For America's Best Racing, Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers, and jockeys as they travel the Road to the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) May 3 at Churchill Downs.
This week's installment features Jack Wolf, who founded Starlight Racing with his wife, Laurie, in 2000 with the hope of having the partnership race at the highest levels. The Starlight record, which includes sometimes campaigning horses with additional partners, is a testament to their success: two Kentucky Derby winners in undefeated Triple Crown champion Justify (2018) and Authentic (2020), nine Eclipse Awards, two Hall of Fame inductions, and 39 grade 1 triumphs.
The Wolfs also oversee StarLadies Racing, which focuses on bringing women into the game through investment opportunities in fillies and through social events surrounding their races.
Starlight looks to be positioned to make another strong run at the roses with 2024 champion 2-year-old male and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Citizen Bull. He enters the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1) with four wins in five starts and earnings of $1,421,000 on behalf of Starlight, frequent partners SF Racing and Madaket Stables, and others.
Citizen Bull, ninth on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 60 qualifying points, is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert as were Justify and Authentic. Despite highly rated Cornucopian's disappointing fourth-place finish when he got caught up in a speed duel in the March 29 Arkansas Derby (G1), Starlight still has two other Baffert trainees among the top 20 in Derby qualifying points. Getaway Carand Madaket Road rank 15th and 16th, respectively. Getaway Car rated ahead of his stablemate based on non-restricted stakes earnings.
Wolf discussed Citizen Bull and other standouts, the lead role he has played in Thoroughbred aftercare through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and what it takes to play at the top and stay there.
PEDULLA: How did you become interested in racing?
WOLF: We were living in Atlanta and I decided to get out of the hedge fund business and retire from that. What am I going to do now? I thought I'd get into the horse business.
PEDULLA: What led you to establish Starlight in 2000?
WOLF: I didn't know what else to do. We didn't know anything about it. A friend of mine who was a bloodstock agent (Barry Berkelhammer) said the best way to go about it was to buy yearlings. I followed his advice, and we bought seven horses in the first crop.
PEDULLA: What led to the establishment of StarLadies?
WOLF: The motivation was to bring ladies together to go to the races and do fun type stuff. We started with a small number of yearlings. This year, we are doing something different. We just bought a 2-year-old in training at the OBS Sale in Ocala.
PEDULLA: Are you able to apply your experience as a hedge fund manager to the racing business?
WOLF: I think there are similarities. The main similarity is to try to take as many variables out of the equation as you can. You want to have the best bloodstock agents, and we've had very good ones through the years. You want to have the best people to break your horses. Through the years we've used J.J. Pletcher and Eddie Woods. They are the best at that. You want to use the best trainers. And then you've got to get the best jockeys. If you've got good trainers with good stock, you're going to get the best jockeys, too.
PEDULLA: What makes Bob Baffert such a good trainer? When it comes to the Derby, I don't know if there is anyone better.
WOLF: I agree with you 100%. In getting to know Bob and his operation, he's unique in that his whole program is aimed at having these horses give maximum effort on the first Saturday in May. Nobody does it better. He lives, eats, and breathes this.
PEDULLA: Citizen Bull looks to be your top Derby prospect. What can you tell me about him?
WOLF: Citizen Bull has the advantage of having a schedule that Bob is very effective on. Bob has had the luxury of doing it at his own pace.
PEDULLA: How about Getaway Car, fourth in the Virginia Derby?
WOLF: Getaway Car, I think we probably brought him back too quickly [for the Virginia Derby]. He came out of the race well. There is a big question mark concerning running Getaway Car in the Derby even if he has enough points.
PEDULLA: Madaket Road?
WOLF: Tom Ryan and Donato (Lanni) select these horses that are really well-made stallion prospects. Madaket Road is by Quality Road out of a Smoke Glacken mare (Frolic's Dream). I thought he ran a fantastic race when he finished second [in the Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 23 at Oaklawn Park).
PEDULLA: Rodriguez may not be headed to the Derby, but he looks to be another quality 3-year-old. I see he is a May 20 foal. I would think that plays into his management.
WOLF: Yeah, I agree 100%. Bob thinks a lot of the horse. He is by Authentic. To be completely honest, if the September Derby [due to pandemic] had been in May, I don't think he would have won. With some of these horses, they are not really 3 when they run in the Derby based on their birthdate.
PEDULLA: Do you have other 3-year-olds you are excited about?
WOLF: Another horse we have, Colloquial, is not with Bob. He is with George Weaver. George right now doesn't think he's a two-turn horse, so we're going to run him in a $400,000 race at Keeneland going seven furlongs (April 4 Lafayette Stakes). And, if he runs well there, hopefully we're looking at the Woody Stephens (Stakes, G1).
PEDULLA: You played a lead role in starting and developing the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance? How gratifying has that experience been?
WOLF: The timing was right. People were willing to put their money where their thoughts and mouths were.
PEDULLA: The TAA is raising a tremendous amount of money each year. Has it exceeded your expectations?
WOLF: Ed Bowen, God bless his soul, in the first year we raised $1 million and I was sort of complaining to him about it. His comment was, 'What are you complaining about? A million bucks in this type of industry is fantastic.' What I wanted to do, and I never accomplished it and that was one of the biggest shortcomings, was to make mandatory funding through all segments of the industry. I think behind closed doors they are still trying to get that done.
PEDULLA: How important have partnerships become to racing?
WOLF: Looking back on it, I think the best thing that we've done is attract people to the business, give them a decent shot and I think it's great. The partnerships are bringing new people into the business and, hopefully, we can get some young blood out there.
PEDULLA: You've won two Derbys. If you could capture a third, would the feeling ever get old?
WOLF: No. You just get motivated. It makes you want more.
