He’s quietly gone about the business of sending out competitive starters in the 2008 Fall Meet at Western Fair Raceway but the stable of Carmen Mauro won’t be flying in under the radar much longer.
“We have a family operation here and a couple of project horses we took on this year have come through for us,” the 54-year-old conditioner based in Ridgeville, ON says. “Best known would be Armbro Baylor that took a 1:49.1 mark at The Meadowlands in 2004 as a three-year-old. He competed in some top classes there and at places like Dover and Chester just six months ago before he had serious lameness trouble. Little by little he’s come back to himself and he’s winning races again.”
On Monday afternoon’s program at Western Fair, Armbro Baylor has drawn Post 6 in a $10,000 claimer in the fourth race.
Mauro details how the patient comeback of the career winner of over $300,000 was accomplished. His family operation at Ridgeville, ON has an equine swimming and exercise pool in addition to a one-eighth mile indoor sand training track.
His daughter Tess, son Frank, and wife Regina are the everyday help. Another daughter, Carolyn, returns home from her registered nursing career nearby in Hamilton, ON to help out on weekends. Mauro also credits farriers Tom and Doug Peacock for the stable’s fine run in the Fall of 2008.
The other recent reclamation project for Mauro is pacer Waterside Matters. The Nova Scotia bred five year old gelding by Matter Of Money won his December 15 start at Western Fair in a $10,000 claimer for non-winners of $70,000 lifetime.
The pacer has drawn post three for the double up attempt in Monday afternoon’s seventh race. “He’s another project horse we’re kind of happy about around here,” Mauro says. “We only gave $2,000 for him and he’s made back almost $23,000 for us this year.”
His equine swimming pool clients include high profile Ontario conditioners such as Garth Gordon, Tony Montini, Rob Fellows and Steve Bossence.
“My main influence over the years has been my good friend and inspiration, Carman Hie,” Mauro says. “He and Dr. John Hayes are only fifteen minutes away and their help to us has been just invaluable over the years.”
Mourning The Loss Of Frock
Mauro, through his MTP Stables, has been a long time participant in Ontario harness racing.
Last week one of his favourite retired horses, trotting mare Frock, passed away at age 24. The daughter of Dream Of Glory earned over $207,000 in a career which ended over 18 years ago. Still at the Mauro farm is retired 24-year-old pacer G G Jake, who posted 38 wins and earned $327,000 in his career.
“He was one of the fastest by Super Wave,” Mauro explains. “And he’s still a favourite family pet around here.”
Though reluctant to want acknowledgement for it, Mauro is also known for his generous donations of a month's free standardbred swimming at silent auctions and fundraisers for Ontario industry people in need.
Dump Trucks and Horses: “Both Need Great Drivers”
Outside of racing Carmen Mauro’s entrepreneurial pursuits have included the restaurant business and at present he operates a fleet of three dump trucks in the Niagara Peninsula region of Ontario .
“When fuel prices spiked up really high last Summer the trucking business was really tough for a while,” Mauro says. “To that same extent, is quite a haul for us over to London to race but this Fall Meet it’s really been worth it.
“Both businesses are quite intense and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into the routes for the trucks and the races for the horses for everything to come together for a successful end result,” he added. “Common to them both is the need for good drivers. Doug McNair has done a fine job for us at Western Fair and we’ll hope for the best again with both horses on Monday.”
Boxing Day Upsized Matinee
The traditional London Boxing Day matinee at Western Fair is set for Friday, December 26 at Western Fair. Instead of the usual 12 dashes, a 15-race card is set for 1:15 p.m.
The first 500 patrons arriving on track will receive a free travel mug, co-sponsored by Western Fair and Molson. While the Top Of The Fair restaurant is close to a sell out for the $25 buffet, some space remains available in the Carousel Room where the beef on a bun and trimmings lunch for $6.95 will be served with food, beverage and wagering services all available.
Spirit Of The Season: McNiven Stable Style
When Kim and Scott McNiven set about the planning and hosting of their annual McNiven Stables Christmas Party last week at the Dorchester Slo-Pitch Centre east of London they didn’t anticipate the problem of success that followed. The stable has won numerous meet training titles at Western Fair in recent decades.
“In this year’s invitation for the party we requested a donation for the trailer they were filling with toys in the front lobby at Western Fair,” says Kim McNiven. “I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised by everyone’s generosity, but we weren’t quite prepared for the mound of toys that we collected at the party. We had to find four huge bags to transport them all over to the track.”
The toy drive in the Raceway’s front lobby was a joint effort of The Salvation Army, Granton Trailers, and Western Fair Raceway. The Salvation Army’s ‘elves’ are distributing the toys to children 12 and under in the London area in the coming week.
Another highlight of the 2008 Toy Drive was driver Brad Forward's donation of his driving fees from last Monday which totalled $1,173.
6 To Go
The 2008 campaign for live racing at Western Fair is into the stretch drive with six programs remaining. In addition to the Boxing Day matinee at 1:15 p.m. and the New Year’s Eve card at 7:05 p.m., Monday and Tuesday cards on December 22, 23, 29, and 30 turn to the gate at 3:05 p.m.
The first card of 2009 at the London track is Friday evening, January 2 at 7:05 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday post time moves to 3:35 p.m. starting on January 5, 2009 at Western Fair.