RAISING AWARENESS OF AUTISM THROUGH HORSES
It’s been 15 years since Johnny Taboada’s horse, California-bred Autism Awareness, produced a shocking 62-1 victory in the El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows.
Taboada, who is a mortgage broker, is also the father of Renzo, who is studying graphic design
At the time, Taboada — a passionate small-scale horse owner—was using the race to fight for recognition of the neurodevelopment disorder that had rocked his family after his son, Renzo, was diagnosed several years earlier.
Since that big win, awareness of autism has risen significantly, Taboada says. Renzo, now 23, has made remarkable strides as well, and expects to graduate later this year with a degree in graphic design from California State University, East Bay.
“Definitely people are more aware of autism in the last 10 years,” Taboada said. “When we were starting out with Renzo, it was impossible to get help or services. They said he was ‘just delayed’—that’s what they told us. I fought for help through three different school districts because I knew what we needed to do for my son. And it made me wonder, how many other families were being told the same thing, that their child was just delayed?
“Long story short, it’s completely opposite now. Professionals are much more in tune now to the different types of autism. If you are diagnosed as most severe, you qualify for all the services.”
Likewise, Taboada has seen his profile in the racing community increase nationally since the racing career of Autism Awareness, who went on to win the Berkeley Stakes (G3) the year after the El Camino Real Derby triumph.
“My purpose has always been to get people to talk about and learn about autism,” Taboada said. “Anywhere I go in racing, people know about me and my connection with autism. People love to talk about it.”
A mortgage broker by trade, the Peruvian born Taboada estimates he has named about 50 horses for autism, and those numbers are likely to increase as he moves on with his newest venture on behalf of the autistic community.
He is partnering with Shane Easterbrook of Easterbroook Livestock Management in San Miguel (in San Luis Obispo County) to create a horse-centric foundation for families dealing with autism. Taboada has installed his Cal-bred Touched by Autism, retired in 2020, as a stallion there and has successfully bred him to nine broodmares he owns (although one foal was aborted). A strong believer that horses have therapeutic value—he saw how much his son was helped by connecting with his horses—Taboada envisions a ranch where
families with an autistic child can come for social events or mix with the local community, spend time with horses, and get behavioral assistance or guidance. It’s somewhere, he says, that people affected by autism can come and share their experiences.
In part, the idea came to Taboada as a result of Autism Awareness’s tragic death. A $1,000 yearling purchase from the 2006 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Northern California sale, the bay horse by Tannersmyman raced for seven seasons, starting 39 times and earning $356,732. But in his final race in 2013, he broke down on the Santa Anita hillside turf course and was euthanized. Taboada was devastated.
Taboada with Touched by Autism, now standing at stud at Easterbrook Livestock Management and getting foals
“When Autism Awareness died, I vowed then that if I have a horse that has accomplished close to what he did, I would retire him and give him a chance to carry on his line,” Taboada said. “Touched by Autism was a stakes winner and graded-stakes placed and had won around $300,000, and I decided that was enough. I retired him sound. He may not have the greatest pedigree, but I had some mares that
I thought would be a good match for him and bought a few others in Kentucky. We’ll see what happens. People might want to breed to him” once the message gets out.
“It’s baby steps right now, but we’re getting it started,” Taboada said. “How cool would that be to have the stallion, the baby, and the mom all at the same place for visitors to see?”
Taboada has a Facebook page for the new venture: Horses for Autism.
Touched by Autism is a 10-year-old son of Sierra Sunset—Beau’s Gem, by Beau Genius. He won eight of 37 career starts and earned $307,230. A $2,700 purchase at the 2014 Northern California sale, he captured the 2018 Oakland Stakes and ran third in the All American Stakes (G3) the following year, both at Golden Gate Fields.
Taboada, 52, lives with his wife, Hedieh, and son Renzo in Pleasanton. They have a second son, Marcel, a year older than Renzo. Taboada says he has been passionate about racing since he was a youngster in Lima, Peru, going to the racetrack with his father. He came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 20 to get his college education, earning a master’s degree in business at Cal State University, Hayward (now CSU East Bay). He’s been a mortgage broker ever since.
“The money I earned allowed me to pursue my passion for horse racing,”
Taboada said. He began to increase his involvement with racing in recent years, and “in the last several months, I’ve been focusing more and more on the horse racing business.”
While much of his horse ownership, beginning in 2005, was in claiming partnerships, Taboada says he is sole owner of about 90% of his horses nowadays. He estimates that he has about 35 horses currently in training.
Taboada set career marks with 60 wins (ranking 17th nationally) and 284 starts in 2021. Overall, he’s won 250 races with earnings of more than $4.3 million. He feels that expanding his stable has improved his chances of success.
“You have to have enough cushion to handle the blows when they come, because in this game, the blows will come,” he said. “I realized within the last five years that I want to put more resources into horse racing. The number of horses I have will allow me to keep going.”
Taboada uses numerous trainers, including Jonathan Wong, who has dominated the Golden Gate trainer standings in recent years. Wong has now moved much of his operation to Kentucky, including several of Taboada’s runners.
That’s an opportunity to spread awareness of autism to more racing audiences, Taboada says. One of his fillies, Sacred Beauty, won an allowance race for Wong at Ohio’s Mahoning Valley Race Course on March 20. It was her first start in 20 lifetime races outside of California.
“You have to run where you can win,” Taboada said of his recent success.