Trainer Larry Rivelli, who had
a two-win advantage over conditioner Scott Becker entering Sunday’s closing day
of the 2011 Arlington Park season, officially earned his first trainer
championship at Chicago’s northwest oval at scratch time when Becker scratched
two of the three horses he had entered for the final program of Arlington’s
86-day meeting.
Born and raised in Chicago,
the 40-year-old Rivelli is the grandson of the late longtime Arlington
Park trainer Pete DiVito and his
uncle is Arlington conditioner Jimmy DiVito,
but Rivelli becomes the first member of that family to win Arlington’s
leading trainer honors.
“It’s an honor to win leading
trainer honors at a major track like Arlington
because the quality of the other trainers is so high here,” said Rivelli during
training hours Sunday. “I believe if the meet had been just a little bit
longer Cat would have caught me.”
Rivelli was referring to
trainer Wayne Catalano, winner of the last six Arlington
training titles and currently second on Arlington’s
all-time leading trainer list.
“There are a like about a
million people that had a lot to do with helping me achieve this,” said
Rivelli, “and I should thank every one of them. I’ve got a very good crew
of people working for me and this is really more like an achievement for the
whole team. When I first got into this business I was told that if you
have good people around you, you will get good results, and I’ve always found
that to be the case.
“Of course, I also owe a great
deal to my owners and I have to thank them as well,” said Rivelli, who began
training on his own in 1999. “My owners are all a great bunch of guys,
and fortunately they know that there are going to be a lot of disappointments
along the way in this game, but they have always stuck by me and I really am
grateful to them.
“My grandfather Pete started
taking me to the races when I was 6-years-old, but the first guy I ever worked
for was my uncle Jimmy,” Rivelli said. “Jimmy is just an awesome horseman
and I’ve learned just about everything I know from him. He can just about
pick who is going to be a good horse right out of its mother’s womb, and he
doesn’t ever pay very much for them. If I can learn what he’s already
forgotten, I figure I’ll be all right.”
LEADING JOCKEY HONORS STILL UNDECIDED SUNDAY MORNING
Arlington Park’s
2011 jockey championship was still undecided between James Graham, J. Z.
Santana and Junior Alvarado before Sunday’s closing day program of the 86-day
meeting.
Irish-born Graham had 79 wins
as of Sunday morning, while Puerto Rican-born Santana and Venezuelan-born
Alvarado both had 78.
After scratch time Sunday,
Graham was still listed aboard seven mounts for the day, while Santana had six
and Alvarado also had six.
JOCKEY JULIO FELIX SCORES SATURDAY HAT TRICK
Jockey Julio Felix, sixth in Arlington’s
jockey standings this season in his second summer at the Chicago
oval, scored a riding triple Saturday on the penultimate day of Arlington’s
2011 session.
Felix won the second race of
the day on M and H Stables’ Number One Gal for trainer Ray Tracy Jr., came
right back to the winner’s circle after the third astride Silver Wing Stable’s
Quite Acceptable for conditioner Manny Perez and concluded his hat trick in the
sixth aboard George Ditola, Coby Tresner and Charles Jennings’ Embers Glowing
for trainer Ingrid Mason.
LASSIE WINNER ROCKET TWENTYONE WORKS SUNDAY MORNING
Frank Fletcher’s Rocket
Twentyone, heroine of the Grade III Arlington-Washington Lassie Sept. 10,
accomplished a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.40 Sunday morning under the guidance
of regular rider Eddie Razo.
The juvenile daughter of
Indian Charlie, trained by Tom Howard, recorded early splits of 38 flat and
50.40, and then galloped out three-quarters in 1:15.40 while preparing for her
next scheduled engagement in Keeneland’s Grade I Alcibiades Oct. 7
SERVICES FOR JANELL BETTIS TUESDAY IN LOUISIANA
Services for Janell Bettis,
wife of Arlington trainer Charlie Bettis, will
be held Tuesday at the David Funeral Home in Erath,
Louisiana.
Visitation will be at 10 a.m.,
a Rosary is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Lourdes
in Erath, with interment to follow at Our Lady of the Lourdes
Cemetery.