FRIENDLY ADVICE LEADS TO RACING SUCCESS
When it came to business, lifelong Sacramento resident Larry Odbert had a knack for making the right choices—at least often enough to be highly successful.
But more than 10 years after getting into horse ownership, including a few stabs at breeding a couple of the mares he had acquired, the 69-year-old Odbert admits he was stymied. Associated with or in charge of more than 20 businesses during a career of 40-plus years, Odbert wondered whether he was doing the right thing being in the horse trade.
But then along came “Joe.”
Owner Larry Odbert, first row second left, took the advice of longtime friend Joe Blight, left, and purchased graded stakes winner Freeport Joe, pictured, as a yearling out of the Northern California yearling sale.
Freeport Joe, that is. The 5-year-old California-bred gelded son of the deceased top turf sire English Channel has been on a tear at Golden Gate Fields. He has won six of 11 starts dating back to August 2021, with two seconds and a third.
A tyro over Golden Gate’s all-weather Tapeta main track, the late-running Freeport Joe has won two of the biggest races in Northern California in recent months. He grabbed the Berkeley Handicap (G3) in November, upsetting Camino Del Paraiso at odds of 10-1, and most recently captured the listed All American Stakes on May 30.
Overall, the big bay is seven-for-18 for trainer Gloria Haley since making his debut in January 2021. He’s earned $255,824 racing exclusively at Golden Gate.
The best part: Odbert purchased Freeport Joe for the bargain-basement price of $2,000 at the 2018 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Northern California yearling sale.
Odbert said Freeport Joe is named for his good friend Joe Blight, who played an important role in the horse’s acquisition. Back in 1969, Blight was a standout quarterback at C.K. McClatchy High School, which is on Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento.
Odbert said Blight earned the nickname “Freeport Joe” after “Broadway Joe” Namath, who had famously taken the New York Jets to the Super Bowl III championship over the Baltimore Colts in one of the greatest upsets in pro football history.
Through family connections, Odbert and Blight became friends as youngsters and have been pals ever since. It was Blight, a close follower of horse racing, whom Odbert often relied upon for turf advice.
Odbert joked that he calls Blight his “bloodstock agent,” but adds seriously, “I never buy a horse without his say-so.”
Blight recalled, “(In 2018) Larry came to me and said, ‘Look, I need some help here. Nothing is working out.’ And I told him the first thing he had to do is to quit claiming cheap horses. You can’t make it in this game doing that.”
(In 2018) Larry came to me and said, ‘Look, I need some help here. Nothing is working out.’ And I told him the first thing he needed to do is to quit claiming cheap horses. You can’t make it in this game doing that.”
The two friends talked about the Northern California yearling sale that was coming up later that summer in Pleasanton. It’s the sort of auction where an astute buyer with limited resources can find a horse capable of competing at Golden Gate or elsewhere, sometimes at the stakes level.
Odbert had never been to the sale before, but they zeroed in on a pair of English Channel yearlings bred by Richard Barton Enterprises.
Looking for a turf horse that would go long, Blight said he was particularly intrigued by the larger of the pair. Not only was this prospect by English Channel, but his Irish-bred dam, Winds of March, is by Sadler’s Wells.
Winds of March had sold for $1.9 million at the 2007 Keeneland November sale as a 6-year-old broodmare in foal to Kingmambo. But her progeny had never accomplished much. Further along in her breeding career, she was offered at the same sale in 2016. Barton purchased her in foal to English Channel for a mere $5,000.
“Joe (the horse) was big and athletic, and I liked the way he moved,” Blight said. “I expected that with his size, it might take a while before he’d be ready to race.”
Odbert made the only bid on the yearling, which Blight still finds “unbelievable.”
“I think most buyers at that sale are looking for yearlings that will be ready to go after those 2-year-old purses,” he said.
Freeport Joe wasn’t ready for the track as a 2-year-old, nor was he ready at 3.
“He had to grow into his body,” Odbert said. “Mentally, he wasn’t coordinated (when he was younger).”
He also could be quite a handful, the friends acknowledged. They credit Haley for showing infinite patience as “Joe” matured.
“Gloria has done a helluva job with him,” Odbert said.
“She’s the perfect trainer for him,” Blight added. “He’s the kind of a horse that wants everything just the way he wants it. He’s a pretty nervous guy.”
So far, the one thing Freeport Joe hasn’t done is show his mettle on the turf. He’s won only once on the sod in seven tries. He’ll get more opportunities with Golden Gate closed for the summer fair season. Haley plans to run him on the turf at Del Mar Aug. 6 in the California Dreamin’ Stakes at 11⁄16 miles for Calbreds and California-sired runners.
“One thing about Golden Gate is they rarely run races longer than a mile (on the grass), and we think Joe wants more ground,” Blight said.
Odbert, who has eight horses in training, plans to send a couple of maidens to Del Mar as well. For the future, he also has a couple of home-bred yearlings by Sir Prancealot that he feels have good potential.
Odbert and his wife, Susan, live in the Elmhurst section of Sacramento. They have three adult children. He currently is president of two property management companies: Global Capital Concepts Inc. and Andco Farms Inc., which specializes in agricultural acreage.
Odbert said he would like to cut back on those businesses and spend more time on expanding his racing and breeding ventures.
“I’d like to do more with horse racing,” he said, “but it seems to me you’ve got to be in Southern California because the purses are so much better there. So we’ll see.”
And he plans to return with Blight to the NorCal sale this August.
“I’m gonna find another Freeport Joe,” he said.
For his part, Blight said he’s glad he had the chance to help Odbert, “one of the best human beings around,” and he’s enjoyed the journey of Freeport Joe.
“This horse has really given us something to look forward to,” he added. “It’s made me feel younger.”