Pleasure and business overlap on a regular basis at Kevin and Emily Rice’s Critter Hill South Farm in Williston, about 25 miles northwest of Ocala.
The couple’s daughter Baylee, 8, and son Waylon, 5, ride their miniature ponies after school, with Dad joining them on one of his horses when time allows. “We’ll just tack up and ride around the farm between school and work,” Kevin said.
The kids are also responsible for a variety of pets, including a parrot, a potbellied pig, geese, ducks, turtles, goldfish, guinea pigs, cats and dogs and any toads or lizards Waylon happens to bring home. “My wife’s farm in Pennsylvania, where we live half the year, is named Critter Hill, and we have all kinds of farm animals there for the kids,” Dad said.
Often enough, as with most members of the Thoroughbred community, business comes first, but it hasn’t seemed as much like work this season at Tampa Bay Downs. With 15 winners from 87 starters, Rice has been selected as the Mother’s Restaurant Trainer of the Month.
The 35-year-old Rice races each spring, summer and early fall at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., where he finished third last year with 36 winners. He decided to enlarge his operation in Oldsmar after winning only four races from 50 starters here last season.
Rice has about 20 Thoroughbreds in Oldsmar and another 20 or so at Critter Hill South, where he handles most of the exercising and galloping.
“A few of my clients worked with me to make adjustments, and the horses we brought from Presque Isle to Tampa seem to do well here physically,” he said. “Tampa has a great surface, and it seems like most of the horses we brought have fit the program well.”
Rice also won three races from nine starts at Gulfstream’s Championship Meet, including the Sunshine Turf Stakes on Jan. 18 on the all-weather track with Ninja Star. The 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding finished fifth in Sunday’s Florida Cup ESMARK Turf Classic after experiencing some traffic problems early.
Rice comes by his involvement in racing naturally. He and his brother Adam, who trained at Fair Grounds this winter and conditions Grade I-placed multiple stakes-winning gelding Closethegame Sugar, are sons of trainer Wayne Rice, whose sister Linda Rice – Kevin and Adam’s aunt – is the all-time leading female trainer in North America with 2,593 winners.
The late Clyde Rice, Wayne and Linda’s dad, gave Kevin and Adam their first racehorses. Clyde Rice was a well-known figure at Tampa Bay Downs 25-plus years ago and trained Mongo Queen, who won the Grade I Sorority Stakes in 1978 at Monmouth. The jockey? None other than his then-16-year-old son Wayne.
Clyde’s late brother, Don Rice – Kevin and Adam’s great-uncle – won eight Tampa Bay Downs training titles over an 11-year span from 1994-95 through 2004-05.
Wife Emily is also part of the game as a jockeys’ agent and will handle the bookings at Presque Isle Downs for Israel Rodriguez and Walber Alencar.
His father’s influence on his career path gave Kevin a strong foundation when it comes to understanding horses. “I got the basics – keeping a horse healthy, happy and fit – but my father stressed that each one is different and you have to pay attention to figure them out,” Kevin said. ‘My father was all about getting horses fit and trying to make them use themselves properly. You want to make sure they’re getting something out of their training, teaching them good habits and correcting bad habits.”
Along the way, other mentors popped up. “I took little pieces from everybody I worked with. When I started at Presque Isle, I galloped horses for Lou Ruberto, worked for him in the barn and learned a lot. And I was on salary for Joe and Kitty Cheeks for a couple of years there. Kitty is Don Rice’s daughter, and I got a lot of first-hand experience.
“I was able to try a little of this and a little of that when I opened my own stable (in 2013) and see what worked best.”
Rice is hopeful he can parlay this season’s success into a longer-term plan of racing between Tampa Bay Downs and Presque Isle. He praises the contributions of Camryn Hooper, who oversees the string here when Kevin is at Critter Hill or saddling a horse at Gulfstream, and Brandon Marioth, whose duties include vanning runners to Gulfstream.
“Having a good crew is a big part of our success,” Rice said.
Looking ahead, Rice won’t be surprised if Baylee and Waylon gravitate toward racing as they get older. Their interest piqued last summer whenever Rodriguez or Alencar won a race at Presque Isle Downs and Emily, the agent, treated the kids to donuts and breakfast sausages.
“I think they’ll be involved, but we’ll leave it up to them,” Kevin said. “It’s great to see them want to ride, and they’re getting better on their ponies every time.”
The Rice family legacy appears to be in excellent hands.
Dubai simulcast schedule. On Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs will simulcast the last six races from the Dubai World Cup card at Meydan Racecourse for wagering purposes. Beginning at 10:20 a.m. (6:20 p.m. Dubai time), local fans will be able to bet on the $1.5-million Al Quoz Sprint; the $1-million UAE Derby; the $2-million Dubai Golden Shaheen; the $5-million Dubai Turf; the $6-million Dubai Sheema Classic; and the $12-million Dubai World Cup.
The Dubai World Cup is expected to go off around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. The headliner in the 12-horse field is Japanese star 4-year-old Forever Young, who will break from the No. 5 post under Ryusei Sakei. Forever Young, who won the Saudi Cup on Feb. 22 in his most recent start, has lost only twice from 10 starts: a third in last year’s Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and a third in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Toyota Blue Grass pushed to Tuesday due to weather. The first two days of racing at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., have been pushed back three days because of heavy rains and flood warnings throughout the state. The Opening Day card scheduled for today, featuring the Grade I, $750,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, has been moved to Monday and Saturday’s card, highlighted by the Grade I, $1.25-million Toyota Blue Grass for 3-year-olds – a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race – has been rescheduled for Tuesday.
The seven-horse Toyota Blue Grass field includes the 1-2 finishers in the Grade III Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 8, Owen Almighty and Chancer McPatrick.
Track officials will decide whether to conduct Sunday’s card after monitoring track conditions Saturday and Sunday.
A pair of “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points races remain on Saturday’s simulcast schedule. There are 12 3-year-old colts entered in the 100th running of the Grade II, $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino, which is the 12th race from Aqueduct.
Rodriguez, from the barn of trainer Bob Baffert and to be ridden by Mike Smith from the No. 1 post, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Leading Tampa Bay Downs jockey Samuel Marin will ride Statesman, a Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III trainee, who won twice at Tampa Bay Downs this season with Marin in the saddle. Statesman is 15-1 and will break from the No. 11 post.
The field also includes Hill Road, who finished third in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, and Omaha Omaha, a 30-1 longshot who will be ridden by former Tampa Bay Downs jockey Raul Mena.
McGaughey and Marin will also team up in the ninth race, the Grade III, $200,000 Gazelle Stakes for 3-year-olds, with Florida-bred Pure Beauty.
Also scheduled Saturday is the Grade I, $500,000 Santa Anita Derby. The five-horse field is headed by two-time Grade II winner Journalism and Citizen Bull, who won last fall’s FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
Around the oval. Samuel Marin will head to New York with a full head of steam after riding three winners today.
Marin won the third race on Betsylicious, a 4-year-old filly owned by GOP Racing Stable and trained by Gerard Ochoa. Marin added the sixth race aboard Grimes, a 5-year-old horse owned by Clinton Bagwandeen and trained by Renaldo Richards. He then won the seventh on the turf with Noble Factor, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Midnight Rider, LLC and trained by Darien Rodriguez.
Sonny Leon also rode two winners today. He captured the second race on Holy Coffee, a 4-year-old Florida-bred filly owned by San Francisco Group Stable and trained by Pedro R. Garcia. Holy Coffee was claimed from the race for $8,000 by trainer David VanWinkle for new owner Taylor Van Winkle.
Leon added the fourth on Globes, a 6-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Lima Horse Racing, LLC and trained by Pablo R. Torres.
Thoroughbred racing at the Oldsmar oval continues Saturday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:35 p.m. The top offerings include the sixth race, a $54,000, 6 ½-furlong allowance/optional claiming race for older fillies and mares; the seventh, a $53,000, 5-furlong turf sprint allowance for horses 4-years-old-and-upward; and the eighth, a $54,000, 7-furlong allowance/optional claiming event for horses 4-and-upward.
Tampa Bay Downs races Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and is open every day except April 20, Easter, for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.
