Mike Rosenblatt’s life caters to his love of food and harness racing
by Chris Lomon
Mike Rosenblatt’s life — inside and outside of horse racing — is made to order.
A resident of Sharon — a town 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston — Rosenblatt enjoys a routine that blends food, horses, and heartfelt connections.
Whenever he pulls out of the parking lot at 10 Foxboro Blvd. in Foxboro, MA, Rosenblatt can’t help but smile at the thought of what awaits down the road.
Five days a week, starting at 11 a.m., he spends two hours delivering catering orders from Antonia’s Italian Cuisine.
“It is all catering orders and schools,” he said. “I took the job before the pandemic because I have always had a second job throughout most of my life.
“When the opportunity for the deli came along, I took it right away. I’m happy doing it. People are always happy when they see me because they know I am bringing them food.”
Rosenblatt has that same joy when it comes to horses.
His connection to standardbreds goes back nearly 50 years, to his early teens in Massachusetts.
“I got into racing at a very young age through my dad,” Rosenblatt said. “I was probably around 13 when he started bringing me to the racetrack, which would have been 1976 or 1977. He was an owner. I got caught up in the excitement of it all.
“My dad was one of the first people in Massachusetts and surrounding areas who was buying horses from Australia and New Zealand.”
His own passion for racing grew deeper after a visit from an Australian horseman and his family.
“One of my first experiences that really changed the trajectory of a bigger involvement in the sport was that my dad had an agent from Australia who wasn’t happy with the way the horses were producing over here with the trainer we had.
“This gentleman came over here with his family and they stayed with us in Sharon. I was just a little fella, but I went to the farm with this guy from Australia. Some of the things I saw him do back then are commonplace in the sport now. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was providing me with the foundation of training. It was a good experience for me, considering my dad was not a trainer.”
By the time he was finishing high school, Rosenblatt had already made up his mind about the future.
The foundation of his game plan was based on a long-term strategy.
“I graduated in 1979, and I was at the racetrack in 1980,” Rosenblatt said. “It was a done deal. I knew I wasn’t going to college. I think, looking back, that I knew early on that I wanted to train my own horses and have a home with a horse in the back yard. And I kind of accomplished that in a way.”
Rosenblatt built his stable with care.
His operation was never large, but it allowed him to stay hands-on with his horses while also holding a full-time job outside the industry.
It’s a balance that worked – even through tough times.
“I made a conscientious decision to always have a job that allowed me to be with the horses in the morning,” he said. “The way things turned out after the pandemic and a 35-year marriage, everything kind of crashed down on me. I had a full-time job with a big company, FM Global. You had a pension coming when you were done – it was a real job, and it was good.
“I had a horse or two and I had a job. When FM Global closed, I received a severance for the first year and then I received my unemployment benefits after that year. For a guy who was just divorced and had a lot going on, those were some good things that happened.”
Horses have remained a constant and calming presence in his life.
The last horse he owned was Not My First Rodeo, a pacing son of Noble Ability (NY) bred by Steve Jones. The bay gelding gave Rosenblatt an unforgettable two-year ride.
“I was lucky enough to crush it with him,” Rosenblatt said. “I raced him 12 times in 2016 and won six times with him, about $22,000 in purse earnings, with a $7,500 claimer. In 2017, I raced him from April to July, duplicating what we did in 2016. He was an awesome horse. It was hard to accomplish what we did with him, and I knew it would be hard to duplicate that.”
These days, Rosenblatt is still deeply involved in Massachusetts racing.
“I’m a professional horse paddocker,” he said with a laugh. “People are always looking for help and I am happy to do it. I am paddocking four days a week. Every day, I paddocked for someone different. I haven’t gone a day without doing it. I love the horses and this gives me my fix of being with them. It is therapy for me. I love it.”
He admits the idea of owning or training a horse again crosses his mind, somewhat often.
“I want one in a way, but I figure, why rock the boat?” he said. “Who knows? If the right one comes along, I might get a horse. For now, I’m content with where I am at.”
And where he’s at, both literally and figuratively, suits him just fine.
Rosenblatt never has to look far to find his happy places when he maps out his day.
“I live three miles from the track at Plainridge and one mile from Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots play,” he said. “The deli is five miles from my place. Where I am is awesome.”
It’s all part of a life with direction and purpose, shaped by a lifelong love of horses and a genuine desire to bring joy to others.
“I am at the age now where I could retire soon, but I want to keep doing everything that I am doing now,” Rosenblatt said. “I’m happy.”
