HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Coach Jimi D will have the red-hot hand of trainer Jimmy DiVito in his corner Friday when he goes up against probable favorite Rowdy Riot in the ninth race at Oaklawn Park.
The first-level allowance, which drew a field of 10, is for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs. It alo launches an abbreviated two-day race week, as there is no live card Sunday in observance of Easter.
DiVito has won four races – three at Oaklawn and the other at Hawthorne – with his last five starters. He also had a runner-up finish at Oaklawn.
“We had two in the same race, so one had to be second,” said DiVito.
Coach Jimi D is cutting back to one turn Friday while making his first start since July. He wrapped up his 3-year-old campaign last season with a runner-up finish in a first-level allowance route at Hawthorne.
“The horse is training good,” DiVito said. “I think that he can run three-quarters or a route. But I think to start him back would be better at one turn, a three-quarter-mile race. He’s doing fine. We’ll see, obviously, how he runs. He’s run at Oaklawn a couple of times, run second, a good second, just got beat.”
The effort came in March 2024, off the bench and following a layoff of similar length.
Ramon Vazquez has the mount on Coach Jimi D from post 5.
“If he breaks well, he should be close to the pace,” DiVito said. “He shouldn’t be too far behind, so I look for him to be in probably third or fourth down the backside.”
DiVito owns Coach Jimi D and is the inspiration for the name of the son of Gormley.
“He is named for me,” DiVito said. “I had a horse named Coach Jimi Lee that was a very good sprinter. In fact, he holds a track record in the state of Illinois for three-quarters in 1:07 and 1. This one kind of looks like him and we named him Coach Jimi D. I consider myself a coach of horses. They’re like coaching athletes. They’re equine athletes.”
DiVito said Coach Jimi Lee, whom he raced in partnership with Lee Battaglia, was the most successful horse he has trained. He won 11 stakes and earned more than $1 million.
“He was very rewarding,” DiVito said. “He put the family through college. He was a good boy.”
DiVito, a 75-year-old Chicago native, has been training horses for 57 years. He comes from a racing family, as his father, Peter DiVito, also was a trainer.
Peter DiVito spent about 20 years in California. His clients included actress Betty Grable, her husband Harry James, and the C.S. Howard family, known for campaigning Seabiscuit.
Jimmy DiVito began wintering at Oaklawn about 10 years ago after spending 40 winters at Gulfstream Park. He’s won graded stakes with Lovely Bernadette, Recount, Piratesonthelake, and Solo Survivor.
DiVito’s current stable includes the promising Baby Boat, a recent first-level allowance winner at Oaklawn who is 3 for 6. DiVito said Baby Boat is being pointed toward the $175,000 Bachelor for 3-year-olds at six furlongs on May 2 at Oaklawn.
Following the meet, DiVito will be active at Churchill Downs and Hawthorne.
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