Proscia Relishing The Wine Steward's Belmont Journey

Peter Proscia, whose Paradise Farms co-owns Belmont Stakes (G1) runner The Wine Steward, recalls buying the son of Vino Rosso. It was the 2023 Ocala Breeders' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, and trainer Mike Maker was on-site representing Proscia and partner David Staudacher. Proscia said there were about six horses in the sale that he and Staudacher had targeted. "Inevitably I'm the one that elbows Mike into going higher sometimes, and this one went a little higher than we expected but we liked the horse," Proscia said. Higher meant going from the planned ceiling of $295,000 to $340,000 for the colt consigned by Sequel Bloodstock. "Peter asked, 'What are the must-haves?' and he was one of them and (Peter) wasn't stopping," Maker recalled. That was a bit of a different approach for Proscia, who got into the industry after attending a 1989 seminar for new horse owners in New York. It was there that he met his first partner and they claimed their first horses. It was Maker, from whom Proscia claimed a horse about six years ago, that connected Proscia with Staudacher. Proscia's Paradise Farms has had numerous partnerships but none has been as fruitful as the one with Staudacher. Together, they've owned grade 2 winners Special Reserve and Temple, grade 3 winners Lady Scarlet and Sugoi, as well as Barese and Me and Mr C. Most of those runners were trained by Maker. "They take the good and the bad, great guys. Passionate about the sport, and really understand the ups and downs of the game," said Maker of Proscia and Staudacher. In 2021, Special Reserve won the the Phoenix Stakes (G2) and Maryland Sprint Match Series Stakes (G3), finished second in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1), and was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). "We've had quite a big run together the last few years," Proscia said. "We look for the same type of horses; we're numbers guys. We're looking at numbers, we watch the replays. … Dave and I have our own horses that we may claim but for the most part, I would say we're 90% in on every horse we have in the barn." Proscia's approach to ownership has evolved. "Traditionally, a claiming owner. We claimed many horses over the years and we have the criteria we deal with that we discussed with Mike. He was on board with it and that was probably 80%, maybe 85% at the time," Proscia said. He said when they started going to the 2-year-old sales and had success there, they moved to about 70% of their stock being claimers. "More recently, we've got more involved in some of the younger horses and I'd say now it's maybe down to 60% claiming, 40% 2-year-olds and developing horses," Proscia said. One of those 2-year-olds nearly gave Proscia and Staudacher another Breeders' Cup participant last year. The Wine Steward's 2-year-old campaign got off to a great start with three straight wins out of the gate and a second in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. Set to start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita Park, an allergic reaction led to The Wine Steward being scratched the morning of the race. It was an issue that flared up earlier this year at Gulfstream Park, but one that Maker said has been resolved. Now with a pair of seconds this year—the Lexington Stakes (G3) and Peter Pan Stakes (G3)—the colt is ready for a bigger challenge on the biggest day of racing in his home state. Proscia praised Maker and his team for putting The Wine Steward in this position. "This is the ultimate. And since I'm from New York and it's the Belmont Stakes, albeit in Saratoga, it's really going to be a great experience regardless of what the result is. So I think we're ambitious, we're a bit optimistic and looking forward to the experience," Proscia said.