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68 HOOF BEATS • APRIL 2006

Bill Perretti and the farm that shares his name have

HOOF BEATS • APRIL 2006 69

changed racing BY NICOLE KRAFT • PHOTOS BY MARK HALL

P E R R E T T I F A R M S

within five years of opening his firststore—one of the largest Chrysler dealersin America.

But Perretti was far from done. Hetook his auto kingdom and moved itwest to Texas, where he developed a pas-sion for steers and horsepower of a dif-ferent type—namely Quarter Horses. Hehad cultivated a 1,000-acre cattle andcutting-horse ranch in the Lone Star

State when the East Coast called him yetagain, and Perretti headed back to NewJersey, where he added restaurateur tohis resume.

A man who seems to find success ineverything he touches is often seekingnew entertainment and interest, and itwas that drive that brought Perretti toThe Meadowlands, ablaze with glamourand glitter in the late 1970s. So busy was

the track that Perretti had difficulty get-ting a table for dinner, and he wanted tobe part of anything that was that exciting.

He began a quest for a trainer, hook-ing up with George Berkner, and the pairjoined forces on the aptly named WildBills Skipper, by Meadow Skipper, andWild Bills Bunny, a half-sister to theBerkner-trained B.G’s Bunny.

Combined, the two pacers earned lessthan $4,400.

It would be easy to imagine Perrettiquickly moving on to other pursuits. But“Wild Bill” had long proved himself aman committed to excellence, and onewho did not know how to be unsuccess-ful—at anything. His answer was to buymore horses—horses that, less than 10years later, were the best in the sport.

On a sprawling homestead in CreamRidge, N.J., Perretti Farms now sits as a

ill Perretti did not start his business career withan Ivy League education, family connectionsor a sizable fortune.

What he had was $10,000, a single gas sta-tion/car dealership in Hackensack, N.J., and alot of self-confidence.

It was the 1960s, and harness racing was in its heyday.Perretti didn’t know much about the sport—and he didn’treally care. He was busy building an empire that reached itsfirst plateau when the dealer known as “Wild Bill” was—


Super stallion: 1989 Horse of the YearMatt’s Scooter was the first impact stallionto stand at Perretti Farms. His offspring havebanked more than $62.6 million.B

standard by which most other breedingoperations can be judged. It is home totop stallions and elite mares, combiningthem to produce some of the best per-formers in the sport. In 2006 it wel-comed the reigning Horse of the Year inRocknroll Hanover, who the Perretticrew feels could be the next great supersire. If Perretti’s past is any indication,the stallion’s success seems preordained.

The farm’s recipe for winning issummed up in one sentence from itsowner’s son, Anthony: “Mr. Perrettidoesn’t know how to fail.”

UniqueThe name Perretti has, in what seems like20 short years, become household amongharness racing. It is uttered throughoutthe upper echelon of the sport—when atop performer prepares to head off to thebreeding ranks, when a fantastic fillyneeds a home in a broodmare band, whena legendary racetrack needed salvationthrough new ownership.

It is spoken with admiration for anincredible rise to fame and success overtwo decades when racing was not at itspeak. It is spoken with wonder at theman who seems to find success in most of

his equine ventures, as he stands stallionswho make champions.

It is also, however, spoken with sometrepidation about a man who will notaccept failure from himself or from oth-ers. It is spoken with a shake of the headwhen stories are shared about the famedPerretti temper flaring at the most inop-portune moments—of the fellow horse-men he has alienated, of the restaurantshe has been asked to leave, of the busi-ness dealings that have gone south uponthe clash of personality.

“Mr. Perretti is one of the mostunique individuals I’ve ever known—orever will know,” said Murray Brown ofHanover Shoe Farms. “They broke themold when they made him. He’s brash.He’s the epitome of the car salesman. Heis also, in my opinion, a very bright man.I think the game is the biggest part ofthings for him—the battle or the event.Once the battle or event is done, he goes

looking for another. “He can be abrasive. I’ve seen that

side. He can also be extremely charming.I don’t think the minutia impacts him inthe slightest. He is always looking at thebig picture.”

The bespectacled Perretti, with atoothy smile, mop of white hair oftenstashed under a baseball cap, and snowy


The latest champion: 2005 Horse of theYear Rocknroll Hanover is standing his firstseason at Perretti Farms in 2006.

Right-hand man: Bill’s son, Anthony, is thefarm’s general manager.


beard, rarely gives interviews, preferringto let the farm’s voice come from themouth of the well-traveled, well-regard-ed Bob Marks. Marks had gained a life-time of bloodline knowledge in the yearsbefore racing knew the name Perretti,and is now synonymous with the farm.

A former advertising copywriter,Marks entered racing as a gambler, andby the 1960s was writing articles forTrotter Weekly. He eventually wound upvirtually editing the publication, and alsocreating and distributing tip sheets. Inthe early 1980s he joined New York’s

Boardwalk Farms and “made the switchfrom civilian life to the horse business.”

It is Marks, one of the industry’sgreatest pedigree minds—and mostclever horse namers (see sidebar)—whotells the Perretti story, from the Wild Billautomotive days to the bucolic perfec-


“You have to surround yourself with good people—that’s Bill’s

tion of the present-day Perretti Farm. It isclear from the warmth in his voice andhis knowledge of the subject how muchMarks respects all that his boss hasaccomplished and created.

“He’s very much a renaissance man, inthe sense that he dabbles in everything,”

said Marks. “He wasn’t educated much,but he’s super-intelligent, and he’s gottremendous entrepreneurial instincts.”

Basic instinctThose instincts led Perretti in his earliestdays to use trainers like Steve Demas of

No Nukes fame, and a youngster by thename of John Campbell, who was in the1980s both driving and training as hemade his way in the racing business.

Perretti’s early equine purchases fur-ther demonstrated his business acumen.He took a big wallet and his ever-grow-ing industry knowledge, and parlayedthem into such broodmares as NorahBell, whom he and partners Lana LobellFarm and Paula Campbell bred to NoNukes to produce the millionaire racemare Nadia Lobell. Perretti bought outhis partners in 1985, before the fillybegan her stellar racing career. The sameyear he invested in the Abercrombiemare Angel Be Good, who went on toearn $100,000 on the track.

The blessing of having such goodmares is that they carry residual value asbroodmares. The curse is having to findsomewhere to keep them. That ledPerretti to purchase property in NewJersey to house his broodmares. But sincebroodmares must also consort with stal-lions, Perretti also started buying stallionshares, and even stood the Albatross studWalt Hanover. Perretti was also a signifi-cant shareholder in premier horses likeNo Nukes.

But after losing to Hanover ShoeFarms in a bid to give No Nukes a homeupon the closing of Lana Lobell, Perrettihad enough of being at the whim of syn-dicates. He started shopping for his own“major” stallion, said Marks, and settledon 1989 Horse of the Year Matt’sScooter, a son of outcross stallion DirectScooter.

“We struck up a relationship with[Matt’s Scooter owners] Gordon Rumpeland Charlie Juravinski, it just sort ofhappened, and we wound up buyinghim,” said Marks. “My counsel to Mr.Perretti was very simple; I said, ‘He’s notgoing to be the next No Nukes, and he’snot going to be the next MeadowSkipper. What he will be is like his father,but better. And he’s going to be long-term—15 or 20 years from now, he’s stillgoing to be siring stake winners. AllVolomites do that.’”


doctrine. We have the best people for the best horses.” Bob Marks

Say hello: The Perretti stallions attractadmirers from across North America andaround the world.


To maximize the stallion’s chance atsuccess, the farm analyzed what Matt’sScooter didn’t have—2-year-old speed—and decided to cross him with bloodlinesthat had found freshman success.

“We gave him every No Nukes marewe could find, and every Albatross marewe could find, figuring that Albatrosswas already the preeminent broodmaresire while No Nukes could be the heirapparent,” said Marks.

The experiment worked in Matt’sScooter’s first season of 1990, as the NoNukes mare No No Abby produced1993 freshman divisional championFreedoms Friend 2,1:53.1 ($637,622),and the Albatross mare Viking Princessproduced $399,000 winner VikingTerror. Matt On The Rocks, a winner of$399,054, out of the No Nukes mareVodka On Ice, led his second crop.

Matt’s Scooter hit pay dirt in his thirdcrop, as he and the Most Happy Fellamare Mossy produced millionairessMystical Maddy, and the 1994 crop wasled by millionaire His Mattjesty, out of

the No Nukes mare Lady Hathaway. After siring 949 starters who earned

over $62.6 million, Matt’s Scooter scoredhis fastest and second-richest performer,Royal Mattjesty, who is out of the NoNukes mare Lady Hathaway.

“Matt’s Scooter has turned out to bea very, very good sire,” said Marks.“He’s not a super sire, but he’s been agreat sire over the years.”

Cream of the cropAnd Matt’s Scooter was just the begin-ning.

The farm’s stallion roster quicklybegan to read like a who’s who, as $3 mil-lion winner Presidential Ball and 1997Horse of the Year Malabar Man calledPerretti home, as did world championFalcon Seelster and millionaire WoodrowWilson winner Jeremys Gambit.

The Perretti consignment, too, also

began to read like a celebrity roster, asMarks noted in these edited chroniclesfrom the history section of the farm’sWeb site.

• The 1989 crop numbering 33 fea-tured Perretti Farms’ initial major associ-ation with the stallion No Nukes, as 11by that stallion were consigned includingthe major winners Silky Stallonep,3,1:51.3 ($785,323), Nuke Of Earlp,4,1:52.1 ($404,532), Sablevisionp,3,1:53.1 ($379,777), and NukeSkywalker p,3,1:53.3 ($259,035). In all,the No Nukes averaged $75,900, withthe sales topper Silky Stallone toppingthe group at $135,000.

• 1990 represented a major expan-sion for Perretti Farms as the yearlingcrop swelled to 47, several of which weresold at Tattersalls and the remainder atHarrisburg. Headliners included NuclearHigh (No Nukes-Buzzy’s Gal)p,7,1:53.1f ($595,548), Cold Warrior(Nihilator-Sniffles Hanover) p,5,1:51.2s($150,723)...and a No Nukes fillynamed Sabilize (Sable Hanover), who


Dreamscape: Dream Vacation strikes a poseamid the stately architecture of a Perrettibarn.

would become a headliner in Australiawinning the famed Miracle Mile, amongother stakes.

• 1992 brought the debut crop offarm stallion Matt’s Scooter, comprising29 from a total crop of 72. The firstMatt’s Scooters made impressive debutsboth in the sales ring and later on theracetracks. Perretti’s Matt’s Scooter salestopper that year was Mattamaticsp,2,Q1:56.4 ($11,089), at $105,000.

• 1996 ushered in the Presidential eraas the first offerings of Presidential Ballwould join the Matt’s Scooters as majorplayers on the Perretti ticket. Some of thebetter known “Balls” were Old Hickoryp,3,1:54 ($82,749), Lush Limbaughp,3,1:52.2 ($212,534), and Angel BeGreat p,3,1:54.1 ($170,816), thoughunfortunately the sales topper Real Sport(Lady Hathaway) at $250,000 failed tofulfill expectations.

• 1999 saw a major pendulum shift-ing to incorporate significant trottersalong with the traditional pacers. It alsobrought the farm’s initial $300,000 year-ling in Arts Unknown p,6,1:52.2f($143,422), an Artsplace brother to 2-

year-old speed sensation Mattna Carter.But it would be the trotting yearlings thatwould create tidal waves, as that year theconsignment featured Hambletonianchampion Scarlet Knight 3,1:53.4 andBreeders Crown champion LibertyBalance 3,1:55s ($1,022,595)—each inutero at the time of their dam’s purchas-es in 1997.

• 2000 launched the Malabar Manand Tattersalls era at Perretti. TheMalabar Mans were well received, withMallelujah attracting a top bid of$190,000. The year 2000 also represent-ed major offerings by the repatriatedFalcon Seelster and newcomer JeremysGambit, in addition to the traditionalofferings by Matt’s Scooter and Presi-dential Ball. The 2000 consignment,

numbering 76 in its entirety, featuredmajor headliners like millionaire RoyalMattjesty (Matt’s Scooter-Lady Hatha-way) p,5,1:48.4, Mcardle (FalconSeelster-Lilting Laughter) p,3,1:49($2,455,609), and My Starchip (PineChip-My Starlet) 3,1:54.2 ($383,356).

• 2001 incorporated two new presen-


Formidible duo: Perretti and Jeff Snyderworked out the deal to bring RocknrollHanover to the New Jersey farm.

In the green: Revenue S, who banked near-ly $2 million in his career, stands his secondseason at Perretti Farms this year afterbreeding 164 mares in 2005.


tations into a crop that had swelled to103. Joining the incumbent MalabarMans, Matt’s Scooters and PresidentialBalls were the initial showcase offeringsof the farm’s newest stallions, Artiscapeand Muscles Yankee.

• The 2005 yearling crop might havebeen the most diversified offering todate, featuring yearlings by a variety ofstallions, highlighted by the first crop of2002 Horse of the Year Real Desire.

Standards of excellenceMuscles Yankee moves quietly out of hisstall, the shuffle of straw giving way tothe clip-clop of hoofed feet on a concretesurface. In the early afternoon sunlight,his bay coat reveals a blanket of dapples.His mane and tail sparkle like the locks ofa supermodel. His head is held high, as ifseeking out a cute filly in a faraway field.

A glance at the halters along the doorsof the Perretti Farms stallion row is like aharness racing who’s who—2005 Horseof the Year Rocknroll Hanover, TripleCrown champion Windsong’s Legacy,international trotting star Revenue S,two-time Breeders Crown winnerArtiscape, world champion DreamVacation, Meadowlands Pace consolationand North America Cup winner RedRiver Hanover, homebred world champi-on Mcardle—each stallion seeminglymore robust and striking than the last.

The farm’s acquisition of MusclesYankee is just one example of its desireto get the best to make the best, althoughit was hardly apparent at the time.

“While we’re always looking for thebest available,” said Marks, “we didn’tbuy into Muscles Yankee thinking he wasanything more than a promising trotting

colt that we’d enjoy racing in partnershipwith Jimmy Wheeler, a charming roguewho we’d become friendly with atHarrisburg. We had a great sale thatyear, and it was more of an impulse thananything else. We had never even seenthe colt.

“We said, ‘We’ll take 25 percent ofthe trotter.’ We didn’t know who he was.We never looked at him. We weren’t evenon the program, but after his 2-year-oldyear, when it was obvious that he wasgoing to be next year’s Hambletonianfavorite—to us, anyway—the opportuni-ty came to buy another 25 percentbecause Wheeler was in financial dol-drums. Bill’s entrepreneurial instinctstook over. He saw it as an economic bar-gain for us.”

Charlie Keller III of YankeelandFarm, breeder of Muscles Yankee, admit-


Even before Perretti Farms was recog-nized for the success of its offspring, itwas known around racing for the origi-nality of its names.

Credit for that notoriety lands square-ly on the shoulders of Bob Marks, whosees a horse’s name as not simply amoniker, but rather an extension of itsequine persona, the farm and their com-bined personalities.

“To me, it’s really an expression ofcreativity,” he said. “In essence, I’vealways felt that every horse is born witha name. The question is, are we goodenough to come up with it?”

Historically, Standardbred nameshave fallen into three different cate-gories. First come the farm or stallionnames—such as Hanover (for HanoverShoe Farms), Armbro (for ArmstrongBros.) and Adios (like Adios Harry,Adios Cleo). Second come the nameswith creativity, developed by such note-worthy namers as the late NormanWoolworth at Stoner Creek Stud, and theVan Lennep family at Castleton Farms.Third comes everyone else.

Marks, a former advertising copy-writer, started naming horses when heworked with Boardwalk Farms in theearly 1980s.

“What we tried to do was achieve a

recognition factor for those lookingthrough the results in Horseman and FairWorld,” he said. “We wanted it to corre-late with something. I often had troubledifferentiating between Bullet Alma-hurst, Bullet Hanover, Bullet Lobell orArmbro Bullet. It was very confusing.”

Marks said that when he started tounderstand pedigrees, he couldn’t helpbut admire the names that followed stal-lion lines, and when Matt’s Scooterarrived at Perretti, he brought thatback—with a twist.

“When I started out I thought therewere basically two kind of horses:Adioses and Hanovers. I realized thatHanovers could be by any number ofsires like Hoot Mon, Star’s Pride, TarHeel, Knight Dream, Adios, HickorySmoke, etc., while all those AdiosHarrys, Adios Butlers, Adios Boys, etc.,were by one horse—Adios. It stuck.”

Consider names like Matt On TheRocks, Matt Russian, Mattcher Intherye,North Mattlantic and Mattsolut, allfoals of Matt’s Scooter with Vodka OnIce, as well as Mattery Powered (out ofElectric Shock) and Mattmaghandi (outof Silent Quilla).

Lady Hathaway is among the mostwell-known of Matt’s Scooter’s consorts,as she and the stallion produced such

royalty as Lady Mattingly, Matter OfMoney, His Mattjesty, Her Mattjesty andMattmoiselle.

Artiscape, a son of Artsplace, alsoopened up a plethora of naming opportu-nities, resulting in such offspring as ArtCarney (dam Matt’s Last Laugh),Artbidexterous (dam Dexter Lobell),Artbitration (dam Serious Smile), Artcastic(out of Cape Matteras by Matt’s Scooter),Artristocat (out of Paper Cheetah) andArtriverderci (dam Roman Art).

Other examples of Marks’ geniuscome with the same mares meeting dif-ferent stallions. Silent Quilla, for exam-ple, also birthed Mike Dieson by DieLaughing, while Vodka On Ice also hadVodka Artini with Artiscape and CapitolChill with Presidential Ball.

Or mares like Thirty Six-D, a daugh-ter of Slightly Stacked, who producedsuch voluptuous performers as CupRunneth Over (Precious Bunny);Presidentialparton, Ballpark Figure andHerbert Hooter (Presidential Ball); andMattuesque (by Matt’s Scooter).

Marks said he is far from alone in thequest for clever names, citing people likeRussell Williams of Hanover ShoeFarms—think of the Western Hanovercolts Red River Hanover, RustlerHanover and Dead-Eye Hanover—forcreativity. The latter was, of course,renamed The Panderosa, representinganother who Marks considers a naminggenius—Bob Glazer of Peter Pan Stables.

By Any Other Name

ted he was pleased when Perrettiacquired part of the promising colt,because he knew that meant MusclesYankee would get every opportunity tosucceed as a stallion.

“He went out and spent a lot ofmoney on good trotting mares to be bredto Muscles, and that was very helpful ingetting nice offspring,” said Keller. “Heis always willing to make the financialinvestment. He has spent a lot of his ownmoney for our industry.

“My experiences with Bill have beenvery good. We have a lot of one-on-oneconversations, and I always enjoy them.He’s a colorful guy. He’s very frank andvery strong in his opinions. I’m suresome people find that irritating, but myexperiences are good.”

The farm’s focus was still on trotterswhen Malabar Man made his run

through his Horse of the Year season.When Perretti was approached aboutstanding the son of Supergill, the farmquickly jumped.

In the 1990s, after he had already sentto stud such incredible stallions asArtsplace, Western Hanover and LifeSign, George Segal promised Marks,“You’ve got my next stallion.” Marks,who forgets nothing, woke Segal up at6:30 in the morning of Oct. 4, 1997, justhours after an International StallionStake in which Artiscape came from 10lengths off the pace to win in 1:52.3.

“George,” Marks declared, “you saidI get the next stallion, right?”

Segal responded, “Yes.” Marks simply replied, “I want him,”

and never even said the horse’s name.Artiscape became a two-time Breeders

Crown winner, and has since sired 2004

Horse of the Year Rainbow Blue and2003 North America Cup winner YankeeCruiser. From just 336 starters, he hassired 42 $100,000 winners, and his foalshave total purse earnings of more than$19 million. He was moved to Winbakof New York for the 2006 season in aneffort to capitalize on the state’s rich slotsprograms.

Winners and losersDon’t think for a minute, however, thatPerretti doesn’t lose a few, too.

The farm wanted No Nukes, and sup-ported him heavily even after losing outto Hanover Shoe Farms. It was behindHanover yet again in the pursuit of worldchampion Western Ideal, and watched asthat stallion sired millionaires RocknrollHanover and Cabrini Hanover—as wellas world’s fastest racing pacer American

“I’ll think of Pan names and sendthem to him,” admitted Marks. “Peoplesend me names. I’m thrilled when theydo.”

Marks said that some names, thoughthey may sound odd on a foal, quicklygrow in stature with racing success, citingsuch examples as Albatross and MeadowSkipper. Some combined names may alsoseem to be easy cop-outs, but becomegreat on great horses—think Niatross(Albatross-Niagara Dream) and CamFella (Most Happy Fella-Nan Cam).

Don’t think that Marks wins all hisnaming battles with USTA Registrar BobLuehrman, who put his foot down onsuch names as Pamelot for a colt out ofPamela Nukes (“He said it was too fem-inine for a colt”).

He also faces the indignity of a disap-pointing name change, or in some casesan improved name change as happenedwith the Artsplace-Wendy M Hanovercolt Artspace, who was renamed ModernArt, and the Muscles Yankee-Edith’sChip filly now named Celebrity J Lo.Marks’ choice: Dingbat.

“Modern Art was a significant

improvement over Artspace, as wasNuke Skywalker over whatever I calledhim,” said Marks, “though I did kind oflike Dingbat.”

Marks admitted that Muscles Yankeenames are a challenge, since so many ofthem have to do with body building. Hedid, however, get Muscletoe, MuscleCars, Mr Universe and—the ultimateYankee name of all—Steinbrenner, fromPeace And Quiet, no less.

Other “famous” names to be bred byPerretti have included Angel Cordero(Nihilator-Angel Be Good), Netanyahu(Presidential Ball-Matt About You),Nicky Mantle (Muscles Yankee-Hornby Nicole), Rocky Malboa(Malabar Man-Paisley Yankee),Zeta Jones and her full brotherEnny Youngman (Enjoy Lavec-That Fabulous Face), andGorbachev, though that onerequired a letter of permissionfrom Sgt. Frank Gorbachev,stationed at nearby Fort Dix.He conveniently was dating awoman in the Perretti frontoffice and was honored that

someone would name a horse after him. “It’s labeling,” Marks said of his pas-

sion for names. “You can’t underestimatethe value of aesthetics, including thename. Is it any wonder a car failed thatwas called an Edsel? It doesn’t matter ifthe car was good, bad or indifferent. Itjust didn’t sound like a car an aggressiveyoung man would want to drive.”

“To me, it’s really an expression of creativity.In essence, I’ve always felt that every horse isborn with a name. The question is, are we goodenough to come up with it?” Bob Marks


Ideal—from his first crop. The farm eventried to get the great Cam Fella when heleft Dreamaire Farm, but “weren’taggressive enough,” according to Marks.He went to Bob Tucker’s Stonegate Farmand sired millionaires Eternal Camnation,Armbro Positive, Pacific Fella andArmbro Operative.

Finally, Perretti sought Art Major andBettor’s Delight, but lost both to BlueChip Farms.

“I’m not so sure that we neededBettor’s Delight,” admitted Marks, “andmaybe we’re lucky that we didn’t gethim.”

But one stallion on which the farmsimply would not compromise wasRocknroll Hanover, the Western Idealhalf-brother to Red River Hanover andmillionaire Royalflush Hanover. Thefarm bought 10 percent of the colt in Julyfrom owners Jeff Snyder and AudreyCampbell’s Lothlorien EquestrianCenter, after Rocknroll Hanover hadwon the North America Cup andMeadowlands Pace. The agreement keptthe colt racing through 2005 for trainerBrett Pelling, after which he would beretired to stand at Perretti.

“He was the first one that we absolute-ly, positively felt we had to have,” Markssaid. “Pursuing a stallion is ability, instinctand need. We needed a pacing stallion.The opportunity was that Jeff Snyderwanted to diversify a little bit, and heliked the idea that the horse would standin New Jersey, as [the Snyder-owned 1994Horse of the Year and Hanover stallion]Cam’s Card Shark does.

“I told Mr. Perretti that RocknrollHanover is like Bret Hanover all overagain. Bill’s instincts were that we couldnot afford to miss out on him.”

If racing performance is any indica-tion, then Marks was right on the markyet again. Rocknroll Hanover ended hiscareer by winning the Breeders Crown,capping a 26-race, 15-win career, inwhich he earned $2.7 million. The coltaveraged better than $105,000 a start.

“What didn’t this horse do?” askedMarks rhetorically.

Perretti wayArriving at Perretti Farms feels as muchlike driving through Bluegrass Countryas it does a cruise through the GardenState. The farm was constructed, accord-

ing to general manager Anthony Perretti,“very much on Kentucky guidelines.”

Spacious, with rolling hills and cas-cading tree lines, Perretti’s New Jerseyoperation contains 750-plus acres, hous-ing more than 200 horses, primarilymares and weanlings.

It started as an old potato farm, withnary a fence or barn to be found. In thenext two decades, under the Perrettivision, it was modeled and crafted to suitevery anticipated equine and human need.

And in a salute to the history that pre-dated the Perretti presence, pastures bearnames like Malsbury and Cemetery, theformer the moniker of one of the originalold farmers of the area, and the latter anod to the 19th-century burial site that isvisible from the hill.

The equine end of the Perretti opera-tion is supervised by stallion-broodmaremanager Fidencio Cervantez, who camefrom Mexico knowing barely a word ofEnglish and is now considered indispen-sable in caring for some of the mostfamous stallions in the world. Dr. PeterBoyce, who used to be with HanoverShoe Farms, is Perretti’s attending vet,


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while Linda Petrenko runs the office, andLindsey Taylor runs the lab.

“You have to surround yourself withgood people—that’s Bill’s doctrine,” saidMarks. “We have the best people for thebest horses.”

The mares—200 in the off-season andup to 300 in the breeding season—arebred in New Jersey, and then the young-sters get shipped to the family’s 980-acreKentucky property after they’re weaned.Perretti owns the majority of the brood-mares—including such greats as SableHanover, dam of $300,000 winnersSablevision and Mattduff, and LadyHathaway, who produced Royal Matt-jesty and Breeders Crown winner HisMattjesty. The farm has also played hostto some pretty famous boarders, amongthem world champion Worldly Beautyand 2001 Horse of the Year Bunny Lake.

Marks discussed the idyllic mechanicsof broodmare life at Perretti, stressingthat often the best thing that happens isoften nothing out of the ordinary. Heacknowledged that if he knows anythingabout a given mare besides the fact shehad a foal, something is usually wrong.

“I always get into trouble whenever Iwalk around the racetrack, and peoplesay, ‘How’s my mare?’” he said, laugh-ing. “I say, ‘Damned if I know!’ The rea-son why is, if I know, you’ve got a prob-lem. If I don’t know, she’s in one of those

fields, fat, sassy and raising her foal,doing exactly what she’s supposed to bedoing in harmony with nature.”

Then Marks inadvertently reveals oneof his own secrets to his own success: Heactually does know something about thefarm happenings.

“I can tell you Worldly Beauty is pos-sessive,” he said slyly. “And she fell in

love. Her buddy last year was VernonBlue Chip, the dam of Blue Mac Lad, andif any of those other mares went nearVernon Blue Chip, Worldly Beauty waskicking them away. She was protectingher friend. She’s a boss.”

Worldly Beauty had a Western Idealfilly in 2005 and is in foal to Cam’s CardShark.

As for Perretti’s own foals, they returnhome to the Garden State in Septemberas yearlings, having been raised at thefarm’s Paris, Ky., annex where they areprepped for the Standardbred Horse SaleCompany’s Harrisburg sale underCervantez’s vigilant eye.

“Basically they’re groomed andthey’re exercised, and they’re taught tolead and they’re taught to stand, andthey’re taught to do everything a horsemust do,” said Marks. “By the time theyfinish with the walker, starting gatesdon’t scare them. They’re virtually readyto be harnessed and hitched up from theday they are brought home after sale.”

Trials and tribulationsWhile Perretti Farms may be on its way toperfecting the way it does the pedigree


Perretti Farms

“I always get into troublewhenever I walk aroundthe racetrack, and people

say, ‘How’s my mare?’ I say,‘Damned if I know!’ Thereason why is, if I know,you’ve got a problem.”

Bob Marks

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 78

NEW YORK SIRE STAKES No. 47NOMINATIONS CLOSE

MAY 15, 2006Nomination Fee $50 (US funds)

For 2005 foals of registered mares bred to eligible NewYork stallions in 2004. Foals to race as 2-year-olds in 2007

and 3-year-olds in 2008 at New York State pari-mutueltracks, and at state and county fairs.

No nominations will be accepted without a copy ofUSTA registration certificate. Conditions are available from

Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund.

• MAKE PAYMENTS TO:Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund90 State St. • Albany, NY 12207(518) 436-8713 • fax (518) 426-1490www.nysirestakes.comE-mail: [email protected]

ADOPT A HORSE!Horses for adoption from

companions to competitors, hors-es of all ages and abilities for trailriding, pleasure driving and ther-apeutic riding programs to lovinghomes. Visit our Web site to seeour horses that are available foradoption and to learn more aboutour organization.

STANDARDBREDRETIREMENTFOUNDATION

P.O. Box 763Freehold, NJ 07728www.adoptahorse.org

E-mail: [email protected](732) 462-8773

SRF is 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization


matching, breeding, foal raising and sell-ing end of the sport, roadblocks keepPerretti from getting too complacent. As aNew Jersey breeding operation, the farmmust deal with such “frustrations,” saidMarks, as the prohibition against embryotransfer foals in New Jersey Sires Stakes,which fortunately is slated for adjustmentcommencing with the foals of 2007.

“It’s ludicrous that the horse can racein the Hambletonian but not in the NewJersey Sires Stakes,” Marks said. “[In2004] we sold a colt that Bob McIntoshbought. He was out of My Starlet, andhe had to be an embryo transfer, becauseshe can get in foal, but she can’t carry it.He sold for $120,000. He might’ve got$200,000 without that rule. He was thecomplete package.

“At that moment, we realized, we’recutting off our nose to spite our [face].We’re not protecting anybody with thisrule—we’re just hurting the breeders. Butthat’s always been the problem in NewJersey.”

Perretti is “vehemently,” according toMarks, against an industry proposal thatattempts to address bloodline diversityby limiting stallion books. The move is a

result of a study by Dr. Gus Cothranethat revealed potentially dangerous levelsof inbreeding in the Standardbred.

“There are too many things wrongwith the business than to worry aboutwhether the genetics might dry up in 40years,” Marks said. “That is kind of side-stepping the issue. The main questionwould be, who’s going to buy these year-lings? How do we get fans? Why can’twe get the collective powers that betogether to implement meaningful mar-keting programs?”

Additional challenges have come asPerretti sought expansion beyond thebreeding and racing end of the business.His most notable foray came in 2000,when Perretti put together a group ofinvestors to purchase The Red Mile andthe Tattersalls Sale Company, includingFrank Antonacci (Lindy Farms), the latePaul Nigito (Joie De Vie Farm), GeorgeSegal (Brittany Farms) and Joe Thomson(Winbak Farms).

Perretti was hands-on with just aboutevery aspect of the track—from advertis-ing to paving the parking lot. Those closeto the situation said that within twoyears his relationship with some other

investors had soured to the point that thepartnership no longer seemed viable.

By 2002 Perretti, who had investedsubstantially in both his new Kentuckyacreage and the track facility itself, hadsold out. There was talk that he wouldeventually leave the horse business com-pletely.

“Bill didn’t think it was going the wayhe wanted it going, so he decided to sellout,” Thomson recalled. “He’s an entre-preneur type of guy. I think he thought itwas in the best business interest of [him-self] and The Red Mile for him to sell.”

Thomson credited Perretti with reviv-ing the floundering track with new ideasand new management personnel,acknowledging that there are not manypeople that could have accomplished asmuch as Perretti did in The Red Mile’srevitalization. The challenge came in asold ways began to prevail over newideas, and once relationships started tosour, there was no ability to recover.

Marks said Perretti’s goal with thepurchase was to create a “collective,”like a cartel, especially with the sales(Tattersalls) aspect of the venture, where-by the group would join forces to create

NORTHLANDS PARK PRESENTSWESTERN CANADA PACING DERBY

No. 46Guaranteed purse C$175,000 for foals of 2005 to raceas 3-year-old pacers in 2008. To be raced in Edmonton in

2008 under the auspices of Northlands Park.

NORTHLANDS FILLY PACENo. 25

Guaranteed purse of C$175,000 for foals of 2005 torace as 3-year-old filly pacers in 2008. To be raced in

Edmonton in 2008 under the auspices of Northlands Park.

FEESCHEDULE:Complete conditionsavailable uponrequest

Nominating fee C$ 10 due on or before May 15, 2006Sustaining payment C$ 100 due on or before March 15, 2007Supplemental Nomination 2YO C$ 500 due March 15, 2007

(to be made eligible for future payments in 2008)

Sustaining payment C$ 500 due on or before Feb. 15, 2008Declaration fee C$ 1,000 due at time of declarationLate Supplement - 3YO C$15,000 due at time of entry (including declaration free)

ALL NOMINATING, SUSTAINING SUPPLEMENTARY, DECLARATION FEES INCLUDED IN FINALS

EventNo.

Name of Yearling Sex:C,G,F

Sire Dam Owner(s)

P L E A S E P R I N T • O F F I C I A L E N T R Y B L A N K

FUTURE PAYMENTS: Northlands Park, as acourtesy, will make every effort to advise nom-inators of future sustaining payments, but it isthe responsibility of the owner of the eligiblehorse to ensure that future sustaining pay-ments are made whether or not a notice hasbeen received.

Owner or Agent ____________________________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________

Date______________________________Telephone ______________________________________________

Please make check payable to Northlands Park and mail to: Northlands Park, c/o Alan Bott, Box 1480, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2N5; phone (780) 471-7275, or fax (780) 471-7173.

Perretti Farms


a dominating yearling marketplace atone locale. The other partners disagreed,however, and some continued to sell theiryearlings at the Standardbred Horse SaleCompany’s Harrisburg Sale.

“When it was obvious that it was notgoing to be run as a cartel situation, butrather more like independent peopledoing their own thing who happen to ownthis track and sale, Mr. Perretti did notthink that was a good business plan,”Marks said. “He just felt that at that pointwe would sell out—divest our interest.”

“Being a self-made man, I believe Billlikes to make decisions on his own,”added Thomson. “He does not like peo-ple telling him what to do. Bill is a fellowthat if he’s a friend, he’s a great friend. Ifhe’s an enemy, that’s not so good for you.

“He loves the action. When things areboring or humdrum, Bill is not going tobe in that business very long. He likes togo forward.”

Perretti’s management style—his wayor the highway—may be unique in rac-ing, but he is far from alone in the busi-ness world. In fact, Marks said, Perretti’smodel closely follows that of his goodfriend, George Steinbrenner of the New

York Yankees. “George is the only guy that Mr.

Perretti actually calls ‘boss,’” Marks saidwith a chuckle. “Mr. Perretti has donethe same thing that George has donewith the Yankees—he wants peoplearound that are smarter than him. Thereare not too many people that are, butbasically that’s what he seeks out—intel-ligence and talent.

“But he is also just as unmerciful.He’ll get rid of somebody in two secondsif he doesn’t think they’ll measure up.”

The future is nowAt Perretti Farms, the future is seen inRocknroll Hanover, whose 2006 book isalready full and closed, and with the con-tinued shuttle of stallions like Red RiverHanover and Mcardle between theNorthern and Southern Hemispheres toservice the ever-expanding breeding mar-ket.

The future is also evident in the returnto the farm of Perretti’s son Anthony,who cut his teeth in the car dealershipsand returned from a sojourn in the filmbusiness to serve as the farm’s generalmanager; and in the family support

offered by Bill Perretti’s wife Cindy, anaccomplished horsewoman, and daugh-ter Veronica, a recent George Washing-ton University graduate.

Marks, too, represents the farm’sfuture, as he maintains the careful bal-ance between Perretti’s passions and theinteraction the farm has with theStandardbred industry as a whole, foster-ing the relationships that will bringpromising blood through the Perrettigates for generations to come.

Behind it all is Bill Perretti, now age79, a man who continues to see thefuture as happening right now.

“He’s terrific at just looking at the bigpicture,” said Marks of his boss. “Hedoes not get involved in the smallaspects—he gets people to do that forhim.

“I think he’d like to be known as abreeder of great horses, of world champi-ons, and he’d like to be known for evolu-tionary ideas. He’s very much a man ofhis word and a man of the world.” HB

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You can view the following story exactly as it appears in Hoof …perretti.com/pdfs/HB Apr 06 Perretti.pdf · 2007-02-06 · Scooter didn’t have—2-year-old speed— and decided