Australian cowboy Appleton a natural fit as paddock host

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – When the Lone Star Park meet closes next month, Dave Appleton will wrap up his 17th season as one of the track’s most recognizable figures. He’s the face beaming from the paddock, giving out his selections before each race and conducting interviews after stakes. It’s been a natural fit for the Dallas market, a world-class cowboy being the face of one of the premier tracks in Texas.

And Appleton is a world-class cowboy. Back in 1988, the 54-year-old Australian became the first non-American to win the all-around world champion cowboy title from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Upon his retirement from the sport, he did color commentary for television broadcasts in rodeo before returning to his first love, racing, through an opportunity that arose at Lone Star.

Appleton was hired by past Lone Star president Corey Johnsen to lead its television programming focusing on fan education. He also did post-race interviews, and when Chuck Badone, the track’s original handicapper, retired, Appleton began his paddock hosting duties. He was well equipped for all of the roles as a former jockey.

“Horse racing has always been a big score in Australia,” Appleton said. “Everybody knows something about horse racing. The Melbourne Cup, which runs the first Tuesday in November, everybody in the country stops and watches that race. So, horse racing has been kind of a big sport down there forever. I was given a pony by an uncle, and for whatever reason, I used to ride him to the racetrack, break him out of the gate, and gallop around the track with him. There was a small bush track right there in my hometown. By the time I was 11, I started galloping for a guy, and I galloped all through high school.”

Appleton, who was 7 when he lost his father in a work accident at a cattle station, spent about six months as a jockey when he was 15. He grew too big for that role, he said, then eventually turned to rodeo, where he distinguished himself as a bronco rider in Australia. He later left his hometown of Clermont in Queensland in 1980 at the age of 20 and came to the United States, going to college on a rodeo scholarship.

Appleton was known on the rodeo circuit as “The Lone Roo,” and on May 25 at Lone Star, a 2-year-old bearing the same name won his debut. The Lone Roo, who races for Tom Durant and is trained by Jack Bruner, was named for Appleton. There’s a story behind the moniker. Appleton, who advises a racing partnership, recommended that they claim the eventual dam of The Lone Roo, Hollye Lynne, at Fair Grounds in 2010. Later that year, she won the $50,000 Valor Farm Stakes at Lone Star by a nose over the Durant-Bruner favorite, No Other Tone.

Appleton, in addition to advising the N 2 Win Racing operation that has two horses running Friday night at Lone Star, owns a land brokerage business. He lives near Fort Worth, Texas, and said one of his favorite parts of the Lone Star meet is the interaction with the fans who come out to the races.

“I remember leaving the saddling paddock one day, and two ladies asked why the horses had their tongues tied,” he said. “I looked at them and said, ‘Well, the horses know who’s going to win, so the trainers tie their tongues so they don’t give away tips going out onto the track.’ The ladies said, ‘Really?’ Of course, I told them I was kidding and explained to them what they tie a horse’s tongue for!”

The affable Appleton’s other favorite part of the job is handicapping, which he calls “figuring out the puzzle.”

“The great fun of handicapping a race is when you can sit down and look through a race and find that horse that is 8-1 or 10-1 or greater that you feel has a chance,” he said. “To me, the fun of it is standing out there and telling people why the horse should be considered in their selections, and if that horse dances or shows up, it’s a personal satisfaction.”

◗ Louisiana-based trainer Patrick Mouton entered Thursday’s races at Louisiana Downs at 990 wins, according to Equibase.