Perhaps more than any other pro athlete, Joe Don Looney lived up to his surname.
A schoolboy prodigy turned journeyman pro, NFL Films president Steve Sabol called the burly running back “the most uncoachable player in NFL history.” Once, when a coach in Detroit asked Looney to send in a play from the sidelines, Looney responded, “If you want a messenger boy, call Western Union.”
His on-field shenanigans were just the tip of the iceberg. He once got into a political argument with a couple in a parking lot and proceeded to break into their apartment and attack them. Somehow, he got off with probation.
After a tour in Vietnam, he was a prolific international drug mule before falling in with a loopy yoga guru, prepping for the apocalypse in rural Texas, racing river rafts, and dying at the age of 45 after driving his motorcycle off a cliff. There were reportedly no skid marks.
Emerald Downs trainer Justin Evans has a 7-year-old gelding named Joe Don Looney entered in Friday night’s sixth race, a $20,000 claiming sprint that will be contested over six furlongs. Evans was oblivious to the origins of his horse’s name until a friend who works at Turf Paradise turned to Evans’s son Austin this past winter and said, “Pop quiz: Who was Joe Don Looney?”
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Now that Evans has been fully briefed on Looney the man, he feels he has a better understanding of Looney the horse.
“He’s not a terrible horse to train, but he’s a big-feeling horse” said Evans. “He’s a lot. As my dad used to say, ‘He’s no kid’s horse.’ ”
Evans got Looney into his barn late last year in Phoenix, where he promptly went on a roll, winning three of five races. Friday will be his Emerald debut.
Last out, in a conditioned allowance race on April 19 at Turf Paradise, Joe Don Looney drew the rail and led most of the way before running out of steam in the stretch and finishing fourth by 1 1/2 lengths.
“I matched him up really tough and he drew the inside in a really fast race,” explained Evans. “He won the battle but lost the war that day.”
Evans has dropped Joe Don Looney down in class for this race, where he’s drawn post 6 in an eight-horse field that features a decent amount of early speed.
“We decided when we came up here to get a little aggressive with the horse and give him a chance to win,” Evans said. “I think the outside draw will help him. The bad thing about Emerald races is when you think you’re fast, someone else thinks they’re faster.”
Joe Don Looney, who boasts the best last-out (78) and career-best (93) Beyer Speed Figures in the field, gets the services of top jockey Kevin Krigger for the first time and is sure to be favored. But he was beaten on April 19 by Poverty Bay, a Joe Toye trainee with tactical speed that could come in handy here.
“On numbers, you get excited once in a while because you think you’ve got them right where you want them,” said Evans. “But then when the gates open, there are four other guys who think they’re faster than you.
“This race, there’s some speed. A View From Above is a fast horse. Poverty Bay put in some big races in Phoenix coming back. Hopefully, Krigger can navigate the perfect trip and we can win.”
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