T. J. Healey
Encyclopedia
Thomas J. Healey was an American Thoroughbred horse racing
Hall of Fame
trainer
.
Regularly referred to as "T. J." by both his associates and the media, Healey was born near the site of Fordham University
in Fordham
, New York
. Growing up he worked on his father's dairy farm
but rather than cows, his interests centered on Thoroughbred horses. While in his teens he took a job at a racetrack stable and by his early twenties had already begun training horses. In 1888, at Brooklyn's
Gravesend Race Track
, he saddled the first winner of his fifty-four-year career. For the next eighteen yerars he ran one of the largest public stables in the United States but in 1896 became the trainer for the Montpelier Stable of Richard T. Wilson, Jr.
, president of Saratoga Race Course
.
Among the notable horses he trained for Wilson's stable were:
At the turn of the century, Healey trained horses for several prominent owners. Among them were Andrew Miller
and Walter J. Salmon, Sr. Healey won his third Preakness Stakes with Salmon, Sr.'s colt Vigil
in 1923. During the 1920s and into the first part of the 1930s, T. J. Healey also trained horses owned by Walter and Sarah Jeffords. For them, he won his fourth and fifth Preakness Stakes with:
Richard T. Wilson, Jr. died in December 1929 and Healey was hired by Harry Payne Whitney
and his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
. Over a four-year period, T. J. Healey won a record $1,453,868 with Whitney runners. Among the most famous horses he race conditioned for Whitney were:
Thomas J. Healey retired from training in 1941 after which he served as a steward for the New Jersey State Racing Association. He died at age 78 on October 8, 1944. Following its formation at Saratoga Springs, New York
, in 1955 Thomas J. Healey was part of the inaugural class of inductees to the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
.
opened in Arcadia, California
in 1935, Jack Healey was sent with a string of horses by stable owner C. V. Whitney to compete there during the winter racing season. Jack Healey won the 1935 San Carlos Handicap
, San Gabriel Handicap
, and San Vicente Stakes
.
Jack Healey made his home at Boxwood Farm in Cockeysville, Maryland
. After his father's retirement, he was hired by Harry & Jane du Pont Lunger of Wilmington, Delaware
to take charge of their Christiana Stables. Less than two months after he won the 1947 Modesty Stakes
at Washington Park Race Track
in Chicago
, John Healey fell ill and died at age forty-three on September 8, 1947 at Johns Hopkins Hospital
in Baltimore, Maryland .
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...
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...
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...
.
Regularly referred to as "T. J." by both his associates and the media, Healey was born near the site of Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in Fordham
Fordham, Bronx
Fordham is a neighborhood of New York City, United States, located in the West Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. It is bordered by Fordham Road to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, East 183rd Street to the south, and Jerome Avenue to the west...
, 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...
. Growing up he worked on his father's dairy farm
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
but rather than cows, his interests centered on Thoroughbred horses. While in his teens he took a job at a racetrack stable and by his early twenties had already begun training horses. In 1888, at Brooklyn's
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend on Coney Island, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club as a result of the backing of the wealthy racing stable owners, the Dwyer Brothers. Philip J...
, he saddled the first winner of his fifty-four-year career. For the next eighteen yerars he ran one of the largest public stables in the United States but in 1896 became the trainer for the Montpelier Stable of Richard T. Wilson, Jr.
Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr.
Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. was an American banker and businessman who was a prominent figure in Thoroughbred horse racing in the early decades of the 20th Century....
, president of Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
.
Among the notable horses he trained for Wilson's stable were:
- The ParaderThe ParaderThe Parader was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1901 American Classic, the Preakness Stakes and finishing second in the Belmont Stakes....
- won the 1901 Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe 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...
, Withers StakesWithers StakesThe 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...
, Lawrence Realization HandicapLawrence Realization StakesThe Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...
; - OlambalaOlambalaOlambala was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Tennessee by John G. Greener, his British-born sire Ornus, a son of Bend Or, a two-time leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland, was imported to stand at stud in the United States...
- wins include the 1909 Latonia DerbyLatonia DerbyThe Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half; in 1935, the race was shortened to a mile and a...
and 1910 BrightonBrighton HandicapThe Brighton Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1895 through 1907 at the Brighton Beach Race Course in Brighton Beach, Coney Island, New York and in 1910 at Empire City Race Track...
and Suburban HandicapSuburban HandicapThe Suburban Handicap is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is run at the classic one-and-one-quarter mile distance on dirt for a $400,000 purse....
s; - CampfireCampfire (horse)Campfire was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred and raced by the co-owner and president of Saratoga Race Course, Richard T...
- United States leading money winner in 1916 and American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt; - Hannibal - won 1918 Saratoga Special StakesSaratoga Special StakesThe Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six and a half furlongs on the dirt....
, 1919 Travers StakesTravers StakesThe Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
; - PilloryPillory (horse)Pillory was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by the co-owner and president of Saratoga Race Course, Richard T. Wilson, Jr., his damsire was Disguise, who raced for James R. Keene in England and was a son of the great Domino...
- won 1922 Preakness and Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe 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...
; - Wilderness - won 1925 Travers StakesTravers StakesThe Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
and Toronto Cup HandicapToronto Cup StakesThe Toronto Cup Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually on turf at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in early July, the race is open to Three-year-olds and is run over a distance of 1⅛ miles on turf....
; - SunfireSunfire (horse)Sunfire was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by the co-owner and president of Saratoga Race Course, Richard T...
- won back-to-back runnings of the Toronto Cup HandicapToronto Cup StakesThe Toronto Cup Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually on turf at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in early July, the race is open to Three-year-olds and is run over a distance of 1⅛ miles on turf....
in 1928-1929.
At the turn of the century, Healey trained horses for several prominent owners. Among them were Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller (publisher)
Andrew Miller was an American magazine publisher and Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a founding partner and Secretary/Treasurer of Life magazine....
and Walter J. Salmon, Sr. Healey won his third Preakness Stakes with Salmon, Sr.'s colt Vigil
Vigil II
Vigil was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1923 Preakness Stakes in a performance the Los Angeles Times called "the most brilliant victory in the history of the Preakness."...
in 1923. During the 1920s and into the first part of the 1930s, T. J. Healey also trained horses owned by Walter and Sarah Jeffords. For them, he won his fourth and fifth Preakness Stakes with:
- DisplayDisplay (horse)Display was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned and bred by Walter J. Salmon, Sr. at his Mereworth Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Display was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Fair Play, a descendant of West Australian, the first winner of the English Triple Crown. He was out...
- won the 1926 Preakness Stakes, the 1927 Toronto CupToronto Cup StakesThe Toronto Cup Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually on turf at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in early July, the race is open to Three-year-olds and is run over a distance of 1⅛ miles on turf....
, Jockey Club CupSky Classic StakesThe Sky Classic Stakes is a Canadian Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Raced in mid to late September on turf over a distance of 1¼ miles , it is open to horses three years of age and older...
, and Washington HandicapWashington HandicapThe Washington Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and a quarter ....
s, the 1928 AutumnAutumn Stakes (Canada)The Autumn Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in mid November, it is open to horses aged three and older. It was raced on dirt until 2006 when the track's owners installed the new synthetic Polytrack surface...
and Hawthorne Gold Cup HandicapHawthorne Gold Cup HandicapThe Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold....
s - Dr. FreelandDr. FreelandDr. Freeland was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the Preakness Stakes, the then first leg of the 1929 United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. He was named for Dr. John Freeland, a prominent New York City banker. Trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame...
- won the 1929 Preakness Stakes, 1931 Yorktown Handicap
Richard T. Wilson, Jr. died in December 1929 and Healey was hired by Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horsebreeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.- Early years :...
and his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses....
. Over a four-year period, T. J. Healey won a record $1,453,868 with Whitney runners. Among the most famous horses he race conditioned for Whitney were:
- Top FlightTop FlightTop Flight was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry Payne Whitney, she was a daughter of the French stakes winner Dis Donc, a son of the French Champion Sire Sardanapale. She was out of the mare Flyatit, a daughter of U.S...
- American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly (1931) and American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (1932), U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe 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...
inductee - EquipoiseEquipoise (horse)Equipoise was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut bred in the United States by Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney...
- American Horse of the Year 1932-33, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee
Thomas J. Healey retired from training in 1941 after which he served as a steward for the New Jersey State Racing Association. He died at age 78 on October 8, 1944. Following its formation at Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
, in 1955 Thomas J. Healey was part of the inaugural class of inductees to the U.S. Racing 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...
.
John A. Healey
At the time of his death, Thomas J. Kelly and his wife Lillian had four daughters and a son, John A. Healey. Known as Jack, the younger Healy worked as an assistant with his father and often was responsible for overseeing a string of racehorses competing at tracks outside their New York/New Jersey base. When the new Santa Anita ParkSanta 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...
opened 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....
in 1935, Jack Healey was sent with a string of horses by stable owner C. V. Whitney to compete there during the winter racing season. Jack Healey won the 1935 San Carlos Handicap
San Carlos Handicap
The San Carlos Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at during the third week of February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
, San Gabriel Handicap
San Gabriel Handicap
The San Gabriel Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California at the close of each year. The Grade II race is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the turf and offers a purse of $150,000.First run in 1935, it...
, and San Vicente Stakes
San Vicente Stakes
The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and carries a purse of $150,000....
.
Jack Healey made his home at Boxwood Farm in Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville is a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 19,388 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. After his father's retirement, he was hired by Harry & Jane du Pont Lunger of Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
to take charge of their Christiana Stables. Less than two months after he won the 1947 Modesty Stakes
Modesty Handicap
The Modesty Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois near Chicago....
at Washington Park Race Track
Washington Park Race Track
Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodlawn community area of Chicago in Cook...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, John Healey fell ill and died at age forty-three on September 8, 1947 at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
in Baltimore, Maryland .