Armed Brat didn’t seem to have much chance after losing his last his six starts by long margins. It didn’t look any better when shuffling back midway through the race.
But the son of one of Maryland’s most colorful riders broke his own maiden locally. Kyle Kaenel worked Army Brat between horses for a clear path with one-eighth mile remaining. Kaenel soon reached the Pimlico’s winner’s circle after nine runner-up finishes.
Maybe it wasn’t the 1982 Preakness Stakes his father “Cowboy” Jack Kaenel won at age 16 aboard Aloma’s Ruler that earned a trophy and a night on the town with Miss Preakness. However, Kyle Kaenel was glad to finally show Marylanders there’s some of his old man in the stirrups.
“You get enough seconds and people start commenting — ‘You can’t get one to the winner’s circle?’” Kaenel said. “It’s good to get that off me.”
Kyle Kaenel is only 18, but already sports enough miles and scars to resemble his father, who is now known more for his wanderlust and wild ways than the talent surrendered to the bottle.
The family name “Kaenel” proved a valuable entree when arriving on the Maryland circuit in April. Trainers remember the magic Jack Kaenel possessed as a teen.
After all, racing is a game of genetics. It’s not unusual for trainers and jockeys to be the third generation in the saddle or conditioning. Just like great stallions can produce standout offspring, so can horsemen. Indeed, Kyle’s aunt, Jill Kaenel, also rode.
“I’ve gotten a lot off my dad’s name,” Kaenel said. “You see people say, ‘Kaenel — we’ll give him a shot. His dad rode for me so we’ll see what [the son] can do.’ I say ‘Put me on and I’ll win for you.’ [Dad] set it up for me, but he also set it so high. Dad won the Preakness at 16. There’s ups and downs of it.”
Kaenel was in the saddle at one month old. He rode mule races at age 7 and bulls as a teen. When Kaenel was finally old enough to get his jockey’s license at 16, he left Kansas and a high school of 150 students for Churchill Downs, where Jill Kaenel worked.
It has been a diverse career. Kaenel has ridden in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Illinois, New York and Maryland in the past two years.
It started off so well. Kaenel dominated Turf Paradise with more than 100 victories and $70,000 in earnings while his friends were learning to drive a car.
“It was fun,” Kaenel said. “It was one of those things where I couldn’t do anything wrong. The horse could get stopped twice and still get up to win by a half length. I miss it. It’s always nice to be a big fish in a little pond.”
But racetrackers say you’re not a jockey until tasting the dirt and Kaenel was initiated in a near-fatal fashion. Kaenel was only a few days from leaving the Phoenix track for the more lucrative Chicago circuit when his horse suddenly veered left into the rail.
Kaenel landed in the infield with a broken back. Doctors said he wouldn’t ride for a year at the least. Maybe never.
Kaenel wore a halo brace for 4 1/2 months, but took long walks for conditioning. It was a scary time, but even scarier to think his career was done. Six months after injured, he was riding again.
“Here I was 16, quit school and sitting on the couch in a halo [neck brace],” he said. “I was more scared I wouldn’t be to get back on. Ninety-five percent of the riders say ‘If my career ended today what would I do?’ This is all they’ve known since 14. You start thinking if I can’t get back on what am I going to do?”
Kaenel decided to do what he loved most — find that adrenaline rush in the stretch. He worked the winter meeting in New York before coming to Pimlico. Maybe he’ll stay, maybe Delaware Park will beckon. Being the big rider in Arizona is a possibility once more.
“Horse racing is about turning the page,” Kaenel said. “I could see myself back in Arizona, not immediately, but maybe at the end of my career. It’s one of those tracks you can relax. The town is laid back. I don’t like the big cities.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
