Dale Romans: ‘It’s time for the Baby Invasion to start’

“We’re getting ready to head to Two-Year-Old Town.”

That’s what trainer Dale Romans calls Ellis Park, which begins its race meet July 1 and where for years he has run most of his 2-year-olds in the summer. The track’s “baby races” no longer rank among racing’s best-kept secrets. The parade of stakes horses coming out of Ellis races has caught the attention of trainers, owners and horseplayers.

Purses in maiden races are a record $42,000 for Kentucky-breds, which account for the vast majority of horses at the track. Ellis again will stage a pair of $75,000 2-year-old stakes on Aug. 19: the Ellis Park Juvenile and Debutante at seven furlongs.

“It’s time for the Baby Invasion to start, and I’ve got a bunch to unleash at Ellis Park,” Romans said. “I won’t take a maiden 2-year-old to Saratoga. If they’re any good, nobody is going to care where they broke their maiden. If they aren’t any good, they’re not going to win at Saratoga anyway.”

Ellis Park’s reputation is growing as the economical alternative to the expense of shipping to upstate New York, with the higher costs of living expenses and running horses at Saratoga’s elite summer meet.

“We have taken in the Dale Romans Kool-Aid,” said Jeff Lifson, head of West Point Thoroughbreds’ Midwest division. “We have a horse that is almost at $200,000 in purses, stakes-placed, just won a (second-level) allowance race at Churchill in powerful fashion and is going on to another stakes — and was an Ellis Park starter last summer.”

That’s Seven Trumpets. He finished fifth in his debut at Ellis Park and in his next start gave Romans a tie with Bill Mott for Churchill Downs’ all-time win lead at 701, a title Romans now holds outright.

“You’ve got to be disciplined to not take your 2-year-olds to Saratoga and puff your chest out,” Lifson said. “But how would you like to puff your chest out at Breeders’ Cup time? Derby time? We love Ellis. The purses have gotten better. And I went up there last year for a $10,000 claimer. I could not believe the transformation of the place from the last time I was there, about nine or 10 years ago. It’s really fan-friendly up there. It’s the best of a summer, county fair-type feel.”

The Romans-trained Brody’s Cause finished eighth in his 2015 racing debut at Ellis Park but went on to win Keeneland’s Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Toyota Blue Grass. Also from the Romans barn, Keen Ice lost his 2-year-old debut at Ellis but the next year defeated Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in Saratoga’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes. Not This Time won at Ellis by 10 lengths in his second race in 2016, then captured Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Iroquois before losing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by only a neck.

Storied Claiborne Farm plans to run some of its impeccably-bred 2-year-olds at Ellis.

“You don’t have to go to Saratoga to run a 2-year-old anymore,” said Claiborne president Walker Hancock. “You can stay home and hopefully make some money at Ellis…. The purses are good and the track is safe. We’re looking forward to running there. We like running in Kentucky. We’re Kentucky people, and it definitely saves on costs. It’s a great place to start a horse, get a race in them and see what they can do at Keeneland or Churchill after a good start at Ellis. The boost in purses certainly helps. Training bills are expensive, and it’s hard enough just to break even. It helps make things work.”

Ellis launched 236 graded winners, 37 Grade 1 winners past 20 years

We know that a lot of horses who race at Ellis Park go on to to win graded stakes and do well in Grade 1 races. But what are the numbers?

Thanks to Equibase, official industry data-keeper, we have some stats. Equibase computed how many horses that ran at Ellis Park later won a graded stakes, and how many were in the top three in a Grade 1 event. Equibase also broke the numbers down by age, so we can tell how many Ellis-raced 2-year-olds have gone on to do well in America’s top races.

Since the 1998 meet, 236 Ellis-raced horses have subsequently won at least one Grade 1, 2 or 3 race. A total of 102 horses that ran at Ellis Park went on to finish in the top three in a Grade 1 stakes. Thirty-seven of those won at least one Grade 1 race.

The numbers back up Ellis Park’s burgeoning reputation as a great place to race 2-year-olds with a future. Eighteen of those 37 Ellis-raced horses who went on to win at least one Grade 1 the past 20 years ran at Ellis as a 2-year-old. At total of 107 horses that ran at Ellis at age 2 went on to win a graded stakes since 1998.

Horse, age at Ellis, eventual Grade 1 victories

(2-year-olds in bold face)

Brody’s Cause, 2, 2015 Breeders’ Futurity, 2016 Blue Grass,

Bullards Alley, 3, 2017 Canadian International

Caressing, 2, 2000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies

Cat Thief, 2, 1999 Swaps, Breeders’ Cup Classic

CS Silk, 4, 2017 Just a Game

Daddys Lil Darling, 2, 2017 American Oaks

Dominican, 2, 2007 Blue Grass

Dream Empress, 2, 2008 Alcibiades

Footlights, 3, NY Turf Writers Steeplechase

Golden Missile, 3, 2000 Pimlico Special

Groupie Doll, 3, 2012-13 Breeders’ Cup F&M Sprint, 2012 Humana Distaff, Madison

Gun Salute, 2, 2005 Secretariat

Hard Buck, 4, 2006 Gulfstream Park Handicap

Here Comes Ben, 3, 2010 Forego

Java’s War, 3, 2013 Blue Grass

Keen Ice, 2, 2015 Travers

Last Full Measure, 3, 2013 Madison

Lawyer Ron, 2, 2007 Woodward, Whitney

Littlebitofjoy, 2, 2014-16 Perak Derby (Malaysia)

Mayo On the Side, 4, 2004 Humana Distaff

Molly Morgan, 5, 2015 La Troienne

My Trusty Cat, 4, 2005 Humana Distaff

Noble’s Promise, 2, 2009 Breeders’ Futurity

On Fire Baby, 2, 2013 Apple Blossom, 2014 La Troienne

Outofthebox, 2, 2001 Super Derby

Personal Diary, 2, 2014 Del Mar Oaks

Precious Kitten, 3, 2007 Matriarch, 2008 Gamely

Pure Clan, 2, 2008 American Oaks, 2009 Flower Bowl

Pure Fun, 2, 2012 Hollywood Starlet

Request for Parole, 2, 2004 United Nations

Romantic Vision, 4, 2017 Spinster

Rosalind, 2, 2014 Ashland

Run Happy, 3, 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, King’s Bishop, Malibu

Sister Act, 3, 1999 Hempstead

Swift Temper, 4, 2009 Ruffian

Turallure, 3, 2011 Woodbine Mile

Var, 4, 2004 Prix de l’Abbaye