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Breeders |
Jockeys | Trainers |
Horses
Lifetime Achievement Award |
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Joseph Gottstein (1891-1971, Inducted 2003)
A Seattle native, Joe Gottstein was the
only son of Polish immigrants. After attending Brown University, he returned to
Seattle and became a true pioneer in this citys real estate development.
Gottsteins father had given him his first race horse at the age of eight,
but The Meadows, Washingtons first major race track, had been closed in
1903 by the anti-gambling furor. In 1922, Gottstein began to campaign for
legislation that would legalize racing once again and in 1933, when House Bill
59 was signed into law, he was ready to bring his dream to life. Thg original
Longacres grandstand and track were built in only 28 days. From the opening day
at Longacres, exactly 70 years ago last month (8/3/33), until his death from
cancer at age 79, Gottsteins vision ensured the success of racing in
Washington. He inaugurated the Longacres Mile in 1935 with a $10,000 purse
an enormous sum of money at that time. In 1940, Gottstein started a
grass roots campaign among breeders, which led to the formation of the
Washington Horse Breeders Association. Click
here for expanded profile. |
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Daniel J. Agnew Post-1970 (1945- , Inducted 2007)
Though being honored for accomplish- ments
since 1970, Dan Agnews family has been prominent on the Washington
Thoroughbred racing and breeding scene for three generations.
His grandfather, Sam A. Agnew, started with
trotters on the fair circuit, but by the 1950s, Dans father, S. J.
Jay, was racing Thoroughbreds successfully at Longacres and
Playfair and had established T9O Farm near Centralia. Dans Thoroughbred
namesake, Mr. Dan A. (foaled in 1956) was a stakes winner at three and four
while running for Dans parents. Born in
October 1945, Dan would graduate from law school at Willamette University in
1970 and assume the leadership of the family business, which included prominent
lumber dealings, in 1980 after the death of his father.
As a young man, Dan was on hand when the T9O colors
were carried by Terlago in the 1970 Kentucky Derby. Thirteen years later he
would be back at Churchill Downs hallowed grounds to see his Desert Wine
finish second to Sunnys Halo in the 109th running of the May classic and
then be runner-up in the Preakness Stakes (G1). The son of Damascus was to
become racings 50th millionaire. During the
1980s, T9O Farm, renamed DanDar Farm in 1984, would stand some of the
preeminent Washington stallions of the era, including four-time leading
Washington sire Staff Writer and other top stallions, such as Captain
Courageous, Just the Time, Drouilly (Fr) and Peterhof.
Dan bred, or co-bred, Washington champions
Tortellini Roma (1987 two-year-old filly), T. D. Passer (1989 three-year-old
colt) and Grade 1 star Delicate Vine. The daughter of Knights Choice was
Washing- tons horse of the year in 1986 and was ranked second of her sex
on the national Experimental Free Handicap at two. Among his
non-Washington-bred stakes winners are group one winners Alydars Best and
Flamenco Wave. Other top runners racing in the
Agnew silks include Sunset Handicap (G1) winner Kings Island (Ire), Spinster
Stakes (G1) winner Top Corsage, 1992 Longacres Derby winner Star Recruit,
two-time Belle Roberts Stakes winner Silk Chiffon and, more recently, Fortunate
Event, who finished second in the Emerald Distaff Handicap on August 19.
A second generation WTBA president, Dan has been a
member of the WTBA board of directors since 1980 and was at its helm for 15
years. In 2006, the WTBA honored Dan with its most prestigious honor, the S. J.
Agnew Special Achievement Award. Dan currently
lives in Vancouver, Washington, with his wife Kim. |
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Herb Armstrong (Valley Farm)
Pre-1970 (1913-1975, Inducted 2003)
From 1936 until his death in 1975,
Armstrong operated Valley Farm in his home town of Harrington. That nursery led
all Washington breeders by money won seven times (1952, 1954-59), by number of
winners for 15 years (1944, 1946-59) and by number of races won for 14 years
(1945, 1947-59). For 25 consecutive years (1944-68), Armstrong was ranked among
the top 30 breeders in the state. During one 18-year stretch, he bred 87
horses, of which 67 were winners, an incredible 77 percent ratio.
Armstrongs best homebreds included Washington horses of the year Rover
Bill (1952), Big Success (1955), Johnie Mike (1956) and Sir William (1957). The
latter captured the Santa Anita Derby that year over the immortal Round Table
and was the leading Washington-bred earner of his day. Other notable
achievements for this legendary horseman include being the first Washington
breeder whose state-bred runners earned over $1 million, as well as being named
Washingtons 1960 turfman of the year. Click
here for expanded profile. |
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George Drumheller Pre-1970 (1874-1945, Inducted 2004)
Deemed the father of Thoroughbred
horse racing in Washington, George Drumheller was one of the original
sponsors of Washington State House Bill 59 that allowed racing to return to
this state and paved the way for Longacres to open in 1933. A wheat farmer with
over 1,000 acres in Walla Walla, Drumheller began to dabble with race horses
during what in the 1920s was most certainly an obscure business in
this state. Spending thousands of dollars for Kentucky bloodstock and racing
stock, he was con-sidered the leading Washington horseman of his day.
Drumheller was this states leading breeder, by earnings, for six
consecutive years (1935-1940). From 1935 through 1951, he bred the winners of
238 races, tops in the state during that period. His Drumheller Ranch stood
early leading Washington sires Gladiator (sire of 1941 Longacres Mile winner
Campus Fusser), Black Forest (sire of Arlington Parks Stars and Stripes
Stakes winner Georgie Drum) and Fort Churchill (sire of 1945 Longacres Mile
winner Prince Ernest). Son, Allen Drumheller, a 2003 inductee to the Washington
Racing Hall of Fame in the trainer category, would be the leading breeder in
this state eight times. Additionally, Allen was one of the nations most
respected trainers of his day and one of the states original racing
commissioners. Click here for expanded
profile. |
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C. J. Sebastian Pre-1970 (Inducted 2006)
Washingtons 1963 turfman of the year,
Christian J. Seb Sebastian first entered racing on a large scale in
1944 when he went to the Keeneland Sales and purchased 14 yearlings. He had
originally just bought 13, but was encouraged not to go home with an
unlucky 13. The 14th yearling, which he purchased for $1,200, Galla
Damion, put the Kirkland breeder on the racing map. As a three-year-old, the
son of Sir Damion set a new worlds record for seven furlongs and was
considered one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. He was a
three-time stakes winner of $69,790 and became a significant sire in
Washington. Another of that fateful group was Blue Tiger, who won the 1949
Longacres Mile in Sebastians colors (Galla Damion finished fourth in the
$18,200 race). A winner of 20 other races, the gelded son of Tiger earned
$64,550. But probably the most significant among that group of yearlings was
Dusky Chance, Washingtons 1963 broodmare of the year and dam of four
stakes winners, two of which went on to become state champions. Her leading
earner, Dusky Damion, a son of Galla Damion, won or placed in 18 stakes races
in Washington and California and earned $171,650. Dusky Chances second
champion, though bred by Sebastian, was raced through most of his career by Ned
Skinner and Melville Jack McKinstry. Due to health reasons,
Sebastian had sold all his Thoroughbred holdings and Kirkland farm in the
autumn of 1961. Dr. John H. is the only horse that ever came close to sweeping
Longacres top three events, as he won the Washington Futurity, the Longacres
Derby and finished second in the Longacres Mile (at three).
Sebastian was Washingtons leading breeder by
earnings for three years (1961-1963) and was also leading breeder by races won
in 1963. He bred the winners of $631,234, and that was enough to rank him
second among all breeders in 1966. Sebastians first Washington-bred
runner reached the races in 1950 and he had his first statebred winner the
following year. A longtime WTBA member, Sebastian
served as a board of trustee for seven years and as president of the
organization in 1957. |
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Jerre Paxton (Northwest Farms)
Post-1970 (1938- , Inducted 2003)
Jerre Paxtons Northwest Farms/Yakima
Stallion Station has dominated Washington racing and breeding circles for over
two decades. He was the leading breeder by earnings in Washington for 12
consecutive years (1984-95). Paxton set new earnings records for a breeder in
1990, 1992 and again in 1994. He established a new record for number of stakes
winners in one year with eight in 1992. Paxtons Yakima farm has bred 12
Washington champions. Originally operating as the Yakima Stallion Station,
Paxton stood 1982-1986 leading Washington sire Drum Fire there and later his
1991 leading son Knights Choice. By the time of Knights Choices reign,
the farm had been renamed Northwest Farms. Northwest Farms has sold the WTBA
Summer Yearling Sale topper 12 times (co-1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992,
1995, 1997, 1999 and 2000-02). Among the farms many exceptional matrons
were Washington broodmares of the year Yang (1978) and Pamlisas Delight
(1984). Click here for expanded profile.
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Guy and Barbara Roberts (Guy Bar Farm)
Post-1970 (Inducted 2005)
Married for over 50 years, and
stalwarts of the local breeding industry for over 30 of those, Guy and Barbara
Roberts reside in Sunnyside, also home to their Thoroughbred nursery, Guy Bar
Farm. An apple and produce grower/distributor, Guy Roberts bred his first
winner in 1968 (Fleet Yetta), his first stakes winner in 1971 (Vitation) and
first went over the $100,000 yearly earnings mark as a breeder first in 1981.
The couple has led all breeders within the state borders seven times (1996-98,
2001-2004), ranked second five times and held the third position four times
since 1988. For those keeping score, thats a one-two-three position in 16
of the last 17 years. Other career highlights include: breeding Washington
champions Funboy (1972), Cocktails Anyone (1997 and 1998), Courts in
Session (2004), all graded stakes performers, and being breeders of five
statebreds to win over $230,000 each: Funboy ($478,180), Peters Pond
($248,082), Cocktails Anyone ($242,545), Courts in Session ($238,945) and
Court Shenanigans ($230,378). Guy Bar Farm has stood several prominent
Washington sires and was home to three-time leading Washington sire Table Run
during his career at stud. Roberts is also past-president of the Washington
Thoroughbred Breeders Association, has served on dozens of the
organizations committees and remains active on the board of trustees
today. Click here for expanded profile.
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John Adams (1915-1995,
Inducted 2007)
Born on September 1, 1915, in Kansas, John
Iola Mite Adams won his first race at age 20 without an apprentice
license, as his parents refused to sign the necessary papers. That did not stop
the young horseman, who lied about his age and jumped to the journeyman ranks
without the benefit of a weight allowance. By 1936,
the rider had traveled across country to Longacres where he rode until the
early 1940s. Adams rode Bartlett to victory in the 1936 Spokane Handicap and
Alviso for the win in the 1936 Speed Handicap. Adams was aboard three Longacres
Mile starters (1936, 1937 and 1942) with his best finish a fourth aboard Blue
Bud in 37. That would be the same year in which he would lead the
nations riders for the first of three years with a record of 260-186-177
from 1,255 mounts and a 21 percent win ratio. He also led the 1942 ranks with
245 victories (22 percent) and in 1943 with 228 wins (21 percent).
Adams was known for his good hands and keen
sense of pace. In 1939, he was aboard C.S.
Howards *Kayak II when that runner won the Santa Anita Handicap. He rode
his second Big Cap winner seven years later on War Knight. He
also won the 1954 Preakness Stakes aboard Hasty Road, and among the other big
races he won during his 23-year career as a rider were the American Derby,
Widener Handicap, Gulfstream Park Handicap, Kentucky Oaks, Arlington-Washington
Futurity, CCA Oaks (twice), Breeders Futurity, Hopeful Stakes and
Hollywood Gold Cup. He twice finished second in the Kentucky Derby, with Blue
Swords in 1943 and with Hasty Road. Adams was
honored with the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1956 and was elected to
the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1965. In 1958,
Adams retired from riding after 3,270 career wins and purse earnings of
$9,743,109 to become a successful trainer. His first winner was ridden by his
son John R. Adams. Among the top runners he trained were Prize Spot, Relaunch,
New Policy, Niarkos and Jumping Hill, but his most noteworthy training
accomplishment occurred with a runner who had recently been transferred into
his hands after a 1976 championship season in England. The horse was George
Pope, Jr.s J.O. Tobin and the race was the 1977 Swaps Stakes (G1) in
which the great Seattle Slew, fresh off his Triple Crown campaign, would meet
his first defeat. J.O. Tobin led at every call, as a tired Slew trailed home
fourth by 16 lengths. Adams died on August 19,
1995, just shy of his 80th birthday. |
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Gary Baze (1955- ,
Inducted 2003)
Sunnyside, Washington, native Gary Baze has
won over 3,200 races, including more in his home state than any rider in
history. He began his career as an apprentice at Longacres in 1973 and promptly
led the Renton tracks standings with 120 wins. He finished 1973 with a
total of 189 victories good enough to place him second among the
nations leading apprentices. Baze won a record six riding titles at
Longacres (including three in a row) and also holds Longacres records for
career wins (1,538) and stakes wins (100). He received the prestigious Lindy
(Skelly) Award in 1989, 1991 and 2000. Baze, 47, has won a record five
Longacres Miles (Trooper Seven, 1980-81; Chum Salmon, 1985; Judge Angelucci,
1987; and Adventuresome Love, 1993). He also has won a record five Washington
Breeders Cup Oaks and seven Washington Championships, which has been
renamed the Washington Cup Classic for its 2003 running. During his stellar
career, Baze rode numerous Washington champions and was the regular rider for
two of the three horses also being inducted in the inaugural Hall of Fame,
Trooper Seven and Captain Condo. Click here for
expanded profile. |
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Russell Baze (1958- ,
Inducted 2004)
The best known national figure from the
famed Pacific northwest racing family, Russell Bazes riding career began
in earnest when he was 15 at Walla Walla. He won his first race the following
year at Yakima Meadows in 1974. Later that year he was leading apprentice at
Longacres and Baze would hang his tack at the Renton track for four more years
(1975-79). The numbers Baze has recorded since that time are absolutely
astounding. He has won 400 or more races in 11 of the last 12 years only
failing to reach the 400 win plateau in 1999 when injured for three months
yet still managed 373 winning rides. As a means of comparison, no other
rider in history has won over 400 races for more than two consecutive years.
That streak was considered so fantastic that in the middle of the eight year
run (1996), Baze was presented a Special Eclipse Award. Just as remarkable is
the fact that Baze has won the Isaac Murphy Award, a national honor given
annually to the jockey with the highest win percentage, every year since the
awards inception in 1995. He was also awarded the George Woolf Memorial
Jockey Award by his peers in 2002. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Baze
racked up most of these wins in northern California where he has captured 27
consecutive riding titles at Bay Meadows and had a streak of 24 consecutive
riding titles at Golden Gate Fields, until it was broken (again due to injury)
this past spring. He is the fourth leading rider of all time with over 8,600
wins, trailing only Laffit Pincay, Jr., Bill Shoemaker and Pat Day. If he stays
healthy, Baze should surpass Day first, then Shoemaker next year and Pincay in
2006. Baze has ridden three Longacres Mile-G3 winners: Simply Majestic in 1988,
Sky Jack in 2003 and was victorious in the 04 edition last month with
Adreamisborn. Click here for expanded profile.
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Basil James (1918-1998, Inducted 2005)
A Sunnyside, Washington, native, Basil
James recorded his first victory at Playfair Race Course in 1935. The following
year, he led the nation in wins as a 16-year-old apprentice rider with 245
trips to the winners circle. Three years later, he led the nation in
total earnings by a jockey with $353,333. He finished the 1939 season with 191
wins from 904 mounts, including a score aboard Heather Broom in the prestigious
Blue Grass Stakes, held at a brand new racetrack named Keeneland. Later that
same year the pair would finish third in the Kentucky Derby. Early in his
career, James received tutelage from national Hall of Fame jockey and then
trainer Earl Sande. His two greatest mounts were undoubtedly the amazing Alsab
and the grand gelding Stymie. Alsab was one of the greatest, most durable
runners in American racing history, but as noted by many racing historians, one
of the most mismanaged Thoroughbreds as well by his egocentric owner for which
he was named, Al Sabbath. Alsab won the 1942 Preakness Stakes and was second in
the Kentucky Derby that year under James. Alsab was named champion juvenile in
1941 and champion three-year-old colt of 1942. Stymie, one of the most
inspiring rags to riches stories of the American turf was a former bottom level
claimer that James rode to victory in the 1946 Whitney Handicap at famed
Saratoga race course. James, who was voted into the Washington State Sports
Hall of Fame in 1967, served as film analyst at Longacres for many seasons.
Click here for expanded profile. |
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Albert Johnson (Inducted 2006)
Born November 18, 1900, in Milan, a rural
community located northeast of Spokane along the Burlington Northern Railroad,
Albert Johnson began his career in racing as a stablehand at Playfair. Later,
during his 12 recorded years of riding, he rode 503 winners from 3,199 mounts.
An additional 473 of his mounts ran second and another 481 finished third,
giving the rider $1,304,740 in amount won during a career which began in 1917
and ended in 1929. The top money-winning jockey in
1922 when his mounts won 43 of 297 races and earned $345,054, Johnson was the
only the fifth rider in history to win two Kentucky Derbies, which he
accomplished in 1922 aboard Morvich his first Derby mount and in
1926, while riding Bubbling Over. Johnson rode in seven consecutive Derbies
from 1922 through 1928. In 1924, he finished second in the Kentucky classic,
while aboard Chihowee, to Black Gold. Johnson is
one of only seven riders to win back-to-back Belmont Stakes. Both of his wins
came aboard sons of Man o War owned by Maxwell Riddle: American Flag in
1925 and Crusader in 1926. While he never won a
Preakness Stakes, Baltimore was the site of his first Triple Crown race, when
in 1919 he finished ninth aboard Drummond to the horse who would be
racings first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton. His best placings in
racings middle jewel would be fourth place finishes aboard Dress Parade
(1926) and The Nut (1929). He was astride
Exterminator when that great gelding won the 1922 Brooklyn Handicap. Johnson
would later call Old Bones the best horse I ever rode.
He also won the Champagne Stakes (Bubbling Over), Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
twice, Belmont Futurity, three Pimlico Futurities, Coaching Club American Oaks,
Dwyer Stakes, Matron Stakes, Fashion Stakes, Futurity (Belmont) and many other
stakes. Upon his retirement from riding, after a
stint riding steeplechasers in France, he became a trainer for his boyhood
friend, Bing Crosbys Binglin Stables. Johnson later would serve as a
clocker at most of Californias major tracks.
Inducted into the Inland Empire Hall of Fame in
1965, Johnson was installed in the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1971.
Click here for expanded profile. |
Ralph Neves
(1918-1995, Inducted 2003)
Born in Cape Cod, Massahusetts, Ralph Neves
was inducted in the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1960. He rode for 30 years
(1934-64) and won 3,772 races, ranking him sixth on the all-time wins list at
the time of his retirement. Neves began riding at age 13 under the supervision
of trainer J.J. Millerick. He started his career at Longacres where he won
riding titles in 1935 and 1938. Nicknamed The Portuguese Pepperpot,
Neves also rode for the famed Calumet Farm but competed mostly at west coast
tracks where he was a leading rider at Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, Del
Mar, etc. He recorded three wins each in the Santa Anita Derby, Hollywood Gold
Cup, Hollywood Derby, Sunset Handicap and Santa Margarita Handicap. Neves
biggest victories came in 1957 on Corn Husker in the Santa Anita Handicap and
aboard future horse of the year Round Table in the Blue Grass Stakes. In 1954
he received the prestigous George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, named for the
ill-fated rider with whom Neves had become good friends.
Click here for expanded profile. |
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Gary Stevens (1963- ,
Inducted 2003)
Considered by many to be the
greatest rider ever to come out of the Pacific northwest, Caldwell, Idaho,
native Gary Stevens has won the Kentucky Derby-G1 three times, the Preakness
Stakes-G1 twice and the Belmont Stakes-G1 three times, as well as eight
Breeders Cup races. He was elected to the the National Racing Hall of
Fame in 1997. Closing in on 5,000 career wins, Stevens has won six riding
titles at Hollywood Park, five titles at Santa Anita and led the standings
twice at Del Mar, Longacres and Portland Meadows. Stevens, 40, also became the
first rider in Longacres history to win over 200 races in a season. He captured
the tracks signature Longacres Mile-G3 in 1991 aboard Louis Cyphre (Fr)
and won the final race in the Renton ovals storied history on September
21, 1992. Other career achievements include leading the nation in earnings
(1990), becoming the youngest rider in history to surpass $100 million in
career earnings (1993), winning 16 grade one races in 1995 and being the 1996
George Woolf Memorial Award recipient. Click here
for expanded profile. |
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Allen Drumheller, Sr. (1894-1955, Inducted 2003)
A native of Walla Walla, Washington, Allen
Drumheller, Sr. is one of only two trainers to saddle winners of the Longacres
Mile four times Campus Fusser (1941), Lavengro (1942), Hank H. (1947)
and Amble In (1948). In the 1948 renewal, his runners finished first, second
and third. He also won the Longacres Mile in 1938 as an owner with Triplane. In
1944, Drumheller helped bring Washington racing into the limelight by winning
the Stars and Stripes Handicap at Arlington Park with Washington-bred Georgie
Drum, who defeated Kentucky Derby winner Pensive in that race. Other notable
wins include the 1941 Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park with Sir Jeffrey and
the 1955 Washington Derby and Hollywood Oaks with Baby Alice, who was named
Hollywood Park three-year-old of the meeting in 1955. Additionally,
Drumhellers Sirde became the first Washington-bred winner of over
$100,000 and his charge Campus Fusser won the first Washington Futurity
(Gottstein Futurity) in 1940. Before becoming involved with Thoroughbreds,
Drumheller was a world champion rodeo performer and later served as the first
chairman of the Washington Horse Racing Commission.
Click here for expanded profile. |
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Frances Keller (Inducted 2006)
Frances Keller was one of C. B.
Cowboy Charlie Irwins three famous equestrian daughters.
Irwin, who ran a Wild West show part of the year, was a Thoroughbred trainer
during the other months. Among his protégés was
Silent Tom Smith, trainer of Seabiscuit and other champions. Irwin,
a friend and fishing buddy of Will Rogers, was the nations leading
trainer in wins in both 1923 (147, $104,054) and 1930 (92, $70,411). After
Irwins death in a car accident in 1934, Smith took over training the
Irwin stable. When he left to go work for C. S. Howard, Smith advised,
Frances, you take the horses. You can train them as well as
anybody. In an 1946 article in The
Blood-Horse, . . . the girl who had been a university student,
paymaster for a Wild West show, and equestrienne (she once rode a horse into
the Waldorf-Astoria [Hotel in New York City]) became a trainer of
Thoroughbreds. For a time married to Manny
Keller, track superintendent at both Longacres and Playfair, Frances was the
trainer of record for two Longacres Mile winners, and though two other women
have trained a Mile winner, no other woman has trained two winners of
Washingtons most prestigious race event.
Frances Keller became first female trainer to run a
horse in the Mile when, in 1940, she sent out the favored entry of Pala Squaw
and Olimpo for Al Rosenberg. Three-year-old Pala Squaw won the race by 1 1/2
lengths. Her stablemate dead-heated for third. Six years later, Keller saddled
K & L Stables Amble In for his first Mile victory (his second came in
1948 with fellow Hall of Famer Allen Drumheller). Betting choice in the 11th
Mile was Irish champion two-year-old *Mafosta, but with Noel Richardson in the
saddle, three-year-old Amble In took the stakes by six lengths. The final time
of 1:35 set a new track record. During both seasons in which she won the Mile,
Keller was also the leading trainer at the meet.
One of the first women trainers in the nation to
earn a training title at a major racetrack, Keller was also the first woman to
condition a winner of the Washington (Gottstein) Futurity, 1947 winner Happy
Valley. Among the other top horses she trained were 1942 Independence Day
Handicap winner Campus Fusser and 1944 Spokane Handicap winner Prince
Ernest. |
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Bud Klokstad (1931- ,
Inducted 2005)
Born and reared on the plains of North
Dakota, Bud Klokstad began his training career in 1955. During the last 50
years he has trained many of the finest Thoroughbreds to race in the Pacific
northwest. Those runners include 1983 Eclipse Award winner Chinook Pass,
Washington horse of the year recipients Staff Rider, who set a single season
earnings record of $280,549 at Longacres in 1992, and Peterhofs Patea,
who is also the richest Washington-bred distaff runner of all time. He has
trained numerous other state-bred champions: Jumron Won, Bub, Laurel Avenue,
Return Call, Al Renee, Ladies Excuse Me, T.D. Passer and Holy Rascal; and a
host of other top runners. Klokstad, 74, established several standards at
Longacres, such as 14 stakes wins (seven separate stakes winners) and total
purses earned ($851,343) in a single season. He also is the second leading
trainer of all time at the Renton oval with 54 career stakes wins. The affable
Klokstad has posted equally impressive numbers at Emerald Downs, having saddled
the most stakes winners and most stakes wins overall. He has also posted top
figures for earnings in a season ($678,739 in 2002) and total earnings (over $4
million) at the Auburn track. Klokstad also led the trainer rankings in
earnings in 1997 and 2001. He has won a record seven Gottstein Futurities and
saddled the winners for the Emerald Downs Breeders Cup Derby three times,
including back-to-back victories in 2001 and 2002. The latter win was with
Flying Notes, who scored by over 11 lengths while racing within one-fifth
second of the world record for nine furlongs, and was later named horse of the
meet. Click here for expanded profile. |
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Robert "Red" Hyatt McDaniel
(1911-1955, Inducted 2007)
Born the son of a dairy farmer in Enumclaw
on September 9, 1911, Robert Red the Raider McDaniel began his
career in racing as a jockey, riding his first winner in 1926 at Victoria in
British Columbia. His career as a rider ended in 1929, when he broke his leg in
a racing accident. He then turned to training and
spent three years at Caliente in Mexico, conditioning a small stable for
Vancouver, BC, Canada, resident George Slater. When Slater sold his stable,
McDaniel tried his hand as a jockeys agent and then became the yearling
trainer at Rancho San Luis Rey in California. In
1938, McDaniel returned to race training, and from 1950 through 1954, would
lead the nations trainers in number of winners. In 1953, he became the
first conditioner to saddle 200 winners when he ended the year with 211. Coming
in second that year was Willie Molter with a distant 138. Though noted as a
California trainer, McDaniels spent some time conditioning runners at Longacres
early on in his career. McDaniels was well
respected for his ability to make top stakes horses out of former claimers.
Among his most noted were Santa Anita Handicap runner-up Stitch Again, who won
$97,000 and was a $5,000 claim; Blue Reading, an earner of nearly $200,000 who
had been claimed for $6,500; and $275,000 earner Stranglehold, a $7,500 former
claimer. Among the other top winners he trained was
1955 Santa Anita Handicap winner *Poona II.
McDaniel, who was a popular and soft-spoken man,
was credited for being one of the first to recognize jockey William
Shoemakers ability. The future National Hall of Famer did most of
his early riding on McDaniel horses. In 1954, Shoemaker teamed with
McDaniel to each take top honors at the 41-day Del Mar meeting. Shoemaker rode
94 winners, with 42 of them among the 47 winners saddled by McDaniels.
The trainer was once quoted as saying, If
there is any formula for my success, it has been due to studying the conditions
of races, running my horse where they belong, and riding Willie
Shoemaker. McDaniels saddled his final
winner, Aptos, on May 5, 1955, just moments before the 44-year-old trainer took
his life by inexplicably jumping off the San Francisco Bay Bridge. At the time
of his death he had a public stable of 60 horses, reported to be the largest in
the country, and had over 30 other horses turned out for rest. |
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Jim Penney (1934- ,
Inducted 2003)
The other trainer to condition four
Longacres Mile winners is Jim Penney. He accomplished the feat by winning in
1973 (Silver Mallet), 1977 (Theologist), 2000 (Edneator) and again in 2002
(Sabertooth). Penney, who hails from Naches, Washington, took out his
trainers license in 1954. He won a record 17 training titles at Yakima
Meadows and is the only trainer in history to win training titles at Yakima,
Longacres and Emerald Downs. He has won virtually every important stakes race
in this state, most of them multiple times. Penney also trained five winners on
a single card at both Longacres and Emerald Downs, a deed that has never been
duplicated. To date, Penney has conditioned over 1,000 winners, which admits
him to a rare fraternity. A third generation Washington horse-man, Penney, 69,
and his wife Betty, operate Homestretch Farm in Edgewood with their family. He
has been responsible for numerous Washington-bred champions, including homebred
Edneator. Click here for expanded profile.
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Tom Smith (1878-1957,
Inducted 2003)
A well-known trainer in the 1930s and
40s, Tom Smith saddled 29 stakes winners and six champions including the
legendary Seabiscuit. Born in Georgia, his family moved to Colorado when he was
a young boy. Early in his career, Smith trained horses for the U.S. Calvary and
worked on a cattle ranch. In 1934, he began working for automobile magnate
Charles S. Howard. Smith trained at Longacres during the tracks first
four seasons and was the leading trainer there in 1935. After Howard purchased
Seabiscuit for $8,000, the gelding blossomed into a champion handicap horse and
the leading money winner of his day. The Seabiscuit team won stakes from
coast-to-coast and the heart of the American public. Smith later trained *Kayak
II and Oregon-bred Mioland to additional handicap champion titles. He later
went to work for Mrs. Elizabeth Ardens Maine Chance Farm and led Star
Pilot and Beaugay to colt and filly championships in 1945. In 1947, the stable
won the Kentucky Derby with Jet Pilot. Smith led the national standings in
earnings in 1940 and 1945. Click here for expanded
profile. |
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Charles Whittingham (1913-1999, Inducted 2004)
Early in his career, Charlie
Whitting- ham spent five seasons at Longacres, beginning in 1935. During this
time, he was a protege of, and trained for, the legendary horseman Horatio
Luro, for whom he conditioned Dandy to a runner-up finish in the 1940 Longacres
Mile. By most accounts, Whittingham would have to be considered one of the
greatest trainers of the last century. His first major stakes winner was
Porterhouse, champion two-year-old of 1953. He went on to train 10 more
champions and an astounding total of 252 stakes winners, as well as six of the
first 50 Thoroughbred millionaires. The list includes 1971 horse of the year
Ack Ack, 1987 horse of the year Ferdinand and 1989 horse of the year Sunday
Silence. The latter two runners were both Kentucky Derby-G1 winners and each
etched Whittinghams name in the record books as the oldest trainer to win
that historic classic, first in 1986 at age 76 and then again three years
later. Whittingham returned to the Pacific northwest in 1987 and won the
Longacres Mile-G3 with Judge Angelucci. Inducted into the National Racing Hall
of Fame in 1974, Whittingham won Eclipse Awards as the nations top
trainer for 1971, 1982 and 1989 and was the leading money-winning trainer from
1970-73, 1975 and again in 1981-82. At the time of his death in 1999, he was
the all time leader by number of wins at both Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.
Click here for expanded profile. |
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Captain Condo
(1982-1996, Inducted 2003)
Starts: 70;
Record: 30-16-7; Earnings: $511,695 Owners: Vaden
& Fern Ashby; Trainer & Breeder: Vaden Ashby
Regarded as
the most popular horse to ever run at Longacres Park, the gray legend enjoyed
his best year in 1991 at the age of nine, winning five stakes races in seven
starts and earning horse of the meeting and Washington-bred horse of the year
honors. Captain Condo shares the Longacres record of 12 career stakes wins with
Firesweeper. He also placed in nine other Longacres stakes races, including a
second place finish to Louis Cyphre (Fr) in the 1991 Longacres Mile and a third
place finish in the previous years Mile. The son of Captain
CourageousCondoe Mia, by Top Conference, ranks fifth on the all-time
Washington-bred money earners list with $511,695. He won 30 races from 70
career starts and lit the board in 53 of those starts. Captain Condo won 16
stakes races including the Washington Championship three straight years
(1989-91). The gray superstar was bred, raced and trained by Vaden Ashby and
his wife Fern throughout his long career. Click
here for expanded profile. |
Chinook Pass
(1979- , Inducted 2003)
Starts: 25;
Record: 16-4-1; Earnings: $480,073 Owner &
Breeder: Ed Purvis (Hi-Yu Stables) Trainers: Laurie Anderson
& Bud Klokstad
Chinook Pass was one of the fastest
Thoroughbreds in history and the only Washington-bred to ever earn an Eclipse
Award. He was voted the nations top sprinter in 1983, the same year he
won the Longacres Mile by a record-tying six lengths. The son of Native
BornYu Turn, by *Turn-to, who was bred and raced by Ed Purvis Hi-Yu
Stables, held the worlds record of :55 1/5 for 5 furlongs, which was set
at Longacres on September 17, 1982. He also equaled the five furlong mark at
Hollywood Park and six furlong record at Santa Anita that season. His career
totals show 16 wins from 25 starts with five more in the money finishes. He won
11 stakes and earned $480, 073, which places him sixth on the all-time
Washington-bred money earners list. Click
here for expanded profile. |
Peterhof's Patea
(1988- , Inducted 2007)
In 1990, a gray two-year-old comet named
Peterhofs Patea made her debut at Longacres and dominated her division.
It would only prove to be the arbiter of more good things to come.
Bred by Jack and Theresa Hodge, the daughter of
two-time group winner Peterhof and first foal out of the winning Drone mare Tea
At Ten, was consigned to the 1989 WTBA Summer Yearling Sale where she was
purchased for $11,500 by Roger Williams. Turned over to future Washington Hall
of Fame trainer Bud Klokstad, Peterhofs Patea would break her maiden in
the Green River Valley Stakes for Williams and his future wife Patti Strait and
then add wins in the Broderick Memorial and Longacres Lassie Stakes before
finishing second in the Joe Gottstein Futurity. With her 3-2-1 record in seven
starts, and earnings of $172,187, she was named not only Washington champion
two-year-old filly, but the best statebred juvenile of the year.
At three, Peterhofs Patea would win three
more stakes at Longacres, have two stakes seconds, and add another $98,820 to
her totals. In 1992, after winning three stakes in
a row at Longacres, she gave her connections quite a scare when she developed
pneumonia. Four months later, she returned to the races at Bay Meadows and
finished the year with a fourth, a second and a win in three stakes, earning
$100,730 and adding her second state championship designation, as Washing- ton
champion older filly or mare. Peterhofs Patea
spent her 1993 campaign in California where she won three stakes and placed in
nine others, three of which were Grade 3 events, among her 14 outings, and
earned $186,730. Her superlative campaign not only earned her a second title as
Washington champion older distaffer, but also horse of the year honors.
The sturdy performer came back to make a dozen
starts at age six, winning the James Wiggins Breeders Cup Handicap and
placing in four other California stakes to give her a final record of 16-14-6
from 52 starts and earnings of $623,367. Fourteen years later, that amount is
still the record earnings for any WTBA-sold runner and she is also the leading
Washington-bred distaffer of all time and ranks as the third leading
Washington-bred money earner to date. Williams and
Strait then entered their three-time champion in the 1995 Keeneland January
Winter Mixed Sale where Fountainbleau Farm, agent, went to $100,000 to buy her
as a broodmare prospect. She was bred to A. P. Indy and exported to Japan where
she has produced two winners, including Group 2 winner Jolly Dance, a daughter
of Dance in the Dark who has earned over $1.5 million. |
Saratoga Passage
(1985- , Inducted 2004)
Despite being plagued by injuries
throughout his career, Saratoga Passage still managed to become the all time
leading Washington-bred money winner with $800,212. He began his career at
Longacres, winning the 1987 Tukwila Stakes and Gottstein Futurity. Saratoga
Passages biggest win that year came later in the fall at Santa
Anitas Oak Tree meet when he annexed the prestigious Norfolk Futurity-G1.
The son of PirateerLoridown, by Barrydown, only made one start at age
three, but came back the following year better than ever as evidenced by his
score in the Eddie Read Handicap-G1 over the Del Mar turf course. To this day,
he stands alone as the only Washington-bred ever to capture two grade one
events. Additionally, he also finished third in back-to-back runnings of the
Oak Tree Invitational Handicap-G1 (1989-90) and placed in both the Del Mar
Invitational Handicap-G2 and the San Bernardino Handicap-G2 during the 1989
season. Bred by Melvin and Helen Beck of Oak Harbor and campaigned in the
colors of Saratoga I Stable, Saratoga Passage sported a ledger of 22-6-3-5 and
he won or placed in 10 stakes. Saratoga Passage, who was trained first by Bob
Leonard and later by Robert Frankel, was also voted Washington champion in four
categories, including twice being honored as Washington horse of the year
during his illustrious career. Sam, as the now 19-year-old chestnut
gelding is fondly called, currently resides with Jane and Eric Hiner of
Olympia. With Jane aboard, the versatile champion has successfully competed in
dressage events. Click here for expanded
profile. |
Sir William
(Inducted 2006)
Foaled in 1954 at Herb and
Louella Armstrongs Valley Farm in Harrington, Sir William earned
Washingtons first grade one stakes victory when he won the
1957 Santa Anita Derby over future horse of the year Round Table. The son of
RoverJodot, by Peace Chance, was the first Washington-bred to ever rank
on the national Experimental Free Handicap and also the first to earn a victory
in a $100,000 stakes. Stakes-placed at two, the
Cecil Jolley trainee made only seven starts at three, but all came between
January 5 and March 22. All of Sir Williams 17 lifetime starts were in
California while racing for his breeders who never saw him race!
Sir William started his sophomore season with a
close victory in the six furlong Los Feliz Stakes at Santa Anita. He next ran
fourth in the six panel San Miguel Stakes, which was followed by a fifth place
in the seven furlong San Vicente Handicap at the same track. He next ran fourth
in a 1 1/16 miles allowance test. On February 16, the Kentucky Derby-nominated
Sir William finished second by less than a length to Joe Price in the San
Felipe Handicap, also at 1 1 1/16 miles. The 20th
running of the Santa Anita Derby was run over a slow track. All 13 of the
runners carried 118 pounds, with Round Table part of a favored four-horse
entry. With Henry Moreno (who had been aboard Dark Star when he upset the
previously unbeaten Native Dancer in the 1953 Kentucky Derby) in the irons, Sir
William lay in wait for the first half-mile and then sustained a hard
drive to defeat Swirling Abbey by a head with Round Table only a nose
back in third in the blanket finish. Final time on the drying out track was
1:54 1/5. His $95,500 winners share contributed greatly to Sir
Williams $131,335 de-throning of Hank H. as Washingtons leading
earner of all-time. Sir William then headed north
to Bay Meadows where he unfortunately broke a sesamoid in his left front foot
in five places during a six furlong allowance race.
Sir William retired to stud the following year at
the Curragh Stock Farm in Canoga Park, CA, where he sired three stakes winners.
Click here for expanded profile. |
Smogy Dew
(1961-1975, Inducted 2005)
Trainer Glen Williams, winner of a record
57 stakes races at Longacres, and a Hall of Fame nominee himself this year,
ranked Smogy Dews victory in the 1964 Washington Derby as the biggest
thrill of his career. With Lennie Knowles in the saddle, Smogy Dew defeated
future Canadian horse of the year and British Columbia hero George Royal by
three-quarters of a length. The chestnut daughter of Six FifteenNo Smog,
by Cover Up, was the last filly to win the states biggest race restricted
to three-year-olds. Her record at age two and three proved Smogy Dews
complete dominance over her local rivals, of both sexes. At two, she had seven
wins and a second place finish in eight starts and was the first
Washington-bred distaffer of any age to be named state horse of the year. At
age three, she recorded five wins and a placing, also from eight starts. Final
numbers show three seasons of racing with 16 wins from 29 starts, her earnings,
though a modest $60,248 by todays standards, gave her a standard starts
index (SSI) of 7.40. Half of those wins were versus stakes company, and six of
those eight stakes victories came at the expense of male rivals. Included in
that number was a win in the Washington Futurity, meaning she beat the best
males around for the biggest local prize in both her juvenile and sophomore
campaigns. She also won the Spokane Futurity, Drumheller Memorial and
Wash-ington Stallion Stakes at two, had wins in the Tacoma and Speed Handicaps,
Spokane Derby and Seafair Queen Stakes at three, and finished off her career
with victories in the Stepping Stone Handicap (at Exhibition Park) and Fashion
Handicap. A foal of 1961, Smogy Dew was bred by Arthur Fiess and sold to Drs.
Irwin, Venema and Ranniger at the 1962 WHBA sale for $2,100.
Click here for expanded profile. |
Trooper Seven
(1976-2000, Inducted 2003)
Starts: 28;
Record: 13-5-3; Earnings: $371,435 Owner, Trainer &
Breeder: Eugene Zeren
Trooper became the first horse
in history to win back-to-back Longacre Miles. In one of the most remarkable
days in state racing history, 25,031 fans, the largest on-track crowd ever at
Longacres until 26,095 sorrowful fans attended its closing in 1992, shook the
grandstand when their hometown hero held off a field of tough California
invaders to win the 1981 Mile. One of 10 state champions sired by Table Run,
Trooper Seven also equaled the track and then world record for 6 1/2 furlongs
by winning the 1980 Governors Handicap in 1:13 4/5. He won 13 of 28
career starts, earning $371,435. In his final season, 1981, he had a perfect
five wins in five starts. The 1980 Washington horse of the year was bred,
raised and trained by Eugene Zeren, who along with his wife Jean, stood the
stallion at his birthplace, Whispering Firs Ranch in Wauna. He was one of two
stakes winners out of the *Holandes II matron Miss Holanda.
Click here for expanded profile. |
Turbulator
(1965-1989, Inducted 2004)
Tubby as he was affectionately
known, was named after the tub-shaped, whirlpool-like, water therapy machine
used to nurse an injured leg, which delayed his racing career until he was a
four-year-old. Turbulator arrived at Playfair Race Course in the summer of 1969
as a maiden. After two months, he had won all seven of his starts at the
Spokane oval. His great versatility carried him to victories from six to 16
furlongs. At age five, the stretch runner earned a permanent place in
Washington racing history. That year (1970), he won five stakes races, set a
world record for 6 1/2 furlongs in the Governors Handicap and a Longacres
track record for 1 1/16 miles in the Washington Championship. He also set a new
standard for one mile at Yakima Meadows. His start in the 1970 Longacres
Mile-G3 is an unforgettable part of Washington racing lore. Tubby was the
six-to-five favorite in the 13-horse field and had Larry Pierce aboard for the
journey. One of Pierces stirrups became stuck in the starting gate and
snapped when he finally broke free. In recovering from that mishap,
Pierces other foot also slipped from the remaining stirrup, yet in an
incredible riding performance, he was able to bring home Turbulator in fifth,
less than 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner Silver Double. He was later named
Washington horse of the year and top older male runner for 1970. By Cold
Command out of Fur Piece, by By Zeus, Turbulator was bred and trained by Tom
Crawford of Spokane. Turbulator raced for Crawford and John Farnsworth until
Crawfords death in 1972. Leonard Roberts took over the duties as
Turbulators conditioner and the gelding henceforth raced in the colors of
Farnsworth and Crawfords widow, Marguerite. In total, he recorded 21 wins
(including 11 stakes victories) and hit the board in 35 of 47 starts, earning
$102,457. Click here for expanded profile.
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