ARCADIA, CA–With horses shipping into their backyard from all over the world this week to take them on in the 36th Breeders' Cup, Doug O'Neill and his fellow Southern California trainers might feel some extra pressure to hold their own and fly the flag for their home circuit.
But Santa Anita, in particular, has been under siege from a different type of threat this year, one much more existential: a constant swarm of animal rights protesters seizing on the dozens of fatalities the track has dealt with going back to the winter to push for the banishment of horse racing. That's why O'Neill and an array of other horsemen have taken to the streets themselves, in a series of counter-protests or “celebrations”, as O'Neill calls them, to tell racing's side of the story.
“Our barn has been pretty involved in the counter rallies at Santa Anita and at Del Mar,” O'Neill said. “After being paralyzed for months from the media only hearing from a small group of extremists, we, along with [organizer and spokesperson] Oscar De La Torre, started the 'celebrations' to have a voice and share our passion for our horses and jobs. The crowds have been growing and they have been great to be part of.”
One key to the early success of these rallies has been the strong and consistent presence of Santa Anita's backstretch workers. The willingness to show up by some of the most vulnerable and most hands-on members of the racing community has lent the movement grassroots credibility, forming a more sympathetic, working-class image of the sport in contrast to its blue-blooded stereotypes.
“I think having people from all different aspects of our sport represented at the counter rallies has been great,” O'Neill said. “It's been really nice meeting new people that all share the same love of horses and the sport. It's important to know that there are 77,000 of us, up and down California, that have chosen working alongside racehorses for a living.”
Another major factor contributing to the crisis racing finds itself in is the accelerating effect of social media. Organization and outreach has become infinitely easier, something O'Neill knows. His barn has been at the forefront of racing's belated but unmistakable movement into the modern media landscape, with a significant presence on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
“Sharla Sanders, my barn office assistant and head of our social media, does a wonderful job sharing our barn news with friends and family who follow our team,” O'Neill said. “It's all a tad over my head, but it's the way of the world.”
And then, of course, there are the horses–O'Neill's stable has a pair of contenders in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and two more in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. In the former race, he sends out Comical (Into Mischief) and Lazy Daisy (Paynter), each of whom shipped across the country to conquer graded stakes this summer.
“Both Lazy Daisy and Comical really act older than their 2-year-old ages,” O'Neill said. “Both are not only mature, but versatile as well. They both are tremendously talented.”
In the Turf Sprint, O'Neill saddles longshots Stubbins (Morning Line) and Legends of War (Scat Daddy), each of whom upset graded stakes in Kentucky last out–Stubbins in the GII Woodford S. Oct. 5 at Keeneland and Legends of War in the GIII Franklin-Simpson S. Sept. 12 at Kentucky Downs. The runner-up that day? Stubbins.
“Both Stubbins and Legends of War went east really fit and ready to go,” O'Neill said. “Both got great trips and ran their 'A' races. They both are acting like they can repeat that this Saturday, so we're praying for a dead heat.”
In the end though, this Breeders' Cup is about much more than the individual results. The precariousness of the sport's position and public image is undeniable. Nobody knows it more than the horsemen of Southern California, and whatever happens, horse racing will continue to need its own form of activism to advocate for itself, which is where O'Neill and others have stepped in.
“This year's Breeders' Cup is probably the most important in its history because of the current state of affairs in the media regarding our sport,” O'Neill said. “I think our sport can do lots better in educating the novice race fan and the avid horse lover of how revered and loved the racehorse is. I'd like to think that the little part I'm doing will result in the start of more positive coverage of our great sport.”
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