One of the reasons why horse racing can be so endearing is because of people like trainer John Grabowski.
If you are old enough, you might recall Grabowski as a Finger Lakes-based jockey who won 3,401 races—none of them in graded stakes—in his career through 2011.
A trainer since then, an even smaller circle of followers may be aware of his work caring for a stable that now numbers nine horses at Finger Lakes. According to Equibase statistics, he has started 619 horses with 116 wins and earnings of more than $1.45 million, none of them in a graded stakes.
Yet on a memorable Oct. 3 afternoon at Belmont Park, Grabowski proved once again why even when facing the giants of the industry a David can slay the Goliaths.
A moment Grabowski always dreamed about as a jockey and then a trainer came true as Dotsy, a $37,000 yearling purchase for an owner with a two-horse stable, beat New York's top trainers and 2-year-old fillies by 2 3/4 lengths in the $500,000 Frizette Stakes (G1).
"This is the greatest moment of my life, other than my two daughters being born," said an overjoyed Grabowski after saddling just his second starter in a stakes. "I know that's from 'Rocky,' but it is."
Yes, this was indeed a Rocky-like script with Grabowski's filly winning a grade 1 loaded with horses from New York's top trainers Chad Brown and Linda Rice, fillies bought for $500,000 and $300,000, and a favorite by multiple leading stallion Into Mischief .
"Every year, you hope you get a horse who goes up the ladder and gets you to a level like this. Every day, every year, you dream about it. This is surreal," Grabowski said.
Even more surreal might be seeing Grabowski at the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The Frizette is part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series and awarded owner Thomas Paluck of TSP Enterprises with a $30,000 credit toward a start in the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland.
Grabowski said he would monitor how Dotsy comes out of her second career start before deciding on whether to ship to Keeneland.
Paluck has already made his plans.
"I bought my tickets for the Breeders' Cup already," Paluck said. "I'll be there, with or without her."
Dotsy is a daughter of Tacitus, who stood earlier this year at Taylor Made Stallions and was sold to a private farm in South Korea in September. The sire notched his first North American grade 1 winner.
The filly was bred by Scott and Debbie Pierce out of the unraced Fusaichi Pegasus mare Coqui and sold at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale for a price well within Grabowski's budget of $60,000.
"We had a short list from Josie Palmisano, and I loved how (Dotsy) looked (at the sale)," Grabowski said. "She was correct. She checked all the boxes, and she looked like we could afford her. I was so nervous because I wanted her that bad. When I won the bid, I was shaking so badly I had a hard time signing the ticket."
That sale price allowed Grabowski to enter Dotsy in an Aug. 26 maiden race at Saratoga Race Course for 2-year-old fillies with a sale or hammer price of $65,000 or less. When she won by 4 lengths, the target became the one-turn-mile Frizette.
Libby Lloyd, a 10-length maiden winner for Brown at the Spa, was the 4-5 favorite in the Frizette, but after battling on the front end with 41-1 longshot Girls Wear Pearls, she tired in the stretch and finished fourth in the field of seven.
Jockey Kendrick Carmouche had Dotsy ($25.02) third in the early stages behind fractions of :22.98 and :45.75 and she forged to the lead at the top of the stretch and covered the mile in 1:36.07 on a fast track.
Lee Lewis and Lexi Lewis' Rum Twist, a daughter of Mandaloun trained by Mark Hennig, was second with 1 1/4 lengths back to CJ Thoroughbreds and John Ropes' Revenge of the Sis, a Girvin filly trained by George Weaver.
The second- and third-place finishers received credits of $15,000 and $7,500 toward a start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
"I really think she'd like two turns where she can shut off around the first turn. I think she was a little keen today because it's run more like a sprint around one turn. We'll consider (the Breeders' Cup) and see how she does and talk it over," Hennig said.
The Frizette was also part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and awarded 10-5-3-2-1 points to the top five finishers toward the 2027 Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.
