The most effective 2-year-old fillies to race in Kentucky this 12 months was named in honor of probably the greatest locations to assemble at Kentucky’s two signature racetracks and in honor of the gentleman who labored there for many years.
After profitable two of 4 profession races and ending second in two G1 stakes, Percy Barr heads to the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar on Oct. 31. The filly, owned by Gatewood Bell’s Hat Creek Racing, was named after a specific station within the mezzanine bar at Keeneland Racetrack that was manned by Percy Poole, who was a bartender at each Lexington and Churchill Downs.
Mr. Poole labored at Churchill for 47 years and bartended at Keeneland for nearly as lengthy earlier than retiring in 2015 and died in February 2024 at age 86. Mr. Poole, a Louisville resident, was a beloved member of the Kentucky horse racing group, serving patrons on the Keeneland prepare station and on the bar on the second flooring of Churchill Downs overlooking Outdated City, and was identified for his talent, professionalism and pleasant demeanor. paddock.
“Churchill Downs and its individuals had been like household to him,” mentioned Percy’s daughter Nichelle. “He beloved it. He lived to work there. I keep in mind once I was a child, and whilst an grownup, I might go to the observe and there could be lengthy strains of individuals ready for his service.”
To the informal fan, Percy was somebody they seemed ahead to seeing time and again every spring and fall when Keeneland and Churchill met. And for horse racing individuals, Percy’s Bar, or Bar, was a spot the place victories had been celebrated, enterprise offers had been made with a handshake, and lasting friendships had been cast.
Gatewood Bell, a third-generation horseman and vp of horse racing at Keeneland Race Course, mentioned, “It appeared like myself and quite a lot of different horse racing individuals, together with jockey brokers, assistant trainers, trainers, sponsors, had been there each throughout the race and after the ultimate race.” “We simply referred to as it Percy’s Bar. … He was the breadwinner and only a nice man.”
“He is a legend. That is one of the best ways to place it,” mentioned Geno Leach, a patron of Churchill and a buddy of Ms. Poole. “I am 69 years outdated, however I have been going to the observe since I used to be 6 years outdated. Each time I stepped foot on the sector at Keeneland or Churchill Downs, I noticed Mr. Poole.”
“Percy was a really humble, quiet gentleman,” mentioned Britt Clancy, who was a daily with Churchill and partnered with Leach as a horse proprietor. “He was at all times keen to hear and had a smile on his face. There aren’t many guys like that anymore.”
Along with reside broadcasting at Churchill Downs and Keeneland, Poole served as a bartender throughout horse gross sales at Keeneland for worldwide clients and in addition labored at Ellis Park in western Kentucky for a time.
His stations at Keeneland and Churchill had been every day hubs of exercise for native followers, however the pool was additionally highly regarded with out-of-towners, mates mentioned. Leach recalled that Poole’s personal followers had been amongst those that flew into Louisville for the primary occasion on Kentucky Derby and Oaks days, and whose visits to Percy’s Bar had been a part of the annual ritual of Derby week.
“Everybody who involves the bar throughout Derby week, if Percy is away on a toilet break, all of the out-of-town individuals will ask if he nonetheless works there,” Leach mentioned. “That is the affect he had on individuals. He made quite a lot of mates within the business.”
“Percy was so dependable right here through the years that even when there was a Rolling Stones live performance (at Churchill in 2006), Percy was working at his ordinary spot,” mentioned Doug Glass, one other of Percy’s mates and horse proprietor on the racetrack. “His place was like a neighborhood bar in the midst of Churchill Downs. Percy was simply as charming on a weekday, when it was simply me, Geno, and some different individuals, as he was throughout Derby week, when the road was about 10 individuals lengthy.”
Lots of Poole’s household and mates attended his retirement celebration in June 2015 when a race named “Percy’s Final Pour” was held in his honor at Churchill Downs. After Mayor Mack received his first race, coach Greg Foley offered Percy with a trophy to commemorate his exceptional profession in Kentucky, which included 4 quadruple winners, a serious racetrack growth, the introduction of simulcasting, and plenty of different adjustments.
Owned by Airdrie Stud stallion Upstart, Percy’s Bar was bought by Hat Creek Racing as a yearling on the 2024 Keeneland September Sale for $52,000. The bay filly made her debut on the Keeneland spring meet, profitable by 4 lengths in a four-and-a-half furlong dash. Bell and coach Ben Colebrook then raced her as a filly in stakes races on the native observe at Percy Poole, however Percy Poole was simply as sharp beneath Twinspires, profitable Churchill’s six-furlong Debutante Stakes by 5 lengths in June.
After ending second to extremely rated Tommy Joe in his subsequent begin, the 7-furlong G1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga, Percy’s Barr returned to Keeneland and confirmed a brand new dimension when he made his first two-turn begin within the 11/16-mile G1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes on October 3. She set an early tempo and confirmed braveness when challenged by Tommy Joe, ending two and three-quarters of a size forward of her rival, however was disqualified for interference within the straight and took second place. Since then, Percy’s Barr has continued to coach at Keeneland, posting a timed exercise on Oct. 18 and a ultimate gallop on Oct. 24 earlier than a visit to Del Mar.
“In all probability her very best quality is her spirit,” Bell mentioned of the filly. “She’s very calm and down to earth, no totally different than Percy when coping with massive teams of individuals in line. She’s simply blossoming proper now. I am hoping the sunshine bulb will activate within the subsequent month or two.”
Percy Poole was a close-knit household man, and one of many highlights of his later years at Churchill was working along with his son Percy Poole Jr., who at one time ran a bar at Churchill. Sadly, Percy Poole Jr. handed away on the age of 62, just a few months after his father. The surviving household, together with Nichelle, daughter Denise, second spouse Liz, and 7 grandchildren, are pleased with Percy Sr.’s legacy and the way it’s evoked by this proficient mare’s identify.
“It provides me such a heat feeling to know that persons are nonetheless excited about my dad and selecting to call horses after him,” Nichelle Poole mentioned. “We actually recognize that.”
Most horse racing followers will inform you {that a} huge a part of what makes horse racing so pleasurable is the bonds that kind at every racetrack between individuals from totally different backgrounds drawn to horse racing, and the way these bonds kind their very own communities over time. With that in thoughts, it is protected to say that long-time members of Kentucky’s horse racing group might be cheering Percy’s Bar on Friday on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, a lot of whom might be elevating a cup in reminiscence of Percy Poole, his gathering place and the nice occasions they shared.
