Biography: Dr. Steven Appel went to the track for the first time at age sixteen, and promptly hit the daily double for $120. He was stunned: he had just worked an entire summer as a camp counselor, and he made his entire summer salary in thirty minutes. In December of 1979, he took the first $1,500 he saved and bought Way to Peace, and Appel has been hooked on the sport ever since.

Dr. Appel is a well-known orthodontist, and he named his Wire to Wire Stables by merging the two passions of his life. He still gets just as excited for a low-level claimer as he does for a stakes race. His best horse was 2014 Hall of Fame inductee, Whistle Pig, a $10,000 claim who went on to earn nearly $1 million. Appel has named many of his horses after family members, including his daughter Jennifer and son Andrew. Stakes winner Great Lookinblonde was named after his wife, Debbie.

Dr. Appel has been on the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Board of Directors since 1999, and is proud to be part of an industry leading organization, dedicated to improving the lives of horsemen here at Parx Racing.

Stakes Wins:
1994 – Devil’s Magic Stakes – Sinceilostmybaby
1997 – James River Stakes – Love That Magic
2003 – Bergen County Stakes – College Honor
2007 – Lil E. Tee Handicap – Whistle Pig
2008 – Lyman Sprint Handicap – Whistle Pig
2008 – Presidentialaffair Handicap – Whistle Pig
2008 – Leemat Stakes – Whistle Pig
2008 – Yankee Affair Stakes – Whistle Pig
2009 – Presidentialaffair Handicap – Whistle Pig
2009 – Leemat Stakes – Whistle Pig
2010 – Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes – Princess Cecilia
2010 – West Virginia Triple Crown Nutrition Breeders’ Classic Stakes – Princess Cecilia
2011 – West Virginia Division of Tourism Breeders’ Classic Stakes – Princess Cecilia
2012 – Power by Far Stakes – Great Lookinblonde