Noble Threewitt
Encyclopedia
Noble Threewitt was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse
trainer
who conditioned horses for seventy-five years before retiring on his ninety-sixth birthday. The city of Arcadia, California
, home to Santa Anita Racetrack, declared February 24, 2007 to be "Noble Threewitt Day." He was
Born in Benton, Illinois
, Threewitt grew up in a small town where his father worked as an bookkeeper for a coal
company. Introduced to horse racing at county fairgrounds
, in his teens he rode in a few races in Kansas City
but soon weight gain ended his days as a jockey
. In 1932 he embarked on a career as a professional trainer at Agua Caliente Racetrack
in Tijuana
, Mexico
. At age twenty-one, he was the youngest licensed American trainer at that time. At Agua Caliente Racetrack, Threewitt saddled his first winner in 1932 and was on hand when the great Australia
n champion Phar Lap
came that year to win the Agua Caliente Handicap.
A year after Noble Threewitt became a trainer, he met and married Beryl Buck, the daughter of fellow trainer, William D. Buck. When Santa Anita Park
was built in Arcadia, California
, Threewitt was there for the opening day in 1934. He would also be on hand to witness the opening of four other major California racetracks: Hollywood Park (1938), Del Mar Racetrack
(1937), Bay Meadows Racetrack (1934), and Golden Gate Fields
(1941) as well as for the opening of Longacres Racetrack and Emerald Downs
in the state of Washington.
A permanent fixture in California racing, except for a few years in the 1930s when he trained in New York
for John D. Hertz
, Threewitt won training titles at Hollywood Park in 1959, 1960 and 1961, and at Golden Gate Fields in 1970. In April 1954, he won with nine consecutive starters at Tanforan Racetrack
in San Bruno, California
.
The best horse Noble Threewitt conditioned was Correlation with which he won the 1954 Florida Derby
and Wood Memorial Stakes
. The betting
favorite in the Kentucky Derby
, in what Churchill Downs
describes as one of the roughest Derbys ever run, the colt finished sixth to winner Determine then earned a second place result behind Hasty Road
in the Preakness Stakes
.
On April 22, 2006, at age 95, Noble Threewitt became the oldest trainer to win a race in North America
when Threeatonce, owned by grandson Chris Chinnici, won a maiden claiming race
at Santa Anita Park. On his February 24, 2007 birthday, Threewitt officially retired as a trainer having won more than 2,000 races.
A long time friend of trainer Charlie Whittingham
, in 1993 Hollywood Park Racetrack named its new Horsemen's Lounge in their honor.
Profoundly affected by the separation of his parents while still a young boy, he has always empathized with those in need. He served six terms as president of the California Horsemen's Benevolent Association whose functions include the providing of free medical and dental benefits for stable
workers and their families at a Santa Anita clinic. In 2004, Santa Anita Park renamed its backstretch medical facility the Noble Threewitt Health Center.
In 2005, Noble Threewitt was the recipient of Hollywood Park's Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, given annually to someone who has served the sport of Thoroughbred racing with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination, and distinction.
Residents of Covina, California
, Noble and Beryl Threewitt celebrated their seventy-seventh year of marriage in 2010. Beryl died on July 12, 2010 at age 98. Noble died two months later at an assisted living facility in West Covina, California
.
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
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
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...
who conditioned horses for seventy-five years before retiring on his ninety-sixth birthday. The city of Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, home to Santa Anita Racetrack, declared February 24, 2007 to be "Noble Threewitt Day." He was
Born in Benton, Illinois
Benton, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.- History :...
, Threewitt grew up in a small town where his father worked as an bookkeeper for a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
company. Introduced to horse racing at county fairgrounds
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
, in his teens he rode in a few races in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
but soon weight gain ended his days as a jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
. In 1932 he embarked on a career as a professional trainer at Agua Caliente Racetrack
Agua Caliente Racetrack
The Agua Caliente Racetrack is a greyhound racing and former horse racing track in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million.One year before, the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel opened in June 1928....
in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. At age twenty-one, he was the youngest licensed American trainer at that time. At Agua Caliente Racetrack, Threewitt saddled his first winner in 1932 and was on hand when the great Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n champion Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...
came that year to win the Agua Caliente Handicap.
A year after Noble Threewitt became a trainer, he met and married Beryl Buck, the daughter of fellow trainer, William D. Buck. When Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
was built in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, Threewitt was there for the opening day in 1934. He would also be on hand to witness the opening of four other major California racetracks: Hollywood Park (1938), Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
(1937), Bay Meadows Racetrack (1934), and Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
(1941) as well as for the opening of Longacres Racetrack and Emerald Downs
Emerald Downs
Emerald Downs is a thoroughbred racetrack in Auburn, Washington, located a half mile east of Highway 167. It is named after Seattle, the Emerald City.-History:...
in the state of Washington.
A permanent fixture in California racing, except for a few years in the 1930s when he trained 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...
for John D. Hertz
John D. Hertz
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, Threewitt won training titles at Hollywood Park in 1959, 1960 and 1961, and at Golden Gate Fields in 1970. In April 1954, he won with nine consecutive starters at Tanforan Racetrack
Tanforan Racetrack
Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, California was a thoroughbred horse racing facility that operated from September 4, 1899 to July 31, 1964. Tanforan was constructed to serve a clientele from the nearby city of San Francisco. The facility was named after Toribio Tanforan, the grandson-in-law of Jose...
in San Bruno, California
San Bruno, California
San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 41,114 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery.-Geography:San Bruno is located at...
.
The best horse Noble Threewitt conditioned was Correlation with which he won the 1954 Florida Derby
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...
and Wood Memorial Stakes
Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
. The 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...
favorite 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...
, in what Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
describes as one of the roughest Derbys ever run, the colt finished sixth to winner Determine then earned a second place result behind Hasty Road
Hasty Road
Hasty Road was an American thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for winning the 1954 Preakness Stakes and coming in a close second to Determine in the 1954 Kentucky Derby. Hasty Road was a very large bay thoroughbred with a distinctive white blaze...
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...
.
On April 22, 2006, at age 95, Noble Threewitt became the oldest trainer to win a race 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...
when Threeatonce, owned by grandson Chris Chinnici, won a maiden claiming race
Claiming race
A claiming race in thoroughbred horse racing is one in which the horses are all for sale for more or less the same price up until shortly before the race. Race types form a hierarchy in terms of the quality of horse they attract, with handicap races and graded stakes races attracting the "best"...
at Santa Anita Park. On his February 24, 2007 birthday, Threewitt officially retired as a trainer having won more than 2,000 races.
A long time friend of trainer Charlie Whittingham
Charlie Whittingham
Charles Edward Whittingham was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history....
, in 1993 Hollywood Park Racetrack named its new Horsemen's Lounge in their honor.
Humanitarian work
While working as a trainer, Noble Threewitt also devoted a great deal of time to helping others in the racing industry. Trainer Warren Stute told reporter Julie Sarno of the Del Mar Times newspaper that "Noble [Threewitt] has done more for the grooms and backstretch workers than all of us put together."Profoundly affected by the separation of his parents while still a young boy, he has always empathized with those in need. He served six terms as president of the California Horsemen's Benevolent Association whose functions include the providing of free medical and dental benefits for stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
workers and their families at a Santa Anita clinic. In 2004, Santa Anita Park renamed its backstretch medical facility the Noble Threewitt Health Center.
In 2005, Noble Threewitt was the recipient of Hollywood Park's Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, given annually to someone who has served the sport of Thoroughbred racing with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination, and distinction.
Residents of Covina, California
Covina, California
Covina is a small city in Los Angeles County, California about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley region. The population was 47,796 at the 2010 census, up from 46,837 at the 2000 census...
, Noble and Beryl Threewitt celebrated their seventy-seventh year of marriage in 2010. Beryl died on July 12, 2010 at age 98. Noble died two months later at an assisted living facility in West Covina, California
West Covina, California
West Covina is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. Located some east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is a mostly middle class suburb of Los Angeles...
.