Zoldan has an entry in Derby

By Tom Williams

His 3-year-old, Visionaire, has qualified for the Kentucky Derby on May 3.

YOUNGSTOWN — A year after the thrill of watching one of his horses compete with horse racing’s best in the Preakness Stakes, Youngstown businessman Bruce Zoldan has his eyes on Churchill Downs.

That’s because a 3-year-old colt owned by a group including Zoldan has qualified for the Kentucky Derby on May 3.

Zoldan said Visionaire, trained by Michael R. Matz, is one of the 20 horses that has qualified to compete in the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs near Louisville, Ky. Jockey Jose Lezcano will ride Visionaire.

“I’ve been in the horse business for about 10 years and this is the first time I’ve had a horse qualify for the Derby,” said Zoldan, the owner of Phantom Fireworks as well as the Mahoning Valley Phantoms amateur hockey team based in Boardman. “This is pretty exciting.”

Zoldan is a member of Team Valor, a horse syndicate made up of businessmen who share ownership of horses.

Last spring, Zoldan’s King of the Roxy ran in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, finishing fifth.

Visionaire earned the Derby berth by winning the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in March.

“Michael Matz has said that he is very happy with the conditioning and attitude of the colt, and that Visionaire is in prime condition for the race,” Zoldan said.

Matz was the trainer for Barbaro, which won the 2006 Kentucky Derby then suffered a shattered leg injury at the Preakness two weeks later. The horse was destroyed in January 2007.

Tuesday, Visionaire began running 4 furlongs at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., before running 5 furlongs next week.

Late next week, the colt heads to Churchill Downs in preparation for the 134th Kentucky Derby, a 1 º-mile race.

Visionaire has a race record of 6-3-1-1 and has earned more than $200,000. The horse has three wins since November and a third place showing Feb. 9.

Most recently, the 3-year-old colt was gaining on his competition in the late stages of a fifth-place finish at the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes April 12.

“We think we have a decent shot,” Zoldan said. “Visionaire loves the dirt. We’re optimistic.”

Zoldan says his team expects Visionaire to be ranked in the Top 10 by oddsmakers handicapping the race, maybe between six and nine. He said that three of the horses (Piro, Cool Man Cool and Big Truck) expected to be ranked in the top five finished behind Visionaire at the Blue Grass Stakes.

Zoldan says Team Valor owns 20-25 horses.

“It’s an expensive business,” said Zoldan, explaining that the real payday comes when horses are sold for breeding.

Zoldan said a horse that finished in the top four in a Triple Crown race (Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes) can earn enough to offset the losses incurred from raising horses that don’t earn a profit.

williams@vindy.com