Trainer Chris Seale just had his best summer at Delaware Park yet.

“We had seven or eight runners [actually ten] and were seventh in the standings for a while,” he recalls. “So it was pretty exciting.” 

Plus, the operation is a family affair. Both Seale and his wife, Margo, were born into the racetrack life. Together with their younger son, Cash, they’re hands-on in all respects, working alongside the stable crew that shares in Seale’s success.

Buying and selling under the name Bird in Hand Stables, Seale has been a sales consignor for more than a decade now, but his first runners as a trainer came in 2017. To start, he ran them close to his home base in Florida. The following year, they shipped northward for the summer, first to Monmouth, and eventually Delaware.

He’s had success before at the Stanton oval, but this year his small but mighty stable has run lights out. Out of 32 starts at the meet, the barn notched seven wins with four different horses, with runners in the money 47 percent of the time. His barn earned $156,400, nearly $5000 per start.

Among the winners at the meet for Seale was 2-year-old Blue Forty Two, whom he intended to sell earlier in the year. That didn’t happen, and so the gelded son of Audible broke his maiden at first asking in June before finishing a solid third in the Dover Stakes on Aug. 14 for his owner-trainer.

But while stakes runners are always exciting, Seale’s favorite moments this summer came with hard-knocking mare Compass Fire, who won three times over the course of the meet, including back-to-back wins July 11 and July 30.

Compass Fire, by Midshipman, was one that Seale tried to pinhook, buying her as a yearling and running her through the sales ring again as a two-year-old. But when she failed to meet her reserve, generating a top bid of $77,000, Seale decided to train her. She’s won six of 22 career starts, earning over $120,000.  

“She’s the family horse,” he says. “She’s done pretty good for us, but we could never get her over the top [before this].”

After she struggled through a disappointing winter in Tampa — off the board in four starts — the Seales were ready to find the 5-year-old a soft landing for her post-racing career. But when her spot at the retirement farm fell through, Seale took her to Delaware for the season — and something just clicked. 

Dropped to the bottom for her first Delaware start, Compass Fire picked up her first win of the year May 28. Moved back up the ladder into starter allowance company, she scored twice more.

“She just loves it so hard and gives you everything,” Seale says. “It’s really fun to watch her have success.”

As for what keeps him coming back to Delaware – winning seasons notwithstanding – Seale credits the management team, including racing secretary Jed Doro, for their efforts in promoting racing at the “horse-friendly” track, especially given the popularity of the adjoining casino.

“I think it’s nice to see that they’re willing and able to put back into the racing,” he says.

Seale and his horses have now returned to Florida for the winter, but the family will be back at Delaware next summer. And if 2025 was any indication, their barn will be one to watch.