After 50 years in the business, he’s hoping buying yearlings will one day give him that great horse.

by Murray Brown

I spoke with Burt Firtel regarding this article this past Monday (Sept. 16).

“Just think I’ve owned horses for 50 years now,” Firtel said. “I finally have one who is good enough to race in the Little Brown Jug. My only hope is that I don’t draw the dreaded 8-hole.”

You didn’t draw the 8-hole, since there are only seven in each elimination and you drew the 7-hole in yours with Sweet Beach Life. Such is racing. I was quick to point out that there have been horses that have overcome a bad position in the Jug. Pointing to Well Said’s victory in 2009 when he left from post 8. “Regardless of how I draw, I’ll be out there to cheer him on,” Firtel said.

Fifty years is a long time to be an owner. How and when did it begin?

“I’m a New Englander from Connecticut; I was racing at Foxboro. At that time Foxboro was a great place to race. Hall of Famers like Jimmy Doherty, Teddy Wing and Bill O’Donnell were regulars there. I had a chance to get involved with a $5,000 claimer named Rufus Direct with my partner Jack Morici. He would pace around 2:02 at Foxboro. Mark Lancaster was my trainer. I raced there for a few years. My stable consisted of three different claimers – nice horses, no champions, but they paid their way. The Meadowlands had opened and Doherty and Wing left to race there. So did some of the Foxboro horses. Lancaster stayed, but within just seven days all three of my horses were claimed. They were going to race at The Meadowlands. My stable was wiped out. A Boston newspaper ran a story on it. The headline was “Burt Firtel is Crying in his Beer.”

What did you do then?

“I guess the old saying is ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ So, I went to The Meadowlands and claimed a New Zealand import named Wairocka On. As luck would have it, he fell down during the race. I also found out that he was blind in one eye. He still managed to overcome those problems and became a decent horse for me. I continued to own horses with varying degrees of success. In 2012 I sold my business and moved to Florida where I began racing at Pompano Park.”

Speaking of Pompano. Why do you believe it went down and why there is no longer harness racing in Florida?

“I blame the horsemen and more specifically the horsemen’s association for there no longer being harness racing here. Simply put they fumbled the ball. There has to be a reason why the thoroughbreds survived the casinos and are not only surviving, but are thriving at Gulfstream, while we have in effect been flushed down the drain. The horsemen’s association tried to do what they were incapable of doing. Instead of hiring professionals to act on their behalf as the thoroughbred people did, they chose to represent themselves. They were amateurs trying to play as professionals. So here we are today, a great sport that no longer exists.”

In recent years you have switched from racing claimers to almost exclusively racing youngsters, most of which you bought as yearlings. Why the change?

“There are likely several reasons, one of which is that I, like most people who buy yearlings, am looking to hit the home run. I’m now 85 years old. I won’t get too many more chances to acquire that great horse. I realize that even though generally speaking, the chances of that happening are not great, that the only chance you have of getting that horse is to buy it as a yearling and watch it develop.”

How is your present stable constituted?

“I guess it’s in a state of constant flux. In November of 2023 I owned pieces of 12 horses. I am now down to six. I have them with Travis Alexander, Linda Toscano, Peter Wrenn and Freddie Grant. I believe that my stable is now short on numbers but fairly high in quality.”

Let’s switch topics. You are also an author and an inventor as well.

“I self-published a book called “The Legend of the Cap.” I was, and to a lesser degree still am, an avid golfer. The book is a fantasy relating to golf, its history, its present and maybe its future. I used to play a great deal more than I do today.  I underwent heart surgery a few years ago. The doctors have told me that I should avoid playing in very warm temperatures which are often the norm in Florida where I live.”

And as an inventor?

“I presently hold two patents both of which are directed at geriatrics like me. The first is called “Don’t Forget.” It is designed to remind people when they are leaving their vehicle to not leave without taking their phones and other necessities such as groceries and most importantly children and pets with them. The second is designed to help those who become confused or lost and do not know where they are. This happens more often than is generally known.”

Let’s go to where this story began. You have Sweet Beach Life as a starter in the Little Brown Jug.

“As you know, we drew the outside position. I’m obviously not thrilled with that, but that’s racing. I’m still excited. I’m going to Ohio on Wednesday. I’m not unrealistic enough to believe that even with a good position, that we stood a good chance of winning. But its horse racing. You never know. That’s why they race the horses before they write the purse checks. It’s kind of unusual how we even got to this place. In his last start in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final at Pocono Downs, Sweet Beach Life was a huge longshot. Nevertheless, he won paying $110 to win. Even more unusual, the horse that finished second to him was Rush In, a horse that I also own, who paid $280 to place. If ever before a horse paid that much to place, neither I nor anybody that I have spoken of it with has either. I have no idea what the exacta paid or if there was even a winning ticket sold on that exacta. Needless to say, I did not have a bet on the race at all.”

Editor’s Note: Sweet Beach Life finished fourth in his Jug elim from post 7 and finished eighth in the Jug final from post 8.