Dr.Larry Sautter T H E S A L E D O C T O R If you've bought or sold horses at any of the major yearling sales, chances are you've encountered Dr. Larry Sautter who serves as sale veterinarian in addition to operating his own busy practice and selling a few yearlings himself including a $190,000 filly last month at Harrisburg. By M. Kelly Young It s day four of the annual Harrisburg marathon and Dr. Larry Sautter is foot sore, but so is everyone else even though they have not logged the miles that he has that week and there s still more to come. Larry is the sale company s veterinarian. For more years than he cares to remember Larry has been Johnny-on-thespot to address horse related problems, inspect broodmares and just about everything in between. The annual Harrisburg sale, which is a total of six days, is not his only stop and while it is the busiest, it is one he enjoys the most. This year against the backdrop of the tragedy of losing his sister to cancer, he attained a personal best as a horse breeder. Selling a yearling for six digits in the middle of a recession is no small feat, especially for a couple that breeds less than a handful of their own mares each year. So Dr. Sautter and his wife Barbara were thrilled to let their filly Marys Out Cruisin go for $190,000 this fall in Harrisburg. I knew she was a good one, but I didn t know she was that good. I couldn t believe it, said Sautter who also works for the sales company checking conformation for buyers, confirming mares in foal and dealing with any mishaps that occur during the week long auction. The filly was from the first crop by Here Comes Herbie and out of Mary Lou Hall, a mare whose stock has risen steadily and unexpectedly since Sautter purchased her in the Harrisburg mixed sale three years ago. Back in the fall of 2006 Mary Lou Hall didn t show much current black type on
DR. LARRY SAUTTER THE SALE DOCTOR her pedigree page. Earlier in the week her first colt, a Credit Winner named Crazed, sold for $33,000 and Sautter thought she d make a great mare for a New York breeder. He suggested her to several people, but when he saw her going through the ring without much action, he bid $4,000 to take her home from Thomas Hicks. That became the most astute Standardbred purchase of his career. Two years later Crazed would finish second in the Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity on his way to $1 million in earnings for trainer Frank Antonacci. In the meantime, the mare s third foal, the Credit Winner filly Gift Card, was sold for $115,000 by Hicks at Harrisburg. She went on to prove herself by becoming a New York Sire Stakes Champion this year earning $253,733. If you look back deep, she has a pretty good foundation pedigree. She wanted to be a good race filly, but she was just a little hot, explained Sautter of his star broodmare. Now she s so nice to be around and she s still young; she s only going to be 10. I m looking, but I know I m never going to find one like her again. Dr. Sautter's purchase of the Mr Lavec mare Mary Lou Hall has proven to be his most astute Standardbred buy at $4,000. The mare's third foal was the Credit Winner daughter Gift Card, shown above, who has earned $254,000 in her first two seasons at the races. Sautter doesn t really have to find another stellar broodmare or even sell another $100,000-plus yearling. He s already earned his reputation as one of the most respected veterinarians in New York, practicing out of his very successful Stonehenge Farm in Middletown. On any given day during the breeding season, Sautter may be checking 90 to 100 mares to be bred. He starts the day Photo by Mark Hall Season s Greetings The 2009 season was an unforgettable one for all of us connected with Lucky Jim. We wish to thank trainer Julie Miller, driver Andy Miller and the rest of the team that combined to produce the mother of all racing seasons. Let s do it again next year. LUCKY JIM 4,1:50.1 ($1,182,738) Br.g.4 S Js Photo Hawaiian Sierra Sierra Kosmos Monica Thors DAVID & JOHN PRUSHNOK & WILLIAM GREGG December 2009 The Harness Edge
Happy Holidays And A Prosperous New Year To You And Yours On behalf of the Ontario Sires Stakes Program we would like to extend a sincere thank you to the breeders, owners, trainers, caretakers, drivers and racetracks who contributed to another successful season in 2009. Creating A Dream Breed, Buy, Race in Ontario For information visit www.ontariosiresstakes.com The Ontario Sires Stakes is part of Ontario s Horse Improvement Program and is administered by the Ontario Racing Commission
DR. LARRY SAUTTER THE SALE DOCTOR caring for his own small band of broodmares and those he boards. Then off to Steve Jones Cameo Hills Farm, which has recently produced Deweycheatumnhowe ($3,177,112) and Well Said ($2,690,820). Next stop is Winbak s New York farm before ten in the morning, followed by a bevy of other clients, including Thoroughbred and pleasure horse farms. He s honest, that s one thing I really like about him, explained Jones, who has used Sautter as his vet for 25 years. The few times he s not right, he s quick to admit it and wants to move on to get it right. I get very nervous with vets who never make a mistake. Larry has a lot of experience and works hard. He s one of the best reproductive vets I ve worked with, said David Hanson, who manages the breeding program and yearling sale for Morrisville State College. Hanson has worked with Sautter on broodmares and at sales. He came up in a time before ultrasound when vets had to do everything by hand, hundreds of mares a day, and they got very good at it, explained Hanson. The numbers just don t exist for vets to practice to that level any more. They got very good at it or they just didn t stay in the field. That s what makes Larry so good, his hands. And he s very good with clients and customers. He is honest about what you should and shouldn t do and gives you the information you need to make a good decision. Sautter is mild mannered and often quiet, but Hanson said, His sense of humour is what sets him apart. He s so dry that it s absolutely comical. Holiday Wishes Mark Harder Stable He s honest, that s one thing I really like about him. The few times he s not right, he s quick to admit it and wants to move on to get it right. I get very nervous with vets who never make a mistake. Larry has a lot of experience and works hard. Steve Jones December 2009 The Harness Edge
When he s done with his bread-and-butter reproductive work, Sautter visits clients at Monticello Raceway several days a week. The backstretch is where he started his career, working with stables like Popfinger and Cruise in the paddocks of Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceway. Sautter grew up as one of five kids on a dairy farm in Galion, located in north-central Ohio, but was familiar with Standardbreds and attended nearby county fair races as a child. When I was in high school I thought I would stay home and farm, he said. But he was inspired when his older brother Jim, who now operates Walnut Hall Stock Farm in Kentucky with his wife, Kitty, went to vet school at Ohio State University and became interested in harness racing. Sautter followed his brother to Ohio State and earned his vet degree in 1968 before spending two years in the Army traveling to places like Thailand and Hong Kong. When he finally landed in New York, he learned the things they don t teach you in vet school, like injecting joints, and how to nab a wife. She was working with Joey Goldstein, the Harness Tracks of America publicist, he said of meeting Barbara at Roosevelt. It was six months after getting out of the Army and we were married six weeks later. It must have been the right thing to do because we re still together. Now his bride of 37 years, Barbara didn t have a horse background and got what he calls on-the-job training in stall mucking after the couple purchased their first small farm not far from their current location. What made Dr. Sautter's $4,000 investment in Mary Lou Hall so significant was the subsequent performance of her son Crazed who won over $1 million and finished second in both the Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity. I wanted out of the city and to do some more broodmare work. I ended up going to Buttonwood Tree Farm in Bloomingburg. John Cashman was managing and Dr. (Howard) Gill was the veterinarian and he wanted to go out on his own, explained Sautter, who replaced Gill as the resident veterinarian of the Season s Greetings Best wishes to all in 2010. Kevin O Reilly Stables Kevin & Tine Photo by Mark Hall The Harness Edge December 2009
DR. LARRY SAUTTER THE SALE DOCTOR multi-farm operation. His time at Buttonwood allowed Sautter the opportunity to meet Phil Tully, the Hall of Fame sales company owner and breeder, and he began working at Tully s auctions. Today Sautter serves as a veterinarian at the Harrisburg, Meadowlands, Morrisville and New Jersey Classic sales each year. It s a chance to get out of town, see people you don t see at home and talk about the business. It s a change of pace, Sautter explained of his sales work. When Buttonwood closed, Sautter opened his own practice in the mid-1970s and purchased his current 120 acre farm in 1985. He and Barbara have built a successful boarding operation, breeding 60 to 70 mares each year for their customers. But the life of an equine vet is not easy to balance with family life. It was very different early on when they were younger, said Sautter of his three children, Andy, JP and Susan. When they started playing sports I decided I would be there for them. I lost one client because of it and I really didn t mind much. Being there for them was important. When his two daughters and son were a little older, the family took in a Greetings for the Season Thank you to all who raced with us in 2009. We wish you peace, health, happiness & many winners in the new year! Check out our website for the 2010 schedule www.sudburydowns.com www.sudburydowns.com sudburydowns@gmail.com 705-855-9001 Thoroughbred race mare named Close To The Top, whose career on the track was ended by a knee injury. I had free breedings to some Thoroughbred studs so I bred her to Belong To Me (a first-year stallion) and she produced Track Topper, recalled Sautter. He was stakes placed and earned $180,000. He came along with three kids in college and some weddings to pay for, so it worked out well. Out of that same mare, the Sautters also sold a filly for $130,000, making their first foray into the high end of the Thoroughbred market. When he s not selling high-priced yearlings, Sautter still makes priority time for family. He has six grandchildren and is an avid sportsman who plans an annual August fishing trip with his son, JP, in Alaska. Once you fish in Alaska, you never want to do it anywhere else, the normally even-keeled vet said with enthusiasm. We catch silver salmon and rainbows and send back home 100 pounds of filets each time. His kids and his grandkids are his pride and joy, said Jones. At this point, if he wanted to, he could probably slow down because his family is really his passion. At 66, Sautter doesn t plan on retiring any time soon. In fact, he is focused on his practice and maintaining a low volume, high quality breeding operation at home. He also makes time to serve on the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State board and works with the American Association of Equine Practitioners and a local veterinary association. He truly enjoys his work. I m still healthy and I like being associated with the industry, he explained. Every year you are glad to see the breeding season end, but you re glad to see it start up again. When you sell some nice horses from your own mares, that really makes it worthwhile too. Even now, I don t get tired of doing it, he added. You get tired of looking at legs and feeling legs. But all mares are different and they need different things. They can be hard to figure out, so it keeps your interest and it just never gets boring. December 2009 The Harness Edge
Wishing All The Best To You & Yours This Holiday Season Ray Schnittker Stable