ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -Bob Baffert believes Peppers Pride will quiet the skeptics.
With one more victory in a 6-furlong allowance race Saturday at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M., the 5-year-old thoroughbred mare would improve to 17 victories in 17 starts, a modern North American record.
``Hey, she's earned it,'' Baffert said Thursday. ``A win's a win.''
Peppers Pride is poised to break the mark of 16 straight victories that she shares with Triple Crown winner Citation, two-time horse of the year Cigar, Mister Frisky and Hallowed Dreams.
Some have compared Peppers Pride's run to a minor league baseball record because she has never raced outside New Mexico, all of her starts have been against fillies and mares and she's never run on a sloppy track.
``Doesn't matter,'' Baffert said. ``It's significant. It's very difficult to win, no matter what. It's tougher in open company but it still takes a great horse to go out and win every time.''
Joel Marr, who trains Peppers Pride, said most of the grumbling comes from fans and reporters or race commentators - but never from anyone who makes a living by handling horses.
There's a simple reason the horse has never run outside the state. Marr said from the start, the plan he developed with owner Joe Allen focused on pursuing incentives offered by New Mexico breeders.
``She's run against top-quality New Mexico-bred mares,'' Marr said. ``We have not run her open. If somebody wants to criticize her for that, they can, but I don't care. That was the best place to run her. It made the most sense for her future.''
Peppers Pride has career winnings of more than $867,000. Allen, a steak and barbecue restaurateur in Abilene, Texas, estimated she's added about $50,000 under the New Mexico breeders incentives.
It wasn't until she'd won 10 straight that Allen became aware of the record.
``I don't have the money to play with a lot of the big people,'' Allen said. ``From a financial standpoint, this just makes more sense. We can get her beat. We know that. Our objective is to retire her sound.''
Mike Kane, spokesman for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., noted there is a big difference between a Hall of Fame career and a long winning streak.
``It would be two different discussions,'' he said. ``But no matter where you win races, New Mexico, Louisiana, or a variety of states, this is darn impressive. It's evidence of a good horseman and a durable horse.''
His colleague Allan Carter, of the National Museum of Racing historian, said Fashion won 20 straight races in the 1840s, Kentucky won 20 in a row in the 1860s and Hindoo, born in 1878, won 18 straight.
``These days, it's unusual to see a horse win five or six in a row, even cheap horses,'' Carter said.
Jockey Carlos Madeira began riding Peppers Pride when she was a 2-year-old and has been aboard for all the wins. Her closest race was two years ago at Zia Park, where she rallied on the final turn, caught the leader on the stretch and won by a nose.
``She doesn't want to get beat,'' Marr said.
Adding to her accomplishment, Peppers Pride has won 12 stakes races. She has carried increasing weight as her career progressed and covered distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to a mile.
One worry, though, is that she hasn't raced since winning the Foutz Distaff Handicap at SunRay Park on April 26. Training wasn't ideal this summer because twice she prepared to run but couldn't because of rain.
Her entry in the Lincoln Handicap at Ruidoso Downs on July 27 was ruined by heavy rains and flooding, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly. She was slated to run at Ruidoso on Aug. 31 but Marr scratched her after more rains turned the track sloppy.
``I'm concerned about the layoff. Any trainer would be,'' Marr said. ``But we've done everything under the circumstances to prepare.''
Should she win this weekend, Marr said he'd view it as a team victory. He credits his owner, jockey, farrier, groom and veterinarian - ``You consult your cabinet,'' he said, before adding, ``It would be hers more than ours.''
``If it happens, we'd be tremendously happy and proud to be acknowledged with the other horses where she is right now,'' Marr said. ``It would be something special for racing in the Southwest and New Mexico in particular.''
If Peppers Pride nabs the record, Baffert believes it's legitimate.
``I think if she gets the record, she deserves the record,'' he said. ``People like to see a horse breaking a record like that. It's great for the sport.''
