Trainer Bob Holthus
Born:6/24/34, Table Rock, Nebraska Resides:Royal, Arkansas Family:Bonnie, wife; Debbie, daughter; David and Paul, sons
When one encounters Bob Holthus, he is meeting an Oaklawn legend. Holthus began racing at the Spa in 1953 and hasn't missed a meeting since.
Although he finished third to Cole Norman in winners in 2006, he led all Oaklawn trainers in earnings. His stable, headed by Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron, accumulated $1,468,990. For the entire year, Bob’s stable won 53 races and earned $3,303,696.For the 2007 Spa season, Holthus won 12 races and earned $560,530.
Holthus ranks the winningest trainer ever at the Spa. Over the years he has won training honors at Oaklawn nine times.
“Henry Forrest won 11 Oaklawn titles. I don’t see me ever catching him,” Holthus chatted. “Racing has changed a lot since Henry was winning his titles here.”Not only has Holthus been formidable at Oaklawn, he has won training titles at Arlington, Detroit Race Course, Ellis, Hawthorne, Louisiana Downs and a fall meeting at Turfway. Seemingly Holthus always has a “name” horse in his barn. In addition to Lawyer Ron, there have been Officer Rocket, Greater Good, The Happy Hopper and Ruby’s Surprise in recent years.
In 2006 at Oaklawn, prior to winning the Arkansas Derby, Lawyer Ron won the Southwest and Rebel. Previously, he had saddled Afternoon Affair to capture the 2000 Southwest.
The current star is Pure Clan, who as a two-year-old, won the Pocahontas and the Golden Rod at Churchill Downs in 2007.Holthus lists Proper Reality, Lawyer Ron, Bay Phantom and Talent Show as the four best horses he's trained. He developed Proper Reality into a winner of $1.7 million, including the 1988 Arkansas Derby.He won several Oaklawn stakes with that horse, Overpeer, Bay Phantom, Potentiality, Our Trade Winds, Proper Reflection, One Dot and Spike Nail. In 1999, Holthus sent out The Happy Hopper to win the Dixie Belle and Martha Washington. During the 1998 season, he sent forth Proper Banner to win the Paseana Stakes.The previous year his stable star was Mama's Pro, winner of the Dixie Belle and Martha Washington Stakes.
Thumbing through the history of Oaklawn stakes and handicaps, Holthus said, “I don’t have at least a win in all of them. But, I’ve sure won a lot of them.”
Holthus saddled Son of Rocket to win the 2001 Mountain Valley and Southwest, The Happy Hopper to account for the Carousel, Dorothy Ann the Bayakoa, Tub Topper the Rainbow and Suzanne's Flying the Rainbow Miss. Others in the mix were Proper Banner and King’s Comman.
"Back when I started training, there were not as many stakes as there are today. My late father, Paul Holthus, bought his first horse the year I was born," the trainer remembers."He and Bryan Wise taught me the profession. C.O. Viar really helped. He gave me my first chance with a public stable so that I could do a lot of claiming.
A special honor came to Holthus six years ago when he was inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame in downtown Hot Springs."Nothing stays the same in racing," Holthus remarked. "I never start a meeting feeling Ineed to win a certain number of races. Rather, I hope to do well. When you've been training more than fifty years like I have, you know there will be good days and bad ones. The late Charlie Whittingham summed up horse training real well when he commented, ' the bad days always last too long and the good ones never long enough.’”