José Mastellone, a businessman—but above all, a racing man

The renowned owner, former owner of La Serenísima, enjoyed racing and many emblematic horses; Fort de France, Babor, Octante, El Moisés, and For the Top filled his trophy case

José Mastellone (center), after winning the 2018 Gran Premio Nacional (G1) with For the Top / HAPSA

To such an extent was José Mastellone a lover of racehorses and horse racing that, when mainstream media reported his passing, nearly every piece used a photograph taken of him during a trophy presentation at the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo.

Almost as if by fate, just weeks after La Serenísima, the country’s most traditional dairy company—owned by his family for nearly 100 years—changed hands, José passed away, and Argentine racing lost one of its greatest owners of all time.

With his Stud S. de B.—though his horses also raced for De Más de Dos and Campito A.—he celebrated glory time and again on the nation’s leading tracks, partnering with Arnaldo Campos, his lifelong associate, widely known as Campito.

For decades, the black, yellow, and red silks were iconic, though he later switched to the red and white colors seen until recently, a change inspired after watching the film Seabiscuit.

Perhaps the finest horse Mastellone enjoyed was Fort de France, a true phenomenon who carried the colors of Stud De Más de Dos in the early 1980s. Ridden by Marina Lezcano, the son of Kasteel was Champion 2-Year-Old and 3-Year-Old of his generation, set track records for 1500 meters on dirt and 2000 meters on turf, and captured the G1 Gran Premio Jockey Club, G1 Montevideo, and G1 Chevalier, while finishing second in the G1 Polla de Potrillos and third in the San Martín.

During Argentina’s golden era of racing, he achieved further major successes with icons such as Babor (Dancing Moss), winner of the G1 Gran Premio República Argentina, G1 de Honor, and G1 Copa de Oro; Oversea (Salt Marsh), also a República Argentina winner; and the beloved Octante (Babor), who captured the G1 Gran Premio José Pedro Ramírez at Maroñas, Uruguay, and finished second in the 1989 G1 Gran Premio Latinoamericano at La Plata, narrowly beaten by Savage Toss (Egg Toss).

In more recent times, Mastellone won the G1 Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos and G1 Gran Premio Nacional in 2014 with El Moisés (Manipulator); the G1 Gran Premio Nacional again in 2018 with For the Top (Equal Stripes); the G1 2000 Guineas and G1 Jockey Club in 2007 with Indio Glorioso (Honour and Glory); and the G1 Estrellas Juvenile in 2007 with Mach Glory (Honour and Glory), among others.

It had been some time since José Mastellone was last seen at the racetracks—places where, for many years, he felt at home. This, then, is a tribute to a man who devoted himself to the sport. And who filled his shelves with trophies alongside his horses.