Trainer Gary Hartlage

BORN: 01/05/47, Louisville, Kentucky

RESIDES: Louisville, Kentucky

FAMILY: Jacinda, wife; Jennifer, daughter 

Hartlage brought in 11 horses for the 2009 Spa meeting, a far cry from the days he carried between 30 and 35. 

“Racing has undergone a lot of changes in recent years, stable size being one of them. When I started out in racing, I never thought we’d see the day of so many 100 plus horses under one trainer,” mentioned the trainer              

Hartlage said he can remember when a 20-horse stable was considered large. 

Other important changes he reminds are simulcasting and slots. Of the latter, he said, “what ever is good for the race tracks is good for the horsemen.” 

Around the track, Hartlage is known as “Red Dog”, due partly to his red hair.           

“Mostly, though, when I started training, my first horse was a dog, meaning he couldn’t run much. A couple of fellows in Kentucky put ‘red’ and ‘dog’ together. Suddenly, I had a nickname,” he remembers. 

Veteran fans will recall his runner Tip’s Lad. 

“That was my first stakes winner. I claimed Tip’s Lad for $8,000, or maybe it was $10,000. Anyway, he improved to win a stakes at Canterbury Downs,” remembered Hartlage. 

What racing enthusiast will soon forget how Hartlage got off to such a fantastic start at Oaklawn’s 1997 meeting with six of his first seven starters winning? Gary, or "Red Dog" maintained that momentum and wound up dead-locked with Kenny Smith for the training crown. Each man finished with 26. 

He had 34 horses here that year. 

Hartlage put a lot of drama in that training race, coming right down to the wire. He sent out Krigeorj's Gold to take the next-to-last race on the final day's program, the $100,000Fifth Season Breeders' Cup.     

For several seasons, Judge T C headed Gary’s stable. Judge T C was a winner of more than $800,000 including Oaklawn's 1994 Rebel Stakes and 1996 Crabapple. Sea Trek was a Hartlage trainee as were Savings, Packet, Nice Serve and High Heels 

Gary excels with horses coming off layoffs. In recent years, he's had repeated Oaklawn winners, who had been away more than 90 days. When Judge T C won the Rebel Stakes, the horse hadn't raced in five months because of a bad foot. 

Asked the current star of the Hartlage barn, Gary was quick to say, “French Kiss, who won here opening day. Pound for pound, she is an excellent prospect. Only thing, French Kiss is very small. She isn’t even 15 hands high. Judge T C was the best horse I've trained."