DR. DANIEL
CASTRANOVA
Not too many people can say they were present at Los Alamitos's
start, when My Clabber raced into the history books by winning that fint race on
Dec. 4, 1951. And not too many people can say that they have owned and raced
horses since 1951. Dr. Daniel Castranova is one of the few who can say he has
done both.
"I was here for the first race in 1951" recalled
Castanova, a general surgeon. "They had the old wooden stands here, and the
track ran in the opposite direction than it is now. The sun would be in your
eyes in the afternoon"
Los Alamitos's inaugural year of
racing was also the first year Castranova raced a Quarter Horse. Amazingly, he
has raced at least one horse every year since then, accounting for 51 years of
continuous racehorse ownership.
"We ran our first
racehorse at Bay Meadows in 1951," said Castranova, who owns a 110-acre farm in
Poxterville. "It was the fastest horse I ever owned. His name was Jerry Bob, by
Flying Bob. He did well in match races; we used to match him quite a bit We had
a lot of fun with him that way. That's how we got
started."
Castranova's foray into Quarter Horse racing was
prompted by his wife Pat, who grew up on a farm in Nebraska. The couple met when
Castranova was an intern at L.A. County Hospital, where Pat was a nurse. They
soon married and moved to a one-acre residence in Latoona
Canyon.
Castranova soon branched out into racehorse
breeding, starting with the mare Miss 89er, who Castranova purchased as a
weanling. Miss 89er would become the foundation for Castranova's breeding
program that is still going strong today. She produced 1964 Champion 3-year-old
colt Surgin Gold, stakes placed Jet Straw, and Fleet Pat, who went on to produce
1976 Las Damas Handicap winner Fleet N' Fickle.
"Quarter
Horse racing has come a long way," said Castranova, who remembers when graded
races were used to classify horses of different abilities, before the claiming
system was put into effect. "Horses are better today - they're faster, they're
better looking."
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