When we think of horse races and victories, we usually think of the name of the horse and the name of the jockey. However, one of the most important roles within the industry is that of the horse racing trainer. These are the people that work hard to get the horse in the prime condition to have the race of its life.
A racehorse trainer has numerous responsibilities – not just training the horse. They are also responsible for overseeing the business side of the industry as well – including finance and staffing. In order for a horse to be successful, it needs a good trainer behind it. Here, we will look at some of the best horse racing trainers in the history of the sports – for both flats and jumps, national and international.
Paul Nicholls
Paul Nichols is a ten-time Champion Jumps trainer and has won pretty much everything it is possible to win. He has been responsible for training horse racing superstars including Master Minded, Kauto star, Azertyuiop and Denman – to name just a few. However, his talents don’t just stop there. He has also trained up Harry Fry and Dan Skelton, who have also developed their own successful careers as trainers,
Martin Pipe
Martin Pipe has won the Champions Jump Trainer title an incredible 15 times. During his time in the industry, he has trained more than 200 winners in one season on eight separate occasions. In the 1999-2000 season, he broke all his records by training 243 winners. In April 2006, he announced his retirement and handed the business over to his son David.
Andre Fabre
Andre Fabre started out as a talented jump jockey in France, but he became even more successful as a trainer. Fabre was the champion trainer in France an incredible 24 times, including 21 consecutive years between 1987 and 2007. He has won all five of Britain’s classics in his career.
Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins is the Master of Closutton – and in 2018 he became the winning trainer after Laurina won the Grade 2 Mares’ Novice Hurd;e, which took his record up to 61. He also became the first trainer to train the Champion Hurdles 1, 2 and 3 in 2015.
Aidan O’Brien
Aidan O’Brien took over the reins at the world-renowned Ballydoyle stables in 1994 after Vincent O’Brien retired. However, he managed to continue the success – and he matched his predecessors’ achievements of six Derby wins when, in 2017, Wings of Eagles took the win. He also set a new world record winning 26 Group or Grade 1 races in one calendar year after Saxon Warrior won the 2017 Racing Post Trophy. By the end of that year, he reached 28 wins – and this is a record that will prove very tough to beat.
Vincent O’Brien
Vincent (no relation to Aidan) was a very successful jumps trainer until he chose to focus only on flat races in 1957. His impact on the flat racing circle was incredible. He was a winning trainer of the Epsom Derby six times, including Nijinsky, which remains to this day, the last horse to achieve the English Triple Crown (winning the 2000 Guineas, St Leger and the Derby). At the end of his career, he trained 141 Group 1 winners.
Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcher is a double Kentucky Derby-winning trainer – most recently with Always Dreaming in 2017. He has also won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer a record-breaking seven times. In 2006 he went on to break the North American nineteen-year record for the most stake wins in a year.
These are just a few of the names – and we could go on. There have been numerous trainers who have had a huge impact. Trainers aren’t always recognised by horse racing betting fans, but they are responsible for some of the most awe-inspiring horse races in the sport.
