Status: Trainer of Cool Coal Man (20-1 odds) who will run in the Kentucky Derby out of #1 post position.
DOB: February 6, 1948 In: New York, N.Y.
Childhood Heroes: "Probably...it's a good question...Who did I look up to? You say childhood, how old do you want me to be? (Under 18.) Al Kaline. I used to watch him climb the wall at Tiger Stadium. (Over 18?) Joe Namath. Then, the older you get, you realize the heroes are people that work hard, teachers, police officers, the people that struggle, hard-working people, those are the real heroes. You know what I mean?"
Hobbies/Interests: "Go back to the barn in the afternoon - that's tranquility to me. Watch the horses walk, hang out with the horses. That's pretty good."
Favorite Movies: "Boy, there's a lot of them. One I really liked is Robin Hood, with Errol Flynn. It's great. My favorite of all-time is The Count of Monte Christo."
Favorite TV Show: "Gotta be SportsCenter. By far."
Musical Tastes: "Jazz, Chris Botti."
Early Racing Memory: "Watching Gun Bow hold on by a nose. I was only a teenager. Puttin' paper on the Aqueduct chairs when there was like 60,000 people watching Gun Bow hang on by a nose, and I think it was Kelso he beat, or Buck Passer, or one of them. Gun Bow and Kelso - it was unbelievable. Way back when. There was so many people at the track then."
First Job: "Slicin' bread up the block where I lived in Ozone Park, Queens. Pete the baker, he was down in the basement cooking bread (age 12). Then I was a delivery boy. Then a hot walker later on when I was 18."
First Car: "An old '56 Oldsmobile (black), like a tank. One of my brother's bought it for me."
Pre-Race Feeling: "Just like everybody else - butterflies. If you get the break. Can't win all the time, you know that, but...you just have those feelings, you know?"
Favorite Meal: "Probably the right type of salad. Pasta with a light, light sauce. Anything plain that's cooked with real style. I don't want anything heavy or overbearing. It could be any kind of food."
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: "Granola."
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Soy ice cream - chocolate, vanilla."
Greatest Sports Moment: "Well, probably the...been so many. There's been so many, I really can't ex(plain)...I don't know which one is the greatest moment. I guess you'd have to put The Belmont Stakes with Smarty Jones right there. That one. But of course, Strike The Gold's Derby. There's so many of them. Albert The Great. So many. Who knows."
Most Painful Moment: "Quite a few. I don't even want to go there. But quite a few [laughs]. Quite a few."
Favorite Racetrack: "That's easy. Belmont, Saratoga, Keeneland, Churchill Downs. Very easy [laughs]. That's an easy one."
Favorite Horses To Watch: "Favorite of all-time? Let me see...of all-time...I used to like Buck Passer. When I was a younger guy I loved watching him. (What about him?) Just the explosion. The explosion. When he had that burst of speed. Come from behind. He was gorgeous to watch. Buck Passer. I'm going back. Buck Passer ran in the late '60s. Other horses...so many great ones. Obviously the normal ones...Kelso, Spectacular Bid, Secretariat, so many. They were great."
Favorite Vacation Spot: "Don't have any [laughs]. Probably Cooperstown."
Childhood Dream: "Like everybody else - a ballplayer."
People Qualities Most Admired: "Just honesty. And I think someone that doesn't look down on someone. To have the quality that you treat everybody equal and no matter how much money you have or how much power you have, you still treat someone with respect and decency. That, to me, is what we call class."
