Interview with Gary Chudobiak - by Nick Costa
Photo by Nick Costa, Gary Chudobiak with Gabby's Victory.
Equine Niagara News (ENN): What city were you born in?
Gary Chudobiak (GC): Niagara Falls, Ontario.
ENN: What got you started at the racetrack?
GC: My father had horses when I was a young boy and he used to take me here everyday and I would watch guys like Nick Gonzalez and some of the older guys train horses and I fell in love with the business.
ENN: At what young age did you start working with the horses?
GC: When I was eleven years old. I began by walking hots for a local trainer here, Tom Gostlin. He had an outfit named Doncaster Farms.
ENN: When you started working here at the track, was your long term target to become a trainer or weren't you looking that far down the road?
GC: No, I wasn't looking that far down the road. I was just looking to own one first and everything just led to doing some things myself, right up to being a trainer.
ENN: Besides Tom Gostlin as you previously mentioned, who were some of the other horsemen you learned from while coming up through the ranks?
GC: People like Nick Mileni, Stacey Cooper, Wendy Wolff, some very good horse people in their own regard.
ENN: You've been licensed for just a little over a year, so prior to obtaining your trainers license, what other jobs on the backstretch did you perform?
GC: Everything. Mucking stalls, grooming, walking. That's where you have to start in this business, from the bottom and work your way up or you won't understand when you do become a trainer what it does involve in regards to the smaller duties, in additon to the important duties.
ENN: How many horses are currently in your care?
GC: Approximately ten at any given time, give or take one or two that come and go.
ENN: How about telling our racing fans the names so that they may be able to follow along.
GC: Sure, there is Gabby's Victory, Philly Frenzy, Woman's Bay, Appealing Top, Joey's Smokin Gun, there's also Kinshasa's Paridis who I recently claimed and I have two new horses that just joined the barn, El Gran Brett and Amylee's Angel. NOTE: Gabby's Victory holds the Fort Erie turf course distance record for a mile and a sixteenth, winning in 1:48 on June 23rd 2009.
ENN: Prior to the start of the current racing season, did you set any goals for yourself and your stable?
GC: No personal goals, what's more important for me is to try to make sure my owners at least break even and have a good time in this business. It's hard to make money in this sport, so anything over and above that is always a bonus. Make sure the owners get their moneys worth.
ENN: An important key to success for any barn is the help it employs. Talk briefly about your help and how vital it is to the daily operation.
GC: Help can definately can make or break your barn and I am so very fortunate to employ one of the BEST grooms in the business in Charley Brown. He is truly the glue that holds this stable together.
ENN: Take us through the emotions that you had when you got that very FIRST win as a trainer and what it meant to you.
GC: It was a big thrill, it was my first win. I had just received my license and the season was coming to an end and I was hoping that it wouldn't take until this year, so it was nice to get that out of the way. It was with my personal horse, Gabby's Victory, so it was extra special.
ENN: Very noticable down in the walking ring, as well as on the track are your racing silks, the color orange with the big black star, share with our readers of how that design came about?
GC: They were actually my father's back in the late 70's, early 80's. He was getting a little bad sighted, so he changed his colors so he could see them on the backside a little better and my mother helped design them. He passed away in 1982 and I kept them in my closet for twenty years until I bought my own horse and put them on my first horse and away we went, it was a winner that day.
ENN: What advice do you have for people who want to get involved in ownership?
GC: Do your homework. Make sure you search out a reputable trainer, that's probably your first and most important venture before you get underway. After that, just trust in what they do for you, not get too involved and let them do their job.
ENN: Tell me the selling points about yourself as a trainer that you would share with a prospective owner that would make that person choose Gary Chudobiak to train his/her horse.
GC: First and foremost, honesty. Be honest with them whether its good news or bad news. Try to point them in the right direction and not have them waste their money or their time on some horses that may not be suitable for racing anymore, or not hang on to them any longer than possible. Make sure you be honest with your owners because those are the people that ARE spending the money. You can make or break your stable by just being honest.
ENN: What avenues will you persue when a horse in your barn can no longer race, whether its due to an injury or just not being competitive enough to earn its keep?
GC: I would make sure I can find a good home for the horse. If I wasn't capable myself, I would go through people that I trust to ensure that the horse gets a good home. Then do follow-up checks to make sure that the horse is okay and doing well. There are alot of farms in Ontario and alot of people that would take them in and give them a loving home. It's just a matter of doing your homework and making sure that they do get there.
