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N the span of 50 minutes, January 24th, trainer Marcus Vitali watched his five-year-old gelding Lochte win the $150,000 Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in a tight, three-horse photo on TV and his talented three-yearold gelding Bluegrass Singer finish third in the $400,000 Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Vitali, 54, has come a long way from watching horses gallop at Narragansett right from his Rhode Island living room. “We lived right across the street from Narragansett,” he said. “My family owned the trailer park there. I started walking horses when I was seven years old. I got paid nothing. I had a pony. When I was little I would go to the track. I fell in love with horses.” He’s never stopped loving them. “I always do what’s right for the horse, what’s best for the horse,” he said. “It took a lot of years to get clients. Lot of hard work. Lot of years. Lot of dedication. I have a great, great staff. Couldn’t do it without them. It takes teamwork.” Vitali’s father owned a couple horses off and on. Vitali apprenticed under his father’s trainer Eddie Vashey. “They called him Flash,” Vitali said. “He was quick and witty. Great horseman.” After riding for a year on the New England
fair circuit, Vitali became a trainer in 1982. “My base used to be Suffolk Downs,” he said. Unfortunately, he’s been a witness to the continued crumbling of what was once a vibrant New England racing industry. “Of course, it’s sad,” he said. “I’ve seen in my career, almost every track I’ve been associated with, close one at a time. Narragansett, Lincoln Downs, Rockingham, Suffolk now twice, Marshfield, Great Barrington.” He moved to Florida six years ago and his career has been spiralling upwards ever since. But it’s the second time he moved to Florida. In 1982, he came to Gulfstream Park with one horse, who became ill and never even started. He returned to New England, before coming to the conclusion 25 years later that racing there would never be a viable alternative again. He spent his first winter out of New England at Penn National in 2009 and, with encouragement from several of his owners, returned to Gulfstream Park. This time he stuck. Now, he’s starring with a 36-horse stable that includes Lochte, who won the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap at 39-1 last year, Grade 2 Monmouth Cup winner Valid and Bluegrass Singer, who captured
the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Jan. 3 before finishing third in the Holy Bull Stakes. Vitali hopes Bluegrass Singer will prove he belongs with the best three-year-olds in the country chasing the Kentucky Derby. “Who wouldn’t want to be on the Kentucky Derby trail?” Vitali said. “He’s special. He’s got a great future.” Crossed Sabres Farm owns all three graded stakes winners, who helped carry Vitali to a national stage he could only having dreamed of watching horses gallop across the street at Narragansett. “2014 was my career year,” Vitali said. “2015 just began and we’re off to a good start. I’ve had the same clients for many years. People have given me an opportunity to train their horses. It’s very satisfying.” Through late January, Vitali ranked third in the trainer standings at Gulfstream Park with 10 victories from 70 starters. He also has 12 seconds, four thirds and more than $300,000 in earnings. “I love it,” he said. “I absolutely enjoy competing with the best trainers in the country. It’s very fulfilling. They’re working with iron; I’m working with wood. I’m just banging away.” Like any good New England trainer would. n
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