Louie was a true racetracker. He picked the occasional winner. He watched horses breeze with a keen eye. He knew absolutely everyone at Santa Anita Park's Clocker's Corner.
He was also a Labrador retriever.
Many horse trainers have dogs that accompany them on their morning rounds. But none was as ubiquitous as Louie from the Carla Gaines barn. For 14 years Louie strolled around Santa Anita and Del Mar, knowing just who to hit up for a dog biscuit.
He even knew when to ham it up. One morning in 2018, he managed to receive a biscuit from trainer John Sadler just as a photographer snapped a photo for a feature on Sadler in BloodHorse magazine. Another time a videographer recorded Louie splashing in the ocean after a set of tennis balls numbered to correspond with an upcoming race. For the record, Louie retrieved the winning number.
Sadly, a dog's life isn't as long as his human's, and Gaines lost her best friend in mid-October. She and Louie's many pals, human and equine, paid tribute to him after Santa Anita's fifth race Oct. 21, which was named "The Louie Gaines Race."
Santa Anita invited trainers to bring their dogs to the winner's circle. Alexis Barba and Steve Miyadi were among those who accompanied their canine companions, while other such as Sadler and Richard Mandella joined in sans pups.
"For 14 years, Santa Anita was Louie's home," Gaines said. "Clocker's Corner was his Disneyland, and he was the mayor of Santa Anita."
