Vaccarezza Starts Gofundme Campaign to Help Trainers

   In every crisis, it's possible to find examples of kindness and generosity, of people reaching out to help total strangers out of the goodness of their heart. To focus attention on the many people in the industry who have stepped forward to help those who have been impacted by the coronavirus, the TDN has launched a series that we hope will put a smile on your face during these difficult times. We'll do our best to bring you a little bit of good news every chance we get.

As the sport has tried to figure out how to get through the coronavirus, trainers have largely been forgotten. There's no need to worry about Todd Pletcher or Chad Brown, but what about the trainers with three horses? Owner-trainer Carlo Vaccarezza doesn't want them to be forgotten. And that is why he started a gofundme.com campaign geared toward helping South Florida trainers through these difficult times. He said the money will be used primarily for trainers in need to buy feed and shavings.

“At the very least, we can buy feed and we can buy shavings,” he said. “It is something trainers can take off their bottom line. That way they can focus on keeping their employees healthy and paying them.”

The South Florida racing circuit may not seem like the most appropriate place to start a fundraising campaign for trainers as Gulfstream is one of few tracks still racing and the winter home to some of the sport's most successful trainers.

But Vaccarezza , like many, is worried that racing at Gulfstream won't continue much longer and he wants to have something in place and ready to go, if there is a shutdown.

“It's not 100 percent sure, but I think it is inevitable that they will shut down racing here in South Florida,” he said. “I don't have any information whether they are going to keep running or not, but look at what happened yesterday with Santa Anita. If I had to guess, they made a deal with the authorities here to run through the Florida Derby and Sunday and then shut down. That's my personal opinion.”

But even if racing continues at Gulfstream, Vaccarezza believes some trainers will find themselves having a hard time staying afloat. There will be, he says, plenty of owners who can't pay their bills because they have lost their jobs or their businesses have had to shut down because of COVID-19.

“The biggest problem we have here is so many owners, and I'm not talking the Repoles or Violas or WinStars, but the middle of the road owners who have two, three horses, some of those people have lost their livelihoods,” he said. “Their restaurants are closed, their offices are closed or whatever business they own has had to close. They are suffering. I believe that if somebody has lost his livelihood and he has three, four kids, a wife, a mortgage payment, a car payment, the horses are not going to be their first priority. They will be scrambling just to feed their families and pay their bills and that means the trainer won't be paid.”

Vaccarezzo said there are many trainers in South Florida who train as a hobby and have small barns. If they don't get paid by owners or can't earn purse money, they will likely need help.

“I have heard from quite a few trainers,” he said. “People with three or four horses. They do it as a hobby and might have another job in the afternoons. These are the ones I am worried about. If this continues, there are going to be a lot of horses looking for a new home”

Vaccarezza has been impacted himself by coronavirus as he owns the restaurant Frank and Dino's, which is in Boca Raton, Florida. The restaurant is now open only for takeout food, but Vaccarezza said he will not have any problems weathering a slow period for his restaurant. His horses have shipped out of Gulfstream and are now at Keeneland. He has vowed not to lay off any of his backstretch help, no matter how long racing is shut down in Kentucky.

Vaccarezza made a small contribution to get his gofundme.com page running and says he will be making a more sizeable donation in the near future. He says that he has gotten commitments to donate from Gulfstream and from the Florida HBPA The goal of the fund is to raise $250,000.

“I'm not trying to be a hero,” he said. “I think this is a necessity. I just think this is the right thing to do. We have to put politics and personalities aside and focus on the well-being of the horses and make sure they are well taken care of. We must also look after the well-being of the help.”

To make a donation go to Vaccarezzo's gofundme page.

Do you know of anyone in racing who has stepped up during these trying times to help others? If so, we'd like to hear about to. Please contact Bill Finley at wnfinley@aol.com.