Dave Andreola Expanding His Stable

RACING CORNER

by Jennifer Morrison

Iconic: Dave Andreola Expanding His Stable

If you have been watching the first few days of the Woodbine meeting you will have noticed that there have been a number of claimed horses by ICON Racing Stable, six to be exact. And it sounds as if there will be more to come.

ICON Racing Stable, mainly based at Fort Erie, is owned by Dave Andreola of Niagara Falls and owner of Icon Rebar which makes and supplies reinforced steel for construction. Andreola had his first full season as an owner in 2024, finishing second in the Fort Erie owner standings by wins with 15 from 47 starters.  He also had two winners at Woodbine.

The Icon Racing Stable horses are trained by Anthony Adamo.

“I loved to sneak off to the track and bet the races when I was in college,” said Andreola. “I have always loved it, the racing and the beauty of the sport.”

Andreola dabbled in ownership at Fort Erie some 20 years ago but “your lifestyle changes when you get married and have kids.”

When Andreola wanted to get back into racing, he joined forces with Adamo.

“Anthony and I really clicked. We have regular meetings and get along very well.”

Racing is very much a family and friends pursuit for Andreola. His son Nick is the racing manager, his daughter Meghan runs the social media for the stable and his wife Anna takes care of the financials.

This spring, Andreola refurbished one of the Fort Erie barns that will house the Icon Racing horses and added a salt room for the horses which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antihistamine treatment.

“Fort Erie has been great, they have supported us and people have even come by for a tour of the barn.”

Andreola also has five stalls at Woodbine and his second starter of the meeting, Garnet and Gold won a $40,000 claiming race earlier this month. Garnet and Gold, a $15,000 claim, is back in action at Woodbine on Saturday.

“It's exciting and we're going to keep getting bigger.”

Bigger just like the winner's circle images where Andreola and his family are surrounded by many friends all sporting an Icon Racing Stable t-shirt.

Dave Andreola in the Fort Erie winner's circle (fourth from right)

Spot On!

Do you ever wonder what those black spots are on your chestnut horse?

Those as known as Bend Or spots, named after the great Epsom Derby champion of 1880, and a flashy chestnut with a white face and dark spots on his, neck, shoulders and hind quarters.

These spots, which tend to appear as a horse gets older, seem to have been passed down from Bend Or's broodmare sire Thormanby, the 1860 Epsom Derby winner. The spots, which may be from the 'sooty' colour pigmentation trait, can also appear on palamino-coloured horses and occasionally bay horses.

Blessed with early maturity and good speed, Bend Or was unbeaten in five races as a 2-year-old. The following year, Bend Or won the Epsom Derby despite, as racing lore goes, 'ouchy' shins and his jockey Fred Archer recovering from a badly injured arm.

Bend Or's descendants include Man o'War (Bend Or sired the dam of Man o'War's sire Fair Play), Phar Lap, The Tetrarch and, more recently Seabiscuit. In fact, most racehorses have Bend Or in their breeding through Nasrullah, Bold Ruler etc.

Man o' War was said to have the dark, Bend Or spots.

Speaking of The Tetrarch (his dam is by a son of Bend Or) he was a brilliant champion 2-year-old in Europe in 1913, known as the 'spotted wonder' and one of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century. A grey colt with large white spots all over his body. The Tetrarch was undefeated in seven races but he sired just over 100 foals as he was not all that interested in breeding. Still, he was a major influence in Thoroughbred pedigrees today.

Incredibly, The Tetrarch is the source of the grey colour in most racehorses today, mostly through his daughter, Mumatz Mahal, the “Flying Filly” nd granddam of the grey Mahmoud, the 1936 Epsom Derby winner. Those bloodlines trace to great horses like Bold Ruler, Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew, A.P. Indy, and Northern Dancer.

Here's a little trivia about The Tetrarch; he was also said to be the sire of Tommy Shelby's horse, Grace's Secret, in season two of the television series Peaky Blinders.

Can you spot any spots on your horse?