Red Hot Brown Not Resting on His Laurels

A few days past the midpoint of the Saratoga season, Chad Brown waves off a question about his place at the top of the trainers's standings. While he certainly would like to win the title at his hometown track–he grew up in Mechanicville, 17 miles away–after five consecutive years as the runner-up to Todd Pletcher, Brown isn't talking about it now.

Brown, 37, has had plenty of success at Saratoga Race Course since he won with his very first starter, Star Player, in the first race on opening day of 2008. Through Thursday, when he won with two of three starters, he had 183 victories from 687 starts at Saratoga, a fine win rate of 26%. Fifteen of those wins came in graded stakes–a pair of them in the Spa's GI Diana S.–and a total of 36 stakes overall. Thursday's wins also bring up his career total to 995 victories in his ninth full year of training.

Making the most of his strength on the turf this season, Brown completed the 24th day of the 40-day season with 26 winners, giving him a lead of nine over Pletcher. Eighteen of those victories came on the turf, where his barn has a 31% success rate and has finished in the top three 58% of the time.

“We continue to have a really good meet,” Brown said. “The whole staff is working hard, the horses are running their best, they're showing up. A couple of spots of bad weather have cost us a few races, but overall we've been on the right side of some tight finishes in stakes race. All in all, it's just been an outstanding meet so far. I'm just so proud.”

Peter Bradley, whose partnerships have 14 horses with Brown, figures he has a very good chance of winning that elusive Saratoga championship.

“For the early part of the meet, Chad couldn't be doing any better,” Bradley said. “Chad never runs horses unless they are ready to run. He's got them primed definitely for these races. The question to me is, with the number of turf horses he has, the rained-off days is going to be the biggest problem he has to surmount to win the title this year. If the weather gods stay with him, I think he's got a real shot.”

On Saturday, Brown picked up three more stakes victories away from rainy Saratoga at Arlington Park. “TDN Rising Star” Beach Patrol (Lemon Drop Kid) took the GI Secretariat S., Sea Calisi (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}) captured the the GI Beverly D. S. and Noble Beauty (Kitten's Joy) won the GIII Pucker Up S. by disqualification.

“It was very good,” Brown said. “Outside of the [GI] Arlington Million where Wake Forest (Ger) (Sir Percy {GB}) really didn't fire, the other three horses ran terrific. It's very gratifying when a plan comes together. It's not easy. We sent a large group of horse out there, to travel from their home base here with my staff. For everything to go that well–they shipped well and three of them won out of the four races we entered in–you have to have the right horses, but you have to have the right staff to execute that. Sometimes it looks easier said than done. To get on a plane with a bunch of horses and go over there and have everything go well, it doesn't always work that way. We're lucky it did.”

Brown finished first in the Belmont Spring/Summer meet for the first time this year with 38 wins, 13 more than Pletcher, and wondered aloud in July whether his stable could continue to keep performing at such a high level through Saratoga. So far, it has.

“It's more of a relief that we've been able to keep our form, sustain a good run and carry the momentum from Belmont right into Saratoga and continue to do well. It's hard,” he said. “Some of these winners that we've had have been fresher horses that are just entering the best part of their form cycle. Other horses have just continued to stay in form, which is hard to do. It's been a balance between both them.”

While Brown does very on turf, Pletcher is usually very strong with 2-year-olds. Last year, Pletcher won his sixth straight Saratoga title and record-stretching 13th overall, by three victories, 34-31 over Brown. Pletcher had 14 wins in 55 starts with 2-year-olds, 25%, and Brown was three-for 23, 13%. On the turf, Brown was 10 wins better than Pletcher, 22-12. This year, Pletcher leads Brown 8-3 with 2-year-olds and Brown is cleaning up on the turf, 18-1, head-to-head with Pletcher.

Brown has approximately 200 horses in training to draw from this summer and that group includes the largest class of 2-year-olds he has ever had in his barn. He earned his third 2-year-old win with Mirai (Trappe Shot) Thursday and said that more of his juveniles are likely to be in the entries in the last couple of weeks of the season.

“We have a lot of promising 2-year-olds in the barn,” he said. “Whether they're going to win first time out remains to be seen. I'm not necessarily cranking them up to make sure they win a race at Saratoga. I'm trying to develop horses for the long term. I'm confident that some of them will win. It's just a starting point for their career. It will not define their career if they win or not.”

With 60% of the meet completed, Brown has won with five of his 11 graded stakes horses, 45%; and is 8-for-19 in all Saratoga stakes, 42%. His in-the-money rate for graded stakes and all stakes is 63%. He won the Diana with Bradley and partner's Dacita (Chi) (Scat Daddy); the GII Lake George S. with Ancient Secret (Kantharos); the GII Bowling Green S. with Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}); the GII National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame S. with Camelot Kitten (Kitten's Joy); the GIII Waya S. with Guapaza (Chi) (Seeking the Dia), the Shine Again S. with Wavell Avenue (Harlington), the Curlin S. with Connect (Curlin) and the Lure S. with Shining Copper (Aragorn {Ire}).

Flintshire is headed to the GI Sword Dancer S. Aug. 27 and Connect, Curlin runner-up and “TDN Rising Star” Gift Box (Twirling Candy) and fellow “TDN Rising Star” My Man Sam (Trappe Shot) are pointed toward the GI Travers S. Aug. 27. This weekend, he has A Lot (Tapit) and Takeover Target (Harlan's Holiday) in the GI Fourstardave S.; Going for Broke (Blame) facing undefeated champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Alabama S. Saturday and Pricedtoperfection (Temple City) and Elysea's World (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) in the GII Lake Placid S. Sunday.

Brown has done a lot of smiling in the Saratoga winner's circle this summer and acknowledges that has been fun, but his jaw tightens at the mention of the training title.

“We enjoying racing the horses here at Saratoga,” he said. “We're running a big business here and we have to stay focused.”

To the point where Brown simply shrugged his shoulders when faced with the question on how many dirt races he has competed in this season.

“I don't study the stats of what we did, whether it's on turf or dirt or how many we ran,” he said. “I get up every day and evaluate each horse for what is in the best interest for their career and for the client. We won't change, no matter where we are in the standings, no matter what the stats are.”