With the end of the year approaching, many seniors are concerned with what will happen if the country falls off the “Fiscal Cliff.” Let it be said the seniors residing in the Shaun and Anita Vallee stable have nothing to fear. The Vallee’s stable of 16 will complete one of their best years ever. The impressive success is due in no short part to a few senior citizens that may have been forced into retirement had they not been taken care of by the Vallees. The husband and wife team work together, with Anita, a native of Norway, listed as trainer. “She actually has more experience than me with the horses. She took care of horses in Norway before coming to this country,” said Shaun Vallee. Perhaps one of the best success stories in the Vallee stable is Armbro Casino.  The soon to be 11-year-old (all racehorses turn a year older on January 1) has been nothing short of remarkable in the last four years earning $78,040 in 2009, $93,030 in 2010, $121,360 last year and $81,665 this year. Shaun Vallee tries to deflect credit for the apparent rags to riches tale. “When we got him he was stabled at the track and he tended to make breaks,” Vallee said. “He’s a nervous horse and we changed things around.” What Shaun did was change Armbro Casino’s routine. He worked him in the equicizer and towed the horse instead of sitting behind him. He also utilized the eight paddocks he has on the family’s 10-acre farm located in Jackson, New Jersey. “I turn all my horses out for at least two hours every day,” said Vallee. The trainer noticed that Armbro Casino was much happier and with the breaking streak behind him he became a virtual money machine for owner Barbara Delaney. Armbro Casino did show talent after Delaney purchased the horse in 2007, but over the initial two years the horse made just 24 starts earning a shade over $50,000. In the last four years the horse has started an impressive 122 times for the Vallees. While Armbro Casino is the best trotter in the stable, Vallee has developed quite a soft spot in his heart for his greybeard pacers Tenant In Chief and Shotgun A. This year at the age of 12, Tenant In Chief made more starts than during any other season of his 11-year racing career. Though the horse that earned in excess of $87,000 every year between 2006 and 2011 has earned a shade under $55,000 this year, Vallee couldn’t be more pleased. “He’s just a fantastic horse. It doesn’t matter what you do with him, whether you jog him between starts or train him between starts, he just knows what to do when he gets on the track,” said Vallee. Shotgun A was imported by Vallee in 2007 and has since become one of his favorites. He’s averaged 36 starts a year for the past five years. All but one of those starts came for Vallee. “I really don’t like to put my horses in claimers, but with his age (11) I really didn’t think anyone would step in,” said Vallee. In August, though, trainer Scott DiDomenico decided to put up the $25,000 in a claiming race at Yonkers. “We reclaimed him the very next week,” said Vallee. “I had to take care of that horse.” It’s not that Vallee thinks other trainers can’t take care of their horses. It’s just his approach is a little different than some. “I race horses like I want to have them for the next five years,” Vallee said. The trainer recognizes that those trainers who choose to race in claimers on a regular basis are under pressure to perform with their stock on a week-to-week basis. Conversely, Vallee’s group generally races in conditioned events and can be raced conservatively without threat of moving into a new stable. It’s fascinating to see so many horses reaching double-digits and performing at a high level, but this is something that Vallee has spent time thinking about and executing during his 20 years training horses in the New York-New Jersey area since arriving from Massachusetts. “You have to take care of the horses and they’ll take care of you,” Vallee said. “That means I will give a horse two months off if they have a problem and then bring them back when they are healed.” One such horse is the eight-year-old Pacific Desperado. The horse sticks out because he’s one of few yearlings Vallee has purchased. In 2005 he plucked him for a cool $27,000 and the horse spent the better part of the next two years on the sidelines. He started just 10 times during that span and earned just around $3,000. Over the last five years Pacific Desperado has earned $375,000, more than rewarding his connections for their patience. Shaun likes to drive some of his own horses but makes no claims to be a star at it. “I’m not in the same company as the leading catch-drivers,” Vallee said. “Very often I’ll drive a horse that I don’t want to see get roughed up.” One such horse is Vallee’s most recent potential money-maker that goes by the name Lightning Raider N. Since arriving on these shores from down-under, Lightning Raider N has won a pair of races in three starts at Yonkers over the last month and appears well on his way to becoming another regular Saturday night horse for Vallee. “I watched a lot of his races on the computer,” said Vallee on how he came to notice Lightning Raider N. “He raced a lot and was very consistent.” Since sitting behind him Vallee has become more impressed. “He really tracks speed very well and he can finish,” said Vallee, who expects to continue driving Lightning Raider N in the near future until he believes it’s time to turn the horse over to one of the bigger name catch-drivers. If things go as planned the seven-year-old Lightning Raider N should become a name racing fans become familiar with. In an era where track executives would like to see our horses get name recognition, Vallee has a barn filled with them. He’s truly this sport’s “Elder” statesman.