An Owner Who Spares Nothing

About 35 years ago, Ken Ramsey inauspiciously broke into the horse business by claiming a horse for $1,500 at old Miles Park in Louisville, Ky.

Red Redeemer was his name. Ramsey’s trainer, “Cadillac” Jack Sowards, gave him the bad news in triplicate shortly after the horse arrived at their barn. Red Redeemer had only three good legs. He was a gelding. And by the way, he was blind in one eye.

There have been more bumps in the road over the years for Ramsey and his horse operation, but the effusive entrepreneur from Nicholasville, Ky., and his wife, Kathern, have persevered. Now, in what Ken Ramsey calls a “breakout” year, the couple has three genuine contenders in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup at Lone Star Park. They’re running Roses In May in the $4-million Classic, Kitten’s Joy in the $2-million Turf and Nothing To Lose in the $1.5-million Mile. None is more than 6-1 on the Daily Racing Form’s early line, and Kitten’s Joy is the 9-5 favorite in his 1 1/2 -mile grass race.

Followers of the Ramsey stable aren’t surprised that the trio is being handled by different trainers -- Bobby Frankel has Nothing To Lose, and Dale Romans conditions the other two. Ramsey is the classic hands-on owner, switching trainers, juggling jockeys and giving advice -- ofttimes orders -- on where to run his horses. Ramsey, who’ll be 69 on Nov. 3, briefly held a trainer’s license years ago -- the only horse that ever ran in his name won at River Downs and paid $52 -- and apparently has never gotten over it.

In the office and in storage areas at his 1,391-acre farm, Ramsey has a collection of Racing Forms that go back 15 years. His desk is covered with condition books -- listings of future races -- from tracks all over the country.

Although Ramsey doesn’t lack for preparation, many of his calls are from the gut, and sometimes he doesn’t suffer legends gladly. Nothing To Lose was formerly trained by Wayne Lukas, a Hall of Famer and winner of a record 17 Breeders’ Cup races.

“I turned to Frankel because he’s had a lot of success with grass horses, and his horses seem to last longer than most trainers’,” Ramsey said.

Before he ever ran, Roses In May was with Todd Pletcher, the leading trainer in New York this year and last, and No. 1 nationally in purses this year. Twice Pletcher sent Roses In May back to Kentucky, after a New York veterinarian said the colt had a tendon injury that would prevent him from training. Ramsey’s vet greenlighted Roses In May and he was sent to Romans.

Jerry Bailey, who has won the Eclipse Award for riding seven of the last nine years, rode Kitten’s Joy to four stakes wins this year, but John Velazquez has the mount Saturday. Bailey, recovering from a broken wrist that he suffered in a fall while evacuating his family from Hurricane Frances, was replaced by Velazquez for Kitten’s Joy’s win at Belmont on Oct. 2.

“I spent 10 minutes with Jerry before I made the decision,” Ramsey said. “He was disappointed that I didn’t put him back on the horse, but you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt. There was some uncertainty about Bailey’s status, and I had to make a decision. It boiled down to having Bailey at 90% or having a rider like Velazquez -- who’s in his prime -- at 100%. It would be ironic if Bailey beat us with another horse, but Velazquez is one of the top 10 in the country, and he’s [won with] all three of our horses.”

Kenny Rice, a sportscaster in Lexington, Ky., tells the story about Ramsey taking off his shoes and socks and crossing a muddy track barefoot to reach the winner’s circle at Keeneland. Three years ago, Ramsey was getting a shoeshine, at Chico’s near the jockeys’ room at Saratoga, when Romans made a pitch about training his horses.

“I just told him that we were both in Kentucky, and maybe it was about time I got some of his horses,” said the 38-year-old Romans, the son of a trainer who died four years ago.

Romans has never had a Breeders’ Cup horse, and Ramsey’s only Breeders’ Cup starter, the Richard Schos- berg-trained Catienus, finished ahead of only one horse at 86-1 in the 1999 Classic at Gulfstream Park. It was at Saratoga where Ramsey cashed a $721,000 pick-six ticket this year. Ramsey, who started out in real estate, has fashioned himself a lifelong handicapper. In the 1980s, long before his purchase of Ramsey Farm, he mortgaged his house to help raise the $1.2 million that would qualify him for a cellphone franchise in Georgia. The Ramseys still had to win a lottery to get the license, and Kathern’s numbers came up. The family now has three franchises in Kentucky and one each in North Carolina and Oregon, plus an ownership stake in radio stations in Texas, Arkansas and Wisconsin.

Three years ago, Ramsey dedicated himself to turning his horse operation around, at the expense of most of the people who worked for him. He cleaned house, gave them all one month’s severance pay and hired Romans and a whole new staff. In releasing one of his Saratoga trainers, he couldn’t have been blunter.

“You’re a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday trainer,” he said. “The races I want to win are on Saturdays and Sundays.”

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Roman Ruler, probable favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, worked five furlongs in 58 seconds at Santa Anita, where his time was the fastest of 123 horses at that distance.... Pletcher expected to have six Breeders’ Cup starters, but he’s down to four. It was announced Sunday that Ready’s Gal will miss the Juvenile Fillies because of a fractured pastern, which is part of the horse’s foot. Earlier, Balto Star was sidelined by a tendon injury. He had been a probable for either the Turf or the Mile.... Pleasantly Perfect, in his final workout for the Classic, turned in a sharp 1:23 4/5 for seven furlongs Saturday at Santa Anita.

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Breeders’ Cup

Saturday’s 21st running of the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships consists of eight Grade I races with purses and awards totaling $14 million guaranteed.

RACES

* $2-million Distaff.

* $1-million Juvenile Fillies.

* $1.5-million Mile.

* $1-million Sprint.

* $1-million Filly & Mare Turf.

* $1.5-million Juvenile.

* $2-million Turf.

* $4-million Classic.