by Chris Lomon

Making a winning move is not a foreign concept for trainer Chris Petrelli or his horses.

It was a decision, the one to move his stable of pacers and trotters to Buffalo, that came with a caveat.

“I have to say that it’s been awesome,” said Petrelli, 23, who hails from Sacramento, CA. “The people are great. I didn’t have Buffalo on my radar, but Joe Chindano [Jr.], who drove for me a little bit at Monticello, came up to me and said, ‘Let’s give it a shot. You put a few horses on the trailer and so will I and we’ll see what happens.’ So, that’s what we did and I figured that if it worked out, we’d stay and if not, we’d head back home.”

They didn’t have to wait long to find out what the answer would be.

All it took, in fact, was a few weeks and a fast start.

“We went up there with five and we had a win, a second and a third,” Petrelli said. “They all hit the board, so it was a great night. We gave it a few more weeks to see if it worked out and here we are now, both of us relocated. I’d say it’s working out pretty well so far.”

On March 15, Chindano and Petrelli teamed with Chasethecloudsaway, a 6-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach, to break their Buffalo Raceway maiden.

And the trio did it in style as the 1-5 choice.

“She’s a horse I got from Canada during the pandemic,” Petrelli said. “She was a $7,000 purchase with my owner, Dave Del Pozzo. She’s been a rock-solid horse for me for two years now. She tries hard, despite some of the setbacks she’s had. She was fortunate enough to be dropping in class and she had the rail. Joe put her on the front and we got the win. It was a big relief because you usually don’t win on your first day at a new track. She got it out of the way for me. She did it pretty easy. She likes her job.”

Just like her trainer.

After one win in 10 tries in 2017, Petrelli won 33 races the following year. In 2022, he set several career-best marks, including wins, with 102 and purse earnings of $529,134.

This year, he’s been quick off the gate, chalking up 28 wins as of Wednesday (April 26), along with nearly $183,434 in earnings.

“There have been some nice highlights so far in my career,” Petrelli said. “I started when I was around 16, 17 when I was in Maine. I got help from my friend Eric Davis — he dates my sister Jenny — and he helped get my first horse. I worked there for a year and then moved to Monticello and got a couple more horses. I’ve been fortunate to have some good owners come along, and it’s really taken off the last few years.”

Petrelli isn’t one to rest on his laurels or to pump his own tires.

Instead, he prefers to maintain a short-term outlook on his career, content to take a race-to-race approach to his craft.

The plan, as it stands, is to stay put in his new surroundings.

“My goal this year is to keep being competitive at Buffalo and doing well,” he said. “I’d like to have a little more in terms of the number of horses I have. It’s been awesome. So far, we’ve been fortunate. The plan is to be here permanently. You just want to keep going and keep winning races. I’m very fortunate and I feel very grateful for the opportunities.”

Petrelli is also thankful for the familiar helping hands he receives at the barn.

It is, in every sense, a family affair for the young conditioner.

“My fiancée Victoria and my younger brother, Frankie, we all work together,” Petrelli said. “Victoria, she works from sun up until sun down. She’s right there with me. Frankie, he’s been with me for about a year and a half and I’ve been teaching him the ropes. My older brother, Vinny, he didn’t relocate with us, but he worked with me before I came to Buffalo. I’ve had a lot of great support over the years.”

That list would also include Petrelli’s parents.

“A huge part of our success is my mom and dad,” Petrelli said. “They have been there for me every step and are very happy to see that we are doing well, but also having fun together.”

Petrelli’s 2-year-old daughter, Aubrey, has also taken a shine to the horses.

Any initial concerns about her comfort level around the standardbreds were out of mind the first day she came to the barn.

“My daughter, she loves petting the horses and she’s not afraid of them at all,” he said. “She’s always happy when she’s around there. Everything that’s happened, especially in the past few years, it’s been awesome. I feel really lucky to be where I’m at today.”

The only time Petrelli ever feels a little out of sorts is when he’s not around his horses.

In fact, the longer the distance he’s away from his stable, the more he wants to be reunited with them.

“I really don’t like being away from the horses,” he said. “We go to Florida once a year for vacation and the whole time, I’m worried about getting back. We’ll have some fun as a family when we go to Florida, but I love what I do and I love being around the horses.”

As for an ideal number for him to coach, Petrelli isn’t looking to train dozens of racehorses.

Instead, keeping it in the range of a dozen or so is the ideal fit.

And that move to Buffalo, the one that wasn’t originally in the game plan, Petrelli is glad he took a shot at plying his trade in the Queen City.

So far, so good.

“I just want to keep going,” Petrelli said. “I’ve been good with 10-15 horses and that’s where I’d like to keep it. That’s an ideal number to be able to give them all the focus they deserve.”