trainer

Brad Cox joins this week's TDN Writers' Room after his trainee John Hancock took an impressive step forward on the road to the Kentucky Derby this past weekend. Cox also has a loaded group of runners heading into Risen Star weekend at Fair Grounds.

Trainer Ian Wilkes joins the TDN Writers' Room to discuss his stable star Burnham Square, who is now on the Derby trail after winning the GIII Holy Bull. Randy Moss and Bill Finley also review the rest of last weekend's Derby prep races and discuss Baffert's domination of the California stakes races.

Michael Halford, trainer of Group 1 winner Casamento (Ire), is to depart from the Irish training ranks prior to the start of the Flat turf season. Formerly a sole licence holder, he has been training in partnership with Tracey Collins for the last two years.  Halford, 62, who has been training for four decades and has saddled more than 1,000 winners, announced his impending retirement in a statement on Tuesday.  He said, "Over the last 40 years I've been lucky enough to train for some of the world's leading owners...

Eoin Harty joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the tragic fires in California and how they have affected racing at Santa Anita. In happier news, the trainer also gave an update on his two Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

Edited Press Release Famed equestrian and longtime Thoroughbred trainer Rodney Jenkins was honored by the Maryland racing community Tuesday in a memorial service at Laurel Park. Jenkins, a beloved horseman, died Dec. 5 at age 80. "He taught me a lot on how to ride," said jockey Richard Monterrey. "Monterrey, you're riding too low, too high. Monterrey, put your hands down, relax, let the horse stride. He was very aware of everything that was happening. I called him Mr. Jenkins at first, and then I changed it to Papa Jenkins....

Trainer Jose D'Angelo joined the TDN Writers' Room as this week's Gainesway Guest of the Week to talk about Mucho Macho Man Stakes victor Guns Loaded and discuss the growth of his stable in recent years.

Eddie Truman, a trainer as renowned for his patience with the Thoroughbred as for a perennially genial disposition, has passed at the age of 77. "A great horseman and an even greater individual," said veteran trainer Gary Stute. "I never heard him say a bad word about anybody--anybody--and on the racetrack, that's few and far," Stute added. "Once you met him, you stayed friends with him. The ultimate honest good person." Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Truman trained 763 winners and collected $15.7 million in earnings. He had...

Rodney Jenkins, who made the switch to training Thoroughbreds after a Hall of Fame show career, passed away the evening of Dec. 5 at the age of 80. A native of Middleburgh, Virginia, Jenkins was the son of the famous horseman and huntsman Enis Jenkins and dominated the show ring in this country in parts of three decades, retiring in 1989 as the winningest rider in the history of the sport. Jenkins won a pair of silver medals at the 1987 Pan American games as a member of the U.S....

Trainer Murray Rojas spent nearly a decade fighting equine drug misbranding charges stemming from a years-long federal investigation of horsemen and veterinarians at Penn National Race Course. While other similarly indicted co-defendants opted for plea-bargain deals, Rojas maintained her innocence even through an ordeal that she said "wrecked" her career. In 2021 she took her case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, where her perseverance resulted in the overturning of a 27-month prison sentence and the vacating of all charges against her. Rojas has since regained her...

After a years-long long battle with cancer, Southern California-based trainer Ben Cecil has passed at the age of 56. He leaves behind his wife Kirsty, and two children, Francesca and Hugo. A near 30-year training career yielded 325 victories and nearly $25 million in prize money. He conditioned several Golden State heavy weights including multiple Grade I winners Golden Apples and Squeak, along with top-flight winners Donna Viola and Passinetti. As nephew to legendary British trainer Henry, Cecil's lineage suggested no other career path than the one taken. His father...

Finger Lakes-based trainer James Acquilano, who has been training at the Farmington, New York track since 1981, won the 2,000th race of his career Tuesday when Jersey Gregg (Uncaptured) captured the 4th race, a six-furlong maiden claimer. Acquilano not only trains, but also owns, the 4-year-old gelding, who won by five lengths. All but 39 of Acquilano's 2,000 wins have been at his home track.

Trainer Chad Brown joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss a stacked lineup of Breeders' Cup-bound trainees, from juvenile Chancer McPatrick to highly regarded older horses Carl Spackler and Domestic Product.