Randy Bradshaw
* Born in Wyoming
* Moved to Utah at a young age
* At age 11, started galloping horses
* Won his first race as a jockey
* Joined the military and did a stint in Vietnam
* The first successful horse he trained was Petro D. Jay
* Currently resides in Williston, Florida
* Occupation: Horse trainer
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What is your own personal most exciting moment in racing so far?
One of my favorite moments is when my horse Petro D. Jay equaled the world record at Paradise. I was a young guy, about 23 years old, and never thought of having a horse that was that good. So that was one of the early highlights. I look at highlights of my career as horses that I've had that I've really enjoyed being around, and one was Family Style. She was a champion filly and we had a horse called On the Line, and he was one of my favorites, too. Just one of those hard knocking horses; he was never one of the soundest horses, but I'll tell you, he was such a good horse. One of my other favorite moments, was I got beat a nose in the Oaklawn Park Handicap-a horse called Red Attack, and I had a lot of fun with that horse. He got hit in the face with a whip around the sixteenth pole, and it kind of set him up, but came back and lost by a nose. They ran a mile and an eighth in 1:46 and change, and I believe it's still the track record there. Overall, I had a lot of fond memories, and I think my fondest memories are of the people I met in the business, along with the horses. But you meet some great people, and I really enjoy the camaraderie and the people I've met as much as anything.
What's the most difficult thing about the horse business?
The hardest part is probably just keeping horses sound. Not so much for me, but overall, because soundness has become such an issue, and if horses stay sound, they can make a lot of money. There's enough purse money out there, and it seems like the longevity of these horses has gotten less and less. In fact, when I first started training horses a long time ago, they seemed to be a little sounder. So I think the hardest thing for a trainer or owners is just the frustration that horses don't stay around very long, or you can't keep them sound for a long enough period where you can make some money and enjoy them.
Do you have any strange superstitions when it comes to training a horse?
When I was training horses at the racetrack, I had this deal with ties. I remember one time I was at Arlington Park and I walked into the racing office and Richard Duchossois's son-in-law had on a real pretty teal blue tie, and I go, "Man, that's a beautiful tie-I wish I had one of those," and he took it off and gave it to me. And I won about five stakes at Arlington Park that summer wearing that tie. So it's just those kind of things. In the horse business, most people are a little bit superstitious. I still have that tie to this day, and it's about thirty years old.
Have you found any other lucky ties over the years?
Not like that one!
Was there a specific moment you felt you "made it" in the horse business?
Probably when I went to work full-time for Wayne Lucas, breaking horses. When I made it that far, I figured I was at the top. We had so many good horses, and the fact that you get up every day with a lot of confidence that you're going to do well, and you're going to have good meets and stuff like that. So when I made it with Wayne, I figured that was as high as I was going to go, but I actually ended up doing very well on my own.
Describe your typical workday.
I'm usually awake at 4 o'clock in the morning. My interior clock is just set at 4 o'clock, so I'm awake at 4, get up about 4:30, take a shower, and I usually sit down and have a cup of coffee. Then I turn my computer on and get on the basketball blog boards - I love college basketball. Arizona has been my favorite team for a long time, so I go on the blog boards and see what's going on with them. I like Kentucky, I like Louisville - one of my clients is Rick Pitino who coaches the Louisville Cardinals, so I keep in touch with Rick and break a few babies now and then. But that's my second passion - basketball. I live right on the farm, so generally, I have coffee, go into work and start our day. We have about eight or ten sets of horses a day and generally we'll break 65-85 yearlings a year, and my deal is just being patient and doing the right thing everyday, and making sure the horse is happy and moving forward, and hopefully giving them a chance to be great horses. Nobody knows where a really good horse is going to come from. They could come from pedigrees that are kind of nondescript, sometimes, so you never know-you have to treat them all the same, be very patient, and give them time to develop. People always ask me if I miss the racetrack, and I don't particularly, because when you get to watch these young horses go out and have success, you get a lot of satisfaction out of it, knowing that we did a good job to give that horse his basic fundamentals, and hopefully made him a better horse so he could compete with top competition.
What advice would you give to an aspiring trainer?
Don't get in a hurry. It takes a long time to get there and earn a reputation. There's got to be some luck involved. I look at a guy like Chad Brown, and the thing about Chad is he's a very astute, very smart young man, and the thing was - he won a Breeder's Cup. Who knows how long it would take a guy like Chad Brown if you don't all of a sudden get a horse that wins a Breeder's Cup. You need that nationalattention you'd get from your name being in the racing form everyday, or winning races somewhere. It takes time, and it's not something that happens overnight. Just be patient with your career, with your horses, and have a little bit of luck, and in the end maybe you'll make it. It's not easy.
What has been your impression of Hidden Brook thus far?
I've never met a better bunch of guys, and more loyal, and also more upfront and honest. You won't get a more honest group of people who will give you an opinion of what they think and believe in it one hundred percent. I just enjoy my association with them. They're very good friends, and every time we run a horse, I root for Hidden Brook, because nobody works harder or does a better job than they do.
What is your favorite Racetrack to visit?
I guess overall I would probably say Santa Anita. I think in the morning when you get up and you get to look at those mountains everyday and train at Santa Anita, I don't know if it gets any better. I love Saratoga, and I love Oaklawn Park and Keeneland, but if I had to pick one, it'd be Santa Anita.
If there was one horse from history you could bring back to life and see race today, who would it be?
I would probably say my old sprinter, Petro D. Jay. Just because he was the horse that really kind of helped me get started, and he's probably the fastest horse that maybe ever looked through a bridle. He was a tremendously fast horse, and he just took me a lot of places, had a lot of fun. I made a pony out of him. After his racing days were over, I rode him all the time at the racetrack. He made a great pony, and just one of those great horses you get in life, no doubt.
What about a horse that you didn't train?
I would probably say Seattle Slew. His race in the Jockey Club Gold Cup when he put away Affirmed. They ran in the mud that day, and the time was tremendously fast. It was just a tremendous race. Exceller came from thirty lengths off the pace and hooked him at about the three-sixteenths pole, and they went head-to-head to the wire. I'd say that's one of my favorite races that I can remember, so I'd take Slew.
We saw you had a consignment at the recently concluded Ocala Breeders Two Year Olds in Training Sale-is this a new pinhooking venture for your enterprise, and were you pleased with the results?
It is kind of a new enterprise-we started last year with one of my clients from Oklahoma City-Everett Dobson. So we just got together and bought a few horses last year, and this year I've got a few more for a different client and myself. With what we do-because we break young horses and send them out-you have them from about October through about the end of April, so from that point on, you don't have a lot of income. So if you buy a few horses and sell a few at sales we always figured it would help us get through the Summer months, and it sure does. We thought the sale was very successful. We had three in, and we sold all three, and made money on all three, so if you could do that, I think that's a real plus.
Thank you, Randy Bradshaw, for giving up a few minutes of your time Inside the Winner's Circle.
