racing (Mike and Mickala Sisk), which set a single-season Oaklawn record with 61 victories. M and M ended Caldwell’s four-year Oaklawn reign in 2018, when the final margin was considerably closer (21-17).
“We’re just trying to win races and stay in the business,” Caldwell said. “Make a living and take care of the horses. Make sure they have aftercare, things you need to be responsible for. When I came down and won the first year, I wasn’t expecting to win the owner’s title. Once I did it, I thought I might be able to do it again because I’ve got numbers.
"I’m going to stay around here at Oaklawn. I’ve got 36 stalls. I’m going to be at 36-40 horses here, where I can ship in and out. If I can do that, we plan on trying to win 20-something races, just like we normally do. We’ll be happy if we win 25 races. We’ll be tickled to death.”
Caldwell, who lives in Poteau, Okla., is the perennial leading owner at his home track, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, and has also topped the standings at Prairie Meadows in Iowa. Caldwell won his first race at Oaklawn in 2008.
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