James Rowe, Sr.

James G. Rowe, Sr. (1857-1929) was an American thoroughbred race horse jockey and trainer.

Related Topics:
1857 - 1929 - American - Thoroughbred - Race horse - Jockey - Trainer

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James Rowe went to work at a racetrack as a boy of ten and went from apprentice rider to leading jockey in the U.S. from 1871 to 1873 that included his winning the Belmont Stakes twice. However, with age came weight, and Rowe turned to the training horses for the Dwyer Brothers Stable. On May 17, 1881, with the future Hall of Fame horse, "Hindoo," he became the youngest trainer to ever win the Kentucky Derby. The horse went on to win eighteen straight races that year, a record that still stands.

Related Topics:
Belmont Stakes - Dwyer Brothers Stable - Hindoo - Kentucky Derby

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Rowe's skills brought offers from other wealthy stable owners including James R. Keene and August Belmont then thirty-four years later for Harry Payne Whitney for whom he trained his second Kentucky Derby winner. Rowe was the leading money winner in 1908, 1913, and in 1915, the year the Whitney stables filly "Regret" became the first filly to ever win the Kentucky Derby and who too would be elected to the Hall of Fame. He had four second place finishes with horses in the Preakness Stakes and won it with "Broomspun" in 1921. Despite his many victories in important races, it is the performance of his horses in the Belmont Stakes for which James Rowe is most remembered. Between 1883 and 1913, he won the Belmont Stakes eight times, more than any other trainer in history. One of those victories came in 1908 with a horse named Colin who went unbeaten during his fifteen race career. Rowe considered Colin to be the greatest horse he had ever trained and once said that for his epitaph, he only wanted these words carved on his tombstone: "He trained Colin."

Related Topics:
James R. Keene - August Belmont - Harry Payne Whitney - Preakness Stakes - Belmont Stakes - Colin

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In 1955, James Rowe, Sr. was inducted posthumously into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. With thirty-four champions to his credit, he trained more champions than any other Hall of Fame trainer. His son, James Rowe, Jr. would also enjoy a successful career as a trainer.

Related Topics:
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame - James Rowe, Jr.

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