H. Guy Bedwell
Encyclopedia
Harvey Guy Bedwell was an American
Hall of Fame
Thoroughbred
racehorse trainer
and owner who was the first trainer to win the U.S. Triple Crown
.
Born in Roseburg, Oregon
he was known by his middle name. As a young man, Guy Bedwell began working as a cowboy
and by the early 1900s owned and raced horses in Colorado
before moving to the East Coast of the United States
. He raced Thoroughbred
s from a base at tracks in Maryland
and at Empire City Race Track
in New York
as well as at Old Woodbine Race Course
in Toronto
, Canada
where he became acquainted with the wealthy stable owner, J. K. L. Ross
.
In 1909, Bedwell won more races than any trainer in the United States but after New York State legislation banded parimutuel betting
and ended racing in that state, Bedwell moved to Kentucky
where he conditioned horses at Covington's
Latonia Race Track
. When racing resumed in New York, Bedwell returned to compete there and repeated as the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by wins
from 1912 through 1917. In 1918, he took over as head trainer of the J. K. L. Ross stables in North America
. Among his best horses that year was Cudgel
who earned American Champion Older Male Horse honors. Bedwell finished 1918 as the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings
.
who is regarded as the best 3-year-old filly in American racing in 1919 and who would be voted American Champion Older Female Horse honors in 1920.
Going into the 1919 season, owner J. K. L. Ross acquired another three-year-old named Sir Barton
from John E. Madden
. Winless in six starts at two, Sir Barton had good early speed and as such was entered in the Kentucky Derby
to serve as a pace-setting rabbit for stablemate, Billy Kelly and his jockey, Earl Sande
. The combined betting entry of Billy Kelly and Sir Barton were made the second choice among bettors in the Derby behind favorite, Eternal. As planned, jockey Johnny Loftus
immediately took the lead and set the pace with Sir Barton but shocked everyone when never relinquished it and won easily by five lengths over Billy Kelly.
Just four days later, Guy Bedwell entered Sir Barton in the Preakness Stakes
at the Pimlico Race Course
in Baltimore, Maryland. The colt won the race then went on to capture the Withers Stakes
in New York and shortly thereafter completed the first Triple Crown in U.S. history by easily winning the Belmont Stakes
while setting a track and American record for the then mile and three-eighths race. In addition to Sir Barton, in 1919 Bedwell also trained and raced the Ross-owned filly Constancy who would earn the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly title. For 1919, Bedwell won his second consecutive national earnings title.
In 1921, Guy Bedwell became part of a dispute involving J. K. L. Ross and the New York Jockey Club over the lifting of the ban on jockey Cal Shilling
. Shilling worked for Bedwell as an exercise jockey and also helped with horse conditioning. Bedwell had testified before the Maryland State Racing Commission in support of Shilling's application for a jockey's license and as a result he too became a central figure in the controversy. The April 21, 1921 issue of the New York Times quoted from a letter by August Belmont, Jr.
to J. K. L. Ross saying "the entries of your stable will not be acceptable to this association if ex-Jockey Carroll Shilling or H. G. Bedwell is in any way connected, directly or indirectly, with the same." The matter resulted in Bedwell's horses racing primarily in Maryland for nearly twenty years before he was allowed to compete again at racetracks in New York State.
After winning the American Triple Crown with Sir Barton, Bedwell never trained another triple crown race winner but in Canada he won the 1924 and 1926 editions of the Breeders' Stakes
, a race that now forms part of the Canadian Triple Crown series. After J. K. L. Ross encountered financial problems and was forced to liquidate his stables, Bedwell trained for various owners including, late in his career, for Elizabeth Arden's
Maine Chance Farm
.
His son, L. G. (Buster) Bedwell, also became a trainer. Still active in racing, Guy Bedwell died of a heart attack in 1952 having won more than 2,100 races. In 1971, he was posthumously inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
.
Bedwell was one of the trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing
historian
Edward L. Bowen's
2007 book Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse 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...
and owner who was the first trainer to win 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...
.
Born in Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
he was known by his middle name. As a young man, Guy Bedwell began working as a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
and by the early 1900s owned and raced horses in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
before moving to 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...
. He raced Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
s from a base at tracks in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and at Empire City Race Track
Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and New York state-approved slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York near the New York City border...
in 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...
as well as at Old Woodbine Race Course
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...
, 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...
where he became acquainted with the wealthy stable owner, J. K. L. Ross
J. K. L. Ross
John Kenneth Leveson Ross CBE was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1919 with his Hall of Fame colt, Sir Barton.- Early life :J.K.L...
.
In 1909, Bedwell won more races than any trainer in the United States but after New York State legislation banded parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
and ended racing in that state, Bedwell moved to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
where he conditioned horses at Covington's
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...
Latonia Race Track
Latonia Race Track
Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia Kentucky, six miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1883. The track hosted a spring-summer racing series and a second in late fall. It was once regarded as among the United States' top sites for racing,...
. When racing resumed in New York, Bedwell returned to compete there and repeated as the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by wins
United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by wins
There is recognition for the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by wins but no formal award is given to the trainer in Thoroughbred flat racing whose horses won the most races in North American Thoroughbred racing....
from 1912 through 1917. In 1918, he took over as head trainer of the J. K. L. Ross stables in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Among his best horses that year was Cudgel
Cudgel (horse)
Cudgel was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.Owned by J. K. L. Ross and trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee H. Guy Bedwell, Cudgel is probably best remembered for his win in the 1919 Havre de Grace Handicap in which he defeated two future Hall of Fame inductees,...
who earned American Champion Older Male Horse honors. Bedwell finished 1918 as the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings
United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings
There is recognition for the United States Champion Thoroughbred Trainer by earnings but no formal award is given to the trainer in Thoroughbred flat racing whose horses earned the most purse money in North American Thoroughbred racing....
.
First Triple Crown Champion
In 1918, Guy Bedwell had two highly regarded two-year-olds in his care. Billy Kelly shared American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors with James W. McClelland's colt, Eternal. The second outstanding runner under Bedwell's care was MilkmaidMilkmaid (horse)
Milkmaid was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was bred by J. Hal Woodford at his farm in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Woodford had bred and raced the 1907 Kentucky Derby winner, Pink Star...
who is regarded as the best 3-year-old filly in American racing in 1919 and who would be voted American Champion Older Female Horse honors in 1920.
Going into the 1919 season, owner J. K. L. Ross acquired another three-year-old named Sir Barton
Sir Barton
Sir Barton, , was a chestnut thoroughbred colt who in 1919 became the first winner of the American Triple Crown.He was sired by leading stud Star Shoot out of the Hanover mare Lady Sterling. His grandsire was the 1893 English Triple Crown champion, Isinglass.Sir Barton was bred in Kentucky by...
from John E. Madden
John E. Madden
John Edward Madden was a prominent AmericanThoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky and bred five Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners.He was inducted into the National...
. Winless in six starts at two, Sir Barton had good early speed and as such was entered 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...
to serve as a pace-setting rabbit for stablemate, Billy Kelly and his jockey, Earl Sande
Earl Sande
Earl H. Sande was an American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer.Born in Groton, South Dakota, Earl Sande started out as a bronco buster in the early 1900s but then became a successful American quarter horse rider before switching to thoroughbred horse racing in 1918...
. The combined betting entry of Billy Kelly and Sir Barton were made the second choice among bettors in the Derby behind favorite, Eternal. As planned, jockey Johnny Loftus
Johnny Loftus
John P. Loftus was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Johnny Loftus was the first jockey to win the United States United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. During his career, between 1909 and 1919, he won 580 races out of the 2,449 he...
immediately took the lead and set the pace with Sir Barton but shocked everyone when never relinquished it and won easily by five lengths over Billy Kelly.
Just four days later, Guy Bedwell entered Sir Barton 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...
at the Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
in Baltimore, Maryland. The colt won the race then went on to capture the Withers Stakes
Withers Stakes
The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000...
in New York and shortly thereafter completed the first Triple Crown in U.S. history by easily winning the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
while setting a track and American record for the then mile and three-eighths race. In addition to Sir Barton, in 1919 Bedwell also trained and raced the Ross-owned filly Constancy who would earn the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly title. For 1919, Bedwell won his second consecutive national earnings title.
In 1921, Guy Bedwell became part of a dispute involving J. K. L. Ross and the New York Jockey Club over the lifting of the ban on jockey Cal Shilling
Carroll H. Shilling
Carroll Hugh Shilling was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. In his 1926 autobiography, "The Spell of the Turf," Hall of Fame trainer Sam Hildreth wrote that Shilling was the greatest rider he ever saw....
. Shilling worked for Bedwell as an exercise jockey and also helped with horse conditioning. Bedwell had testified before the Maryland State Racing Commission in support of Shilling's application for a jockey's license and as a result he too became a central figure in the controversy. The April 21, 1921 issue of the New York Times quoted from a letter by August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr. was an American financier, the builder of New York's Belmont Park racetrack, and a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.-Early life:...
to J. K. L. Ross saying "the entries of your stable will not be acceptable to this association if ex-Jockey Carroll Shilling or H. G. Bedwell is in any way connected, directly or indirectly, with the same." The matter resulted in Bedwell's horses racing primarily in Maryland for nearly twenty years before he was allowed to compete again at racetracks in New York State.
After winning the American Triple Crown with Sir Barton, Bedwell never trained another triple crown race winner but in Canada he won the 1924 and 1926 editions of the Breeders' Stakes
Breeders' Stakes
The Breeders' Stakes is a Canadian stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1889. Since 1959 it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds...
, a race that now forms part of the Canadian Triple Crown series. After J. K. L. Ross encountered financial problems and was forced to liquidate his stables, Bedwell trained for various owners including, late in his career, for Elizabeth Arden's
Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham , who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.-Biography:Arden was born in 1884 at Woodbridge, Ontario,...
Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm
Maine Chance Farm was an American Thoroughbred horse racing stable in Lexington, Kentucky owned by cosmetics tycoon, Elizabeth Arden.Elizabeth Arden raced under the nom de course "Mr. Nightingale" until 1943 when she adopted the name Maine Chance Farm from her health spa in Mount Vernon, Maine...
.
His son, L. G. (Buster) Bedwell, also became a trainer. Still active in racing, Guy Bedwell died of a heart attack in 1952 having won more than 2,100 races. In 1971, he was posthumously inducted in the National Museum of Racing and 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...
.
Bedwell was one of the trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing
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...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Edward L. Bowen's
Edward L. Bowen
Edward L. Bowen is an American Thoroughbred horse racing historian and author and the president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, an institution involved in funding equine research....
2007 book Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age.