Thomas Joseph Kelly
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joseph Kelly is a United States Racing Hall of Fame
trainer
of Thoroughbred
racehorses
as well as an owner and breeder.
Known as "Tommy," but commonly as "T. J.," in his teens Kelly began working at the Baltimore racetrack as did his younger brother Eddie
. His learning of the business from the bottom up was interrupted by service with the United States military during World War II
in which he received two Purple Heart
s.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DE1539F935A3575BC0A965958260 Following his discharge, Kelly returned to Thoroughbred racing and obtained his trainer's license in 1945. From then until his retirement from training fifty-four years later in 1998, T. J. Kelly won numerous important races and conditioned sixty-five stakes race winners. Kelly conditioned several very successful horses for owner John M. Schiff
including Plugged Nickle
, the 1980 American Champion Sprint Horse, and Droll Role
, a top runner on both dirt and grass and a winner of the 1972 Canadian International Stakes
at Woodbine Racetrack
in Canada
and the Washington, D.C. International Stakes at the Laurel Park Racecourse in his native Maryland
.
Widely respected in the industry, in 1954, as the new head trainer for the racing stable of Dan and Ada Rice
, T. J. Kelly saw the potential in a young jockey
named Bill Hartack
and purchased his contract from a West Virginia
-based trainer. The two met with immediate success with a six-year-old horse named Pet Bully
. Within a few years, Hartack had developed into one of the top riders in the sport and would go on to a Hall of Fame career. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/sports/othersports/28hartack.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1220530146-B7l5qHdNDYdTFjqRgtoxtA&oref=slogin
In 1998, Kelly's final year as a trainer, a colt he had bred in partnership with Joseph and Mary Grant was foaled in Kentucky
. Named Evening Attire
, his race conditioning was handled by Kelly's son, Patrick. The Kellys and their partners sent the horse to the track in 2001 and as of 2008 Evening Attire has earned almost $3 million dollars and is still winning races. His July victory in track record time in the 1½ mile Greenwood Cup Stakes
at Philadelphia Park Racetrack
qualified him to compete in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Dirt Marathon.
A resident of Miami Springs, Florida
, Tommy Kelly and his wife Francis have four sons and two daughters. Three of their sons are involved in the horse racing
industry.
In 1993, Tommy Kelly was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
at Saratoga Springs, New York
.
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...
of 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...
racehorses
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...
as well as an owner and breeder.
Known as "Tommy," but commonly as "T. J.," in his teens Kelly began working at the Baltimore racetrack as did his younger brother Eddie
Edward I. Kelly, Sr.
Edward Ignatius "Eddie" Kelly, Sr. was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.-Biography:Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was the younger brother, by two years, of Thomas J. Kelly. In the mid 1930s, the brothers went to work for J.W.Y. Martin, a trainer and racehorse stable proprietor who owned Snow Hill...
. His learning of the business from the bottom up was interrupted by service with the United States military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in which he received two Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
s.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DE1539F935A3575BC0A965958260 Following his discharge, Kelly returned to Thoroughbred racing and obtained his trainer's license in 1945. From then until his retirement from training fifty-four years later in 1998, T. J. Kelly won numerous important races and conditioned sixty-five stakes race winners. Kelly conditioned several very successful horses for owner John M. Schiff
John M. Schiff
John Mortimer Schiff was an American banker and national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1951 to 1956.-Biography:...
including Plugged Nickle
Plugged Nickle
Plugged Nickle was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by John M. Schiff, he was trained by future U.S...
, the 1980 American Champion Sprint Horse, and Droll Role
Droll Role
Droll Role was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by John M. Schiff, his sire was the great runner and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Rolfe, a son of the undefeated European superstar, Ribot...
, a top runner on both dirt and grass and a winner of the 1972 Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
in 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...
and the Washington, D.C. International Stakes at the Laurel Park Racecourse in his native 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...
.
Widely respected in the industry, in 1954, as the new head trainer for the racing stable of Dan and Ada Rice
Dan and Ada Rice
Daniel F. Rice and his wife Ada L. Rice were American businesspeople, thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, and philanthropists. Dan Rice was educated in the public school system of Chicago, Illinois and spent two years at Depaul University and the University of Notre Dame. In 1919, he...
, T. J. Kelly saw the potential in a young 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:...
named Bill Hartack
Bill Hartack
William John Hartack Jr. was a Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.Referred to by the media as both "Bill" and "Willie" during his racing career, Hartack grew up on his widowed father's farm in the Blacklick...
and purchased his contract from a West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
-based trainer. The two met with immediate success with a six-year-old horse named Pet Bully
Pet Bully
Pet Bully was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first top quality horse that U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack ever road and who won the inaugural running of the prestigious Woodward Stakes....
. Within a few years, Hartack had developed into one of the top riders in the sport and would go on to a Hall of Fame career. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/sports/othersports/28hartack.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1220530146-B7l5qHdNDYdTFjqRgtoxtA&oref=slogin
In 1998, Kelly's final year as a trainer, a colt he had bred in partnership with Joseph and Mary Grant was foaled in 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...
. Named Evening Attire
Evening Attire (horse)
Evening Attire is a Kentucky bred Thoroughbred racehorse, foaled on February 14, 1998, though most of his racing career has taken place in New York.-A little history, early and late:Bred by Joseph M. Grant and Hall of Famer Thomas J...
, his race conditioning was handled by Kelly's son, Patrick. The Kellys and their partners sent the horse to the track in 2001 and as of 2008 Evening Attire has earned almost $3 million dollars and is still winning races. His July victory in track record time in the 1½ mile Greenwood Cup Stakes
Greenwood Cup Stakes
The Greenwood Cup Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually each summer at Philadelphia Park Racetrack in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Open to three-year-olds and up, the ungraded stakes event is set at a distance of 1½ miles on dirt. The race offers a purse of $200,000 plus $50,000...
at Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Parx Racing and Casino is a thoroughbred horse racetrack and racino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It currently houses 3,300 slot machines.-History:...
qualified him to compete in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Dirt Marathon.
A resident of Miami Springs, Florida
Miami Springs, Florida
Miami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...
, Tommy Kelly and his wife Francis have four sons and two daughters. Three of their sons are involved in the horse racing
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...
industry.
In 1993, Tommy Kelly was 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...
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, ...
.