Rob Masiello

7th-Santa Anita, $72,500, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 3-27, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.07, ft, 2 lengths. ANYWHO (f, 3, Bolt d'Oro--Fancy and Flashy {SP}, by Zensational) , making her first start in the Hronis Racing colors, took her record to a perfect two-for-two with a determined victory at Santa Anita Monday. The 9-2 shot prompted the pace of longshot Liberal Lady (Mor Spirit), quickened on the bend to challenge the pacesetter and grabbed the lead into the stretch. She shrugged off favored Coffee in Bed (Curlin) down the lane and sailed...

Rob Masiello has been coming up to Saratoga since he was in the seventh grade. It all started when he went to "nerd camp" at Skidmore College one summer. He was miserable there, missing his usual summer vacation spent playing baseball with his friends. One day his parents came to visit and told him they would take him home if it was what he really wanted, but first they wanted to go to the track. "We had a great time and I ended up staying," Masiello recalled. "Then it sort...

Rob Masiello's fleet-footed Fiya (Friesan Fire) looks to remain unbeaten on the grass while making his first start of the year in Churchill's GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. The dark bay broke his maiden third out on the Laurel lawn last June before earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for a sharp allowance tally in July for trainer Michael Merryman. He was subsequently offered in the Wanamaker's July Online Auction, and Masiello ponied up $400,000 to acquire him. Transferred to Tom Albertrani, Fiya picked up right where he left...

Kicking off its third season, the Empire Racing Club (ERC) will offer a reduced price of $400 through the official re-launch date of May 15. In a departure from the first two seasons, 2021 membership is open to both licensed and unlicensed racing enthusiasts looking to enjoy the social and educational benefits of the Club. The 2021 ERC season will be limited to 200 members. The ERC will once again be managed by famed race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current team of runners for the 2021 season are Hall of...

Joe Migliore never really considered a career outside of racing. With an Eclipse Award-winning jockey as a father and a mother who worked as an assistant trainer, to him, the sport was always more than just a popular topic at the dinner table. "I think it was pretty much ingrained from day one that this is the place I wanted to be," Migliore said. "It definitely started at the racetrack. I rarely had a day where I thought of anything else." Migliore first developed his passion for the sport by...

The 2-year-old filly Community Adjusted (Summer Front) has been added to the Empire Racing Club's roster of runners, the group announced Monday. The dark bay filly will race for the partnership of Rob Masiello and ERC, and will be trained by Christophe Clement. Out of Rimini Road (Dynaformer), the filly was purchased by Masiello for $100,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. "Community Adjusted is a lovely filly with a nice neck and shoulder, and looks like she will be able to get a route of ground," said Masiello....

The Empire Racing Club (ERC), an initiative by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association introducing fans to racehorse ownership, announced the launch of the 2020 season, which officially kicks off Apr. 1. Created in 2019, the non-profit organization will again be managed by race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current team of runners for the 2020 season are Todd Pletcher, Mark Casse, and Linda Rice. "ERC has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience for me," said Durkin. "Having been in an 8x10 announcer's booth for 40 years was a fun way...