Trainer Dale Capuano, 22nd all-time in wins, to retire Jan. 1

Dale Capuano, a perennial leading trainer in the Mid-Atlantic region, has announced his retirement, effective on Jan. 1.

Capuano, 60, has 3,661 wins at present, 22nd on the all-time list. Capuano topped the year-end win standings in Maryland on eight occasions (1991, 1997-1998, 2000-2004) and captured 31 training titles at the major Maryland tracks.

Capuano's first winner was Who's Lucky at Bowie on Feb. 21, 1981. In 2012, he became the 27th trainer in North American history to win 3,000 races. Earlier this year, Capuano padded his lead as the all-time winningest trainer in Maryland Million history (15) when Johnyz From Albany won the Nursery.

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"Just start living," Capuano said when asked about his retirement plans. "This has consumed all of my time, my entire life. That's how I've always been. It's time for me to live a little bit."

Capuano credits longtime clients such as Louis Ulman, Steven Newby, Neil Glasser, and the late Harvey Linden for "keeping me going for so long. What's made training so pleasurable for me is my clients."

He also mentioned newer owners such as the Mopo Racing partnership, spearheaded by television personalities Maury Povich and Connie Chung, who are married. "They don't come any better," Capuano said of Povich.

Capuano mentioned Alwaysinahurry, Vance Scholars, and Johnyz From Albany as the current top horses in the stable. Alwaysinahurry, owned by Mopo Racing, won the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Stakes at Laurel Park on Nov. 25. Those three, along with the 32 other horses in his stable, will be transferred to his nephew Phillip Capuano, whose father is Dale Capuano’s younger brother Gary, a high-level trainer also based in Maryland. Gary Capuano trained Captain Bodgit to place in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 1997.

Among the favorite horses trained by Capuano are Just Call Me Carl, Private Slip, unbeaten Moquist, and Grade 2 winner Prized Stamp.

Several horses that Capuano claimed are also dear to his heart.

"I think I claimed her for $75,000 in '89," Capuano said of In the Curl. "It may have been the highest-priced claim in Maryland at the time."

In the Curl concluded her career in 1993 with 26 victories from 85 starts and lifetime earnings of $749,891.

Capuano claimed Wind Splitter for $23,500 and the gelding finished 11th in the 1989 Kentucky Derby behind Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. He would win the Grade 3 Trenton Handicap as a 4-year-old.

Heros Reward was acquired via claim for $25,000 in 2006. Two years later, the gelding finished fifth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Multiple graded stakes winner Heros Reward retired with $1,301,698 in earnings.

Monster Sleeping, the dam of Johnyz From Albany, was claimed for $35,000 and went on to win two editions of the Maryland Million Ladies.

Capuano saddled eight consecutive winners during the first week of March in 2003, and recently had a three-win day at Laurel on Dec. 18.

Heading into the final week of 2022, Capuano won 63 races this year from 343 starters for earnings of $2,557,499. His lifetime earnings currently stand at $68,094,250. He has trained the winners of eight graded stakes.

When asked if he had advice for young, up-and-coming trainers, Capuano said, "Work hard, be honest with your client, and most people will be the best they can.”

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