Though he has never won even one race, they keep making Sweet Circle race because there’s still money to be made: a recent woeful finish Tuesday still garnered $93...
Abuse, thy name is horseracing.
Sweet Circle was born in May 2008. Curiously, his first race didn’t
come till over five years later – September 29, 2013, at Mount
Pleasant in Michigan. He finished second-to-last for trainer Alison
Krul and owner Lauren Steen. Next race came two months later at
Beulah in Ohio: dead last, 25 lengths back. Same owner, new trainer
– George Iacovacci Sr. Next time out, in January 2014, “did not
finish.” Oh, and yet another new trainer: Kristi Van Meter. Quite a
start, huh?
The Steen/Van Meter team ran Sweet Circle six more times, then Van
Meter handed him off to yet another trainer, Jimmy Williams. At this
point, Sweet Circle was running “maiden claiming” – “For Sale” every
time out, and still without a “win.” In August 2014, Steen brought
him back to Michigan to be raced at Hazel Park – under another new
trainer, Ray Patton. Back to Ohio in October, at which point Steen
assumed the trainer’s role herself. On September 20, 2015, SC’s
price tag had plummeted to $3,500.
A year later in Illinois, Iacovacci returned as trainer (Steen still
owner). In April 2017, Steen brought in another trainer – Roger
Salvino. On May 19, Steen was back training; in that race, Sweet
Circle finished last, 27 lengths back. Next time out, 35 lengths
back. On April 7, 2018, Steen raced the now-nine-year-old a mere
seven days after his previous race. Outcome: last, 45 back. He was
then sold.
On June 19, 2018, Sweet Circle ran his first race for trainer/owner
Robert Fiesman. He was then sold back to Steen. Several races later,
sold again – to Richard King; Robert Pompell, trainer. Five races
for this pair followed, the last two of which SC finished last and
last, a combined 37 lengths back. Then nothing. Until, that is,
Tuesday.
After being off the charts for over a year, Sweet Circle resurfaced
under – you guessed it – Lauren Steen. The result from Fairmount is
what you might expect for a 12-year-old coming off a 14-month
layoff: last (of 10), some 20 lengths back. But it’s worse still:
Tuesday’s race was a “maiden claiming” (and a cheap $4,000 one, at
that).
Yes, that’s right, in a “career” going back seven years and
45 races, Sweet Circle has never finished first. Not once. And yet,
Lauren Steen et al. keep throwing him back out there. They do
because there’s still money to be made: That woeful finish Tuesday
still garnered $93 for Steen, as Fairmount pays first-last. Oh, and
of course he’s under the yoke of yet another new trainer, Michelle
Booker. (By my count, that makes 10 different trainers, 11 trainer
changes, and at least five times sold.)
This poor, poor animal. This vile, vile industry.