Trainer Mark Reid, who saddled over 1,800 winners in his 46-year career, has retired at the age of 72, reports The Racing Biz. Reid’s top trainee was the multiple Grade 2 winner Mr. Nickerson, a two-time participant in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
The graduate of the University of Maryland also spent a 14-year stint as a bloodstock agent in the early 2000s. His Walnut Green operation was involved with the finds of several Grade 1-winning multi-millionaires, including Medaglia d’Oro (Reid bought the colt privately after his second career start and sent him to the late Bobby Frankel).
“[F]rankly, I am shocked [that his career lasted so long],” Reid told The Racing Biz. “One reason I lasted so long was I loved it, especially the relationships with the people I got to deal with on the ownership side. On the negative side, training is a 24/7 job that so dominates your life. I like to say I raised a family, but actually my wife raised our family.”
From the Walnut Green website:
“Reid got a masters degree in horse racing when he went to work for legendary horse trainer Richard Dutrow in 1974.
“The very next year, Dutrow’s stable won a then world-record 352 races. Reid learned enough from the master that he took out his trainer’s license in 1976 , Fifteen years later, Mark Reid Racing Stables had 140 horses as owners gave him horses because he did what they wanted to do _ win.
“Reid’s stable was a regular in the national top 20 and, in 1991, he was fourth in the nation in wins. He was the leading trainer at 12 different race meets. When he retired, he was the all-time leading trainer at Keystone/Philadelphia Park and Garden State Park.
“If Reid had chosen another career at that point, he would still have been considered an overwhelming success in horse racing. However, he stayed in the game, turned to buying and selling horses for clients who would be thrilled with his recommendations.
“With a special eye for a horse, he bought one of the great horses of his generation, Medaglia d’Oro. He also purchased You, Spoken Fur, Midas Eyes, and many stakes winners. He managed the career of 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren.
“In 2005, Reid purchased Walnut Green with partners Tony Dutrow and Jim DiCicco from Richard and Russell Jones. WG has produced many outstanding horses, including 2011 Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty who was bred, born and raised at Walnut Green.”
