Phil Aristone

Back in mid-October, trainer John Kirby claimed a horse named Tricolour (Hard Spun) at Parx out of a $10,000 maiden claimer. Not everyone thought that was such a good idea. "The first time we ran him, the guys on TVG said, 'Who in their right mind would claim a horse that was 0-39?'" said Kirby, who is also the horse's owner. The answer: a smart trainer. Tricolour was on his way to becoming the sport's next Zippy Chippy (Compliance), who went winless in 100 career starts. Purchased for $140,000 at...

Turn the calendar back to February and Joe Taylor could not have been doing better. He had been the leading trainer at Parx Racing in 2019 and was again on top of the standings in 2020. Racing for lucrative, slots-infused purses, he won 107 races last year at Parx for earnings of $3,160,143. Now, he's just trying to stay in business. "My hope is that I can get myself into a situation where I'm just treading water, not making or losing money and can pay my bills," he said. "If...