Trainer Gary Hartlage

BORN: 01/05/47, Louisville, Kentucky  RESIDES: Louisville, Kentucky  FAMILY: Jacinda, wife; Jennifer, daughter

Among the most knowledgeable horsemen on the Arkansas and Kentucky circuit, Gary Hatlage is concluding another good Oaklawn season.

Hartlage tied for the 1997 Oaklawn training title in some eleventh hour high drama when he sent out Krigeorj's Gold to take the next-to-last race on the final day's program, the $100,000 Fifth Season Breeders' Cup.

This enabled him to dead-lock Kenny Smith for the title, each man finishing with 26 winners.

A disheartening event to the Hartlage barn this meeting was losing High Heels, who suffered a hair-line fracture and has since been retired. High Heels is recalled as heroine of last year’s $250,000 Fantasy Stakes.

Around the track, Hartlage is known as “Red Dog”, due partly to his red hair.

“Mostly, though, when I started training, one of my first horses was named Red Dog,” he remembers.

For several seasons, Judge T C headed Gary’s stable. Judge T C was a winner of more than $800,000 including Oaklawn's 1994 Rebel Stakes and 1996 Crabapple. Sea Trek was a Hartlage trainee as were Savings and Packet.

"Judge T C was among the best horses I've trained," said Hartlage.

Gary excels with horses coming off layoffs. In recent years, he's had repeated Oaklawn winners, who had been away more than 90 days.