Bob Ciavardini was in the mid -1930s when he retired from the cadavity race to concentrate on a up-to-date career and found a family. Never in the following years he really thought about returning, but after retirement it didn't take long for him to check himself.
And now, more than three decades since his departure, Ciavardini enjoys every opportunity to look at the stage for his second act in sport. The lifelong Up-to-date Yorker has driven 20 winners since his return to Sulky in 2017 after 27 years of absence, with most victories coming in the last three seasons.
“I have a second chance that I have not really planned and I try to make the best of it,” said 71-year-old Ciavardini, who mainly drives on the amateur circle. “I enjoy the places where I go and the races in which I am. If you get older, you notice that you have to record everything. I do it. I have a great time.”
It was Ciavardini's brother Richard, who steered Bob back into sport when he said that the two should go on a trip to follow the races in Monticello one day. Ciavardini came across a friend, Michael Spano, who suggested to buy a horse. Ciavardini got a 4,000 dollar applicant and was back in the game.
“When I retired, I had no horses in my head at that time,” said Ciavardini. “But about six months later I thought what am I doing now? I repaired everything (around the house). Only when my brother said about a trip to Monticello. That was the end of it. Thank God he said. I think it was fate.
“All the years of horses, it doesn't disappear. It is in your blood, and that's it.”
Ciavardini was in the high school when he started working on a standard bred farm on the street, from where he grew up in Mount Kisco, NY, about 40 miles north of the Raceway from Yonkers. His father finally bought a few horses, and after Ciavardini graduated, he was immersed in sports. In 1972 he received his trainer's license and took his father's horses himself.
“I had efforts to be an architect,” said Ciavardini with a laugh. “So I looked at some colleges, but it wasn't for me. The horses, everyone gets the mistake.”
Ciavardini had a training stable and occasionally drove in the next 17 years, mainly in Roosevelt and Yonkers.
“I trained some decent horses, mostly only applicants,” said Ciavardini. “I got my feet saturated with it and started driving a little. I didn't have much success, but I drove against the best.”
One of the owners of Ciavardini at the end of the 1980s was a union delegate in Up-to-date York City and proposed to deal with the work of the Union. In 1989 Ciavardini decided to change the career, and he stayed with the company for 25 years. That could have been the end of the story if not Ciavardini's brother.
“When I came back in, I thought I would like to drive again,” said Ciavardini. “It keeps me youthful. It keeps me running. I am just so content that I can do it and I can do it at a pretty good level now. I had some success.”
Ciavardini's highlights Since returning to the Sulky, his first comeback victory on Goshen's historical route in 2017 with Trotter Baltimor as a win in the Woodbine Mohawk Park in 2023 with 24: 1 shot frownies wonder and got his first Meadowlands Triumph with Caviar Skipper last November.
“At the Meadowlands, winning one of the biggest checks on the Bucket list was,” said Ciavardini and added with a laugh.
“The Mohawk victory was very thrilling, it was another track that I always wanted to win, and it was something very special for the people I drove for. I went to the red mile, I went to Delaware, Ohio. These were all on my bucket list to run there.
However, his victory in Monticello was on the list of top moments from Ciavardini last November. Ciavardini led the judge Ken to victory that day before his family, including grandson Hunter (on his birthday, no less) and granddaughter Harper.
“We enjoy it as a family,” said Ciavardini. “My children like it, my grandchildren love it. They were in Monticello in the circle of the winner for the first time. That was my biggest thrill to have both grandchildren there. I won a few races that were thrilling, but to have my grandchildren there to see how I won a race, was out of the charts.”
Ciavardini will strive for more unforgettable moments over the course of this year and travel with his wife Diane through the amateur racing route. His next opportunity for the race will be in Meadowland on Friday, where he will drive in a Meadowland amateur Drivers Club on the beach on the beach.
“I love playing golf, I like to go fishing and fishing my grandchildren, but the horses are the elixir of life for me,” said Ciavardini. “I don't think I could be without horses.
“When I was a younger guy, there were a thousand things you had to worry about. Now there is no pressure. I just have a lot of fun. I will never give it up. One day I will surely stop driving, but at the moment I feel 100 percent and I have met a lot of good people over the years.
from Ken WeingartnerFor the Usta
