Barclay Tagg graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1961 with a degree in animal husbandry. A former steeplechase jockey – he’ll talk about that – he began training horses in 1972 and has conditioned two well-known New York-breds in Funny Cide and Tiz the Law (he’ll talk about that, too). He can’t talk enough about his assistant – now wife – Robin Smullen, and if you ask him who would play him in the Barclay Tagg story, he’ll give you an opinion on that. Hint: it might make your day. Here is the final Saratoga Conversation of the summer.

 

TDN: I am going to start with this. Funny Cide – 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner or Tiz the Law, 2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner. You trained both. Who was better?



Barclay Tagg: Oh, gosh. I’m screwed with whatever I say (laughs). How do you know who was better, really?

TDN: Were they different in their styles?

BT: Not a whole lot. Funny Cide was amazing. Just fast. Both were really amazing horses.

TDN: Were they easy to train or hard to train?

BT: I didn’t think they were hard to train. Robin (Smullen, his assistant and wife) was good with everything. Too many people make it hard.

TDN: To have two New York-breds do what they did, they really kind of put them on the map didn’t they?

BT: I felt like it.

TDN: When Funny Cide came along we all know the story of the Sackatoga crew led by Jack Knowlton and the yellow school bus down at the Kentucky Derby and them taking the Kentucky Derby trophy and heading back to New York. How satisfying was that Kentucky Derby win for you?

BT: It could not have been any better.

TDN: Did you expect it?

BT: No.

TDN: What did you think going into the Derby?

BT: You never going into those things expecting it. I’m not trying to be a smartass. You do the best you can and hope everyone appreciates it. You don’t expect great things to happen for you.

TDN: If I remember correctly, you were very guarded with that horse.

BT: I probably was. They don’t come around too often.

TDN: You were very protective of that horse.

BT: You have to protect anything that is making you money and is good-looking and you picked him out yourself.

TDN: Tiz the Law. It seemed like everything came so easy to him.

BT: It usually does – people or horses – if they are really good or something.

TDN: For the Sackatoga people, Tiz the Law was like lightning striking twice in a bottle. You get it once; you don’t expect to get it again. How gratifying was that for you for them?

BT: It was nice. They are nice people, and I enjoyed working for them. You always like to see good things happen to people you like.

TDN: You still enjoy getting on the pony in the morning, don’t you?

BT: I would enjoy it more if I could go and ride and school some horses over fences and stuff like that. I’m not allowed (laughs).

TDN: Who is the best racehorse you ever saw? You saw Ruffian.

BT: I galloped Ruffian (when she was a 2-year-old). I was working for Frank Whiteley. I rode her a little bit. For a rider, I was, in his mind, too big and too heavy to take a genuine 2-year-old like her and ride her. Anytime he got stuck, guess who had to ride her?

TDN: What was it like being on her?

BT: She was just a really good horse. She was as fast as they come.

TDN: Did she always want to do more when you were on her?

BT: Oh, yeah. She was all horse – a lovely horse, but all horse. She wasn’t just a common I-can-go-faster-than-you type. She was a lady.

TDN: You were a jump rider. Talk about that.

BT: I loved it. I had a lot of falls.

TDN: What is a lot?

BT: I don’t know (smiles). It seemed like a lot.

TDN: Did you ever break anything?

BT: Oh, yeah. Broke my arm, broke my shoulder, broke my chest a couple times. I kept riding as long as I could. I didn’t ride that long but I really enjoyed it. That was a good time.

TDN: What is the best thing about coming to the barn in the morning?

BT: Watching Robin work (laughs). I better shut up before she leaves!

TDN: You are up at 4 in the morning.

BT: Every day. We are here between 5 and 5:15. And you don’t get time to stop either. You can’t stop, sit around and analyze what you are doing because you’ve got too much waiting for you.

TDN: If there is a movie made about your life and you can pick the actor to play you, who are you picking? If I had a vote, I would say Clint Eastwood.

Robin Smullen offers her opinion: Ed Harris. He is the guy.

BT: I don’t know Ed Harris.

TDN: Would you take Clint Eastwood?

BT: Who wouldn’t?

TDN: Robin would pick Ed Harris; I would pick Clint. But it’s up to you.

BT: I like Clint. I always went out of my way to watch those movies.

TDN: What makes a perfect racehorse? Is there such a thing?

BT: There were some that were near perfect. But it’s so hard for them to stay sound, and the better they are, the quicker they hurt themselves. That’s just true. They can run so fast. Speed kills. That’s the old saying, but speed kills, and I don’t mean they drop dead, but it stops their career in a hurry.

TDN: So, is it speed that makes the perfect racehorse?

BT: Speed has everything to do with it. But there’s some horse that goes out there and runs faster than every other horse that year and it can’t stay sound to even go near another year and maybe only run three races.

TDN: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?

BT: My first owner. Dr. Julian J. Platt. From Maryland. A wonderful human being. The greatest person who ever did anything for me. I became good friends with him; I don’t know why but I did. Just the most marvelous person that God ever created. I have to put Robin in there (smiles). And Allen.

TDN: Allen?

BT: Allen Jerkens.

TDN: Of course! Did you ever play football over at his barn?

BT: Everybody did. He called you out there, you went out there. He was a funny guy. He was different. But he was so accurate with everything. He made life fun. He had sayings that would just blow you away.

TDN: What is your favorite racetrack?

BT: Probably here.

TDN: What has Robin meant to you in your life?

BT: Everything. What else is there?

TDN: You’re married now, aren’t you?

BT: Yeah. We got married in December.

TDN: Never too late, right?

BT: Never too late. And she’s been such a good gal. A marvelous human being. She is just good at everything she does. She can tell you everything about a horse, inside and out. She is so smart. If I were as smart as she is, I would be a billionaire.

TDN: Retirement has never come into your head, has it?

BT: Well, what are you retiring from? I was always on some kind of horse farm, mostly Thoroughbreds, and I liked doing it and I could make a living doing it.

TDN: I ask every trainer this. If you have five empty stalls and you can fill them with any horses from history – but none of them can be yours – who would they be?

BT: There’s a lot more than five! Ruffian. Citation. Seattle Slew, Secretariat. Man o’ War.

TDN: If you were not a trainer, what do you think you would be doing?

BT: I would probably have been a veterinarian. I’ve been an animal lover since I was a kid.

TDN: Your most gratifying win.

BT: One that is really gratifying is one that you picked out and everybody told you not to buy it and it turns out to be a really good horse. That’s gratifying. We’ve done that quite a few times.