Warning: include(): URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /hsphere/local/home/jrstark3/barntowire.com/APnotes030515a.html on line 25 Warning: include(http://www.barntowire.com/gross.html): failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /hsphere/local/home/jrstark3/barntowire.com/APnotes030515a.html on line 25 Warning: include(): Failed opening 'http://www.barntowire.com/gross.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/jrstark3/barntowire.com/APnotes030515a.html on line 25

ACKERMAN, GOLDFINE ENJOYING SENOR SWINGER IN PREAKNESS

Chicagoan Bob Ackerman, who along with partner and fellow Chicagoan Barry Golden bred Preakness contestant Senor Swinger, will join that horse's former trainer Mickey Goldfine, another Windy City native, in rooting for Bob & Beverly Lewis's Senor Swinger when that sophomore goes to the post in Saturday's 128th running of the Grade I Preakness.

The middle jewel of the Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown will be simulcast to Arlington Park as a special event this Saturday as part of Arlington's Armed Forces Day program. Advance wagering on the Preakness through Pimlico will be available Friday at Arlington, and on Saturday, Arlington guests will have the choice of wagering through the national Preakness pool or locally through the separate pool in the State of Illinois.

Ackerman and Golden retained ownership of Senor Swinger through the $1 million Florida Derby this winter, and Goldfine saddled the horse in Gulfstream's Grade I Triple Crown prep before selling the horse to the Lewises. The colt subsequently joined the barn of trainer Bob Baffert.

However, Goldfine, who thoroughly enjoyed the Florida Derby experience, will root for Senor Swinger as if he was still under his own shedrow.

"I love the horse," said Goldfine, 49, son of legendary Chicago conditioner Lou Goldfine. "I hope he runs well. If he wins, sure, there will be some feelings like 'I wish I'd been there' (for the Preakness as the trainer), but I did a lot with that horse, and people are going to remember that, so it's still a good thing for me if Senor Swinger goes on to a great career."

Co-owner Bob Ackerman, speaking over the phone from Las Vegas where he will watch Saturday's Preakness, was also emphatic on wishing Senor Swinger all the best in Baltimore.

"We're certainly rooting for him for both financial and emotional reasons," said Ackerman Thursday morning. "We still own Smooth Swinger (Senor Swinger's dam) and she's back in foal to El Prado (Senor Swinger's sire) right now, and we also half a half-brother to Senor Swinger who is eligible for the Illinois-bred program.

"Obviously, the more success Senor Swinger has, the more advantageous it is for us financially, so there is nothing I'd rather see Saturday than to have him run big. You know, since we sold him, I've learned to refocus my thinking a little bit. For Senor Swinger to have his best chance at success, he needs to be with the connections he is with now. I couldn't afford, for instance, to put the horse on a plane every time a race came up for him, so I've set some new goals for our operation.

"My new goal is to breed and race the Illinois Horse of the Year," Ackerman said. "That's a more reasonable goal we might be able to accomplish at a much lesser cost."

- END -