Anthony Siametta Jr. followed his father into the racing industry (Equi-Photo)

Assistant trainer Anthony Sciametta Jr. and jockey agent John Sciametta are well respected at Monmouth Park and in the sport of Thoroughbred racing as pure professionals and true gentlemen. Like father, like sons.

Anthony Sciametta Sr. raced under the nom de course Old Glory Stables and successfully campaigned more than 100 horses in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland before his untimely death in 1990 when he was only 50. Known affectionately as "Shep," he left a lasting legacy as more than a horseman.

"He was a great guy. I know it was a big loss to his family when he died, but it was a huge loss to racing as well," said John Forbes, the longtime president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, who trained for Sciametta. "He loved Monmouth Park and he was passionate about racing. He had a lot of grit and a lot of determination. In the four years we were together, we had some stakes horses and we had some $5,000 claimers. He did the whole gamut."

Sciametta's primary business was on Wall Street, where he ran Noonan, Astley and Pearce and built the foreign exchange brokerage from a company that staffed seven people to one with more than 300 employees. His kindness, compassion for others and generosity are legendary in the financial district, on the backside and in his old neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

John Sciametta tried Wall Street before heading to the track, where he currently serves as agent for jockey Pedro Cotto Jr. (Equi-Photo)

Sciametta Sr. and his wife, Mary Ann, had five children but only Anthony and John followed him onto the racetrack.

"I never thought about doing anything else," said Anthony, who runs Todd Pletcher's division at Monmouth in the summers and at Gulfstream Park in the winters. "I started walking horses right out of high school and worked my way up in his barns here and in New York. I went where my Dad had horses and hung around John Forbes and Pat McBurney while they were training them and I learned from them."

After Anthony paid his dues on the track and even tried working at the firm on Wall Street one summer, his father gave him a string to train and race at Monmouth Park. Although the horses might have been in the second division, there was plenty of all-star action around the barn.

"My Dad had partners in some horses and couple of them were pro athletes like (former New York Yankees player and manager) Lou Pinella. Audrey and Judy Landers (the Hollywood actress sisters and Playboy Magazine co-cover girls) were partners in some," Anthony recalled. "You should have seen all the people around the barn whenever they'd show up."