A forecast of morning thunderstorms, high winds and temperatures dropping into the 60s didn’t faze Tampa Bay Downs trainer Jon Arnett.
“I checked the weather earlier, and it’s 19 degrees and snowing in Des Moines” (where his horses raced from May through September at Prairie Meadows), Arnett said. “And it was 37 degrees at Delta Downs” (in Vinton, Louisiana, where Arnett competed last winter).
New Mexico, where he raced for many years, is nicknamed the “Land of Enchantment.” But when he saw it was 32 degrees this morning at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M., Arnett was thankful to be back at Tampa Bay Downs, where he finished second in the trainer standings two years ago.
“If the horses keep running like this, I’m loving it,” said Arnett, who posted five victories and five seconds over a period of six racing days to win the Mother’s Restaurant Trainer of the Month Award. “I really enjoy the weather, and the people here are so friendly.”
Arnett has won three consecutive Prairie Meadows training titles and 19 titles overall in a 46-year career, but his enthusiasm and hunger are as strong as ever – as well as the inevitable anxiety that creeps in when the wins aren’t coming.
“I’ll tell you, we didn’t start quick here (0-for-13),” Arnett said, “but all of a sudden, we started turning it around last week. I think once most of our horses get a race over the track, it’s going to help a lot.”
Arnett, who trains for such owners as Danny Stafford, NBS Stable, William Guess and Charles Nielsen, has also been active at the claims box, acquiring four horses. His most expensive claim thus far is Rose View, a 3-year-old Florida-bred filly he purchased for $25,000 from a third-place finish on the turf on Dec. 4.
“My wife (Susan, also a trainer) and I get our forms every morning and sit and study the entries together, and when we’re done we discuss what we like,” Arnett said. “Most of the time, we’re looking to see if there are races coming back for the ones we want to claim.
“There are always a lot of good owners and good horses here, and I’ve noticed of you claim a horse here you can take it to Prairie Meadows in the summer and make a lot of money. So that’s one of our goals – to claim a few and be loaded in the summer – because if a horse can win at Tampa, they can win anywhere else in the country.”
Arnett carries on a legacy passed down by his late grandfather, Claude Arnett, and his late father, Bob Arnett, who won 2,431 races while capturing 11 consecutive training titles at Sunland Park in New Mexico. Young Jon, who was cleaning stalls and rolling bandages by the time he was 5 or 6, witnessed firsthand how his father took horses other trainers had given up on and won with them through patience and unspoken communication.
Arnett has trained 2,364 career winners and would like to pass his father’s mark. “It would just be nice. … back in New Mexico, anytime you talk about my dad, it’s like talking about a legend, like Gerry Bennett at this racetrack.”
Around the oval. Arnett’s lone victory today came in the second race with Suit Me Up Charlie, a 3-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Charles D. Nielsen and ridden by Antonio Gallardo. That was one of two victories for Gallardo, who added the third race aboard C Suite Boy, a 3-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Henry J. Nahal and William J. Ritz, III and trained by Gary Contessa.
C Suite Boy was claimed from the race for $25,000 by trainer Maria Bowersock for new owner Robert D. Bone.
Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:35 p.m. The first Sunday card of the meet is Dec. 22, with a special Christmas Eve card two days later.
Tampa Bay Downs will be closed on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, then begin a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule that includes New Year’s Day.
Florida-breds will be in the spotlight Saturday in a pair of $100,000 Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Stakes: the FTBOA City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old-and-upward and the FTBOA Marion County Florida Sire Stakes for colts and geldings 3-and-upward. Both races will be contested at a distance of 7 furlongs on the main track.
