Walter A. Kelley

Walter Aloysius Kelley (February 18, 1907 - March 1, 2000) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. Although he began his career as a jockey, he is best known as a trainer who first operated a public stable in 1930 and whose career saw him have second-place finishers in each of the U.S. Triple Crown races.[1] [2]

Walter Kelley
OccupationJockey, Trainer
Born(1907-02-18)February 18, 1907
Brooklyn, New York
DiedMarch 1, 2000(2000-03-01) (aged 93)
Coral Gables, Florida
Major racing wins
Ardsley Handicap (1942)
Eastern Shore Handicap (1942)
Remsen Stakes (1942)
Miami Beach Handicap (1944)
National Stallion Stakes (filly division) (1951)
Garden State Stakes (1955)
Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (1959)
Suwannee River Handicap (1959)
New York Stakes (1960)
Manhattan Handicap (1961)
Sanford Stakes (1962)
Gallant Fox Handicap (1963)
Forego Handicap (1985)
Mohawk Stakes (1978)
Bay Shore Handicap (1979)
Discovery Handicap (1979)
Jamaica Handicap (1979)
Keystone Stakes (1979)
Palisades Handicap (1979)
Hialeah Sprint Championship Handicap (1980)
Tallahassee Handicap (1980)

U.S. Triple Crown placings:
Kentucky Derby 2nd (1943)
Preakness Stakes 2nd (1943)
Belmont Stakes 2nd (1986)

Significant horses
Belle's Gold, Blue Swords, Day Court, John's Treasure, Nickel Boy, Oil Rich, Prince John, Rash Prince, Ziggy's Boy

Racing career

Walter Kelley began his career as a jockey, riding in California where he got his first win in 1922 at Tanforan Racetrack.[3]

Triple Crown results:
In 1942 and 1943, Walter Kelley trained Blue Swords for Akron, Ohio radio station owner Allen T. Simmons. Under future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Adams, Blue Swords would finish second in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes to eventual U.S. Triple Crown winner Count Fleet.[4] [5]

Forty-three years later when Walter Kelley was 79 years old he saddled his first Belmont Stakes runner. John's Treasure, owned by Dallas, Texas businessman John R. Murrell, finished second to winner Danzig Connection but ahead of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand.[6] The tragic ending of Ferdinand in a Japanese slaughterhouse would be a catalyst for passionate owner John Murrell to personally provide substantial funding to rescue racehorses from that kind of ending.[7]

Walter Kelley was living in Coral Gables, Florida at the time of his passing at age ninety-three.

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References
  1. "Horse Trainer Walter Kelley Dies". Associated Press. 1986-06-07. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  2. "Belmont Stakes set for today". Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times Newspaper Archives, page 9. 1942-06-27. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  3. "Thumbnail Sketches of Derby Trainers". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1943-05-01. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  4. "Page 1 Kentucky Derby". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1943-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  5. "Count Fleet Wins Preakness". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1943-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  6. "Danzig Connection Wins The Belmont For Stephens". New York Times. 1986-06-08. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  7. "John Murrell: Slaughter is a 'weakness' in racing". Off Track Thoroughbreds. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
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