Del Mar trainer Librado Barocio scored his first Grade I victory when longshot Lovesick Blues (Grazen) captured the GI Bing Crosby Stakes Saturday, potentially marking a turning point for the small-stable conditioner whose operation has been delivering impressive results.
The milestone win could thrust Barocio, who has trained intermittently since 1999, into the spotlight after flying under the radar in California racing circles.
“It’s a blessing and it’s a big blessing for my family,” Barocio said during his appearance as the Gainesway Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. “I consider myself an underdog who is trying to play in this arena. I found a horse that was an underdog, too. The horse did it all. For him just to accomplish that, it means a lot for my family. It means a lot for my parents.”
Lovesick Blues, a 7-year-old California circuit veteran previously considered primarily a turf performer, came to Barocio’s barn after the trainer initially approached owner Nick Alexander about purchasing another Grazen offspring, Desmond Doss. When informed that horse wasn’t in serious training, Barocio pivoted to acquiring Lovesick Blues instead.
The Bing Crosby’s status as a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint presents Barocio with a significant opportunity, though he faces a $100,000 supplemental fee since the horse wasn’t Breeders’ Cup nominated.
Barocio credits his son — also named Librado and currently an assistant coach for the UCLA football team — with convincing him to target racing’s championship event.
“He said, ‘Dad, you made it to the Super Bowl,'” the elder Barocio explained. “Right now he’s at UCLA, but two years back he was with the Washington Commanders and Coach Rivera. And of course, their goal was to get to the Super Bowl. And when he played football at UCLA, their goal was to get to the national championship game. He said, ‘Dad, you’re in the Super Bowl.’ He equated this victory with the Super Bowl. I agreed with him. The Breeders’ Cup is the Super Bowl of racing. He said, ‘You have to go,’ and I said, ‘absolutely, you are right.'”
The trainer, who splits his time between racing and his filmmaking business, enjoyed his most successful season in 2023 with 24 wins. His 2024 campaign has already yielded impressive results — 16 victories from 65 starts for a 25% win rate, including his first graded stakes triumph with Visually (Enticed) in the GIII Senorita Stakes.
“I have to give all credit to my help, my workers, my assistants,” Barocio said. “They work endlessly and they don’t miss a beat. They do everything and sometimes they do it twice a day. We work on horses twice a day. I think the horses respond to that.”
In the podcast’s “Fastest Horse of the Week” segment sponsored by WinStar, Lovesick Blues earned the honor after posting a 105 Beyer Speed Figure in the Bing Crosby.
The TDN Writers’ Room — also sponsored by 1/ST Racing, 1/ST TV, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders’ Association, and West Point Thoroughbreds — featured hosts Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss discussing several other significant developments in racing.
The team analyzed Sovereignty’s (Into Mischief) impressive performance in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes, expressing regret that the colt skipped the Preakness Stakes in a year when he might have completed the Triple Crown.
They also highlighted ‘TDN Rising Star’ Brant (Gun Runner), who dominated his maiden debut at Del Mar with a 101 Beyer — the fastest figure recorded by any 2-year-old this season. The $3 million OBS March purchase set a record as the most expensive juvenile sold at that auction.
The podcast concluded with a preview of the GI Whitney Stakes, which assembled perhaps the year’s strongest field of older dirt horses. The consensus among the panel favored Fierceness (City of Light) as the likely winner.
To watch the Writers’ Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.
