Brown on the Green Proves Tough at Saratoga

Except perhaps for a couple of guys preparing to be inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame, nobody had more fun at Saratoga this past weekend than trainer Chad Brown, who collected eight victories at The Spa Aug. 5-7. Having proven himself a prolific winner of turf races, summer is Brown’s season to shine, and Saratoga, just up I-87 from his hometown of Mechanicville, N.Y., is the place to do it.

Still in his first decade as a head trainer, the former Bobby Frankel assistant has attracted clientele because of his association with the late Hall of Fame conditioner; because of his Cornell University education and the intelligence he’s displayed running his operation; and because of his ability to win races. Big races.

Since 2013, Brown has been in the trifecta of leading North American trainers by earnings, along with Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert. He has finished second behind Pletcher the past two years in that category, and has also rounded out the exacta behind Pletcher in the Saratoga standings several years running.

Heady stuff for the 37-year-old, but although he wouldn’t admit it publically, there are a couple of items he’d love to fill in on his résumé. An Eclipse Award has yet to come his way, although Brown’s five Breeders’ Cup World Championships victories over the past two years have outpaced every other trainer. And there is that Saratoga meet title, which would be sweet for Brown, who grew up going to the races there with his father, sitting out in the picnic area just beyond the saddling paddock.

Brown has been a victim of the numbers game more than anything else. Pletcher, the more established of the two, has enjoyed more starters and more stakes victories over the past several years. In 2013, for example, he had 946 starters overall to Brown’s 543. Last season it was 1,124-768. And through Aug. 7 of this year, Pletcher horses have started 772 times to Brown’s 416.

But through the first two weeks at the Spa this year, Brown and Pletcher have both sent out 62 runners, and Brown has taken an 18-13 lead in wins. His 25% strike rate there outpaces Pletcher’s 23%. Between Brown’s turf runners and Pletcher’s specialty of 2-year-olds, the meet plays to the strengths of both. Pletcher has won six consecutive training titles at Saratoga.

Brown showed why he is so formidable this time of year, winning the Aug. 5 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (gr. IIT) with Camelot Kitten, and the Aug. 6 Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes with Shining Copper and the Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (gr. IIIT) with Guapaza. With a growing string of clients who include Ken and Sarah Ramsey, Sheep Pond Partners and Pete Bradley, Martin Schwartz, Don Alberto Stable, and William H. Lawrence and Klaravich Stables, Brown is still playing catch-up in terms of sheer numbers while narrowing the quality gap with Pletcher.

"There are so many things that have to go your way," said Brown. "We have a great team, and we've gotten good weather and racing luck. A lot of things have gone our way."

It should be a race worth watching.