Brown Plays Waiting Game With Stable Stars

Trainers can be creatures of habit who fervently stick with their formula of success.

For Chad Brown, the early days of spring have been the time when he leaves Florida and returns home, a spot which is now Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Most of the trainer's stable, one of the largest in the industry, will also leave Florida and head north, some to Keeneland and others to race at Aqueduct Racetrack before Belmont Park becomes the center of the stable's operations.

Yet in a world of social distancing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown's barn is no different from virtually every other stable in the industry that has been forced to shelve their time-honored playbooks.

Instead of being home and making occasional trips Keeneland for major stakes or celebrating at Don Peppe restaurant after a big win at Aqueduct, he's still in Florida, away from his family as he oversees the day-to-day operation of his stable and staff at Palm Meadows and Payson Park.

"I could go back to New York, but once I get back, I probably can't leave," said Brown, the winner of the last four Eclipse Awards as North America's top trainer. "It's been difficult and I'm sure there's a lot of people in the same boat, so I don't want to complain about it. My two daughters are there (in New York) and I miss them but I don't want to leave my horses and staff behind. So I'm here in Florida and I have to serve my clients who have entrusted me and my team with so many good horses and such a great investment in those horses. I need to give them real-time information about their horses. They deserve that."

Brown typically gives most of the stable's stars time off during the winter and then starts some of those campaigns at Keeneland. But now, with Keeneland's spring meet canceled, racing in New York suspended, and Brown's plans to race a string at Churchill Downs during the spring/summer meet on hold, the 41-year-old trainer is facing the prospect of having a few grade 1 winners ready to race with nowhere to run.

"This has impacted us tremendously with the major meets that have been canceled. We have a lot of horses ready to go, from promising maidens to grade 1 horses on turf and dirt, and I know we're not alone in that position," Brown said. "We're taking it day-by-day and week-by-week."

In particular, grade 1 turf winners Rushing Fall, Newspaperofrecord, and Raging Bull would have been in action at Keeneland, but now they are locked in a waiting game with no graded stakes at Gulfstream Park until September and Oaklawn Park lacking a turf course.

"They were all ready and I had to hit the brakes on working them every week," Brown said about the trio.

Some of his other stars were targeting May races, a group that includes 2019 female turf champion Uni, Alabama Stakes (G1) winner Dunbar Road, and multiple grade 1 winner Guarana.

"Uni needed extra time but she's up to some half-mile (works) now," said Brown, who set a North American record with earnings of $31.1 million last year and has lifetime earnings of $181.2 million. "Guarana is getting there and she was not going to be ready until the first week in May, just like Dunbar Road and Uni."

Sistercharlie, the champion turf female of 2018, multiple grade 1 winner Cambier Parc, and 2019 Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) winner Annals of Time are behind them in terms of working toward their 2020 debuts, giving Brown more time to find spots for them.

"Sistercharlie wasn't ready to run as soon as the others," Brown said. "She got a late entry back to our barn and will need some extra time to get over some things. Cambier Parc needed some extra time. Annals of Time only had his first work (April 4), so nothing will change with them."

They are far from being alone with black-type next to their name in Brown's barn, putting the trainer in the difficult spot of having to weigh all of the uncertainty about when racing will resume across the nation and deciding on the proper course of action for each horse, the stable in general, a large number of workers, and his owners.

"I'll keep going with (the grade 1 winners). I don't think sending them to the farm will work for them," Brown said. "I want to keep the stable intact. I don't want to overreact to the situation. I understand the seriousness of it, but I don't want to be reactionary to it and set off a chain reaction of outcomes that could have been avoided with some patience. 

"For the owners, for the most part, it's like us, there's some frustration but also an understanding. I wish I had some information for them, but they know this is a unprecedented situation and we're trying to get through it as a team."

The situation is different for the maidens and allowance runners in Brown's barn, who can race at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. While Brown had only one starter at the 2019 spring/summer meet at Gulfstream Park, he already has 11 at this year's meet, with three winners, all in maiden races.

Included in that trio of winners are Peter Brant and Three Chimneys Farm's Candy Machine, a 3-year-old son of Candy Ride  who captured his second start while racing around two turns for the first time; Mister Winston, a 3-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  owned by Brant and fellow Connecticut resident Robert LaPenta who won at first asking; and another debut winner in Pick Five Racing's Saratoga Affair, a Paynter  filly.

Reflective of the talent and regal bloodlines in Brown's barn, which in a different year could have been on display in Kentucky and New York, during the final day of Gulfstream Park's Championship Meet, Brown sent out Center Aisle, a 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief  bought for $1.5 million by owner Larry Best's OXO Equine at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. She prevailed by 3 3/4 lengths in her March 29 debut at 3-5 odds.

Farther north, Brown currently has about 30 horses in New York, where he has been the circuit's leading trainer for the last five years. While he could have moved them to Florida, he elected to keep them at Belmont Park and wait for racing to resume.

Opening day at Belmont Park is currently slated for April 24, though it is highly likely to be pushed back into May, at the earliest.

"I'm going to dig in and stay so we're ready when the smoke clears and they can resume racing," Brown said.

Brown is also grateful for the communication he has received from New York Racing Association officials during a difficult time for everyone.

"NYRA is in the most challenging position of anyone in the country because of their location (as an epicenter of the pandemic)," he said. "They have showed great leadership and have been in communication with me. (Senior vice president of racing operations) Martin Panza has called me weekly.

"Yes, there's limited information out there, but at least they are doing the very best they can and they are providing the very best environment for my staff there. They are on top of it. They are communicating very well at a time when there's a moving target every day.

"I would like to see them race. With no fans in the building it's not that dangerous. They just have to design a mask for jockeys and gate crew members. But given the circumstances, at least allowing horses to train and providing a good environment to train in is key, and my clients and I appreciate their leadership at NYRA. They are business partners with the horsemen and they are doing their very best to get open as early as they can. I'm confident that with their leadership, when there's a safe opportunity to resume they will."

When the timing becomes right for NYRA to race again is still a mystery at a moment in time that's shrouded in uncertainty and is a formidable test for the skills set of trainers at the top and bottom of the standings.

"The uncertainty is the hardest part, but I understand it," Brown said. "We have to put everyone's health first and I fully support that. It's not easy for anyone. I don't care where you live or what industry you are in. Everyone is facing challenges. We're trying to take care of all of our staff, our horses and clients, and weather the storm and get through it."