Faith, family and friendship bring Deo Volente Farm to life

Faith, family and friendship bring Deo Volente Farm to life
by Nicole Kraft
Mike Gulotta has no doubt that the hand of God has long directed his life.
Gulotta was in his New Jersey office at 9 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, learning from
Aon Corp. coworker Ed Straub about the jetliner that had just crashed into Tower
I of the World Trade Center. Gulotta should have been with Straub in Aon’s Tower
II offices that morning, but an appointment kept him away.
At 9:03 a.m., a plane struck Tower II and Gulotta’s phone went silent. Straub—
along with 3,000 other souls lost in America’s deadliest terroristic attack—
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photo by marK hall
hoof beats • APRIL 2009 55
NEW BREED: Far left:
Only 30 mares can
call Deo Volente’s 15
paddocks home. Left:
Deo Volente founders
Andy Willinger (left)
and Mike Gulotta.
Below: The foaling
barn’s interior boasts
expansive aisles, and
state-of-the-art safety
and security features.
was never heard from again.
In the years after Sept. 11, horses—
like world champion Worldly Beauty and
stakes winner Little Miss K—provided a
salvation for Gulotta and his family, and
at 7:30 p.m. June 10, 2006, Gulotta was
in his New Jersey home, watching one
of his new purchases in the second race
at Woodbine. The pacer Lis Mara, on
whom Gulotta had joined as a partner
with Louis “Andy” Willinger just five
days earlier, rocketed to the front of the
six-horse field of the Open pace and won
in 1:48.
The phone rang with Willinger calling
to celebrate what was clearly a successful
merger. Gulotta’s greeting: “To God be
the glory.”
In June of 2006, on the eve of Lis
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hoof beats • APRIL 2009
Mara competing in the Canadian Pacing
Derby, Gulotta, a committed and fulfilled
Catholic, visited Immaculate Conception
Church in Annandale, N.J., with his wife,
Madeline. They came to again thank the
Lord for all they have been provided and
the bounty of their lives.
A sign at the church caught his eye,
promoting a program called “Food for
the Poor” that built houses for the needy
of Haiti. Gulotta promised Madeline and
God that if Lis Mara won the $830,370
Pacing Derby, they would build those
Haitians a house. That victory actually
bought three homes for Haiti residents,
and 14 more followed before Lis Mara
called it a career the next autumn.
By May of 2007, Michael Gulotta
had lived the fullest of lives, recently
retired from the fullest of careers and
enjoyed the fullest of racing experiences.
He had his faith, his family and friendships. Among his most fulfilling relationships was that which he found in
Willinger, who was less a partner than a
brother, the pair joined as if by the hands
of God. Their bond was sealed by their
amazing similarities, their mutual love of
racing and their overpowering faith in a
higher power.
And like any of life’s pilgrims with
faith, that higher power led them to the
Promised Land—in this case a bucolic
stretch of land in Franklin Township,
N.J., on which they developed a farm
equaled by none other. It is a bold
new venture that combines revolutionary
technology, agricultural excellence and
photos by marK hall
the very best in Standardbred bloodlines.
The name they chose for this spot of
green in north central New Jersey was
Deo Volente. Translated from Latin: God
willing.
The house that Lis Mara built
Sixty miles west of New York City,
after the urban streets have given way to
amber waves of grain and corn, and flat
landscape turns to rolling hills of green, a
driveway turns off Quakertown Road in
Flemington, N.J., and leads to an equine
utopia.
A life-size bronze sculpture, appropriately titled “A Mare and Her Foal,” welcomes visitors who meander around the
wrap-around Belgian block driveway. A
chateau-like barn of stone and wood rises
amid the grassland, the grounds before it
sparkling with flowers of fuchsia and
goldenrod, scarlet and periwinkle.
Shining brightest of all, however, are
the smiles of Gulotta and Willinger, as
they move through the castle-sized front
door into the sunlight, both dressed in
matching beige golf shirts with green
“Deo Volente” logos. Gulotta’s right
arm is outstretched in greeting; Willinger
stands beside him and puts a hand on
his shoulder: “Don’t we look like brothers?”
Truth be told, they don’t—Gulotta,
dark-complected with a New York drawl,
Willinger fair-haired, offering a Kentucky
twang. But it is a chosen family that has
joined together to bring Deo Volente to
There Once
Was a Farm
Steven Tarshis, mayor of Franklin
Township, N.J., is proud to call his
community “militant” when it comes
to maintaining green space.
So it is no wonder that he was
all atwitter when a prime tract of
land, which had been in the hands of
developers, came up for purchase.
“The township many years ago
had the opportunity to buy the land
before the developer had the opportunity to put it through the land-use
development process, but didn’t,” he
said. “[The developer] went through
the process of obtained approvals
for a certain number of building lots,
and he was going to build. But the
township was given one last opportunity to acquire the property, and
this time we did. The price was over
$3 million, and we took a lot of flack
for it, because the first time we could
have purchased it for $1 million.
“It was a very lengthy process,
but between state funding and
county funding, a certain portion of
the acquisition price was recovered,
and then the property was put up for
public auction with the understanding that it was going to be restricted.
Basically the development rights were
sold, so that the property could be
maintained only as a farm or with
one single residence.”
Enter Deo Volente.
Mike Gulotta and Steven Tarshis
didn’t meet until after the land had
been purchased by the partners, but
the mayor was immediately taken
with their vision. And he is not
alone, having received “a stack” of
e-mails from neighbors saying how
thrilled they are to welcome Deo
Volente.
“I’m a horse person, and I
thought it was wonderful,” Tarshis
said. “I had no idea at the time that
it was going to turn out like this. I
thought a very nice facility was going
to be built. Never in my wildest
dreams did I think that the preeminent Standardbred breeding facility
in probably the East Coast, if not
the United States, would be in our
town.”
hoof beats • APRIL 2009 57
Deo Volente
life just two years after Gulotta first laid
eyes on the property that became his
heaven on earth.
Few would have seen the potential—120 acres between Manhattan and
Allentown, Pa., which for 60 years was
a cornfield. But few have the vision of
Gulotta, who dedicated months of care
and cultivation, of vision and design, to
craft mere dirt into a Standardbred farm
for the future.
And few had two million ways to
reinvest in the sport—the earnings of
2006 Older Pacer of the Year Lis Mara.
“You have to dream big, but you
also have to be open to God’s will,” said
Gulotta. “God was willing. God sent us
Lis Mara. He produced the cash flow.
Every penny from him went into this
facility. We reinvested in the sport we
love.”
God may have sent Lis Mara, but
Willinger was the one who bought him
for $12,000 as a yearling to race in
Canada with trainer Al McNeil, and
INSIDE AND OUT: Far left: The foaling barn
opens to the breeding shed, where Tell All will
stand his second season at stud. Left: Farm
manager Fidencio Cervantez leads a mare
and foal. Above: The triple-level security and
fire-system ensures the safety of the farm’s
residents.
The Man in Charge
For nearly 20 years, Mexico native
Fidencio Cervantez was a vision in
maroon and white, managing the stallions that helped leading New Jersey
breeder Perretti Farms rise to the upper
echelon of Standardbred breeders.
Nowadays, he dresses in green
and beige, but his expert handling still works toward making a farm and its residents
the best they can be.
In July of 2008 Cervantez
left Perretti to manage
Deo Volente, taking with
him his wife, Andrea, to be
office manager, and his years of
experience with some of the world’s
best Standardbred stallions, including
Muscles Yankee, Artiscape and Matt’s
Scooter.
Cervantez left Mexico at the age of
16 and followed a friend to the gates of
Perretti Farms in New Jersey. He started
cleaning stalls and 14 years ago began
handling the stallions.
“It was a great opportunity,” said
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soft-smiling Cervantez in heavily
accented English. “I raised all the stallions through the job, and it was like
having your children. You work with
them every day, and that’s something
very special.”
Cervantez was at Perretti for
the best and worst of times.
He helped build the stallion
careers of Hall of Famer
Muscles Yankee and 2005
Horse of the Year Rocknroll
Hanover, and foaled too
many champion mares to
count—including the first foals
of Worldly Beauty and Little Miss
K. He also rushed from his house one
March night in 2006 in a futile attempt
to save horses consumed in a barn fire,
and held Windsong’s Legacy in his arms
when he died March 1, 2008, after
breeding.
“It was very hard for me to leave
[Perretti],” Cervantez admitted. “But
you have to do what you have to do.”
Though Cervantez had known
Gulotta for more than 15 years and
cared for his horses at Perretti Farms,
the Deo Volente connections actually
interviewed three candidates before
selecting their farm manager. Though all
were qualified, Cervantez was an easy
selection.
“Neither of the other two had
Fidencio’s impressive portfolio of talents,” said Gulotta. “As Tina Turner
sings, ‘He was simply the best, better
than all the rest.’”
Cervantez called Deo Volente “a very
special place,” made even more special
by the house Gulotta and Willinger built
for him and Andrea across the street
from the farm, and the state-of-the-art
living quarters for farm help located on
the barn’s second level.
“I’m grateful to have the opportunity
to be here,” he said. “This is great for
me. I don’t need anything big—just to
have nice horses and a great job.
“I think it’s going to be a great place.
We’re going to do good. We’re going to
raise good horses.”
eventually realized the son of Cambest
had maximized much of his opportunity
at the level they were competing.
Gulotta got a tip the pacer was for sale
and was ready to buy him for $350,000
on the advice of his trainer, Erv Miller. It
was to be a straight-up deal—paper for
pacer—but then the owner of old and the
owner of new got on the phone.
“Mike and I talked—he talked about
Worldly Beauty, I talked about some of
my history in this sport, and for whatever reason, we clicked,” said Willinger.
“That’s the Lord at work. There was
something beyond business between us.
And Mike said, ‘Hey, would you want
to stay in on the horse?’ and I said, ‘Sure,
why not?’
“It’s from above, truly, because when
I had that phone conversation it should
have been just a conversation of us working on the financials—he was calling
me for a fax number and some wiring
instructions. And we just started talking.
“We talked about our kids,” remembered Gulotta with a broad smile, “and
horses. We have the same malformations
hoof beats • APRIL 2009 59
Deo Volente
THREE GENERATIONS: Deo Volente Farm
co-owner Mike Gulotta (right) with his son,
Michael, and grandson, Luke Michael.
in our teeth. We both got married in
May. We’re both the oldest and have two
sisters. It’s crazy, isn’t it?”
And the money flowed—with Lis
Mara on the track and, ultimately, in the
breeding shed. It also flowed to those in
need, through the Haiti houses and donations to the Standardbred Retirement
Foundation.
And then Gulotta got the idea to build
a farm.
“People see that you’re investing in
the industry, maybe they’ll invest in the
industry,” he said simply.
Welcome home
easement, it would have cost $5 million.”
Despite the bargain that they could not
refuse, Gulotta and Willinger seemed like
the least likely of farm owners. Gulotta
grew up in Brooklyn, surrounded by
concrete with just one tree on his home
block. He had never even seen a horse
until his grandfather, who lived in the
Bronx, took him to Yonkers Raceway.
Willinger, born in Kentucky, had once,
with his parents, owned a Thoroughbred
training center, and made his living as
CFO of a Cummins Engine Company
distributor before founding a certified
Words to Live By
In April of 2000, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Mike Gulotta crafted the
following message for himself and those around him:
You realize that it truly doesn’t matter what numerals measure the
elapsed time of your life. What matters most is relationships and that
you enjoy life. After all, today is not a rehearsal.
Regardless of your age, you should look at everything as though you
are seeing it for the first time, or for the last time. Then your time on
earth will be filled with glory.
You also realize that you are at the stage of your life when it’s time
to give, mostly of yourself to help others grow, and to be the very best
they can be.
Finally, you truly understand that love is the only rational act, and
that the love you share with others will endure forever.
Love defies time.
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public accounting practice. The father of
six children, his youngest was adopted
from China after being abandoned on a
doorstep.
But the investment was supported
by numerous members of their “families,” from their wives and children, to
Worldly Beauty partner Craig Lipka,
and members of his MJG Racing Stables:
Jim Hess, John Jarka and Otis Ray, who
Gulotta credits with much of the Deo
Volente vision. And they knew they
wanted only the best in all aspects of
their endeavor.
The land purchase was just the beginning. Rutgers University next performed
soil analysis to help determine the best
quality grass to plant, and found that
chemically and nutritionally the soil’s
closest relative was Kentucky dirt. The
partners then visited countless farms,
including Thoroughbred facilities, to
determine what features they had to
have.
They would settle for nothing but the
very best, including:
• A 36-stall barn and four stallion
stalls
• Foaling stalls that are like “operating rooms,” complete with 110-pound
cushioned floor mats with temperature
controlled by sensors, increasing and
decreasing heat based on the occupant
and the outside temperature
Thank you to the Good Lord for all our blessings.
We are especially appreciative of all the people
who helped build our dream and to the people who
help make it a reality day to day – (Fidencio
Chato, Andrea, Lisa, Misael and Angel).
487 Quakertown Rd. | Flemington, NJ 08822
Phone: 908.782.4848 | Fax: 908.782.4870
Mark Hall photos
And what an investment they made,
guided, the partners believe, by the hand
of God.
“There was an auction, and it was to
be sold as a residential development,”
Gulotta recalled. “But the town wanted
to focus on the equine industry and
encouraging farms, so it made an offer
to the builder and bought the property.
Then they sold the development rights
and put it into farm preservation. Then,
what are they going to do with the land?
So what they did was put their property up for auction—and we bought 120
acres for $950,000.
“Without the farmland preservation
Deo Volente Farms – a dedication to quality and a true
love and appreciation of the sport.
Here are some of Lis Mara’s first crop of foals by some
outstanding mares.
See Deo Volente on page 110
Lis Mara p,4,1:47.3 ($2,141,661)
photo by marK hall
Dam: Angelic Art
Dam: Finlayson
Dam: Kiss Of Heaven
p,3,1:50.3 ($216,405)
Deo Volente from page 60
• Internet-based cameras in the foaling stalls, so owners can watch their
foals being born
• A balcony with a view of all stalls,
which will be utilized during a foalwatch program with students of the
Franklin Township School District
• High-definition surveillance cameras, day and night
• Pristine offices and conference
rooms to rival any high-rise business,
complete with flat screen TVs, original
artwork and trophies from across racing
• A triple-level, state-of-the-art security and fire system, featuring a paging
system, keycard access, smoke, heat and
carbon monoxide monitoring, backup
generator and 50,000-gallon underground water tank.
That doesn’t even begin to address
the aesthetics—from the shape of the
eaves, to the style of the wood, to the
color of the paint that seeks to instill a
feeling of peace and harmony.
Sue Agopian, another partner and
neighbor of Gulotta, walks slowly, yet
with purpose, as she guides visitors
around the exterior of the barn and
office space, explaining the coordination of colors—to call it just green and
beige does not do justice—that went
into the Deo Volente feel.
“We were looking for understated
elegance, but forward-looking, understated elegance,” she said. “You look
at barns and they have specific themes,
very traditional looking. Mike looked
at the future and what the future will be
projecting, and tried to come up with a
style that’s not in your face, that’s very
elegant.”
And why green?
“It’s the color of money,” Gulotta
said with a hearty laugh.
‘If you build it’
While some farms seek quantity and
hope quality falls in line, Deo Volente
aims to find success by starting with the
best. Only 30 mares and their offspring
may call its 15 paddocks home, with 20
of those spots belonging to farm-owned
mares. The criteria to be one of the 10
Deo Volente boarders will be significant
racing or breeding success.
When a glance to one field reveals
2002 3-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year
Worldly Beauty and her Western Ideal
filly, and a visit to another shows off
She’s A Great Lady winner Little Miss K
and her colt by Rocknroll Hanover, it’s
clear they are on the right track.
And grazing in one of the biggest
pastures is the farm’s latest and maybe
soon-to-be most famous resident, 2007
Pacer of the Year Tell All, who recently
took up stallion duties under the management of Brittany Farms. Gulotta
hopes three additional stallions eventually follow.
Managing all of the equine inhabitants of the farm will be Fidencio
Cervantez, formerly of Perretti Farms,
who learned his trade caring for such
greats as Matt’s Scooter and Muscles
Yankee (see sidebar).
“We don’t aim small,” acknowledged Gulotta. “There’s no such thing
as unlimited resources. The key is to
take the resources and allocate them
properly. Allocation is the key to investment return. You have to treat this like a
business, and you need diversification—
not only in terms of where the resources
come from, but also the revenue sources
themselves. We’re all financial guys.
That’s our business platform.”
There are those, however, who would
say real business-minded people would
run as far and as fast as they could away
from farm ownership, especially a racehorse breeding farm, especially in the
state of New Jersey. But where others
see the pitfalls of the Garden State’s lack
of VLTs and struggling marketplace,
Gulotta and Willinger see opportunity
built on tradition.
“We believe New Jersey will get
things right,” said Willinger. “In the
long term the program will be right.
It’s a horse state. It shocked me when I
finally did some research on it and found
out how many horses were here—the
numbers rival Kentucky, if they aren’t
greater.”
“And this is still the center of our
industry,” added Gulotta. “Andy and
I both have a passion for the industry,
and we wanted to demonstrate commitment. We want to do things the right
way, and we want to bring this industry
back to its pinnacle.”
God’s will
It’s a blue sky, 70-degree day at Deo
Volente, and Mike Gulotta looks like a
man who has everything. Wrapped in
his arms is his grandson, Luke Michael,
while Madeline, their two children and
granddaughter mill about nearby. His
friends and partners are there, admiring the facilities’ amenities, petting the
pretty horses, swaying to the music that
cascades from overhead.
It is a long way from the Manhattan
of Sept. 11, 2001, but with one comment, a lone question, Gulotta returns
to that moment of life-changing devastation and loss and salvation, and he
is overcome with emotion so strong he
can no longer speak.
It takes just minutes for him to
compose himself, but in that time it is
clear that the man who put his faith in
racing, his faith in this farm, his faith in
his faith, has not been the same since
that fateful day.
“I think it proved to him, beyond
a shadow of a doubt, that God had a
plan for his life,” said Willinger. “And
I think he listens hard and follows a
lot more after that than he did before.
I can’t speak for him, I didn’t know
him then, but getting to know him over
the last two years I know that was the
watershed event in his life. He knew
God said, ‘Hey, I didn’t want you in that
building that day because . . .’ and he’s
figuring out, because why.”
“When you go through an event like
that, you truly realize how precious life
is, and the kind of impact that you have
on people,” Gulotta admitted, wiping
his eyes. “It’s a blessing to be here. And
you try to do the best that you can do
for other people—as long as you’re
alive. At this stage in my life, it’s time
to give of myself to help other people
develop and grow and enrich their lives
and realize their visions.
“In order to inspire people to do
that, you have to create the best.”
To comment on this article, e-mail us at [email protected].
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