Hall of Fame - Trainers

   Angel Penna was born Sept. 30, 1923 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father, father-in-law and an uncle were all trainers.

   Ben Jones was born in 1883 in Parnell, Mo. His father, the town’s founder and owner of the Parnell Bank, had visions of his son someday replacing him as the bank’s president.

   Burley Parke was born in Albion, Idaho, on March 21, 1905. He was one of 12 children, and four of his seven brothers also went into the racing industry.

   Carl Nafzger took an unconventional route to racing’s Hall of Fame. He is only inductee who is also a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Professional Bull Riders’ Ring of Honor.

   Claude R.

   Daniel Michael “Mikey” Smithwick was an accomplished amateur steeplechase jockey – winning a record six Maryland Hunt Cup races – before he turned to training jumpers in the early 1950s.

Born into slavery in Fayette County, Ky., in 1850 (some sources say 1848), Edward Dudley Brown developed into an accomplished jockey before becoming one of the top trainers of the 19^th century.

   Frank “Pancho” Martin’s career began in his native Cuba, where he worked his way up from hotwalker to trainer by age 16. By the time he turned 21, Martin was racing Cuban horses in Ohio.

   Born on March 10, 1859 in Patterson, N.J., Frank McCabe began his racing career as a jockey before becoming a prolific trainer of Thoroughbreds.

   Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 20, 1871, Fred Burlew began as a stablehand at age 11, rode a few horses, and was training a stable of 50 for Dan Hoenig by age 18.

Gary Jones began his career as a racehorse trainer by sending out King Wako on opening day at Santa Anita in 1975.

In a career that spanned from 1950 through 2015, Allen Jerkens won 3,859 races and earned the respect and adoration of his peers and multiple generations of race fans.

   Born in Cicero, Ill., in 1910, Harry Trotsek proved adept at handling all types of Thoroughbreds.

   The ability to train Thoroughbreds was bred into the soul of New Jersey native Henry McDaniel. His father, Col.

  Born in Detroit on Sept. 21, 1881, Herbert J. Thompson started out his career working with harness horses before switching to Thoroughbreds in 1902 when he began an association with E.J.

  Hollie Hughes was born on a small farm near Amsterdam, N.Y., in 1888. For more than 70 years, Hughes was associated with the Sanford family of New York and their racing operation.

   Horatio Luro was born on Feb. 27, 1901 in Argentina into a wealthy family that had been involved with horses for generations. Well connected, he was friends with the social and business elite.

A third-generation horseman who followed both his father and grandfather into the Hall of Fame, Elliott Burch trained six champions and four members of the Hall of Fame, including Horse of the Year winners Sword Dancer, Arts and Letters and Fort Marcy.

An Eclipse Award-winning trainer, Jack Van Berg grew up as a stablehand for his father, Hall of Fame conditioner Marion Van Berg. In a career that spanned from 1957 until his death in 2017 at the age of 81, Jack Van Berg won 6,523 races and had purse earning of almost $86 million. He ranked fourth all time in wins at the time of his death.

    James Edward “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons was born only July 23, 1874 in Brooklyn, New York. As a 10-year-old, he went to work as a stable boy at Sheepshead Bay before becoming a jockey.

   James Conway worked a variety of backstretch jobs before beginning his professional training career following World War II. 

   Janet Elliot became the first female trainer inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

   John Edward Madden was born on Dec. 28, 1856 in Bethlehem, Pa. He began his career as an owner, trainer and driver of Standardbreds.

   John M. Gaver, Sr. took an unusual path to training Thoroughbreds. After graduating from Princeton University, Gaver worked as a language teacher and wrestling coach at a prep school.

   The son of Hall of Fame trainer Sylvester Veitch, John Veitch was born in Lexington, Ky., on July 27, 1945.

   Jonathan Sheppard has without question earned his place as the leading American steeplechase trainer of all time.

A native of Havana, Cuba, Lazaro Barrera became the first person to win the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four consecutive years (1976 through 1979) and trained America’s 11^th Triple Crown winner, Affirmed, as well as Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Bold Forbes.

    Born Jan. 2, 1884 in Maryland, Louis Feustel is best known as the trainer of the mighty Man o’ War, considered by many to be the greatest Thoroughbred of all time.

   In a career that spanned almost 50 years, California native Michael Ernest “Buster” Millerick became known as one of the finest trainers on the West Coast.

   Born on Jan. 15, 1896 at Aurora, Neb., Marion Van Berg enjoyed a lifetime of success in Thoroughbred racing.

   Max Hirsch was born in Fredericksburg, Texas in 1880. He got into racing by riding Thoroughbreds in local fairs during his youth. Hirsch was noticed by John A.

   Mickey Walsh trained steeplechase horses for half a century and produced 31 stakes winners, including the champion King Commander.

   Nick Zito won his first Triple Crown race when Strike the Gold captured the Kentucky Derby in 1991.

The son of Hall of Fame trainer William Burch and the father of Hall of Fame trainer Elliott Burch, Preston Burch enjoyed success as a breeder, owner and trainer of racehorses for himself and others both in America and overseas for more than a half-century.

   A California native and the son of a blacksmith, Richard Mandella began breaking and galloping horses for Connie Ring at Three Rings Ranch while still in high school.

   A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Bobby Frankel began his equine career as a hot walker at Belmont and Aqueduct. His first victory as a trainer came in November 1966 at Aqueduct.

Following a stint as a steeplechase rider and an accomplished career as an international show jumper, Roger Attfield established himself as one of the top thoroughbred trainers in North America.

   Samuel Clay Hildreth, the youngest of Vincent and Mary Hildreth’s 10 children, enjoyed success as a trainer in the Midwest for owners Elias J.

   A Baltimore native who began his racing career as a steeplechase jockey, Sidney Watters, Jr. embarked on a stellar career training jumpers after serving in the military during World War II.

 Sylvester Veitch began his career as a jockey and trainer of steeplechase horses. He switched to flat racing in 1939 and began working for C.V. Whitney, for whom he conditioned four champions.

   Born in New York City on Nov. 12, 1860, Thomas Hitchcock was a true sportsman and is commonly referred to as the father of American steeplechasing.

   Tommy Kelly was born on Sept. 19, 1919 in Baltimore and began working at the racetrack as a teenager, learning the business from the bottom up.

   A successful amateur jockey, Burling Cocks turned to training after a life-threatening spill. He went on to enjoy a career of 50-plus years as an elite steeplechase trainer.

   Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll received his trainer’s license in 1940 and sent out his first winner later that year.

   William Duke enjoyed tremendous success as a trainer overseas in England and France and soared to the top of the sport in America late in his career.

   William “Buddy” Hirsch followed in the footsteps of his father, Hall of Famer Max Hirsch, even though the elder Hirsch was against his son entering the training business.

   William Molter was born in Fredericksburg, Texas in 1910. He enjoyed success as a jockey before turning to training.

   When Thoroughbred racing was America’s leading national sport, William R. Johnson, known as the “Napoleon of the Turf,” was the game’s most prominent figure.