Baron Hopes 'Promises' Continue to Be 'Fulfilled'

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL–Robert Baron has owned racehorses for 20 years, but his name has only just recently become more widely known in the industry thanks to the aptly named Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford), who runs in Saturday's GI Florida Derby at Gulfstream. The chestnut lived up to his name, which is a sentimental one for Baron and his wife Deborah, with a front-running victory in the Mar. 3 GII Fountain of Youth S.

“I was struggling trying to name the horse and Dale [Romans] thought he was a nice horse,” Baron said. “It was August 2017, we hadn't named him yet and he was going to run him in September. It was around my anniversary so we said, 'Why not Promises Fulfilled?' We were celebrating 44 years of marriage, fulfilling our promises to one another, raising our kids and all those types of things. I told Dale, 'I am throwing you in this too because you always promised me we would have a good horse.' He said, 'I hear you.' I actually submitted the name on my anniversary Aug. 18.”

Baron grew up in upstate New York and still lives in that region today, where he runs a commercial construction business and two dealerships, Albany Mack Sales and Albany Truck Sales. He spent a lot of time at Saratoga and came from a family of racing fans, so when the opportunity arose to become an owner by claiming a horse with California-based trainer Mike Mitchell, he took it.

“I claimed some horses on the West Coast and some on the East Coast and then tried to do a little breeding,” said Baron, whose claims include MGSW Kessem Power (NZ) (Kessem). “I made all the classic mistakes, so around 2011, I decided to start buying horses at the Keeneland sale. I used Dale and a gentleman by the name of Frank Smith, who breaks all of Dale's babies in South Carolina.”

Baron now keeps his entire 10-horse string with Romans, which is led by Promises Fulfilled. A decisive debut winner at Churchill Downs in September, the $37,000 KEESEP buy followed suit with a gate-to-wire optional claimer score at Keeneland a month later. Third in what proved to be a very productive renewal of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in November, he was subsequently shelved and returned with an 18-1 upset in the Fountain of Youth.

“I wasn't really that surprised,” Baron said of the Fountain of Youth win. “I was kidding Dale going to the race. I said, 'Did I tell you I've got this great trainer Dale Romans and he is going to bring this horse around?' A lot of people didn't know that in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Promises Fulfilled popped a splint in the beginning of the race. He led until about 100 yards from the wire. He was laid up through December into early January.”

Baron continued, “He put like five works into him to get him ready for the Fountain of Youth. I went to watch him train a few times and he was doing :59 and change easy. He is just such an easy moving horse. I think we had high expectations for the horse [going into the Fountain of Youth]. We didn't think he was going to run poorly. He was training so well going into that race. I was hopeful, let's put it that way.”

Promises Fulfilled get his first shot at top-level company Saturday in a test that includes GII Holy Bull S. romper Audible (Into Mischief) and GII Remsen S. hero Catholic Boy (More Than Ready). His owner believes he is up to the challenge.

“I am going to use the word hopeful,” Baron said. “Every race you go into, you step up in class and there is a different set of horses you have to run against. He, once again, has to move forward and I think he is capable of doing so. He only had five works going into the last race and I think the race did a lot for him as far as condition. Dale says he is training great. He is a May foal too, so he is still developing, still growing and still putting on weight. He has to improve, but I am hopeful that he will do that.”

Currently ranked number five on the GI Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 52 points, Promises Fulfilled's spot in the Derby starting gate is already secured and Baron's family is wasting no time planning for their trip to Louisville.

“It's pretty exciting,” Baron said. “All my kids think they are going, so I have to make a lot of reservations to get them all down there. Of course, they are all grown ups. We have four kids and 10 grandkids, so I've got a lot of work to do!”

Baron and his wife will also be in attendance for the Florida Derby and even rearranged their vacation plans to be at Gulfstream.

My wife and I will be there,” Baron said. “I am actually heading up from my vacation to see the race. I wouldn't want to miss that. How many chances do you get to run in the Florida Derby?”