In this Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, horsewomen are not so much breaking through glass ceilings as setting fire to the barricades.
There is, of course, Cherie DeVaux, who developed the strapping Golden Tempo to win the Kentucky Derby-G1 -- the first woman to win the nation's most storied race -- and Belmont Stakes-G1. Elsewhere in the 3-year-old division, there is Lindsay Schultz, who quietly but confidently targeted the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park with her Baby Vino. When Cosmo Stables and Delta Squad Racing's colt gave a gallant performance to best Preakness Stakes-G1 winner Napoleon Solo July 18, he not only gave Schultz her first Grade 1 winner, he made her the first woman to win the New Jersey' track's signature race, first held in 1968.
"It's huge for our stable," Schultz, 37, said post-race. "It's a really big deal. It's so great for this horse. From the moment he started working we just loved this horse, and to really show what he has is what we do it for. Hopefully, there will be more Grade 1 wins to come."
Schultz is a native of Connecticut, where her immediate family still lives, and played basketball in high school. Unlike the narrative of many horsewomen, her parents did not describe her as a horse-crazy little girl. She began taking riding lessons around fifth grade, her parents recently recalled in speaking to Monmouth. She never owned a horse, but dabbled in hunter/jumper riding, and, in high school, also became involved with the Future Farmers of America. A national convention with the organization introduced her to the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program. Her freshman roommate was Liz Crow, who became a co-founding partner of BSW/Crow Bloodstock and Elite Sales. Crow's family invited Schultz to attend the 2006 Breeders' Cup, at Churchill Downs -- and she was hooked on the sport.
Schultz worked a variety of part-time jobs in the Thoroughbred industry during the rest of her years studying at Louisville, including a summer job hotwalking for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito at Saratoga Race Course. After graduation in 2010, she was accepted into the two-year Darley Flying Start program, which allowed her to travel around the world for hands-on experience in the Thoroughbred industry in Ireland, England, Australia, Dubai, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Upon completing her training with Flying Start, Schultz accepted an assistant trainer position for Tom Proctor, and was with the stable six years before moving on to run Glen Hill Farm, one of Proctor's biggest clients, in Ocala, Fla. Schultz returned to the track to work in an assistant role for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.
The opportunity to go out on her own beckoned when the Ten Strike Racing partnership indicated an interest in, and agreed to send her a few horses at Oaklawn Park to get started, and also claim a few more. She stepped through the door, hanging out her shingle in late 2021, and capturing her first career victory at Oaklawn Jan. 8, 2022.
She won 14 races that year, and 30 in 2023, including her first two graded stakes scores, both in the Mid-Atlantic region. She took the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth with Shortleaf Stable homebred Whelen Springs, and the Grade 3 Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup at Pimlico with Willow Lane Stables homebred Highestdistinction.
Schultz won a career-best 41 races in 2024, and last year, posted 34 victories from 289 starts. This year, with 60 horses in her barn, she is poised for solid figures, with 30 wins from 202 starts through Aug. 15. Her career purse earnings stood at $9.1 million.
Meanwhile, the Cosmo Stables operation of Marcus Osborn and James "Smoky" Osborn was also in its nascent stages. Smoky Osborn, now retired after a half-century career in the glass construction business, owned claiming horses when in Arkansas and Louisiana. His son Marcus, who owns a restorative cleaning business, helped put together a small stable so his father could enjoy the game again. Marcus started out by purchasing Baby Vino, bred in Kentucky by Lisa Parks, privately as a yearling in 2024. The colt, from the third crop of 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic-G1 winner Vino Rosso, arrived at the Osborns' small Arkansas farm, along with, in a package deal, his dam, the Louisiana-bred Discreetly Grand, and her Classic Empire colt alongside.
"Oh, it's a whole lot of fun," Smoky Osborn told Monmouth. "We've got just a little farm, and we keep a few horses that are turned out. We got [Baby Vino] started and took him to Silver Springs [in Lexington, Ky.] for training. . .
Before we had cheap horses, but we enjoyed them. We were proud of all of them. But this one is special, and you know that pretty quick."
Baby Vino joined Schultz last year, getting on the worktab last fall at Keeneland before heading south for the winter, first to Fair Grounds and then Oaklawn. He took some time to develop, learning the racing game through experience. Baby Vino showed promise in his debut Dec. 13 at Oaklawn, pressing the pace going 6 furlongs and holding on stubbornly to be second by a neck in the field of 11. In his next outing Feb. 6, he again pressed a hot pace before fading to ninth.
Schultz felt the colt was keen early, often getting himself into more trouble than necessary, but also felt he could learn to relax as he went longer. That began to show true as he went 11⁄16 miles in a March 1 maiden at Oaklawn, as he recovered from clipping heels to be third. An even better effort followed going 11⁄8 miles March 28, when he led in the stretch but was caught late. The colt finally put it all together for a 23⁄4-length victory in a maiden special weight going 11⁄16 miles at Oaklawn May 1.
After that effort, Schultz brought him to join the majority of her string at Monmouth, where she has been based for the summers since 2022, ready to take the next step toward, perhaps the track's signature race. For a wide-open field of horses with little to no stakes experience in the Pegasus Stakes June 13, Schultz legged up perennial Monmouth leader Paco Lopez, who was enthusiastic about the colt, particularly going two turns, after watching his races at Oaklawn. Baby Vino sat a perfect stalking trip and powered clear to win by 103⁄4 lengths. The effort was so impressive that Josh Isner's Delta Squad Racing purchased a minority.
Lopez was committed to his Preakness winner Napoleon Solo for the Haskell, and knew just how dangerous Baby Vino would be, especially stretching out from 11⁄16 miles to 11⁄8 miles. But the Monmouth public didn't see it that way, sending off Baby Vino and Jorge Vargas Jr. as the second-longest shot at post time in by far the deepest field he had faced. The field included Preakness runner-up Iron Honor, Kentucky Derby-G1 third-place finisher Ocelli, Grade 1 winner and beaten Derby favorite Further Ado, and graded stakes winner The Puma.
"From what he has shown us in the mornings, if he was able to get to this step we were going to take it," an undaunted Schultz said at the time. "I thought we were competitive in this field. You never know until you're there, but I thought he belonged. After his last race we thought this was the right place to try. When this horse broke his maiden you think about what he could do down the line, so it was definitely on our minds at that point."
Baby Vino and Vargas saved ground on a sloppy, sealed track in the Haskell, and then bid inside of Napoleon Solo and Lopez approaching the stretch. The two colts exchanged contact, with Baby Vino, on the inside, taking the worst of it in more intimidating quarters. But the colt continued on, edging clear to a half-length victory. The longshot returned $58 to his backers.
The Haskell win qualified Baby Vino for a spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic-G1 in October at Keeneland. While Schultz had not determined immediate plans for Baby Vino, should she, and DeVaux with Golden Tempo, progress toward the Classic, they would have an opportunity to make more history. In the history of the Breeders' Cup, inaugurated in 1984, nine women have trained Breeders' Cup winners, and only one in the Classic -- Kathy Ritvo with Mucho Macho Man in 2013. DeVaux won her first Breeders' Cup race in 2024, with More Than Looks taking the Mile.
The others are Janet Elliot (Census, 1986 and Flat Top, 2002, Breeders' Cup Steeplechase); Jenine Sahadi (Lit de Justice, 1996 Sprint; Elmhurst, 1997 Sprint); Laura de Seroux (Azeri, 2002 Distaff); Carla Gaines (Dancing in Silks, 2009 Sprint); Diane Morici (Eldaafer, 2010 Marathon); Jo Hughes (London Bridge, 2013 Marathon); and Maria Borell (Runhappy, 2015 Sprint).
Regardless of Baby Vino's Breeders' Cup plans, there will be more excitement in the Schultz barns. A big win for an up-and-coming trainer gets the phones ringing with potential clients -- Schultz had hundreds of text messages after the Haskell.
The Osborns will continue their support as Baby Vino's now-2-year-old half-brother, Maximum Velocity, entered his early training at Silver Springs, and when ready, will head to Schultz.
Shore Points
The day before the Haskell, New Jersey's favorite Thoroughbred Book'em Danno showed off with a win in the Mr. Prospector on "Book'em Danno Day". Bet down to 1-9, the Jersey-bred 5-year-old got challenged by Maryland-bred Quint's Brew, but prevailed by 11⁄4 lengths in 1:09.37 for 6 furlongs. It was the 12th win from 19 starts for the Derek Ryan trainee, who earned $135,000 in the boosted purse to get to $2,270,425 for his career. Book'em Danno's improved to 4-0 at his home track, adding the Mr. Prospector a 2024 win in the Jersey Shore and two wins in 2023 . .
Maryland-bred Breeders' Cup winner Splendora won the Molly Pitcher-G2 for Boyd Racing, By Talla Racing and trainer Bob Baffert, her fourth win from five starts this year and ninth (from 15) overall. Bred by The Elkstone Group, the 5-year-old Audible mare pushed her career earnings to $1,657,700 . . . Trainer Chad Brown won two stakes on the card, the United Nations-G2 with Program Trading (GB) for Klaravich Stables and the Matchmaker-G3 with Flanagan Racing's Grayosh, who avenged a third in last year's race . . . Godolphin's Knightsbridge dominated the 11⁄8-mile Monmouth Cup-G3, winning by 101⁄4 lengths for trainer Bill Mott . . . Live Oak Plantation's Souper Quest, trained by Mark Casse, won the off-the-turf Wolf Hill Stakes as the 2-5 favorite.
Trainer Rusty Arnold sent out Gabriel Duignan's Echo Sound to win the Regret Stakes as the 9-10 favorite in her first start of 2026. Flavien Prat rode four winners, three in a row, on the card, which attracted 35,608 spectators and handled $16.6 million.
