Don’t
look now Danny Gill but Bob Lounsbury is closing in on you and is just three
training wins behind.
Yesterday
( Dec. 3) at Monticello Raceway Lounsbury sent out seven horses and finished
with four wins and two seconds and now has 179 winners for the meeting,
just three wins shy of Gill’s 182. Gill’s assistants sent out two
because he wasn’t here. He’s on vacation in Florida at Disney World. However,
both came up empty.
Gill
and Lounsbury are friendly enemies and each jibes the other when one of their
horses win.
“He
might out-train me but I‘ll out-start him,” Gill says with tongue in cheek
“I’(ve)got a bigger stable than he does.”
And
Lounsbury loves to taunt back. “I’m gonna get you Danny,” he says after one of
his horses wins a race.
Yesterday
after his four winners Lounsbury was extremely loquacious. “I can hear him
screaming all the way from Disney World. I feel sorry for him because while
he’s there I’m going to take over the lead,” Lounsbury chirped.
Of
course their words to one another are said jest but both have an overwhelming
desire to win races. And both are masters at their trade.
Last
season Gill won the training title with 118 winners while Lounsbury finished
with fourth with 80 winners. Gill’s horses started 525 times to Lounsbury’s 346
which gives credence to Gill’s statement about out-starting Lounsbury.
Both
trainers basically race claiming horses and each has had many multiple winners
this season. Gill’s tops has been the veteran pacer Haroun Hanover who
has won 20 times while in his barn and Lounsbury’s tops, the inimitable
Tracy’s Song, with 21 wins, still leads North America in victories
although she was recently tied by 14 year old Anvil Raider N. The 8 year
old mare was cited as Horse of the Year by the local scribes at the
recently completed 54th Annual Awards Banquet of the Monticello-Goshen Chapter
USHWA.
Lounsbury,
also a professional surveyor, has a great attitude when it comes to
racing horses.
When
I have a horse in my barn that can’t win in his class after a few tries I drop
him down. And if he still doesn’t win he’s out (of my barn),” he says. And this
year I lucky to have owners that have the same perspective. Winning is the name
of the game”
Nancy
Fugere has been with Lounsbury a few years now and is the owner of Tracys Song
who set a Monticello Raceway track record of 18 consecutive wins this season.
“She
raced real hard this year and soared up so we stopped with her a few months ago
and turned her out for a while. When we brought her back she still wasn’t
herself and Bob said we won’t race her if she not right. So we sent her to Blue
Chip Farms to be bred to Roll With Joe.
In
mid-summer Fugere, on Lounsbury’s recommendation, purchased another pacer for
$4000 by the name of Hickory Louie who was racing for at Pocono Downs without
much success. But once in Lounsbry’s barn the pacers fortunes have turned.
“He
just won for the 12th time since the summer and with her two $4000 horses
(Tracys Song was also a $4000 purchase) they earned her over $80,000 this year
alone,” Lounsbury said proudly.
Lounsbury
is also compassionate. Last year local trainer Julie Wurking was down on her
luck and didn’t know where to turn so Lounsbury gave her a horse he owned
by the name of Edie’s Desire. That mare was a 19 timwe winner in 2011 and
a 7-time winner in 2012 still Lounsbury felt the pain and hardship that
Wurking was enduring and out and out gave Edies Desire to Julie. And nobody
felt better than Lounsbury when Edies Desire won nine times this year and
earned over $24,000 in purses for Julie Wurking and her husband Tony.
“Some
people say I’m crazy, and they may be right, but what’s wrong with helping
someone when they ‘re down on their luck, ” he said.
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