Pitino Scores with Johnny's Red Storm at Saratoga

For Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, basketball has "life or death" meaning. Horse racing is more of a fun, relaxing pastime for him. "When we lose a basketball game I'm up all night trying to figure out why we lost and what we can do differently," Pitino said. "With horse racing, you lose, you smile and move on to the next race. I'm not as competitive in horse racing, but the thrill is the same." Pitino surely felt that thrill Aug. 3 when the St. John's University men's basketball coach was on hand at Saratoga Race Course to watch his 2-year-old colt Johnny's Red Storm romp to a four-length win in his career debut for trainer George Weaver. "I said to George, 'I'm going to come up this week and what do you think?' He said. 'We're going to win.' George is never like that. George is very high on him so we are excited," Pitino said after the triumph. A son of Twirling Candy, Pitino's RAP Racing stable owns the colt in partnership with his longtime friend John Cronin Jr. Bred by St. Elias Stables, he was bought for $60,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and earned $44,000 for the victory in the 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race on the turf. They also own Zuby, an unraced Vekoma 2-year-old named after Pitino's St. John's captain Zuby Ejiofor. But so far, Zuby has the look of a player destined to come off the bench rather than a star. "Zuby runs more like John (Cronin) than Johnny's Red Storm," said Pitino, who ran a second horse on the card as Aggelos the Great finished second in the seventh race. Pitino revitalized the St. John's program last year with some financial help from prominent owner Mike Repole, who poured millions of dollars into the Red Storm's fund for recruiting top transfer portal and high school prospects. It would seem natural for Repole and Pitino to team on a horse, but Pitino called a timeout on that notion. "He's too expensive," Pitino said about teaming with the billionaire owner on the racetrack. "I'm a Catholic school basketball coach working on a budget." In Pitino's second year at the helm, the Johnnies took the Big Apple by storm, posting a 31-5 record and winning their first Big East Conference title in 25 years during a season that included a string of sold-out games at Madison Square Garden. "We have a very good team with a lot of new players. We've been ranked one through five (nationally) in the preseason. I don't know if we're that good, but it's exciting," said Pitino, who added he has no thoughts of retiring. "When you go from getting 8-10,000 people at the Garden to selling out six games with 19,000 people, that's exciting. I'm thrilled for a young coach just starting out like me."