Timely Writer - Part One: Humble Beginnings

Domenic Imprescia with Timely Writer

 My grandmother's brother was a bit of a legend within the family.  From his very humble beginnings in Fitchburg as a son of Italian immigrants, he became a nationally known thoroughbred horse trainer.  Dom always had a love of horses. His first business was a riding academy at his parents' house on South Street in 1941.

Nov. 13, 1941 Fitchburg Sentinel

He later opened his riding school on Klondike Avenue in Lunenburg and then entered the Merchant Marines during World War Two. 

After returning from the war in 1946 he began a career in used auto sales first with existing car dealers then branching out on his own with a used car business on Water Street.  Soon after starting the auto dealership he became the owner of racehorses in 1947. After a year and a half none of the five horses had won a race, so he took matters into his own hands and became the horse trainer.

Working seven days a week, starting at the stables at 5am and ending at the car lot at 9pm, Dom held down two jobs for 12 years until 1960 when he sold the auto business and became a full time trainer at 42 years old.

Working the New England race circuit he became the trainer of several horses including those from two butchers in Boston, Francis and Peter Martin. In 1980 the Martin’s purchased a colt for $13,500 (a small price for a thoroughbred) and named him Timely Writer after the horse's parents, Staff Writer and Timely Roman. 

1981 - A year of success

At 63 years old, when many consider retirement, Domenic had what may have been the best year of his career.  Under his training he had a promising two-year old filly, Elpaso Patty, a five-year-old colt Soldier Boy, and finally there was the start of the career of his greatest horse Timely Writer.

I do not know much about horse racing but read up on the hierarchy to races.  The Kentucky Derby, for example, is a Grade 1 race, reserved for the best of the best.  There are also Grade 2 and Grade 3 races, which also carry prestige and are stepping stones to qualify for higher Grade races.  At the very bottom of the hierarchy are Claimer races.  Claimer races have a claim amount announced at the start of the race for anyone (usually a trainer or owner) to "claim" or buy the horse at the end of the race.  Win or lose, if someone claims the horse they own it; if no one claims the horse, it stays with the current owner.  This is one of the most common types of races since it allows easy entrance for horses that are new or average performers.  These would be the blue-collar types of races, where the non-millionaire types who love horse racing buy a horse - like two butchers from Boston - and race for a chance at some small prize purses.  Not the stuff of the elite stables and trainers with six or seven figure dollar horses would ever compete.  The claimers were Dom's bread and butter, training horses for the modest owners who would race in Suffolk Downs, Rockingham Park or Gulfstream and Calder in Florida 

So in June 1981, Dom chose a $30,000 Claimer race in Monmouth Park, NJ, for Timely Writer's first race.  Someone could have literally put down $30k to buy the horse at the start of the race so obviously the horse had unknown greatness at that time.  But it did not take long for it to be revealed - he took the top spot in his first race.

His second race at Suffolk Downs in Boston on July 4th was the Mayflower Stakes.  One of two major stakes races held at Suffolk, the other being The Massachusetts Handicap which was held two weeks prior - and won by a 24-1 odds horse - Soldier Boy - also trained by Domenic!  So it is hard to imagine lightning would strike twice for Dom so soon, but Timely Writer easily won and almost broke a 38-year-old track record, missing it by one-tenth of a second.

The same trainer winning the two most prestigious races at Suffolk Downs was unprecedented in the then 47 year history of the Suffolk.  As Dom told the Boston Globe after the race, "If someone told me a couple weeks ago that I would win the Masscap AND the Mayflower - I would have told them they were smoking something."

In August Dom entered Timely Writer in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes in Saratoga, NY.  Again he pulled out a surprise win over premier horses by 4 1/2 lengths.

 

The end of Timely Writer's career as a 2 year old was in another Grade 1 race, The Champagne Stakes in Belmont Park, NY.  This race also featured the other standout, a 2 year old named Deputy Minister, a horse that won eight out if its last nine starts and was considered the top contender for Canadian Horse of the Year as well as the Eclipse Award, the American Thoroughbred awards.  The other contender for the Eclipse - Timely Writer.  This head to head race would surely show the best horse in 1981.

The race ultimately did show the best horse - Timely Writer - with an impressive come from behind win over the 4-5 odd favorite Deputy Minister, winning down the stretch by 5 lengths.  The press were now believers that Timely Writer was the leading contender for the Eclipse Award for a 2 year old Horse of the Year.

Boston Globe October 23, 1981

The $13,500 colt was also fetching $3 million dollars for half-interest in the horse, which would include lucrative stud fees once his racing career was complete.  Dom was also nominated for several awards from the New England Turf Writer Awards.  And Kentucky Derby favorite was mentioned in every article about Timely Writer at this point.  Things could not have been better for the Martin's, Dom Imprescia and Timely Writer. 

But in an unexplainable snub, Deputy Minister was awarded the Eclipse Award for the Outstanding 2 year old.  The owners of Timely Writer took the snub very personally as shown in this Boston Globe article in December 1981.  The Martins as well as the fans of the horse in Boston felt like the elites did not want to accept a horse that rose up the ranks from a claimer to Grade 1 horse compared to a horse with the money and power establishment behind it.

Sports writers in Boston were also outraged at the snub as seen by editorial below:

Dom fared much better at the end of the year with the New England Tuft Writers Awards.  He had a stunning year with not just Timely Writer but two other horses.

In 1982 Timely Writer was poised to be dominant in his 3 year old season including the biggest - The Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.  But there were several big races in Florida for the winter season that would prepare him.

But no one could be prepared for what 1982 would bring and it will go down as one of the most tragic stories in Thoroughbred racing history.

To be continued...