William B. "Bill" Finnegan (September 19, 1890 - October 18, 1970) was an 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...

 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...

.

A native of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Finnegan spent more than fifty years as a trainer primarily on the West Coast of the United States

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. During his career he conditioned horses for major stable owners such as Vera S. Bragg, movie mogul Louis B. Mayer

Louis B. Mayer

Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...

, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Edward S. Moore's Circle M Ranch stable, George A. Pope, Jr.'s El Peco Ranch, and Neil S. McCarthy

Neil S. McCarthy

Neil Steere McCarthy was an American corporate and film industry lawyer, and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder. A third-generation Los Angeles native, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in law...

 who would name one of his horses in his honor.

Following its opening in December 1929, Finnegan was racing 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...

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Racing in California, where he would make his home in Arcadia

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....

 near 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...

, Finnegan won the 1939 Hollywood Derby

Hollywood Derby

The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The race is open to horses, age three willing to race a mile and a quarter on turf. It currently offers a purse of ...

 with Shining One who equalled the Hollywood Park track record.
In 1940, he took over as the trainer of Big Pebble

Big Pebble

Big Pebble was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred by Edward R. Bradley at his Idle Hour Stock Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, his dam was Beach Talk and his sire was Black Servant who would also sire Blue Larkspur...

 after the four-year-old was purchased by client, Edward S. Moore. Raced by his former owner at age two and three, Big Pebble showed little and had even been used as a lead pony. Under Finnegan in 1941, Big Pebble blossomed into the best older horse in the United States. Enroute to being named American Champion Older Male Horse, Big Pebble's wins included the most important and richest race in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, the Widener Challenge Cup

Widener Handicap

The Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida was a Grade III stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses 3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of 1¼ miles until 1993 when it was modified to 1 1/8 miles. Initially called the Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the race was...

 at Hialeah Park Race Track

Hialeah Park Race Track

The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic site in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S...

  and the prestigious Hollywood Gold Cup

Hollywood Gold Cup

The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...

 at California's Hollywood Park Racetrack.

In October 1951, that year's 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...

 winner Count Turf

Count Turf

Count Turf was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1951 Kentucky Derby. He is one of only two equine families where three generations have won the Kentucky Derby. His grandsire Reigh Count won the 1928 Derby and then his sire Count Fleet won it in 1943. Count Fleet...

 was sent to Bill Finnegan to race in California but met with little success.
Thirteen years late, Finnegan would have 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 going into the 1964 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...

 series with George A. Pope, Jr.'s colt, Hill Rise

Hill Rise

Hill Rise was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. He was bred at El Peco Ranch in Madera, California by George A. Pope, Jr. who also owned and bred 1962 Kentucky Derby winner Decidedly...

. The winner of eight straight races, including the Santa Anita Derby

Santa Anita Derby

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...

 by six lengths

Length (horse racing)

A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...

 in record time and the Derby Trial

Derby Trial

The Derby Trial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of April at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Held one week before the Kentucky Derby, it was first run in 1924 and every year since, with the exception of 1928...

 by more than two lengths, Hill Rise ran second to Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....

 in the Kentucky Derby and third to him 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...

. The following year Hill Rise won several important races for Finnegan including the Man o' War Stakes

Man O' War Stakes

The Man o' War Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Now Raced in July, it is a Grade I event offering a purse of $500,000 and is open to horses three-years-old and up. Run at one and three-eighths mile on the grass, the race sometimes attracts top European horses...

, San Fernando Stakes and Santa Anita Handicap

Santa Anita Handicap

The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up , and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season...

 and at age five in 1966, the San Antonio Handicap

San Antonio Handicap

The San Antonio Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...

.

William Finnegan continued to train horses until his death in 1970 at age eighty. He is buried in the
Live Oak Memorial Park Cemetery in Monrovia, California

Monrovia, California

Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...

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