Greinton
 

Died recently at the age of 29.

His rivalry with Precisionist hooked me into this sport.

Truly one of the great under appreciated horses of our time.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...m-the-80s-dies

For anyone interested. Here are his last 12 races. His 13th race back was the Strub, my all time favorite race (the 1985 running).




I think his 1985 campaign up till summer knocked him out for the rest of that year.

He was pretty good on the grass after coming to the U.S.. Second in the Arlington Million, second in the Sunset (which cost him a huge bonus from Hollywood Park), and a decent effort in the BC turf when he was still in contention at the top of the stretch.

Unfortunately, I can only find replays of two of these races.

Santa Anita 4/13/86 Race 8 San Bernardino Handicap - Gr.2
Santa Anita 3/02/86 Race 8 Santa Anita Handicap - Gr.1
Aqueduct 11/02/85 Race 6 Breeders' Cup Turf - Gr.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD9EaZrbjdE
Belmont Park 10/05/85 Race 8 Jockey Club Gold Cup - Gr.1
Belmont Park 9/14/85 Race 8 Marlboro Cup - Gr.1
Arlington Park 8/25/85 Race 6 Budweiser-Arlington Million - Gr.1
Hollywood Park 7/22/85 Race 8 Sunset Handicap - Gr.1
Hollywood Park 6/23/85 Race 8 Hollywood Gold Cup - Gr.1
Hollywood Park 6/09/85 Race 10 Californian Stakes - Gr.1
Hollywood Park 5/19/85 Race 8 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap - Gr.2
Santa Anita 4/13/85 Race 8 San Bernardino Handicap - Gr.2
Santa Anita 3/03/85 Race 8 Santa Anita Handicap - Gr.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhPzalt01j8
Santa Anita 2/03/85 Race 8 Charles H Strub Stakes - Gr.1
Santa Anita 1/19/85 Race 8 San Fernando Stakes - Gr.1
Hollywood Park 12/24/84 Race 8 Princequillo Handicap
Hollywood Park 12/07/84 Race 8 Handicap
Hollywood Park 11/16/84 Race 8 Allowance
Evry 5/04/84 Race 247 Prix Matchem
Longchamp 4/15/84 Race 171 Prix de Guiche - Gr.3
Deauville 8/06/83 Race 748 Prix de Cabourg

Yeah, it's a shame.

The 85 Strub was the greatest race I saw in person.

Greinton along with Lord at War, Precisionist, Alysheba, Broad Brush, Ferdinand, Judge Angelucci, Super Diamond, etc made for some great handicap racing in S Ca during the mid to late 80's.

A rivalry better then Be Bullish and Dr.W :eek:... never.

.....those were great days at santa anita, now its sad. was at the 86 big cap,that place was wall to wall......van bergs rabbit almost stole it.

....charlie, you came out from the east coast?

Herat, at something like 100/1.

I grew up in and lived in an LA burb.

Moved to Maine in 03.

....gotcha, been in the LA burb. since birth.....its
bad.

Yep. I arranged my whole life around avoiding traffic as much as possible. It's not a good thing to center your life around.

I arrange mine around internet gambling and internet porn. If only there was a way to gamble on porn scenes.

Only if you're BROKE!

true, its the greatest if you have unlimited funds.....few do.

LA sucks if you are poor.

LA sucks if you are middle class.

LA sucks if you are rich.

helL.A. is just too crowded. The traffic is just unlivable.

If you live in the foothills it helps cut some of the traffic and work close to home. I have always be against the traffic for work and I do live in the foothill which cuts the traffic almost in half.
It's all a state of mind.

I wonder why Charlie Whittingham put him in the BC Turf instead of the Classic. Certainly he couldn't have held his effort in the slop in the JCGC against him. He ran well enough in the Marlboro Cup (as the favorite) to take a shot even if he wasn't in peak form. It's like when they ran Bet Twice in the Mile instead of one last go at Alysheba in the '88 Classic.

Fortunately, we now have the Dirt Mile for those who are a cut below or in declining form leading up to the Classic.

Yeah, I was from West Covina.

In the local Indian dialect, West Covina roughly translated meant "Land of much smog"

I think it was the concern about a sloppy track that sealed the decision to run in the Turf. He closed strongly against Teleprompter in the Budweiser Million, so they probably thought the distance would suit him. The Classic turned out to be a strong race even with Precisionist in the Sprint off a long layoff and Greinton in the Turf.

Other than the smog, and the fairly mediocre (to bad) cuisine, you had it pretty good out there. Better than me. You lived up high in the hills, and ya daddy was a dentist. I lived a block away from the freeway, and Richard Ramirez had an addiction for cutting people up a block or 2 from an on-ramp. Plus, you probably had central air that Summer of '85. We didn't get it until '87. That Summer just wouldn't end. OMG!! Each week he was scalping 2 more people. It was so damn hot, too. People had to choose between sleeping bad in still 90 degree night heat, or opening windows. I remember people (who didn't even have dogs) were putting up beware-of-dog signs. He was a monster. They passed out those fliers with sketches, and they were nowhere close to what he turned out to look like. Shows you how fkd up the survivors were. Says a lady said he was a thin Latin on May 30, 1985. That's news to me. I don't think they told us that. Wow...Thanks......That was no fun. I guess they thought if they told us he' s Latin, then he'd of what? Left? Good? LOL....Guess they were worried about race problems breaking out. Maybe they didn't trust her. A guy slicing people up, and the cops were totally lost (everyone knew it, too.) We knew they weren't close to getting him. They couldn't stop him, and July/August was a bloody mess. It was not a Happy 4th of July!!

June 28th 1984
March 17th 1985
March 17th(again)
March 27th
April 15th
May 30th
July 2nd
July 5th
July 7th
July 7th (again)
July 20th
Aug 6th
Aug 8th
Aug 18th
Aug 24th
Aug 31st (caught)

Yea, 5 months of that Valley being on his butcher block. I'd still so love to hit him with an aluminum baseball bat. I guess, cuz we were carrying bats around during July n' August. I really hate him (even more than Broxton;).)


He hit where? Glassel Park, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Arcadia, Monrovia, Rosemead, and Monterey park/Alhambra, Glendale, Burbank, Northridge, Mission Viejo, San Francisco etc.? Draw that on the map, and we were within that circle, and looked pretty due to be hit. He hit the San Gabriel Valley 9 times. He could easily of chosen West Covina, Covina, Glendora etc. (instead of Diamond Bar, Monrovia, or Arcadia.) That period was the worst thing about growing up out there. They called him the Night Stalker, and he was totally in love with the Devil. Everybody knew that much. He was carving pentagrams on anybody he could get a knife on. He did some unspeakable stuff that they didn't want to talk about. I guess he was probably gouging their eyes out. One Sick mthafkr.

Greinton versus Precisionist was sort of a David versus Goliath thing. Whittingham had Greinton, and Fenstermaker;) had Precisionist. Not only that, but Precisionist didn't really want to even go 9f. He had to have a top day to beat Greinton.

The food actually got pretty good. Boca Del Rio for the best tacos anywhere, and there is a Japanese restaurant in Covina that got a 28 in Zagats, which made it the 2nd highest rated restaurant in all of California. The guy who owns it used to be the cook for Matsuhisu, or however you spell his name.

People worried too much about Ramirez. The odds of him hitting any one house were almost nil.

I was more worried about the people I knew, as you must know.

One guy I used to go fishing with in all those rock quarries along 605 got knifed in Industry buying crack. What a stupid way to go.

I actually saw that rivalry completely 180 degrees opposite of you.

Besides the trainer that is.

Precisionist was the top horse with Greinton being a relatively no namer coming over from Europe.

I always believed Precisionist to be one of those horses that had to be given a loose reign. If allowed to go out and wing it, he was one super tough horse to beat, no matter how far he went. That idiot Mccarron cost him many races trying to rate him on the lead.

Do you not remember the Strub, where he and Halo Folks set that insane pace? Precisionist put him away and then had to run for about the last 1/2 a mile with Greinton at his throat.

I wish someone would come up with that video.

Well, you were way up in the hill there. I wouldn't of been worried much there, either. You know where I lived...LOL..(Yea)....That neighborhood was exactly what he would of liked. Just a matter of whether he got off on our ramp. I'm surprised someone in the Baldwin park, Covina, West covina area didn't get owned by him. Not like there was a big chance to get in trouble getting to an on-ramp. Those communities luck'd out. Monterey park, and Arcadia got it pretty bad. He hit Monterey Park 4 times....He Loved it. Remember Remba or myself were running that 7-11 alone. Getting out of that 7-11 (alone) at about 11:30 at night. I had a bat, and a knife. I should of got a gun though. He had a gun, and a machete.

...Owner of that 7-11 always wanted to give us a lie detector test. Remba wouldn't have any of it, though. Somehow, we never got tested. Don't know if Remba was stealing from him. That was '85? In like '92, Remba told me he robbed that guy (when he was on his way to make bank deposits.) For some reason, I didn't believe him. I think he said he hit him over the head, or something like that. I just didn't believe he'd do that, but maybe he did it. I think I thought that I would of heard more about it (if it had happened.) Guess he def. owned somebody later on, huh. Judge Ito put him away. If he killed a fat Palestinean or Greek, then I think I met the guy (once.) Remba's Dad and this guy were sort of arguing about Israel....He called me right before he got arrested. He said he thought one of his schemes finally caught up with him. Then, he called me after he was sentenced. I could tell he wasn't getting out anytime soon. His mom was trying appeals or something. Could tell he didn't think he was getting out, and he never did...... You know he put some gym bag in my garage. Next thing I know, he's arrested for murder, and his parents want the bag back. I gave them it, and they were pssd off at me. Said Remba had some pornos that a shop or somebody wants back. I'm not kid'n. This guys in jail, and in big trouble. His folks are all upset about some pornos. They were weird, man. Remba must of really sold them on me stealing some pornos, cuz they were convinced I had those pornos somewhere. Pretty weird to be talking to those old people about that, cuz they never said a word about what Remba faced next. LOL..They were concerned 'bout them pornos. Def. Wanted those pornos. I'm like folks, I didn't even know he had pornos in that bag. So, the old man went to his grave thinking I caused them to pay for some pornos. Remba was a big liar.

Didn't Greinton beat him more? Obviously, they were pretty close. I was probably playing a price horse. I doubt I ever bet Greinton. May have bet Precisionist a couple times. I just remember Greinton owning me (always at bad odds.)

I've never really been big on Chinese, Japanese, or Thai food. I eat Kung Pao Chicken, just to be eating something, but it's just not my thing. Saw your family eating Italian at Pompei one time though. They were practically Catatonic. Did your parents talk to each other much?

In the mid 60s I can remeber it hurt to breath. Times have changed.

Caught some BIG blue gill and BIGGER bass in those quarries in the 80s

He did rob that guy at gunpoint. Dude lost his mind.

His parents were seriously messed up too. His Mom basically stole him from his Dad in England cause she didn't want him exposed to gambling! That worked out.

When Steve worked for his stepdad he caught him with a prostitute at work. To keep him quiet, he let Steve take his turn with her, and they kept that up for a few years after that.

I like to blame BKK for everyone in our age range being so messed up back then.

Yeah, I remember that. My mother was terminal at the time. Wasn't a very festive time in my life.

The Precisionist and Greinton rivalry was about even, I believe.

You're the one that stole my car battery!!!

We sometimes would hit up those quarries after Santa Anita.

You know the really big quarry where the Raiders were going to put a stadium in? I was fishing there once when I saw this blue gill jump out of the water onto the shore, followed up quickly by a 5-10 lb bass hot on its heels. The bass missed and the blue gill flopped back into the water.

The Raiders were my favorite team until they tried to pull that stunt. It's bad enough that that idea would have made Santa Anita traffic on Sundays absolutely intolerable (being so close to SA), but to wipe out my favorite local fishing spot??

I wonder if Stronach is a Raiders fan?

I saw where she died last year. Once her boy was gone, didn't take long for her to give up. A couple months ago, I saw the house listed for about 650k. That's a dynamite house for that. I don't know if she kept keeping it up really well (probably did.) She didn't like his adopted kids. I figure she gave it to a nephew, a niece, or a Jewish Charity. Maybe she gave it to G.A.

Remba didn't say anything about that. Didn't even remember you being there with them. Just remember it was a really quiet family. Sorry to hear that was going on. I got that coming soon. Getting late...

Yea, he came to talk to my Dad (about him catching his Stepdad with a whore.) My Dad was pretty lost about what to say...LOL, probably, because was getting some extra, too. Remba seemed pretty disturbed about that whore, but you say he starting get'n with her, too? Wow....Both of them knew they were each hit'n that whore? Wow. You believe he did that? That one may be fiction. He was pretty upset about catching him doing that to his mom....Course they say Tiger was upset when he found out his dad was cheating. Then, he does 20 at once.

my neck of the woods, san fernando valley / santa clarita is, was a little less drama than west covina??......of coarse the valley has some pretty fcd up areas.

Guess I should of checked into that. I'd of probably found a bullet though. My Dad always told me that guy was gunna get in jail. Said don't get involved in any of his plans. I mainly didn't. Course, he used a hot card a couple times when I was with him. I remember running out of a Sears in Vegas. Yea, hanging with him could of gotten us in trouble. You know a guy is wrong inside when he cleans his stepdad's Atm card out a 2nd time.......:eek:

Ain't surprised she "basically stole" from a guy. She wasn't bad looking, but she married a 1, or a 2, right? I was surprised Remba didn't expect that old guy to be getting sex from somewhere. I'm like, dude!! Your momma be frigid severe (to start with,) and look at the gruesome task at hand....Come on.....I mean, I was afraid he was gunna off the old guy. Old man should of been grateful to me for trying to save his life;).

Frigid? That's being generous.

If her hair had been black, I would not have been able to tell her apart from Darth Vader.

Remba said his girlfriend was Nakatani's sister. Was that the one that got killed in '96?

I don't know, but I don't think so. I stopped associating with him after he held that dude up at gunpoint.

I ran into him in Vegas once, after the police had called me asking me if I knew his whereabouts (they were looking for him for the murder of Big Al). I told him "hey, you know the cops are looking for you?" and he shrugged back, saying that that was no big deal.

Can you imagine if he had actually finished up that one last class at law school, instead of killing Al? He'd have been an AWESOME lawyer!