Albertrani Retires After Two Decades of Training

It was a bittersweet day April 6 for Tom Albertrani as he saddled New York-bred Sterling Silver  in the $600,000 Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, as it marks the end of his two-decade training career.

"I felt it's time now to take a little breather and take a break," Albertrani said.

Most famous for training 2006 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner and champion 3-year-old male Bernardini, Albertrani began his life in racing walking hots for his uncle Jack Abatemarco when he was just 13 years old with goals of becoming a jockey.

"My intention was always to be a jock," Albertrani said. "It was something I always wanted to pursue when I was a young teenager. Luckily, I had that opportunity to do it for a few years."

Albertrani, 66, rode in his first race Oct. 22, 1977 at The Meadowlands aboard Classy Rascal in a claiming race, finishing fourth. In March of the following year, he would enter the winner's circle for the first time at Suffolk Downs aboard Stack the Deck. Despite those two achievements happening in other states, Albertrani rode mostly in his home state of New York.

"For me, a kid growing up in Brooklyn, just to fulfill that goal was pretty rewarding," Albertrani said. "Just to be able to compete in the racing circuit in New York was a big privilege for me—to be on those types of horses and be competitive."

Albertrani described himself as "tall and lanky" and knew he would grow out of his riding career eventually. Riding his last race Dec. 20, 1982 at Aqueduct Racetrack, his career ended with 49 wins, 70 seconds, and 68 thirds out of 685 starts. His horses earned $531,410.

Albertrani switched to the role of assistant trainer for Mark Casse at Belmont Park. It was there that he was introduced to Bill Mott.

"Bill would always ship in a couple of his nice fillies and always asked me to gallop them while they were there for the big races," Albertrani said.

Casse left New York as Mott settled there, and Albertrani joined his team around 1985. As part of the Mott team, Albertrani got to ride many of his top horses in the morning, including the legendary Cigar.

"It was really great to be on a horse like him," Albertrani said. "My wife, Fonda, actually galloped him on a daily basis. I just had the opportunity to get on him every now and then. It was always a nice feeling to get on those types of horses."

His time with Cigar was cut short as he got the opportunity to head overseas and work as an assistant for Saeed bin Suroor and Godolphin in 1995, spending six months in Dubai and six months in England each year.

"To be around some of the best horses in the world was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up," Albertrani said.

Returning to the United States in 2003, Albertrani started his own training career and kept his relationship with Godolphin by training for its U.S. operation. It did not take long to adjust as he won with his second starter, Ashraaf, in a Belmont allowance on June 18. Within his first month of training, he saddled State City to finish third in the Tom Fool Handicap (G2) at Belmont.

It was a fantastic start to a career that would end with 624 wins, 636 seconds, and 623 thirds from 4,665 starts. Albertrani-trained horses took home $51,365,671 in earnings.

"We've had so many talented horses in the barn," Albertrani said. "It was unbelievable, it was a great career."

Among Albertrani's other top horses were grade 1 winners Sadler's Joy , Twilight Eclipse , Better Lucky , Brilliant Speed , Balletto , Gozzip Girl , and Zo Impressive .

The highlight of Albertrani's career came when his Darley-owned champion, Bernardini, won the 2006 Preakness, Travers Stakes (G1), and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

"He was such a talented horse," Albertrani said. "We saw the talent in him right away. He just got better and better and better. To be on that stage, winning the Preakness, was such a great opportunity."

Albertrani will miss the racing the most, but will stay involved in the industry through his New York-bred mare Itsakeyper . He plans to breed the mare that he trained, owned, and bred in partnership with Robert Masiello, hoping to make some trips to Saratoga to sell her foals.

In the meantime, Albertrani looks forward to spending more time visiting his daughters and maybe traveling to Europe.

"I'm just going to take a little breather and see how everything goes," he said.