The Plane Truth? Proud Truth Flies In Style

The Pirates have the worst record (9-20) and the second-worst attendance in baseball, and owner Dan Galbreath has put the franchise on the market. Naturally, the Bucs are trying to save bucks. On a West Coast trip last week, the club saved $30,000 by taking scheduled flights rather than charters. But the lack of amenities and the long delays at airports had the players whinnying. "They've got us traveling on super, super savers," said Pirate reliever John Candelaria. " Galbreath's horses travel better than we do."

Actually, Candelaria has a point. While it cost the Pirates $258 to fly Candelaria to and from the coast on a USAir super saver (the team must buy three seats for every two players), Galbreath paid $5,333.33 to fly his thoroughbred Proud Truth from New York to Churchill Downs—where he finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby—and back. John Veitch, Proud Truth's trainer, says, "His flights are quicker than scheduled flights, and he doesn't have to wait for his luggage." On charters a horse gets a nice stall with plenty of legroom.

This spring, Veitch flew Galbreath's entire Darby Dan stable of 34 horses from Florida to New York, one way, at a cost of about $42,000. That's roughly $29,000 more than it costs to fly a traveling baseball party of 34 round trip from Pittsburgh to California. "We're talking about $100 million worth of horses," says Veitch. Actually, that may be what the Pirates need—a few more horses.