When Joker won the Pentecost Grand Prix in Lebanon as the
improbable longshot in the1960s, the Arabian horse brought owner Bassim Halwani
national coverage and made himself a household name. Now Halwani and his son
Fadi are doing the same in the United States as Thoroughbred owners under the
name Joker Racing LLC.
After starting off slowly when they first returned to
horse racing three years ago, they are driving up their wins and leading the
owner standings for the 2014 Calder meet.
Joker was the most successful horse Bassim ever owned,
racing 19 times and winning 15 of those starts.
“He was a super horse,” Bassim said. “He used to beat the giants. He held the
record for the 2,000 meter in Lebanon. Nobody could beat it.”
From the very inception of the horse’s name, Joker
established a unique bond between father and son, becoming the moniker for their
owner name in the United States — Joker Racing — honoring the star horse’s memory.
“My father took me to the barn one day and asked me to name
a horse he had just bought,” Fadi explained. “I must have been about six years old at
the time. While small in stature, Joker was all about heart and determination.
One of his most memorable races was a head-to-head contest with the prohibitive
favorite Arabi at the 1967 2,000-meter Pentecost Grand Prix. Both horses took
off leaving the rest of the field some 15 lengths behind. Joker ended up being
declared the winner by a nose, and as the saying goes, ‘The crowd went
absolutely wild.’ You never forget moments of excitement like these. Having
Joker was a privilege, and the memory of his indomitable spirit lives on through
Joker Racing.”
Bassim spent much of the 1950s through the 1970s as a
horseman in Lebanon, first enjoying the game on his own and then later with his
son.
“I love horses as well as horse racing, the anticipation
and the ability to predict a winner is what drives my passion,” Bassim stated.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 17 years old. It’s in my blood. My family was
against it, but hey, I’m stubborn. I had horses actively racing in Lebanon even
while I was studying aeronautical engineering at Tri-State University in Angola,
Indiana. Having racehorses was fun and glamorous; it opened doors for me in
Lebanon. Wherever I went, I was welcomed because I was a horseman. People always
wanted tips to play on Saturdays and Sundays, which I was always happy to give.”
“That’s probably what seduced my father into racing,” said Fadi in regards to
the family home where Bassim grew up, which was built across the street from the
racetrack and faced the grandstand. “The excitement was palpable as waves of
explosive cheers would flood the air on the half hour every Saturday and Sunday
afternoons. I got a taste of that as I grew up while visiting my grandparents’
home on weekends.”
As Fadi grew up he was also able to ride his father’s
horses on occasions, galloping in company in the sand dunes. When the family
moved to the United States in the 1979 because of the Civil War in Lebanon, they
left everything behind, including their involvement with horses, to start their
lives from scratch in a new country. It wasn’t until three years ago when Fadi
was talking to an acquaintance who happened to own racehorses at Calder that the
Halwanis were reintroduced to the horse racing business — this time with
Thoroughbreds.
“He said, ‘Well, if you’d like to give it a try here, I can
always introduce you to some people on the track,” Fadi recalled. “I suggested
that to my father around his 80th birthday, and his face lit up at the prospect.
Before we knew it we had a barn full of horses.”
The idea of returning to the sport that he had a passion
for decades ago ignited a spark in Bassim that he once had for the game but had
remained dormant while the family transitioned from life in Lebanon to the United States
and he worked as an engineer. While the Halwanis returned to the game with
enthusiasm, their victories did not come easily, and success did not truly come
until this year, when all of the pieces fell into place for Joker Racing.
The Halwanis’ first faced a challenge in their new
endeavor, entering a game with a different breed of horse and a different system
and structure of racing than that in Lebanon. At the beginning, they mainly
purchased horses that had never before raced, then eventually transitioned into
claiming horses, which has brought them their success. Now, with a few
broodmares in addition to the claimed horses that they race, they are looking to
expand their business and enter the world of breeding to have some homegrown
horses to call their own.
“We were not successful at the beginning until we found the
right trainers, and everything clicked,” Fadi noted. “With their help we
realized that the stock we had at the time was not conducive to success. We gave
a few horses away to start new careers and retired a few while claiming new
replacements. We eventually rebuilt the team in its entirety except for Glacken
Road. You generally have to pay a price to learn a new business and
unfortunately this was no different.”
“There is a big lesson to be learned in this success story
— a lesson in perseverance and positive attitude,” Fadi said of his father.
“Here is a man who in his 80s decided to start a new venture and who, while
repeatedly facing failure, never wavered and always believed that he could win.
If it wasn’t for him, I would have probably jumped ship when things got really
bad. I am humbled and appreciative of the lesson.”
Joker Racing persevered and has now reached the top, coming
from winless in its first season of racing back in 2011 to 21 wins so far in
2014, placing Joker Racing at the top of the leading owner rankings for the 2014
Calder meet.
Joker Racing first raced in 2011, going winless in six
starts. The ownership progressed to 12 wins from 77 starts in 2012 and advanced
to 16 wins from 125 starts in 2013. From 2011-2013 Joker Racing also started
horses in partnerships, collecting seven wins from 36 among four different
listing partnerships. Joker Racing already surpassed its’ yearly career high
having amassed 21 victories from 88 starts this year through June 27. All 21
wins came at Calder, giving Joker Racing a four-win advantage over St. George
Stable, LLC and Lady Luck Stable, who are tied in second with 17 wins apiece.
Joker Racing is now making a name for itself just like its namesake did way back
when.
One of Joker Racing’s most successful horses this year has
been the four-year-old filly Don’tcallmecharley, whom Joker Racing claimed last
November at Calder. She won five starts from eight races at Calder in 2014. The
four-year-old filly Glacken Road, as well as the four-year-old filly My House and the
four-year-old gelding Belief System, are a few of the other horses who have
contributed to Joker Racing’s wins this year to help the Halwanis’ reach the top
of the owner standings.
“By February we decided we were going for number one,” Bassim said.
“When we realized that we had a chance of
becoming leading owner we pushed harder and upped our efforts,” Fadi added. “It has been our
trainers Tommy and Lisa Schell’s resolute commitment to reach this goal in honor
of my father, and I cannot thank them and the barn crew enough for that.”
Helped by Joker Racing’s 21 wins, Schell is leading his own
standings with 24 training victories. He is one victory ahead of trainer
Christos Gatis, who has 21 wins. Many of Gatis’ wins came for Lady Luck.
The Halwanis have based their horses at Calder since
starting to race Thoroughbreds in the United States and first started working with the
Schell’s toward the end of last year. While Bassim spends many mornings at the
track watching horses train and attending the races every time his horses hit
the track, Fadi, 53, comes to the races as much as he can while juggling his
multiple Internet businesses and product line for horses.
In Lebanon as a young owner, Bassim made it a point to hold
his horses for their winner’s photo whenever they won races. Now 83, Bassim
continues to show his love for his horses by walking them into the winner’s
circle with gusto practically every race they win.
“There is no sense having somebody else walking them when
you own them,” Bassim remarked. “You might as well do it yourself. Hopefully the
horsemen will catch up with it and then start doing it here. That’s the beauty
of it.”
The passion, love, and devotion for the sport brought the
Halwanis’ into the game and back to it again, and is where they plan to be for
the foreseeable future.
“Winning the top honor of leading owner for the Calder meet
would be of great pride to Joker Racing,” Fadi said. “The title would serve as a
reward for our determination to stick with the game despite the lack of early
success. The honor would also serve as proof that no matter what obstacles one
faces in life or the challenges that arise along the way, the difficulties can
be overcome to reach ultimate satisfaction.”
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com