James “Smoky” Osborn, 78, and Albert “Aly” Miller, 72 never imagined that a 3-year-old bay colt named Baby Vino would come into their lives and sprinkle glitter on their golden years.

Osborn, with his son Marcus, are the principals of Cosmo Stables. Miller’s daughter, Chrystal, is married to Marcus Osborn, so the operation is a family affair.

Cosmos Stables is the majority owner of the son of Baby Vino, who earned his place in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park and departs from the rail in the seven-horse field in his initial graded stakes try.

For the cherry on top, the 59^th running of the Haskell, Monmouth Park’s premier event, is a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1, $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland Oct. 31. Cosmo Stables, which sold a minority interest in the son of Vino Rosso to Delta Square Racing after the NYRA Bets Pegasus Stake romp, is a small outfit based in Southern Arkansas which was formed in 2024 and sent out its first runners this year.

Baby Vino, who broke his maiden in his fifth start at Oaklawn Park for trainer Lindsay Schultz before coming to Monmouth and winning the Pegasus in his first race here, is their only stakes winner.

Smoky Osborn, now retired after a 50-year career in the glass construction business, owned horses many years ago, but none like this one.

“Me and a couple of partners raced claiming horses when I was a lot younger. We didn’t have a stakes horse,” he said. “We didn’t even have allowance horses. But we had a good time. We raced at Oaklawn (Park) and Louisiana Downs. Oaklawn is only about 100 miles from our home, so we’d always go there.”

The degree of enjoyment he’s having now and at this level is almost indescribable.

“Oh, it’s a whole lot of fun. We’ve got just a little farm, and we keep a few horses that are turned out. We got him (Baby Vino) started and took him to Silver Springs (in Lexington, Ky.) for training. We have raced him from a baby,” Smoky Osborn said. “Before we had cheap horses, but we enjoyed them. We were proud of all of them. But this one is special, and you know that pretty quick.”

The Osborns are savvy enough to know that the position they find themselves in with a Haskell horse is rare as plenty of other owners have invested mega-millions into the sport over decades and never had a Grade 1 horse.

“We never thought this would happen,” said Marcus Osborn, who owns a restorative cleaning business in El Dorado, Ark. “We all still have chill bumps. We had no idea we’d be here now. I remember when he (Baby Vino) first got off the trailer when he was a yearling. He was absolutely gorgeous. When you see a horse with that beauty, that grandeur, you think, ‘Hey, what do we have here?’

“But really, no. You just don’t understand what’s going to take place. Me, my father-in-law, and dad looked it up last night. There may be one in 18,000 people who get this opportunity. People say ‘surreal’ and I understand the word, but this has not sunk in yet. We never dreamed this.”

Smoky Osborn, who raced his horses in the 1980s, wanted to get back in the game recently so Marcus started the stable in hopes that his dad could chase the dream in his senior season. Marcus bought Baby Vino privately as a yearling in 2024 with his dam, the Louisiana-bred Discreetly Grand, and his now 2-year-old half-brother by Classic Empire, whom they named Maximum Velocity.

He shipped all three horses to their Arkansas farm. Sadly, Discreetly Grand suffered a case of colic and died.

“We lost the mare. That was a very hard day,” said Marcus. “We have Baby Vino’s half-brother and he looks beautiful. He’s at Silver Springs in training and progressing really well. We hope to see him have a strong 2-year-old year campaign. He’ll go to Lindsay when he’s ready to come to the track,”

Miller spent his working life in charge of a 1,000-megawatt power plant for American Electric Power Company in East Texas. Tagging along with his daughter and her husband and father-in-law is a delight.

“I am loving this,” Miller said. “I’ve never done horses before. This is all new to me. It’s something to see. I’m retired and I just love getting out and being around them. We have a great time and I’m looking forward to more of it.”

For Smoky Osborn the family connection means everything.

“It’s very special. I wouldn’t do this with anybody else. Not at my age,” he said with a big smile. “I’m having the time of my life.”

Lynne Snierson

Monmouth Park publicity staff