by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — What a difference three years makes.

In fact, what a difference just one year makes for Tony Alagna.

When Alagna opened his stable at Gaitway Farm in central New Jersey in 2009, he had one employee and three horses.

On Saturday, Alagna will have twice that many horses competing at the Meadowlands Racetrack, including My MVP in the $1.5 million Hambletonian. That also gives him six more horses racing on Hambo Day than he had in 2011.

“I would say it sets up to be the biggest opportunities I’ve had, for sure,” Alagna said. “We’ve had stakes winners at different races but this is something. I just told someone yesterday, what a difference a year makes. Last year I had no starters on Hambo Day, I watched the races up in the grandstand. This year I have six starters.”

USTA/Mark Hall photo

My MVP (pictured with caretaker Hector Franco) will start from post five in the Hambletonian.

The marquee starter, of course, will be My MVP.

“He’s coming to the race in good shape,” Alagna said. “He had a great draw the other day getting the five hole. With the way he raced in his elimination I think he’ll give a good effort in the final.”

That won’t be all Alagna is concerned with on Saturday. He also has Rockaround Sue in the $125,000 Thomas D’Altrui SBOA Miss New Jersey, Nikki Beach and Acquavella in the $268,300 Sweetheart and Emeritus Maximus and Captaintreacherous in the $309,050 Woodrow Wilson.

Rockaround Sue is the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Miss New Jersey, for state-sired 3-year-old filly pacers, while Nikki Beach is the 9-5 choice in the Sweetheart, for 2-year-old filly pacers, and Captaintreacherous is the 6-5 favorite in the Woodrow Wilson, for 2-year-old male pacers.

“I think all of them are in good shape,” Alagna said. “With Rockaround Sue winning the elimination last week on the front end, she came out of the race in good shape. She’s got a good shot.

“Captaintreacherous and Nikki Beach are in the stronger half of the entry in both their races. All are capable, that’s for sure.”

While Saturday’s schedule might seem tense and overwhelming for a guy who has been on his own for just three years, it is just the opposite for Alagna. He is enjoying every second of the week leading up to the race and plans on sleeping like a baby Friday night after some of his other horses race.

Alagna not only enjoys training horses for such a big day, he embraces the outside distractions that come with the Hambletonian, such as media responsibilities.

Tony Alagna will send out six starters on Saturday at The Big M.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We had two gentlemen from a Swedish publication who were here taking some pictures. I’m having a great experience and I want other people to have a great experience too. When someone comes all the way from Sweden, I want them to enjoy it while they are here. Once you get through the elims and make it to the finals, you’re supposed to enjoy this week, and I am.

“I had a visitor at the barn a week ago and they couldn’t believe how we opened up. We showed them what they wanted to see and the horses and program and system and stuff. We have an open-door policy. I encourage people to come out. I just tell them to call me a day in advance so I can clean up the barn.”

If Alagna seems over-relaxed for a relative newcomer, it’s because, well, he’s not really a newcomer at all. The Illinois native has been involved in racing since helping his parents as a kid. His mom, Donna Lee Ozment, still trains in Chicago.

“I’m the oldest newcomer around,” he said with a laugh.

As he got older, Alagna went on to work for the Brian Pinske Stable and was the private trainer for Doc and Pat Walker’s Fox Valley Standardbreds Stable. He then joined Erv Miller’s stable as he continued to get the best education a trainer could want.

In 2009, at age 37, Alagna decided to go out on his own with Miller’s blessing. Since that first year — when he had three horses and one employee — he peaked at 90 horses and 20 employees. He has since turned out a few 2-year-olds, but his stable is thriving.

So far this year, Alagna has won 69 races and $1.44 million in purses. Last season, he set career bests with 125 victories and $3.60 million in earnings.

“It’s been a gradual climb,” Alagna said. “I think definitely working for Erv was a great preparation for what I’m doing today. Most of the time I was at one place and he was at another. Everything went through him, the final decisions would be made by Erv, but I would run a barn at a satellite stable somewhere else. It was a great opportunity to see what the decisions would be like when I had to make them.”

He also learned how to gain the right temperament for weeks such as this. He worked for Miller when he sent out Classic Photo in the 2005 Hambletonian, where he finished second to Vivid Photo.

“It meant a lot to be able to be involved with Classic Photo in the Hambletonian and just the countless horses Erv and I raced in stake races over the years,” Alagna said. “That gives you the preparation for what I’m doing today, and that’s being able to handle the pressure of races and do the right thing and enjoy the moment as well.”

Alagna added that working for Pinske also helped in that respect, which is why he is so calm entering this weekend.

“It’s just another day at work,” he said. “The only pressure you feel is the pressure you put on yourself. Working with Erv and Brian I learned to just do my job, do what I need to do. We’ve been preparing all along. Now you have to go forward, know that you’ve done everything you can and hope things go your way.”

Coming into the season, Alagna felt the potential was there to have a year like this, noting that “we bought some really nice horses. When you buy the quality of horses that we bought, expectations are high.”

They are living up to those expectations, putting Alagna exactly where he wants to be at this time of year.

“We always tell everybody this is the time of year I want to be busy,” Alagna said. “I don’t want to be home on the couch. The couch is for January.”