Reggie Cornell
Encyclopedia
Reginald "Reggie" Cornell (August 1, 1922 - February 21, 1979) was a Thoroughbred horse racing
trainer
who competed in his native Canada
before working for many years in the United States
.
Born in Oakville, Ontario
, http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/965193762.html?dids=965193762:965193762&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+18%2C+1971&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Calumet+Farm+Returns+To+N.Y.+Racing+Circuit&pqatl=google, Reggie Cornell grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7267,1310404&dq=reggie+cornell+canada&hl=en At age sixteen he began working at racetracks as a hot walker and three years later in 1941became a licensed Canadian trainer. The following year he took charge of the Canadian racing operations for American-based trainer, Horatio Luro
. In that fall of 1942, Luro brought Cornell to New York
where he obtained his trainers' license and won a remarkable twenty-seven races over a forty-two day period. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7267,1310404&dq=alberta+manitoba+playoff+reggie+cornell&hl=en In 1943, Cornell got his first big win in Canada when he won the Victoria Stakes
at Old Woodbine Racetrack
in Toronto
. During the mid 1940s he was training stables at racetracks along the East Coast of the United States
.
An uncle by marriage to Ron McAnally
, in 1948 Cornell took the sixteen-year-old future Hall of Fame
trainer out of an orphanage
where he had lived since the death of his mother. Cornell gave McAnally a job with his stable at New Hampshire's
Rockingham Park
where the boy learned the horse racing business, first as a hot walker and groom
and then later as the stable's foreman. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A13FF355912738DDDA80894D9415B818AF1D3 http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/58000863.html?dids=58000863:58000863&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+16%2C+2000&author=Neil+Milbert%2C+Tribune+Staff+Writer&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=MCANALLY+IS+EAGER+TO+POCKET+HIS+4TH+MILLION+HALL+OF+FAME+TRAINER+DOESN'T+HAVE+A+JOHN+HENRY+THIS+TIME%2C+BUT+ASIDERO+GIVES+HIM+A+GOOD+CHANCE.&pqatl=google
In 1949, Reggie Cornell began operating a public stable at Santa Anita Park
in Arcadia, California
. He would eventually have a number of high profile clients including Lin Howard
, actress Betty Grable
and bandleader Harry James
. http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/trainers/1998/Gord_Huntley.html On January 29, 1953, Cornell saddled three winners, each for a different client. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/426104781.html?dids=426104781:426104781&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+30%2C+1953&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Trainer+Cornell+Has+Field+Day%2C+Saddles+Three+Santa+Anita+Winners&pqatl=google He was the leading trainer at Santa Anita during the 1955-1956 season, at Del Mar Racetrack
in 1958, and won three consecutive Fairplex Park
titles from 1960 through 1962.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66547471.html?dids=66547471:66547471&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+14%2C+1989&author=JAY+HOVDEY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=The+Purses+at+Fairplex+Meeting+Are+Better+Than+Fair&pqatl=google
While not Cornell's best runner, in 1958 Silky Sullivan
brought him massive national media attention, particularly following his entry in the Kentucky Derby
. The colt had a history of trailing the field by huge distances before coming back to win. Silky Sullivan had come from behind by as many as forty-one lengths
to win. The colt became a Derby contender after he came from far back to win California's most important race for three-year-olds, the Santa Anita Derby
. Silky Sullivan finished twelfth in the Derby and eighth in the Preakness Stakes
. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F7355E127A93CAA8178ED85F4C8585F9 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZsgUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5593,1260065&dq=silky+sullivan+santa+anita+derby&hl=en
The following year, Cornell returned to the U.S. Triple Crown
series with Royal Orbit
, a colt bred by Louis B. Mayer
and owned by Helena Gregory Braunstein.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F7355E127A93CAA8178ED85F4C8585F9 Fourth in the 1959 Kentucky Derby after a rough start but strong comeback drive, Royal Orbit then gave Cornell the biggest win of his career with a victory in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fagFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7224,3842989&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en
After twenty-two years operating a public stable, in 1971 Reggie Cornell was hired by Lucille Markey
to take over as head trainer for her fabled Calumet Farm
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D5gkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=880,6939568&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en That year he had two runners in the Kentucky Derby. Eastern Fleet, who had won the 1971 Florida Derby
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hsQlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t_MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3131,4304989&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en finished fourth in the Derby and second in the Preakness Stakes. His second Calumet horse, Bold and Able, finished eighth in the Derby. Although Cornell won a number of other important races for Calumet, including the 1971 Arlington Classic
and Saratoga Special Stakes
plus back-to-back editions of the Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap
in 1972 and 1973, and the 1975 Sanford Stakes
, he left Calumet in May 1976 and after considering four offers, returned to running a stable for himself. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=b60yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uuoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2364,1374004&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en
Reggie Cornell died on February 21, 1979 following his second stroke
in a matter of days. His residence at the time of his death was in his widow Elvin's hometown of the Latonia
section of Covington, Kentucky
and is where he is buried.
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
who competed in his native Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before working for many years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Born in Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
, http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/965193762.html?dids=965193762:965193762&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+18%2C+1971&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Calumet+Farm+Returns+To+N.Y.+Racing+Circuit&pqatl=google, Reggie Cornell grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7267,1310404&dq=reggie+cornell+canada&hl=en At age sixteen he began working at racetracks as a hot walker and three years later in 1941became a licensed Canadian trainer. The following year he took charge of the Canadian racing operations for American-based trainer, Horatio Luro
Horatio Luro
Horatio A. Luro was a thoroughbred horse racing trainer in the United States.Born in Argentina into a wealthy family that had been involved with horses for several generations, a suave young Horatio Luro grew up as something of a playboy and maintained this lifestyle after moving to the United...
. In that fall of 1942, Luro brought Cornell to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where he obtained his trainers' license and won a remarkable twenty-seven races over a forty-two day period. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7267,1310404&dq=alberta+manitoba+playoff+reggie+cornell&hl=en In 1943, Cornell got his first big win in Canada when he won the Victoria Stakes
Victoria Stakes
The Victoria Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held in mid June, it has been raced on Polytrack since 2006 over a distance of five furlongs...
at Old Woodbine Racetrack
Greenwood Raceway
Greenwood Raceway is a defunct horse racing facility in Toronto.Inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario, it was owned and operated by two gentlemen named Pardee and Howell. Within a few years financial problems resulted in the property reverting...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. During the mid 1940s he was training stables at racetracks along the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
.
An uncle by marriage to Ron McAnally
Ron McAnally
Ronald L. McAnally is an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Called "one of the most honored and respected of North American trainers" by Thoroughbred Times Co., Inc, as a child, he and his four siblings were placed in an orphanage following the death of their mother...
, in 1948 Cornell took the sixteen-year-old future Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
trainer out of an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
where he had lived since the death of his mother. Cornell gave McAnally a job with his stable at New Hampshire's
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
Rockingham Park
Rockingham Park
Rockingham Park is a horse racing establishment in Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. First built in 1906, it was used as an area for many to gamble on the weekends. Seabiscuit raced there in 1935 and 1936, and Mom's Command ran in her first race and gained her first victory there in...
where the boy learned the horse racing business, first as a hot walker and groom
Groom (horses)
A groom is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses and/or the care of the stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable owner, but even an owner of a horse may perform the duties of a groom, particularly if the...
and then later as the stable's foreman. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A13FF355912738DDDA80894D9415B818AF1D3 http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/58000863.html?dids=58000863:58000863&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+16%2C+2000&author=Neil+Milbert%2C+Tribune+Staff+Writer&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=MCANALLY+IS+EAGER+TO+POCKET+HIS+4TH+MILLION+HALL+OF+FAME+TRAINER+DOESN'T+HAVE+A+JOHN+HENRY+THIS+TIME%2C+BUT+ASIDERO+GIVES+HIM+A+GOOD+CHANCE.&pqatl=google
In 1949, Reggie Cornell began operating a public stable at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
. He would eventually have a number of high profile clients including Lin Howard
Lindsay C. Howard
Lindsay Coleman Howard was an American sportsman. The son of the prominent businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner, Charles S. Howard, Lindsay Howard began riding horses at a young age and by the early 1930s had developed into a top class polo player...
, actress Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
and bandleader Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
. http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/trainers/1998/Gord_Huntley.html On January 29, 1953, Cornell saddled three winners, each for a different client. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/426104781.html?dids=426104781:426104781&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+30%2C+1953&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Trainer+Cornell+Has+Field+Day%2C+Saddles+Three+Santa+Anita+Winners&pqatl=google He was the leading trainer at Santa Anita during the 1955-1956 season, at Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
in 1958, and won three consecutive Fairplex Park
Fairplex
Fairplex, formerly known as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, has been since 1922 the home of the L.A. County Fair. It is located in the city of Pomona, California. The L.A...
titles from 1960 through 1962.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66547471.html?dids=66547471:66547471&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+14%2C+1989&author=JAY+HOVDEY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=The+Purses+at+Fairplex+Meeting+Are+Better+Than+Fair&pqatl=google
While not Cornell's best runner, in 1958 Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan was an American thoroughbred race horse best known for his come-from-behind racing style...
brought him massive national media attention, particularly following his entry in the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. The colt had a history of trailing the field by huge distances before coming back to win. Silky Sullivan had come from behind by as many as forty-one lengths
Length (horse racing)
A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...
to win. The colt became a Derby contender after he came from far back to win California's most important race for three-year-olds, the Santa Anita Derby
Santa Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
. Silky Sullivan finished twelfth in the Derby and eighth in the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F7355E127A93CAA8178ED85F4C8585F9 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZsgUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5593,1260065&dq=silky+sullivan+santa+anita+derby&hl=en
The following year, Cornell returned to the U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
series with Royal Orbit
Royal Orbit
Royal Orbit was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown races....
, a colt bred by Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
and owned by Helena Gregory Braunstein.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F7355E127A93CAA8178ED85F4C8585F9 Fourth in the 1959 Kentucky Derby after a rough start but strong comeback drive, Royal Orbit then gave Cornell the biggest win of his career with a victory in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aUwwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fagFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7224,3842989&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en
After twenty-two years operating a public stable, in 1971 Reggie Cornell was hired by Lucille Markey
Lucille P. Markey
Lucille Parker Wright Markey was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who owned Calumet Farm, the most prestigious Thoroughbred horse farm in the United States....
to take over as head trainer for her fabled Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D5gkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=880,6939568&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en That year he had two runners in the Kentucky Derby. Eastern Fleet, who had won the 1971 Florida Derby
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hsQlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t_MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3131,4304989&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en finished fourth in the Derby and second in the Preakness Stakes. His second Calumet horse, Bold and Able, finished eighth in the Derby. Although Cornell won a number of other important races for Calumet, including the 1971 Arlington Classic
Arlington Classic
The Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...
and Saratoga Special Stakes
Saratoga Special Stakes
The Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six and a half furlongs on the dirt....
plus back-to-back editions of the Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap
Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap
The Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses aged three and older that was run each year at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida until the track closed at the end of the 2001 racing season...
in 1972 and 1973, and the 1975 Sanford Stakes
Sanford Stakes
The Sanford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of July at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A six furlong sprint race, the Grade II event is open to two-year-old horses....
, he left Calumet in May 1976 and after considering four offers, returned to running a stable for himself. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=b60yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uuoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2364,1374004&dq=reggie+cornell&hl=en
Reggie Cornell died on February 21, 1979 following his second stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in a matter of days. His residence at the time of his death was in his widow Elvin's hometown of the Latonia
Latonia, Kentucky
Latonia is a former city, now neighborhood of Covington in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It was annexed to Covington in 1909.Latonia's geographical coordinates are 39.048N, 84.508W, and its elevation above sea level is 531 feet. It is entirely within the eastern time zone of the United...
section of Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
and is where he is buried.