Jersey-Breds Fueling Ioia's Success at Monmouth Park

Joe Ioia had no idea how dramatically his life would change when he bought a house in Colts Neck, N.J., in 2004. The property, assessed for horses, came with a single horse—just the start of the culture shock for the Brooklyn, N.Y., native. "The next thing you know I'm looking to buy horses and I'm looking for a trainer," he said. Heading into Monmouth Park's final weekend of the meet, Prancing Horse Farm, owned by Ioia and his wife Gayle, top the owner standings with 14 wins, three more than Morici Racing Stable. That win total could very well grow, too, with eight horses entered Sept. 13-14 at the track. And it has all been accomplished with a stable consisting of all New Jersey-breds. "It's awesome going against Goliath and slaying the giant," Ioia said. "This year my personal goal was to win the owner's title. I was disappointed in May when we didn't pull any wins out, so that set us back a little. But we have really picked things up since then." The 72-year-old Ioia now has 55 horses overall—20 of them racehorses. They are all bred, broken, and bedded down on a 65-acre farm near Colts Neck that he bought in 2019. His search for a trainer two decades ago can be credited to serendipity. "My daughter was working at Riverview Medical Center (in Red Bank, N.J.) and she worked with Helen Spina," he said. "Helen told her that her husband was a trainer if I was interested." Ioia and trainer Chuck Spina have been partners for 19 years now, though he also has a handful of horses trained by Sergio Rabadan, his farm manager. But it was one horse that changed everything for Ioia. Bustin Out won nine of 19 career starts from 2014-17, missing the board just once in her career. She was honored twice as New Jersey's champion older mare. "The whole thing with owning horses started to get out of control with Bustin Out. She put us on the map," Ioia said. "That really started my horse racing fever and I don't do anything halfway. Things just took off from there." But it still took time, and a significant financial investment. In 2021, Ioia's stable managed to win just 3 of 45 races at the Monmouth Park meet. Then in 2022, with Spina as a part-owner as well, he won the owner's title. He tied for second in 2023, losing out to Klaravich Stables, and then tied for second again last year. He has been first or second in money earned at Monmouth Park each of the past three years. "By educating myself on better breeding and buying better horses we were able to have the success we've had lately," he said. "In the beginning it was kind of 'whatever' when it came to breeding and buying horses. My feeling is if you are going to spend the kind of money I do, you might as well go all in. That changed the dynamic for us. "After 2022 is when the better breeding and better stock and better buys kicked in." One byproduct of that was Jasper's Pride, who raced in the 2024 Haskell Stakes (G1). "That was awesome. Just phenomenal for me to be in the Haskell," he said. "It didn't matter that we finished last. We were in it. That was big for me." Ioia, who owns a public storage terminal for fossil fuel in Elizabeth, N.J.—"I'm the largest storer of used cooking oil east of the Mississippi," he said—put everything under the Prancing Horse Farm banner two years ago. His wife, he said, names all of the horses after doing extensive research. In Saturday's $85,000 Pinot Grigio Handicap, Ioia has the lightly raced Jewel of the Ocean and the ultra-consistent Mia's Crusade going in the five-furlong grass race. Mia's Crusade has won $534,481 and was New Jersey's top older mare in 2023. A win on Saturday would make her the first horse to ever win seven New Jersey-bred stakes races. "For me, being the leading owner at Monmouth Park is a great achievement," Ioia said. "What makes it even more special is that we've had the same team all along with Chuck and Sergio and all the help we have at the farm. That means a lot to me."