TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1056824
Fluor 's father passed away at age 62 in 1984, w h e n Pe ter was 37 and working nearly nonstop. Fluor sub- sequently called an old friend, industry mainstay John Adger, to dispose of the family's stock. Weiner, who had grown up riding horses in Midland and visited Rancho Murrieta occasionally, figured after watching Fluor slog through that process while grieving that he was done with the animal for good. "When I went to work with Peter, all I ever heard was the trouble he had because he had to get rid of this thing as a family obligation, because we're working and nobody's there with the horses," Weiner said. "He worked really hard with Adger, and all I ever heard was the hard, bad stuff. I never thought to ask him about growing up with horses and if he had any interest in it. We were working and had totally different conversations." Fluor's return to racing started at a place where so many, including this writer, had their love of the sport solidified. It was the summer of 2014, and he took his first pilgrimage to Saratoga to hang out with an old energy industry friend named Mike Madden, who rents a house in the town every season. "I finally went to Saratoga and had a ball with Mike," Fluor said. "That kind of got the juices flowing again. It took me back to Alleged, and the pony with Charlie Whittingham." When Fluor returned home, he had dinner with Adger and sought the racing veteran's counsel. "I said, 'If we wanted to buy a few horses, what should the strategic plan be? What's the best way of going about it?'" Fluor recounted. "John said, 'You ought to look at ready-made horses and 2-year-olds in training if you just want to have some fun. But you need somebody to help you with that.'" Adger put Fluor in contact with Marette Farrell, one of the most well-respected bloodstock agents in the world, to get the ball rolling.