December-January 2015-2016 /
American Turf Magazine
15
Midwest Memo
Trainer Larry Rivelli
By David Zenner
I
f
it seems like trainer
L
arry
R
ivelli
is in the winner’s circle every time
one looks up at an Arlington or to
a lesser degree Hawthorne simulcast
feed maybe that’s because he is. Not
literally of course but certainly at ahigh
percentage.
The Chicago-based conditioner
recorded his third Arlington title this
past summer with a near-record 72
victories but from 234 starts for a 31%
win ratio and a 62% in-the-money rate.
While his 234 starts were far and away
the most by any trainer in 2015, no
trainer in the top 10 in the standings
could match either percentage.
Rivelli also won the 2014 crown when
he popped at a 32% clip and posted 59
tallies from 184 starters. He also won
the 2011 title there.
It should be noted that Wayne Cata-
lano holds the Arlington single-season
record of 75 but that was accomplished
in a longer meet as Arlington ran only
77-days this summer with most cards
consisting of only eight races.
Rivelli starts fewer horses in the
spring and fall when Hawthorne oper-
ates, but when he does send one out
at the south-side oval, one had better
use the horse in the vertical wagers.
He’s 79% in the top three at the cur-
rent meet (which runs through Jan. 2,
2016) and was 50% there in the spring
of 2015. Other notable numbers there
include more than 60% in-the-money
in both the fall of 2013 and the spring
of 2014.
“The competitionmay not have been
as strong (this year) but numbers wise
it was my best meet,” said the 44-year-
old Rivelli. “I had a little better horses
this year and better horses for the spots
as well. We came prepared for a lot of
Illinois owners but at the same time
some of my better horses had to ship
around a little. For the Illinois-breds
and the horses who still had conditions,
it worked out good at Arlington.
“Horses like Lewys Vaporizer an
Illinois-bred went to Parx and won
a $90,000 ‘a-other-than’,” he noted.
“Cocked and Loaded won the (Grade
III) Iroquois at Churchill and he’ll be
traveling the globe, and Richies Sweet-
heart won the $200,000 Turf Amazon
at Parx and a $75,000 race at Indiana
Grand (the Brandywine). No matter if
the purses are up or down sometimes
you have to ship around. Not every
track runs a five-eighths turf sprint.”
Much of Rivelli’s success comes from
horses owned by either Vince Foglia,
who races under the stable name Patri-
cia’s Hope in honor of his mother, and
Richard Ravin, or in some cases a part-
nership involving Rivelli himself.
“Vinnie and his family – his mom
Patricia and his dad Vince Sr. are great
people to train for,” Rivelli said. “Vin-
nie has a passion for the game. He
loves it. He loves the sport and the
ambiance of the whole thing. We’ve
been friends for a long time, with or
without horses. We have a bunch of
things we can talk about besides horses
Trainer Larry Rivelli
Photo by Four Footed Fotos
