Off to the races: Retired pharmacist Phil Baneth enters a thrilling new career -- thoroughbred racing Off to the races: Retired pharmacist Phil Baneth enters a thrilling new career -- thoroughbred racing (September 22, 2004)

By Nicole Boroff
Special to the Almanac

It's not that a five-decade career in pharmacy is without its thrills. He can recall life-and-death situations, including one Christmas Day when he was available to fill the prescription of a dying patient.

But Phil Baneth, who last fall sold his pharmacy at 900 Willow Road in Menlo Park after 46 years there, has a thrilling new career: owning and following thoroughbred racing horses.

"I like the excitement -- the anticipation, being up all night before a race," says Baneth, a 35-year resident of Atherton.

Although he just got into the business in a serious way last year -- he owns three horses outright and has about a one-third interest in 10 others -- Baneth has already made his mark.

His horses won 16 races in 2003 and the Thoroughbred Owners of California named him "Rookie of the Year." The award is in the form of a painting of a jockey dressed in Baneth's own silks -- light-blue jacket with dark blue polka dots and a circle B, designed by his wife Gayle.

He proudly hangs the picture on a wall at his home, where he displays many pictures of his championship horses.

Joe DiMaggio

Another fascinating aspect of Baneth's life -- that's also tied to his interest in racing horses -- is a five-year friendship with Joe DiMaggio during the last years of the baseball legend's life.

They met through a mutual friend, and Baneth got to filling DiMaggio's prescriptions "at a competitive price and with good service," says Baneth.

DiMaggio, who lived in San Francisco, would drive down to Menlo Park with a friend. "We would get sandwiches at the deli, and Joe would eat half the sandwich at the pharmacy and half for dinner," says Baneth.

They also headed for the race track.

Slight diversion

Baneth has what he calls a lifelong interest in racing -- diverted by a 50-year career in the pharmacy business. After college at the University of Cincinnati, he served in the Army in 1956-57 as a pharmacist at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., and then at Letterman Presidio in San Francisco.

After the Army, he settled in the Bay Area, and worked as a pharmacist at a Thrifty Drugs store in Mountain View and later for McQuarries Pharmacy in West Menlo Park.

In 1959, he bought Duncan McQuarrie's Willow Road pharmacy and set up shop there across from the VA hospital. Baneth Pharmacy became somewhat of a local landmark. It's had a number of celebrity clients. Besides DiMaggio, it's catered to such football greats as Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Ronnie Lott -- and even comedian Shecky Green, says Baneth.

Baneth had a reputation for accessibility to his customers, famous or not. For the first 30 years, he had his home phone number on the store window so people could call him 24 hours a day. One day, the delivery man forgot to deliver medication to a customer, who then called Baneth at 3 a.m. The pharmacist went to the store in the middle of the night and delivered the medicine to the customer's home.

Over the years, he's seen the independent, neighborhood pharmacists dwindle as chains and conglomerates took over. The personal touch is gone, says Baneth, who estimates that he knew the first name of 60 percent of the people who came into his store.

And his employees were loyal. Over the five decades, there were not more than 10 pharmacists at Baneth, he says. Two employees who started out with him young and poor were able to own their own houses by their mid-20s, he says.

The horse trade

Baneth got interested in horse racing through the pharmacy business.

"A customer called and said, 'I'm going to buy a horse in Santa Anita. Are you interested?"

That first horse was bought in 1999 in partnership with the customer. It went so well, that he bought a second horse, then a third.

Pretty soon, he was off to the races.

The adrenalin pumps and the mind races the night before a race, says Baneth. At the track the next day, Baneth talks with the trainer -- Art Sherman is Baneth's main trainer at Bay Meadows and Howard Zucker is the trainer at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.

The trainer counsels the jockey, who may not be familiar with the horse. From that point, all Baneth can do is watch.

Having a good trainer is key, says Baneth, who is glad that Sherman is part owner of many of his horses. Sherman supervises the care of about 50 horses at Bay Meadows.

They oversee the feeding and medical care of the horses and see that they are fit to run.

Sherman takes trips to Kentucky to pick out thoroughbreds for Baneth and other owners. "I know what a fair price is," says Sherman.

Several months ago, Baneth bought a yearling from Kentucky that he named Prescription Needed, an homage to the pharmacy business. Prescription Needed has already delivered by winning a race.

Most horses race from age 2 to 4, but "horses can race as old as 11 and still be competitive," says Sherman. "At 12 they have to be retired."

Good investment?

"Horses are expensive and require a lot of upkeep," says Baneth, who -- by what he calls a "modest" estimate -- has at least $300,000 invested in horses. Maintenance costs -- for the vet and dentist bills, trainer fees, grooms, etc. -- are high. He estimates he spends $12,000 a month for his 10 or so Northern California horses alone.

Horses are prone to colic, a deadly condition that comes from eating moldy hay. One of his horses, named Storm Over Night -- a birthday present for his wife, Gayle Baneth -- succumbed to the disease. "He was beautiful," remembers Baneth.

For those interested in buying race horses, he recommends they have at least $25,000 to start. And the key is getting good information, and testing the waters before taking a plunge. "Go to the racetrack, speak to a trainer. You don't have to buy the whole horse. You can buy a share of it."

It's a highly regulated business, and you need to obtain a license before you can buy.

The winning horse takes 70 percent of the purse, which typically ranges from $15,000 to $40,000, but in some of the big races at Santa Anita, for example, it can hit $3 million.

Despite all his wins, Baneth says he isn't making a lot of money, but he isn't losing, either. Only 20 percent of owners make money, he says, so it's a high-risk investment. The key is winning, placing or showing in some of the big-purse races.

So, is Baneth in it for the money or the love of the sport?

"Both," he says.

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