It appears as if 80 is the new 50 in Thoroughbred racing.
Check out the Kentucky Derby (G1). Amongst a collection of the best young and veteran trainers in the business, there's 89-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. A little less than a year removed from winning the Preakness Stakes (G1), he's taking aim at a fifth Kentucky Derby victory with American Promise.
Then there's the Kentucky Oaks (G1), where one of the top contenders and the leader in qualifying points is owned by 86-year-old John Ed Anthony of Shortleaf Stable.
An owner for more than 50 years and a winner of the Preakness Stakes twice and the Belmont Stakes (G1) once under his former banner of Loblolly Stable, Anthony hopes to capture the Kentucky Oaks for the first time with his homebred 3-year-old filly Quietside.
"It's a special race and this filly has given us a lot of pleasure," the Little Rock, Ark., resident said. "We are very excited, and a lot of people in Arkansas are as well. It's rewarding to see so many people identify with her."
Quietside, trained by John Ortiz, has already notched a piece of racing history for Anthony. In her last start, when she won the Fantasy Stakes (G2) at his home track of Oaklawn Park, the victory gave Anthony his record-breaking 40th stakes win at the Hot Springs, Ark., track.
"I had no idea they even keep records like that. I certainly don't," said Anthony, who also holds the record for wins at Oaklawn with nearly 300. "Racing is stimulating and enjoyable, or I wouldn't have done this for this long. Seeing the ambiance and thrill of a horse do the job that they are trained to do is still inspiring to me. I enjoy the sport as much today as I did 54 years ago when I started out. I just don't get out to the racetrack or backstretch as much as I used to."
From the mid-70s through the early 1990s, Anthony's Loblolly Stable was a top outfit, winning major races with horses like Vanlandingham, Cox's Ridge, Temperence Hill, Pine Bluff, and Prairie Bayou. But then Loblolly was dissolved because of a divorce, and several years later, Anthony started a new one named Shortleaf Stable.
There was moderate success until 2017, when trainer Brad Cox, who was introduced to Anthony by racing manager John Gasper, began compiling graded stakes wins once again for Anthony. After winning one graded stakes from 2000-16, Shortleaf has nine from 2017-25.
"(John Ed) is a very smart man and he's very business-driven and that makes him successful," said Gasper, whose association with Anthony stretches back to 1976. "He's not foolish with his money. He's been a great guy to work with and has always helped me when I needed it."
Anthony's 30 horses are now divided between Ortiz and Lindsay Schultz, and Quietside reflects the stable's new and old roots. She's a homebred, by Malibu Moon out of one of Anthony's band of roughly 15 broodmares, the grade 1-placed Speightstown mare Benner Island, who won the 2017 Eight Belles Stakes (G2) and earned a little more than $300,000 for Shortleaf.
Now her daughter has two graded stakes wins while earning $957,200 and has sparked tremendous excitement while bringing Anthony back to one of the sport's most famous races with a legitimate chance to win.
"(John Ed) and his family and friends are excited about it, and he will bring about 20 people to Churchill Downs," Gasper said. "This filly is a fighter. (Jockey) Jose Ortiz really fits her well, and if he can get a good position with her in a 14-horse field, you feel good about her chances."
She also continues Anthony's penchant for naming horses after favorite towns or areas, as Quietside was named for Anthony's home in Bar Harbor, Maine, on the quiet side of a bay.
Of a more pressing nature, with three wins and three seconds in seven career starts, Quietside has the most qualifying points (168) heading into the May 2 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. A game second to likely Kentucky Oaks favorite Good Cheer last year in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, the dark bay or brown filly is coming off consecutive wins in the Fantasy and Honeybee Stakes (G3).
"I'm expecting a win from her," Ortiz said. "She came out of (the Fantasy) great. It's like an airplane. Every day, we have our checklist with her, just to make sure no stone is unturned. It's a historical moment. We're trying to get our names written down in the history books."
While Anthony is well-versed in the emotions of a grade 1 win, for Ortiz, who started training in 2016 and whose career has taken a nice upward swing in the last three years, the 1 1/8-mile test could provide his second top-level victory.
"I look at it this way: I can achieve my milestones with John Ed's help and he's able to achieve some of his with my help," Ortiz said. "I like the idea of being a part of the history of his long, incredible career."
Anthony, whose family has owned a highly successful foresting company in Arkansas for more than 110 years, has surely reached the pinnacle of success in Thoroughbred racing on several occasions.
He was one of the first Arkansas owners to thrive in New York's major stakes as Cox's Ridge won the 1978 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) and Temperence Hill, aside from his 53-1 shocker in the 1980 Belmont Stakes, also won the Travers Stakes (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) that year, earning the title of the champion 3-year-old male.
Vanlandingham was the champion older male of 1985, and Loblolly had back-to-back Preakness winners with Pine Bluff and 3-year-old champ Prairie Bayou in 1992 and 1993, respectively.
"I remember when it was frowned upon to see a horse from Arkansas in a major race," Anthony said. "I remember when Cox's Ridge and Temperence Hill and Vanlandingham first started winning in New York. They were insulted this bumpkin from Arkansas could come to New York and win their races. It was a bitter pill for them to swallow to have Oaklawn being a top circuit."
Much has changed over the years. So much so that Anthony is toying with the idea about writing a book on his family-run Anthony Timberlands business and his experiences in horse racing.
If he does, there will be chapters on a couple of major horse racing issues that are important to him.
One is the threat of decoupling racetrack and casino licenses, a hot topic of intense debate in Florida.
"Racing has come a long way, and still has some ways to go, but it grieves me to see the decoupling problems. People use a racetrack to get a casino, and now they are trying to discard the racetrack. That's not fair. They wouldn't even have their casino if they didn't use the racetrack as the tool to get it," Anthony said. "The management at Oaklawn has been dedicated to racing, and although they have a casino, the racing is still first-rate, they keep investing in track facilities, and the fans are unsurpassed anywhere."
Anthony is also a strong supporter of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
"Things are simpler now in racing. When I first started, there were no phone calls allowed at the track. They locked phones up, and you had to go across the street to the drug store to make a call. And now with HISA, the rules and regulations are better," Anthony said. "The resistance to it has been unfortunate, and I wish some of the people who are opposed to it would come on board. I am as conservative as anyone when it comes to federal regulations, but the idea of having 35 different jurisdictions making 35 different sets of laws does not make much sense."
John Ed Anthony has indeed seen a lot in 54 years of racing.
Except for watching a 3-year-old filly carry his colors to victory in the Kentucky Oaks.
It will be a challenge, but maybe it's time. Time for another octogenarian to shine in the spotlight of one of racing's biggest stages.
