Enumclaw Horse Trainer Close to Winning 4th Emerald Downs Title

The journey for Frank Lucarelli into horse racing started when he was 13 working for his dad. And once he started working with horses, he was hooked and knew that horse racing was going to be a part of his life for years to come. “My dad had owned horses for years,” Lucarelli said. “I just enjoyed the scene of racing when I was young.”

Lucarelli, 54, of Enumclaw, has come a long way in his 32 years as a trainer. He is the second all-time winningest trainer in the history of Emerald Downs in Auburn with 667, behind only Tim McCanna. So far in 2011, he stands first with 50 wins, just two ahead of Howard Belvoir. There are only a few races left as Lucarelli tries for his fourth overall trainer championship at Emerald Downs; he previously won in 1999, 2004 and 2006. “It has been a pretty good season so far in 2011,” he said. Lucarelli has been a model of consistency since the Auburn track opened in 1996 as he has had 14 straight years of top 10 finishes in both earnings and wins.

A key component to a trainer’s success is having a detailed approach to every race day. High level horse trainers can have several horses race on a particular day. Lucarelli trains approximately 50 horses at Emerald Downs and about another 20 in California so it requires extreme detail and balancing of time.

“I start out in the morning and get the horses set up for the races that day,” said Lucarelli, who manages the workouts prior to races. “Then after about an hour or so break, I talk with the owners such as Ron Crockett, and jockeys of the horses to talk strategy for the upcoming races.”

Lucarelli has trained horses primarily in Washington at Longacres before Emerald Downs and California at storied tracks such as Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Santa Anita. He has found that his all-around athletic experiences have definitely helped him succeed.

“Training is a lot a like coaching; you set up a workout program for the horses,” he said. “Also, part of being an athlete has helped me with what to look for over the years in picking out a horse.”

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Lucarelli got his horse trainer’s license in 1979, but that was after a career in minor league baseball in the Northwest and California independent leagues. He also has been the pitching coach the last few years at Enumclaw High School, coaching his son Michael, who was the Hornets shortstop and closer until graduating last spring.

Lucarelli said being a pitching coach in baseball who charts pitches for pitches is a lot like being a trainer; for horses it come does down to charting speeds and distances covered with each workout and how a particular jockey fits with the horse as well.

Over the course of 15 years at Emerald Downs, the signature horse for Lucarelli has been Gallant Son. It was the second horse based out of Emerald Downs to run in the Breeders’ Cup and also gave him two stakes races in 2008 at Emerald Downs -- the Gottstein Futurity and the WTBA Lads race as well.

Frank Lucarelli Emerald Downs Career Highlights

2008 Seattle Slew Handicap- Horse: Fear No Evil

2005 Hastings Park Handicap- Horse: Marva Jean

2004 Strong Ruler Stakes- Horse: Indian Weaver

2003 Angie C- Horse: Melba Jewel

2001 Captain Condo- Horse: Kenny Hawk

2000 Pepsi Cola- Horse: Horse: Shake Loose

1999-Gottstein Futurity- Horse: No Curfew