Panagiotis “Peter” Synnefias. (EQUI-PHOTO)
In His First Summer Training At
$800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping Contest Set For Saturday
Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT, N.J. – There was never any doubt about what Panagiotis “Peter” Synnefias would do – or wanted to do – when he was old enough to make a career decision.
Both of his parents, Dimitrios and Paulina Synnefias, are trainers. His grandfather, Peter Bazeos, trained on the old New England circuit.
And as the soon-to-be 26-year-old Synnefias says, “I took my first steps at Rockingham Park as a toddler.”
These days, Synnefias’ 17-horse stable of mostly claimers is having success in his first summer at Monmouth Park, with seven wins from 25 starters. He has two horses entered for Friday’s eight-race card at the Jersey Shore track after winning with his only two starters there last weekend.
“I always knew what I wanted to do. All I ever wanted to do was train horses. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember,” he said.
After going out on his own full-time in 2022, Synnefias’ career got a boost from AJ2x Stable after he made an impression at his then-Penn National base with what was a small stable at the time. He wound up winning with 11 of his 39 starters that year.
But he says his career “really took a turn for the better” after he won a $40,000 maiden claimer at Keeneland on Oct. 23 last year with The Gatekeeper, a horse he claimed for $20,000.
“I wasn’t having a great year before that and then things really picked up,” said Synnefias. “I had eight wins the rest of the year (out of 19 for the year) starting with The Gatekeeper.
“I started to figure out a lot of things that year the hard way with the realization of the game, where I was at, what kind of horses I had and what kind of horses I wanted to have.”
Though his stable still consists mostly of claiming horses, they have become the better quality claimers. He has yet to win a stakes race but has had horses in four of them, most recently Surface to Air, who was seventh in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes undercard.
“The race was too tough for him, but I took a shot,” he said. “I knew it was tough, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to try. If I had to do it over again, I would have given him another two weeks. But I needed to try at the time.”
Synnefias, whose parents are from Greece (he was born in Boston), knows how far he has come in a short time. Just two years ago he was basically running a one-man operation and still grooming his horses.
He has moved on from Penn National, no small thing for someone who grew up in Grantville, Pa., and spent the spring in Kentucky before making the move to Monmouth Park for the first time after convincing his owners to give the track a shot.
“I started the year with 10 horses. Now I have 17 and I’m getting better quality horses,” he said. “I think owners are noticing what I can do. The work ethic is there. The drive is there. And this is all I ever wanted to do.
“Everything is going well at Monmouth so far. I got there a little late. I didn’t have my whole stable there until the first week in June. But I’m happy with the way things have gone.
“A good year for me would be to finish the way I have started. I think this year has been a good reflection of my ability as a trainer. The horses are running well, which is all you can ask for.”
Synnefias, who turns 26 on Monday, said he will try the Belmont Park meet after Monmouth Park ends.
“Hopefully I can keep things going the way they are, and I can keep getting better horses to train,” he said.
$800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping Contest Set For Saturday With Options To Play Online Or On Site At Monmouth
An $800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping contest, with cash prizes also awarded to the top 10 finishers, will be available online and on site at Monmouth Park on Saturday, Aug. 24.
TVG, 4NJBETS and Xpressbet are the available online options for contest players.
There is a non-refundable entry fee of $400 and a tournament bankroll of $400 for races at Monmouth Park and Saratoga, with contestants required to wager on a minimum of five (5) Monmouth Park races of at least $80 each.
Saratoga will have a first race post-time on Saturday, Travers Stakes Day, of 11.20 a.m. Monmouth Park’s first race post time is 12:50 p.m. that day.
The wagering format consists of Win, Place, Show, Exacta and Daily Double betting only.
For TVG and 4NJBETS customers, online pre-registration ends at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 23. Xpress players can register through 12:50 p.m. on Saturday.
On-site registration is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of Clubhouse
Based on 200 entries, the prize pool will consist of 3 NHC seats, 4 BCBC seats and $25,000 cash.
The top 7 finishers, in order, will select between an NHC and a BCBC seat. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 10 finishers.
To pre-register, email bskirka@monmouthpark.com.
