Owner Caldwell continues dominant run at Remington

Owner Danny Caldwell has spent the past several years building one of the winningest stables in North America. On Sunday, he is poised to take down a record eighth Thoroughbred title at his home track of Remington Park.

Caldwell sits fifth in wins in North America through Thursday, with 113 from 478 starts. He leads all Remington owners with 48 wins, and with two more before the meet closes, he would break his own local record for owner wins in a season.

“We’re very fortunate to be where we’re at,” said Caldwell, a 51-year-old Oklahoma native and former high school coach. “I would have never dreamed we’d be fifth in the country in wins. One of the reasons we’ve been so successful is we’ve got good people. Without them, I wouldn’t be anything.”

Federico Villafranco has been a private trainer for Caldwell for the past seven years. He said one of the keys to the operation is open, continual dialogue with Caldwell.

“We just get along good,” Villafranco said. “Communication is the main thing. Every week we make plans for the next week, where to run. That’s how it works. And he knows the game, so that helps a lot. It makes my job easier.”

Caldwell keeps about 40 horses in training. He started the year winning his third straight Oaklawn title, then spent the summer at Prairie Meadows, where he notched his third Iowa title. Caldwell and Villafranco then landed at Remington.

“It’s very tough to go meet to meet to meet and be successful,” Caldwell said. “When you do win races, you use up the conditions of the horses. One of the reasons I win a lot of races is we win those conditions. When you run out of your conditions, you’ve got to go find maidens and nonwinners of two and start all over.”

To that end, Caldwell has claimed 11 horses in Kentucky over the past six weeks and purchased another during the Keeneland auction in November. Of the six claimed horses he’s run back at Remington, five of them have won. Others will see action at Oaklawn, which opens in January and where Caldwell and Villafranco will begin moving horses Sunday and Monday.

“We’re reloading for Oaklawn,” Caldwell said. “We lost some by claims, sold a few, and found homes for some.”

Caldwell – the lone person to have won both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse titles at Remington – will have captured the last seven Thoroughbred titles come Sunday. It’s a streak he’s maintained through a roller-coaster fall. Caldwell was married in October and not long afterward, his wife, Allison, had to have surgery. In recent weeks, Caldwell has been tending to his hospitalized father, Donald.

“It’s kind of been a whirlwind,” Caldwell said. “You’ve got to set time for family first, and your job’s next. I give Freddie and his crew all the credit. Time has just flown by this meet. It seems like Remington just started.”