Robert Ribaudo

2009 Record: (108-15-13-15)

2009 Earnings: $1,131,947

2009 Win %: 13% In-The-Money %: 39%

Born: In Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 8, 1951
Residence: Malverne, N.Y.
Family: wife Christina; daugther Nicole and one grandchild
Racing Background: Ribaudo was first introduced to the sport by his father, who brought him to the New York tracks ... After graduating high school, he landed his first job as a groom for the Cain Hoy Stable of Harry Guggenheim ... Worked as an assistant trainer for Bill Boland for four years before opening a small public stable in 1976
Racing Career: After more than 30 years as a trainer, Ribaudo owns two grade 1 victories, both coming with Marc Keller’s Grand Couturier in the Sword Dancer at Saratoga . . . “It is unbelievable! It’s a great habit to get into,” Ribaudo said after Grand Couturier followed up his win in the 2007 Sword Dancer with a victory in the 2008 edition . . . The victory in the Sword Dancer, part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, assured the 5-year-old horse of a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf . . . Grand Couturier gave Ribaudo his first Breeders’ Cup starter, finishing sixth in the 2007 Turf . . . “I’ve spent a lot of years congratulating people on Sunday for the stakes races they had won on Saturday, so it was nice for a change to have people congratulating me on a Sunday,” Ribaudo said in 2007. “I’m glad a horse like Grand Couturier has come along at this stage of my career, because I feel I’m better equipped to handle the situation and do the right things now. Winning the Sword Dancer was the culmination of a lot of hard work.” ... Ribaudo currently has a stable of 12 horses, all of them owned by Keller ... He started training for Keller in the early 1980s after his trainer, Harry Brice, died ... Keller left the ownership ranks for about 10 years, but returned in 2004 ... Grand Couturier, who also finished third last year in the G1 Man o' War, was one of six foreign horses bought by Keller in 2006 ... "At the time we thought it was better to get European horses than yearlings," said Ribaudo. "We're becoming more involved with younger horses now." ... Ribaudo’s other stakes winners include Biogio’s Rose, who captured the G3 Next Move and Rare Treat in 2000 and earned nearly $800,000, and Regal Humor ... He is active with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and serves as chairman of the trainer's committee of the Backstretch Pension Fund.