LOS ALAMITOS : Warrington Puts Career on Coast

In different ways, Steve Warrington has both coasts covered.

Warrington is the leading driver at Los Alamitos this winter with 38 victories, five more than Rick Plano. Unlike Plano, who trains a large stable, Warrington trains 10 horses in California and drives primarily for other trainers.

In his home state of Maryland, he trains a 25-horse stable with the help of two brothers. The Eastern division is doing particularly well thanks to a 3-year-old pacing filly named Heavy Thunder, who has not been worse than second in seven starts this year.

At Los Alamitos, Warrington drives for several stables, including Jim Perez and Bobby Gordon, who are third and fourth in the trainer standings. For Perez, Warrington has driven the 3-year-old stakes trotter Cal-Aurium and the invitational handicap trotter David’s Legend, who not only won his fourth consecutive start on Friday, but did so in a career-best time of 1:58 2/5.

“You’ve got to have the stock,” Warrington said. “If the stables I’m driving for are doing good, than I’ll do good. It’s no secret. Perez and Gordon have been the key to my success this meet.”

David’s Legend’s victory wasn’t easy. Warrington pulled him to the outside midway through the race and, instead of pushing to the front, kept David’s Legend just to the outside of the pacesetter--in essence showing the horse his target. Before the final turn, Warrington assumed the lead and held off Robbie Heat and Star Hangover in the final yards.

“There’s a couple of (tactics I use during a race) that wouldn’t be to my advantage to let the (other drivers) know,” Warrington said. “I like the front end, but it hasn’t been that easy racing on the front, so I’ve gone to this other style and it’s worked.”

Warrington has had a horse in each of the leading classes this year. He also drives the invitational filly pacer Kurahaupo Pride for trainer Rudy Sialana, as well as leading colt pacers Admirals Adventure--for Gordon--and Marksman, a gelding Warrington trains.

He keeps close tabs on his Galena, Md., operation, which is run by his brothers Dan and Tim. He also has a brother-in-law who works as the farm’s manager.

The horses stabled in Maryland range from racing horses to breeding stock. Heavy Thunder, who was recently second in the Hopeful Series final at Yonkers Raceway, has impressed Warrington. He drove her in early January, when she won her first race at a small track in Dover, Del., not too far from Galena.

“She won her first start in 2:02 and paced the last quarter in 28 (seconds),” Warrington said. “I knew she was a good one.

“She got roughed up in the (Hopeful) final or she would have won. Plus, it was 18 degrees with two inches of snow on the ground. She was only beaten a neck and they went 1:58 on a half-mile track, which is very impressive.”

Warrington kept several horses in the East because owners wanted to watch them race, instead of hearing by phone how they fared. He plans to return to Maryland in April to check on the stable and drive a few races.

The farm is a two- or three-hour drive from such major tracks as Freehold, Yonkers, Rosecroft and The Meadowlands. Horses are usually shipped to the track several hours before racetime and return home by midnight, preferable to staying on the backstretch of a racetrack.

“It’s hard on the people, but the farm freshens (the horses),” Warrington said. “It makes things go well here, when things are going smooth here.”

Warrington hasn’t decided where he will spend the last eight months of the year after this meeting ends in April. His options include returning to Maryland or going to Sacramento for the summer season. Sacramento would probably be the easy answer, if harness racing had fall dates at Los Alamitos.

Perry De Luna, secretary-treasurer of the California Harness Racing Assn., which is leasing Los Alamitos for the current harness meeting, said his organization is preparing a feasibility study of leasing Del Mar on Mondays and Tuesday for 10 weeks of racing this fall. The move would give horsemen another opportunity to race and would probably keep Warrington in California.

The Sacramento meeting is scheduled to end in early August, and the winter Los Alamitos meeting doesn’t begin until mid-December.

Under the concept, as many as 15 races would be carded each day at Del Mar, followed by a full program of simulcast races from New Jersey. Racing would be conducted on days when there was no thoroughbred racing at Santa Anita or Hollywood Park or quarter horse racing at Los Alamitos.

“It’s a wonderful lead-in for the December meeting because we’re there (for training) anyway, so why not race?” De Luna said. “We hope that it would solidify our circuit.”

Last fall, Warrington finished second in the driver’s standings to Ross Croghan, who won 67 to Warrington’s 64. This year, however, Croghan, is not driving, but instead is training a stable of 12.

Croghan decided late last year not to drive in 1993, citing burnout as a major reason. This year, he has split his stable between New Jersey and California and is spending more time away from the races. He doesn’t miss driving.

“It’s a grind,” he said. “I was the leading stable and the leading driver and the pressure is pretty heavy. I’ll just back off a little while. I drove 22 straight years, and it interferes (with life). Not driving is no big deal. We only live once.”

His horses have made only 17 starts this year, but have won six races, leaving him tied for 15th in the trainer’s standings.

Los Alamitos Notes

Nirvana, a 3-year-old pacing colt, won his seventh consecutive start on Saturday and is undefeated in 1993. Sired by Albatross, Nirvana won his first three starts of the year at Fairmount Park, near St. Louis, and has won four races at Los Alamitos. On Saturday, he was clocked in 1:56, the fastest mile of his career. Nirvana is owned by Tim Cherney and Mark Silva of Buena Park. Silva also trains and drives Nirvana, who was one for 10 in 1992.

Boosted by mandatory payouts in the pick six and twin trifecta, Friday’s handle reached a meet-high $1,205,979.