from the Meadowlands Publicity Department

East Rutherford, NJ — As tri-state area residents prepare to deal with minus 15 wind chills and yet another snow storm this weekend, it is all just part of the job for the Meadowlands’ many horsemen.

While the horses naturally grow a thick coat during the winter, drivers and trainers have to be more resourceful, facing the challenge of bundling up without comprising their agility.

“You have to dress a lot more,” driver Jack Moiseyev said. “When it is windy you have to cover up and change your racing. I wear two pairs of gloves, thermals and two shirts. A nice winter suit and nice warm boots and a face mask, it helps a lot.”

“Layers, lots of layers,” trainer Mark Silva said. “I haven’t been training. I have been waiting for it to get a little warmer, but it has been going on and on a little too long.”

Keeping horses fit and ready to race can be a difficult task when it is so frigid.

“One day, the coldest day of the year, we didn’t train,” said trainer Chris Ryder, who originally hails from the temperate climate of New Zealand. “We didn’t take out the babies and the older horses. The horses that had to qualify and race, we jogged. You need a facemask, good gloves and plenty of clothes. It is hard when you have to train 15 to 20 horses because you are out there a long time. It is easier when you are racing because you are in and out of it, and you are more in then out. There is nothing much you can do for the horses. You just have to slow down a bit.”

“It is tough,” added Mark Ford, who divides his stable between the United States and Canada. “I was up in Toronto on Tuesday, and it is just uninhabitable up there. The cold makes it twice as tough and this weather just keeps going and going with no break. It is tough on the horses, tough on everyone and everything. Trucks don’t want to start. Machinery doesn’t work, and you have to chip ice off everything. It is just miserable.”

Driver Daniel Dube, who grew up in Quebec, is accustomed to the harsh weather.

“I come from Canada, and it is worse up there,” Dube said. “You wear bigger gloves and bigger boots. You can’t do anything about it. You have to work. Where I come from, it is twice as worse, so I can’t complain.”

“It’s just a fact” of life for Hall of Fame driver Cat Manzi. “As long as they keep the scores short, the horses and people will adjust to it,” he said. “You just have to use good sense.”

But Pompano Park is very appealing to trainer Ron Coyne, Jr. right now.

“Florida is looking real nice,” he said. “When you go out you have to wrap up in layers. When it is windy, you have to cover your face to protect from frostbite. It is never easy with a cold spell, especially when it lasts this long. You just do the best you can and use common sense.”

A tough year and a twist of fate marked 2003 for Grieco

An accident and the death of her father made 2003 one of the worst years in the life of Meadowlands trainer Diane Grieco.

But ironically enough, it was being forced to the sidelines, recovering from multiple facial fractures, that enabled her to spend precious time with her father in his final weeks.

Grieco, a 46-year-old from Freehold, New Jersey, was involved in the training accident on August 15, 2003.

“I was jogging a horse at Gaitway,” she recalled, referring to the Standardbred training center in Englishtown, New Jersey. “He was feeling his oats pretty good that day. He started kicking, and I shook the lines to try and get his mind back on business. His tail came up over the lines; it was uneven. Before I knew it, I was thrown from the bike and dumped onto the track. I must have hit my face on the bar or the left wheel. The whole left side of my face near the temple was caved in. I had a broken cheekbone, broken jaw and eye socket. It was a mess. I found out later that (trainer) Larry Remmen was behind me at the time, and he said that I fell forward. I couldn’t even remember.”

Diane Borzillien Grieco, involved in racing since 1980 and a licensed trainer since 1991, has campaigned such accomplished horses as Armbro Lace, Speedmonster and Ali’s Cat.

Now she would have to muster her courage to deal with a long recovery period.

“Dr. Martin Ladman of Marlboro, New Jersey, wired the jaw,” she explained. “He’s an oral surgeon and did a great job. Dr. A. K. Bhattacharia did my plastic surgery. He popped the bone back in place, but it wasn’t real stable there in the jaw area. For two months or so I didn’t do much of anything.

“At the same time that this happened, my father had gotten very sick,” she said. “I went to Buffalo and wound up spending three weeks there with him. That’s where we’re from. I don’t think I could have spent as much time with him had it not been for getting hurt. Things happen in strange ways, I guess. He passed away this fall. It was a very, very stressful time. Did you ever try crying with your mouth wired shut?

“Some of my friends really came through for me while I was down,” she continued. “Linda DiBartolo and Monico Stanislao stepped right in and did whatever needed to be done (for the horses) — no questions asked. It really helped a great deal. My husband has had medical problems, too, so everything kind of came at one time.”

It was the end of October when Grieco resumed her regular routine.

“But I have to be careful,” she explained. “The doctor told me it would be a year or so before the jaw would be 100 percent again. I have to carry a wire cutter around with me at all times, just in case. Plus, I still get very shy around horses coming towards me, gun shy. I’m still at the stage where I naturally shy away. I hope that fades away with time.”

At this time, Grieco and her husband, Mike, have one trainee, Great Adventure, and a broodmare, Pixalena, whom they raced.

“In 1980, I wasn’t in the business,” recalled Grieco, who has 170 career wins and $1.7 million in earnings as a trainer. “I was in the computer field, and I met my husband and his family was involved with the horses. I started helping out, and I loved it. I groomed for a long time; I didn’t get my trainer’s license until much later. Right now, I’m taking care of Great Adventure. He’s in Michele’s name on the program, my stepdaughter. I’ve had him since the end of his three-year-old year. I also work for Jordan Kaplan. But I’m just thankful that it turned out as well as it did. I’ll never forget the time I got to spend with my father at the end.”

Field set for Prix d’Amerique

A field of 18 is scheduled to go postward for the 83rd edition of the Prix d’Amerique on Sunday at Vincennes Racecourse near Paris, France.

The Meadowlands will be open Sunday morning (starting at 9:15 a.m.) to offer simulcast wagering on one of France’s premier trotting events, which offers a purse of one million Euros ($1.25 million US).

The likely favorites are Kesaco Phedo of France, a pair of Swedish horses, Naglo and Hilda Sonett and last year’s winner Abano AS of Germany. No United States horse was entered in the one and one-sixteenth mile test although one of the Swedish entrants, Malabar Circle, was bred in Kentucky.

The Prix d’Amerique field (with driver and country): Ilster d’Espiens, J. H. Treich – France; Jasoda, Gert Lannoo – Belgium; Energetic, Pierre Vercruysse – Sweden; Malabar Circle ÅS, Torbjörn Jansson – Sweden; Royal Gull, Pierre Levesque – Sweden; Zinzan Brooke Tur, Marco Smorgon – Italy; Jardy, J. Ph. Mary – France; Kiwi, Christian Bigeon – France; Naglo, Örjan Kihlström – Sweden; Leda d’Occagnes, Dominik Locqueneux – France; Gebrazac, J. M. Monclin – France; Kesaco Phedo, Jean Michel Bazire – France; Jag de Bellouet, Ch. Gallier – France; Ipson de Mormal, Ulf Nordin – France; Gigant Neo, Jorma Kontio – Sweden; Hilda Zonett, Robert Bergh – Sweden; Abano AS, Jos. Verbeeck – Germany, and General du Pommeau, Jules Lepennetier – France.

Romance meets racing on Valentine’s weekend at The Meadowlands

The unlikely duo of racing and romance converge during Valentine’s weekend at the Meadowlands.

The Meadowlands’ Terraces and Pegasus restaurants will offer special four-course menus for couples in search of a unique dining and entertainment venue for their romantic celebration on Friday, February 13 or Saturday, February 14.

The Terraces menu features a grilled vegetable tower appetizer, Californian mesclun salad, choice of chateaubriand or Atlantic salmon as an entrée and a chocolate Florentine cookie cup filled with strawberry mousse for dessert.

The Valentine’s menu in Pegasus includes an appetizer of cornmeal encrusted fried oysters, the restaurant’s signature Pegasus salad, choice of beef Wellington or Chilean sea bass as an entrée, and chocolate crème brulee with fresh berries for dessert.

The price is $75 per couple in Terraces and $90 per couple in Pegasus. Both packages include a complimentary champagne toast with strawberries. For reservations, call 201-THE-BIGM.