Bradley working to rebound on and off the track

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buff Bradley has a lot on his plate these days. Aside from working his stable back into shape, the 56-year-old trainer is dealing with personal and health issues that might otherwise overwhelm a lesser soul.

Bradley returned to his native Kentucky on March 23, two days after the final card of the 2019-20 meet at Fair Grounds, where Bradley had wintered. His entire stable soon was back with him at spacious Indian Ridge Farm in Frankfort, Ky., where his late parents built the family home in 1972.

“Most of the horses were able to jog on the mechanical walker, but that’s without anybody on their backs,” Bradley said. “They didn’t lose all their fitness, but after seven weeks or so, I’ve had to tighten them back up pretty good.”

Bradley now has 24 horses at Churchill Downs, where his entries, understandably, have been light. His lone starter so far at the spring meet was unplaced May 16, and he doesn’t foresee being able to enter many more by the time the meet ends June 27.

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“I’m mostly trying to get them ready for the next meets” at Ellis Park (June 28 to Aug. 30) and Keeneland (July 8-12), he said.

While isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, Bradley arrived at the agonizing decision to sell a sizable portion of the 320-acre farm out of fiscal necessity. His father, Fred, died in May 2016, and settlement of the estate became unpleasant business.

“I feel like a family member did me wrong,” Bradley said.

The windfall he had realized as a 40 percent owner of the best horse he ever owned and trained – Groupie Doll, the two-time (2012-13) champion female sprinter – was plowed back into the farm in improvements, fencing, equipment, and a new barn. Groupie Doll sold for $3.1 million at auction in November 2013.

“The government took their share, too,” Bradley said.

Bradley said he intends to keep 40 to 60 acres of the farm for his own purposes, including space for retired horses and other livestock – but the home in which he has lived since childhood is being sold. He and his wife, Kim, divorced about two years ago; two of their three children are out on their own, while the youngest will be a senior in high school next year.

“I’ll still be based off the farm, but obviously it won’t be the same,” he said.

His proverbial heartbreak coincides with literal heartache. Bradley underwent a cardiac ablation last September for atrial fibrillation, but as sometimes occurs in such cases, he is in need of a second procedure. He will undergo surgery again June 15.

“It’s not all that uncommon for this to happen,” he said. “Sometimes I feel just fine, but sometimes I get extremely tired, like something’s just not right. Hopefully, this second ablation will heal me up.”

Bradley has enjoyed many thrills in a lifetime in racing. He has won 561 races since he began training in 1993, including two Breeders’ Cup races with Groupie Doll, two Grade 1 stakes with Divisidero, and nine stakes with the popular homebred gelding Brass Hat, who remains at Indian Ridge at age 19. He also has won or shared four training titles at Ellis, where his father, a beloved figure in Kentucky racing and politics, got his start in the game when growing up in the western part of the state.

Bradley also has experienced his share of disappointment, such as when Brass Hat was disqualified for a medication violation from the runner-up’s share ($2 million) of the 2006 Dubai World Cup.

Bradley prides himself on a certain resilience and empathy that stem from his roles as a horseman and father. His attitude is worth emulating during a worrisome time for him personally and for the world at large.

“I’m a positive person,” he said. “The farm and everything else – it has all reinforced in me that what’s done is done. You have to look straight ahead, know that there are things you can’t change, and keep everything upbeat. And that’s what I’m going to do.”