Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch dies at 77
Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch died Tuesday in Lexington, Ky., at age 77.
He trained Alydar, who battled with Affirmed to second-place finishes in all three Triple Crown races in 1978. Alydar went on to win the Whitney (G2) and Travers (G1) that year.
Veitch's top money earner was Proud Truth, who also gave him his only Breeders' Cup win when he scored in the Classic at Aqueduct in 1985.
Veitch trained two Hall of Famers, Alydar and Davona Dale. The latter was one of four Eclipse Award winners trained by Veitch, along with Before Dawn, Our Mims and Sunshine Forever.
After finishing his training career in 2003, Veitch became chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a position that led to controversy involving Life At Ten in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs. Jockey John Velazquez said in a televised interview before the race that he was concerned about how she was warming up.
Life At Ten was the second choice in the field of 11, and the Equibase chart noted she "broke sluggishly, quickly dropped back and lost contact with the field after a half."
The KHRC charged Veitch with five violations and suspended him for a year. He fought the charges, and the suspension was removed from his record.
Veitch had a career training record of 2,340: 410-333-331 and earnings of $20,097,980.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007, following in the footsteps of his father, Sylvester Veitch, who was elected in 1977.