Baltimore?s Michael Trombetta had one fine day at the races.
Trombetta, making his first appearance as a trainer in thoroughbred racing?s Triple Crown, had three horses who ran Saturday at Pimlico. He came home with two wins and a second-place finish in the Preakness.
Trombetta, a Kingsville resident and 1984 graduate of Perry Hall High School, has been involved in the racing industry for 20 years. “It is special. We are in the minority; most people never get this opportunity,” Trombetta said of racing in the Preakness.
“The support has been enormous,” said Trombetta, who had about thirty friends and family members at Pimlico. “It is cool. Every time you are at home you will feel more comfortable.”
Trombetta?s horse, Sweetnorthernsaint, ran to a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Kentucky Derby on May 6.
“The best horse won that day. There were a couple very nice horses in there, [Sweetnorthernsaint] and Brother Derek, that encountered a lot of trouble,” he said. “We had two weeks to get our game back together and come back here. It is not a big process; it is all about keeping our horses fresh and happy.”
Sweetnorthernsaint finished second to Bernardini. The win for Bernardini and the finish for Sweetnorthernsaint, owned by Baltimoreans Ted Theos and Joseph Balsamo, were overshadowed by the injury to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.
“My condolences to Barbaro?s guys,” Trombetta said. Barbaro fractured his right rear leg above and below the ankle less than 200 yards into the race.
“I am real pleased with my horse,” Trombetta said of Sweetnorthernsaint. Trombetta had Fleet Valid winning the Maryland Heritage Purse and Timely Bid winning the final race of the day.
“I took [Fleet Valid] to Kentucky,” Trombetta said. “He just had a fateful trip down there too, he should have won and didn?t. He came here today and turned it around.”
“[TimelyBid] might have a little chance. We are just trying to get him back in form. He slipped off form on me,” Trombetta said before his second win of the day. “We come down a peg and ran him a tad bit cheaper than he has been running and he came up huge.”
When asked if he would be taking any horses to Belmont on June 10, Trombetta said: “We will know in two weeks.”
