Ask Tampa Bay Downs trainer Jamie Ness what he plans to do next year for an
encore, and you’re likely to draw a blank stare. When the clock strikes midnight
on December 31, Ness will be officially crowned as North America’s leading
trainer for 2012, ending the five-year reign of Steven Asmussen.
Through Wednesday, the 38-year-old Ness — who finished second to Asmussen in
2010 and ’11 — had saddled 394 winners from 1,249 starters, a remarkable 31.5
percent strike rate that is also number one among trainers with at least 400
starters. Ness runners have earned more than $6.7 million, 12th in the national
standings.
Given the fact he manages more than 100 horses in training at six different
racetracks for his sole client, Chicago-area businessman Rich Papiese’s Midwest
Thoroughbreds, another training title will be foremost among the goals Ness sets
for 2013.
But the Heron, South Dakota, native knows the only way to stay on top is by
following the same daily regimen — which starts by arriving at his barn at 5
a.m. (EST) every day and usually ends with him watching race replays until 10 or
11 p.m., searching for prospects Midwest can add to its relentless roster.
“The wins title doesn’t really mean that much to me,” said Ness, who has won
the last six Tampa Bay Downs training titles (tying with Kathleen O’Connell in
2009-10 and Gerald Bennett in 2010-11) and leads the current standings with
eight victories.
“I’m the same guy that I was when I had eight horses here (in 2005). I still
drive my 2007 Pacifica. I’m no different if I’m number one or number 40,” said
Ness, who downplays his chances of being considered for an Eclipse Award as
North America’s leading trainer.
“I’m not going to walk around here saying, ‘I’m number one,’ ” Ness added.
“Obviously, when you do that well and make that much money, things can change. …
but I don’t really care that much for the limelight. This is a very consuming
job, and if it gets to where it’s not consuming, you make mistakes and slip up
and you’re not as good as you should be.”
Mandy Ness, Jamie’s wife and a former jockey before injuries ended her
career, attests that success will not change his personality or his approach to
training. The couple will be married three years in April and they have a
two-month-old daughter, Hannah Annmarie.
“He is still the same humble person he always has been,” Mandy said. “We’ve
been together four years, and he hasn’t changed at all. He appreciates every win
we get, whether it’s a $5,000 claiming race or a $100,000 stakes. Every one is
special.”
Like Asmussen, Todd Pletcher, Dale Romans and a handful of other
conditioners, Ness manages a mega-stable with runners currently based at Tampa
Bay Downs, Gulfstream, Penn National, Laurel and Aqueduct (as well as Delaware,
which currently is closed for racing). He has five assistant trainers and
oversees more than 50 employees.
What’s different is that Ness trains only for Midwest Thoroughbreds, which
could be voted an Eclipse Award as North America’s leading owner after finishing
second in 2011 to Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey.
Midwest — which also employs Roger Brueggemann and Tom Amoss as trainers —
has won a national-record 538 races (and counting) through Wednesday.
This will be the third consecutive wins title and second money title for
Midwest, which has amassed purse earnings of more than $10 million — almost
twice the earnings of runner-up John C. Oxley.
Papiese is the founder of Midwest Store Fixtures, a leader in the design,
manufacturing and implementation of retail merchandising displays, fixtures and
environments.
After growing Midwest Store Fixtures into a $40 million a year corporation,
Papiese appointed his wife Karen president of the firm and turned his focus to
Thoroughbreds. He joined forces with Ness in 2008, and the following year
Papiese purchased Thunder Ranch near Anthony, Florida, a 137-acre facility where
Midwest keeps yearlings, layups, those recovering from minor ailments and a
handful of retirees.
Managed by former trainer Hector Magana, the farm features 120 stalls, a
six-furlong training track with a chute and an equine aquacizer, which improves
horses’ fitness and mental well-being.
Papiese says Ness leaves few details to chance, a trait they share.
“Jamie and I are fairly similar people,” Papiese said from his home in Dyer,
Indiana. “When it comes to racing, we both do a lot of homework.
“He is very thorough, and he sees the small details in everything. He sees
things other people don’t see,” Papiese said. “From the time we drop a claim
(for a horse), he knows where we are going with that horse right away.
“You would be hard-pressed to find someone who works as hard as he does.
Besides his family and a few other things, he doesn’t have a whole lot of
outside interests. I don’t think I will ever find a better conditioner or a
better person than Jamie Ness.”
Like the man he replaced at the top of the national standings, Asmussen, and
Hall of Fame trainer William Mott, Ness was born in a state few racing fans will
ever think of visiting, unless it is to see Mount Rushmore.
John Ness, Jamie’s father, introduced him to the sport and still trains a
small string in Nebraska. But just the experience of growing up on a farm — in
a part of the country where people’s relationship to the land and livestock
defines success, even survival — helped Jamie get to the level he is at today.
“It’s a tough life growing up there. When it’s 20 below and snowing and kids
on the East Coast are inside watching TV, you’re out feeding the cows and
horses,” Ness said. “Or if we weren’t doing that or chopping the ice, we were
playing in the snow because we didn’t have anything else to do.
“I think it teaches you discipline and a work ethic. The people are a little
different — they’re more community and farm-oriented — and you learn a lot
about responsibility. I would love to have my daughter grow up out there. I
really would.”
Mandy Ness — whose mother, Glenda McKeever, and father, the late Billy
McKeever, were also jockeys — says that Hannah Annmarie is certain to grow up
on the racetrack. The baby is already a familiar sight to many, whether it’s at
the Ness barn, in her stroller on the grandstand apron or dozing on her father’s
chest as he watches replays late into the night.
“She will probably know more about horse racing than any other little girl,”
Mandy said, laughing. “He says ‘No’ to the racetrack – he wants her to be a
doctor or a lawyer or something like that.
“Having her hasn’t changed anything. She has just added more joy to our life
and made it more complete,” Mandy said.
Jamie admits it probably is inevitable Hannah Annmarie will gravitate toward
Thoroughbreds and the racetrack. Yet his profession’s grueling lifestyle and
365-days-a-year demands make him yearn for something better, or at least less
time-consuming.
“I love my job, but it’s a job fit for very few people,” Ness said. “It’s a
tough job with a lot of ups and downs and a lot of stress.
“I guess as a father, everybody wants to see their daughter go to college and
be a businesswoman or something like that,” said Ness, himself a graduate of
South Dakota State with a degree in business economics and minors in marketing
and journalism. “But whatever she wants to do, that’s fine.”
It is just that the job is so demanding, at least if you crave winning as
much as Ness and Papiese. Their success is virtually unprecedented and derives
from spending nearly all their waking hours studying horses and past
performances and race conditions. Plus, counting on their legwork to prove their
judgments right most of the time, because even then it’s amazing to win at a 25
percent clip, let alone more than 30 percent.
As their successes continue to mount, Papiese and Ness plan to keep upgrading
the quality of their stock through clever claims and crafty yearling and private
purchases. Which means study, study and more study.
Watching replays, Ness observes how horses are moving, how they finish and
how they come back after a race. If he doesn’t like the way a horse is
traveling, he’ll scratch it from his list.
On the other side of the coin, he keeps a close watch for horses with
potential that might be running over their heads or competing in conditions that
don’t suit. All of this preparation and study is done with a mind toward
acquiring horses that fit Midwest’s program and the tracks where the stable
competes.
“You have to be prepared,” Ness said. “That’s why we are able to have a big
stable — because we win races and are able to sustain the business and make a
profit. If you don’t do the work, you risk relying on luck.”
His skill in claiming horses and moving them up the competitive ladder has
attracted respect and envy from other trainers and racing followers. In January
of 2007, Ness claimed a five-year-old Florida-bred named Lookinforthesecret for
$12,500 out of a winning effort at Tampa Bay Downs.
Owned by his own Jagger Inc. outfit, Lookinforthesecret turned into a cash
cow, finishing first or second in 19 of his next 20 starts. Luck played its
inevitable role, too: Ness entered him first time back for a $20,000 claiming
tag, but no other trainer took the plunge and Lookinforthesecret returned to the
Ness barn after a 10 1/4-length victory.
Lookinforthesecret went on to win eight stakes for Ness, including
back-to-back editions of the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, the 2008
Pelican and Super Stakes and the $250,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint Championship
at Calder that spring. He retired with career earnings of $553,456.
In February of this year at Tampa Bay Downs, Ness claimed the six-year-old
gelding Guam Typhoon on behalf of Midwest Thoroughbreds for $25,000.
Guam Typhoon won six races in a row after the claim, extending his winning
streak to eight. His triumphs included the Chesapeake Stakes at Colonial, the
Senator Robert C. Byrd Memorial at Mountaineer and the Changing Times at Penn
National.
Guam Typhoon is stabled at Tampa Bay Downs after recuperating from a slight
injury and should return to competition soon, Ness said.
In any endeavor, taking the guesswork out of the equation usually paves a
path to greater success. All signs indicate Ness is approaching his prime as a
trainer, which may be scary to his rivals but is a credit to his dedication.
“Rich Papiese and I are very competitive people,” Ness said. “We’re good at
what we do, and it takes a lot of work to be that way. The key is being smart
about what you’re doing.
“We like a lot of action,” Ness added. “We had eight horses running the other
day all over the country, and to us that is as good as having one horse in a
stakes race.”
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