Sharp Hopes to Keep Momentum Rolling into Saratoga Meet

Two weeks ago, trainer Joe Sharp proudly stood in the Churchill Downs winner's circle with his wife, former jockey Rosie Napravnik, and kids by his side while accepting his first leading trainer title at the historic Louisville, Ky., track. "It was great, I'm obviously extremely proud of the whole team and they're extremely proud of the whole meet," Sharp said. The Churchill Downs honor came on the heels of titles during the 2024 Kentucky Downs season, for which he was part of a three-way tie at the top, and 2024-25 Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots meet. In 2024, Sharp set a career-best record of $6,342,330 in purse earnings by his horses and is currently setting a career-best pace of $12,770 in earnings per start for 2025. A former assistant to trainer Mike Maker, several of Sharp's top assistants have been with him since he started on his own in 2014, making the recent success of the past year even more rewarding. "My assistants are guys I've been with back with Maker and they grew from grooms to foremen to assistants," Sharp said. "It's a team effort. When you're fighting for those titles, it's really fun to watch the guys really get engaged. They're starting to watch every race a little closer. That makes it a lot of fun." The 40-year-old trainer keeps a year-round presence in Kentucky, currently preparing horses at Churchill Downs and Keeneland for the Ellis Park summer meet. However, his attention also shifts east to Saratoga Race Course, where the team will attempt to keep the momentum rolling into one of America's premier meets. "It's arguably the most prestigious meet in the country," Sharp said. "I always say nobody knows who won the first race on a Saturday at Ellis, but at Saratoga you can win the last race on a Wednesday and your phone's blowing up. It's one of those places that people watch, and it's good for business." Sharp brought a string of just under 40 with him to upstate New York this season, and he actively gets aboard several of them each morning for training. This season marks the 17th consecutive summer, dating back to Napravnik's riding career and Sharp's time with Maker, in which he will spend the summer in Saratoga. The couple bought a house in the area last fall. But more important than Sharp's love for the area is the horses' love for the atmosphere of the track. "It's a wonderful environment for the horses," Sharp said. "It's a great place for the horses to train; the surfaces are good, and the climate is so great. It really seems to help them pay us dividends in the fall (when they return to Kentucky)." With the tough challenge of facing top East Coast powerhouse stables like those of trainers Todd Pletcher or Chad Brown, Sharp was careful in selecting the horses in his string who would be ready to compete. "Saratoga, the biggest thing is just trying to be tactical with what you run and where you run them. We always hold our own up here," Sharp said. "It's one of those meets where you have to bring the right kind of horses to run in the right kind of conditions—the condition races here are winnable." Sharp said that the timing of a horse's race schedule over the last few months plays a key factor in his decision to bring them east. Horses who kept a busy schedule during the spring in Kentucky tend to be left there for the summer so they can rest and prepare for a strong fall campaign. Meanwhile, horses that had issues finding races in their conditions throughout the spring or are returning from a layoff are prime candidates to be rested and ready for the Saratoga challenge. However, that Saratoga challenge may no longer be as big a hurdle for Kentucky-based trainers like Sharp to clear each summer. As the purse structure in the Bluegrass State has improved to become a leader in the industry over the last few years, the competition has gotten much tougher. Given Sharp's emergence on top of the trainer standings at Churchill Downs this spring, it's safe to say his horses and team are up to the challenge. "I do think Kentucky is one of, if not the toughest circuit right now," Sharp said. "I think you can have a little more confidence coming up here with horses that have been competing and doing well in Kentucky. Years ago, you always felt like, coming to Saratoga, that the water was deep. The water is still deep, but we run in deep water all year round in Kentucky." Sharp dove right into that deeper water July 12 as he picked up his first winner of the meet as Epona Racing Stable and Toga Party Racing Stable's Gilded Craken romped to an eight-length win in a 1 1/8-mile off-the-turf allowance race. The victory was the trainer's 48th in his career at The Spa. The goal, as it is for any trainer, is to win as many races as possible. But, if the Sharp barn continues the momentum it has had the first half of the season, don't be surprised to see Sharp take a shot at the leading trainer title. "You're always trying to win no matter what, whether you're in contention for the title or not," Sharp said. "I will say, I feel like if you start the meet out really well, it definitely encourages you more to try and win the title."