Some fans have special agenda at Breeders' Cup
Bettors, owners, even one famous jockey were in attendance
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
If one looks hard enough at the faces in the crowd, they are easy to pick out. Perhaps there is a certain intensity to their expression. Maybe they're striding through the crowd with a little more purpose than the average fan. They are the "horsemen" - ones who keep horse racing alive, whether on the front lines or behind the scenes.

ERIC SUCAR staff A group of spectators gathers under one of the television sets to watch the replay of The Classic race after the second day of the Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

Longtime Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. was making his way through the clubhouse crowd when fans stopped him to express their admiration. Now an agent for top jock John Velasquez, Cordero enjoyed many years of notoriety as a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and four-time Breeders' Cup race victor, among other major wins.

The Breeders' Cup has special significance in Cordero's career. After a hard fall that nearly cost him his life in 1992, Cordero made a comeback in 1995 to ride in the Breeders' Cup at 53 years old.

Despite his fame, Cordero had to buy his tickets like the rest of the fans - $400 for Friday and Saturday's events.

"I paid," Cordero said. "Of course. I pay for everything I do."

Tony Wilson, one of the leading trainers at Monmouth Park, was heading to the paddock area concession stand to buy hot dogs for his friends and himself. After capturing a victory in Thursday's Revidere Stakes with Chuck Lopez aboard, Wilson had time to relax and enjoy the Breeders' Cup.

"[I'm] just watching the crowd and checking out the finer thoroughbreds - dreaming like everybody else," Wilson said.

Wilson said he was pulling for Monmouth Park leading jockey Joe Bravo in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Former Monmouth Park jockey Rafael Pena brought his nephews to be a part of the action. Pena, who said he has been riding since the age of 13, is now 53 and has not quit yet. Working behind the scenes now to keep the horses in top shape for their races, Pena is an exercise rider at Monmouth.

Pena's nephew, Edward Frias of Pennsauken, was especially thankful for his uncle's hospitality when he hit a pick-4 for $1,000.

Gene Muzyka, a horse owner from Middletown, also enjoyed a win Thursday with his horse Calabria Bella. It was Muzyka's first live Breeders' Cup event. He paid $50 for Friday's ticket and $300 for Saturday, also purchasing 17 extras just in case. Muzyka said he dropped some off for his friends at the police department.

"I tried to give them away," Muzyka said. "I can't give them away."

Another horse owner, Wanda Polisseni, came from Fairport, N.Y., to support her trainers and fellow owners. She said she uses Terri Pompay and No. 1 Monmouth trainer Todd Pletcher for her many horses. Though she did not have any horses in the Breeders' Cup races, Polisseni was still interested in their outcomes.

"I've always loved horses," Polisseni said. "I grew up on a farm. I always said someday I'm going to have a racehorse."