Maker a Man of Acclaim

To say that trainer Mike Maker is a man of few words almost does the Detroit native a disservice. With one of the largest and most widely dispersed operations in the country, the multiple graded stakes-winning conditioner is more a man of action than one of reticence, whose duties and work ethic do not exactly create ample opportunity for him to do much elaborating. With a fluctuating abundance of horses that can reach as high as 200 at its peak, the two-time Breeders' Cup-winning trainer is having a banner year, topped by stable star Da Big Hoss (Lemon Drop Kid), considered the best American stayer in recent memory.

It is difficult to believe that Maker, who is striking at nearly 20% (150 wins) through mid-September has only been on his own since 2003. A mainstay in the top rankings nationally, he currently is fifth in purses earned in 2016 and is on pace to soon pass his win and prize money totals from 2015. The 47-year-old former D. Wayne Lukas assistant is coming off another dominant Kentucky Downs meet as top trainer and has made a name for himself as arguably the best claiming trainer in the land.

In 2015, he claimed Da Big Hoss for Skychai Racing for just $50,000 and the horse has since reeled off eight victories from 11 starts, including five graded stakes. A late-charging sixth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf, the chestnut could take another crack at racing's biggest weekend at Santa Anita in early November, or could be pointed point his staunch stamina to the prestigious G1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington in Melbourne, Australia–a race in which he would be the first American horse to compete since its 1861 inception. According to Da Big Hoss' owners, the good-looking 5-year-old is 50/50 for either big event. Last out, he was an easy winner of Kentucky Downs' GIII Kentucky Turf Cup for the second consecutive year, adding to a bankroll that now stands at well over a million dollars since his claim.

“He's on top of his game. He came out just fine and he's earned his chance to run in these bigger races,” Maker explained. “He was pretty simple when I claimed him. He was bred to go a lot further than he had been going and we thought he was worth claiming. He's very easy to train and is an easy horse to get along with. He's easy to gallop and has never given me much worry. It doesn't happen all the time like that, but you are very happy when it does.”

While it may not always happen, Maker's affinity with claims was not a one-shot deal with his current stable celebrity. In December of 2014, he and owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey dropped $50,000 in a Gulfstream Park claiming event on a son of Hard Spun named Watchyourownbobber, who was making his fourth career start. Since then, the game chestnut colt has won six of 12, including four stakes and three consecutive added-money events, capped by Kentucky Downs' Listed $400,000 More Than Ready Mile on Sept. 10. He also represented the stable in this year's Barbados Gold Cup, finishing second.

More recently, Maker spent $62,500 to claim Greengrassofyoming (Quest) in June at Churchill Downs, who returned in his next start to take the GIII Stars & Stripes S. at Arlington in a blanket finish over heavily favored The Pizza Man (English Channel). That and subsequent efforts were considerable stretch-outs and something Maker had looked forward to doing with the Stone Farm-bred. In his next start, the gelding finished a traffic-riddled fourth in the GI Arlington Million, beaten just over a length after closing from last. That effort was followed by a fourth-place finish behind his stablemate in the aforementioned Kentucky Turf Cup.

“Watchyourownbobber is a Hard Spun and was not he smaller side and not that mature,” Maker explained. “He won right off the bat for us and the idea with claiming him was that he showed speed and we could use his speed in races, but he's turned out to be a very nice horse this year as he's matured.

He added, “Greengrassofyoming was a horse I watched for a while before we got him and I really liked him. He's a beautiful horse and we've already done well with him.”

This array of sharp claims over the last year are not a new phenomena for the talented second-generation conditioner. His first Breeders' Cup winner, Furthest Land (Smart Strike), was a $35,000 claim out of a October 2008 Belmont turf sprint. Thirteen months later the gritty stalker was a 21-1 victor of the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.

From Maker's rise just over a decade ago, to his current standing as one of the best trainers in the country, two aspects of his stable seem to be blatantly on display: efficiency in operation and instinctive analysis of individual horses. With assistant trainers stationed at multiple tracks and regions around the country, Maker keeps a clear and focused communication line with all. With his claiming success stories– just as with many of his regular successes on the racetrack–he trusts his intuition and aptitude when trying new distances, jockeys, equipment, etc., in order to create the kind of success that has now become abundantly visible in virtually every level, from cheaper claiming races to Grade I classics.

“I have a lot of good assistants and I go through all the horses every morning with them. They're the key to success,” Maker said. “That goes down to bookkeepers and others who keep us organized so we can focus on the horses. It's a team effort and that's a big focus. You have to have the right employees to run a stable of this size and that's something I learned from my father and from [Lukas].”

As large as his stable has become, Maker is still at his core a lover of the Thoroughbred who–despite how softly spoken he can be in an interview–is never meek when it comes to his respect and adoration for his athletes.

“It's absolutely hard not to get attached to these horses,” he concluded. “My favorites were probably [champion and Breeders' Cup Sprinter victor] Orientate (Mt. Livermore) and [GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner] Cat Thief (Storm Cat) when I was with Wayne and now Da Big Hoss, Vicar's In Trouble (Into Mischief) and General a Rod (Roman Ruler). I'm also high on a few 2-year-olds who haven't started yet. Seeing these horses do well and develop for you–that's the most rewarding part.”