Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72

Baird racked up more than 9,400 victories
By Jesse Andrews,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 26, 2007 4:19 PM CST
Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72
Dale Baird wears a new hat after his horse, Frazee's Folly, won a race at Mountaineer in 2004 to give him 9,000 career wins.   (AP)

Dale Baird, the trainer with the most wins in the history of horse racing, died Sunday in a car accident at age 72. Baird racked up 9,445 wins—no other trainer even has 7,000—in a storied career at the West Virginia racetrack now known as Mountaineer. Despite his success, Baird remained a modest trainer who ran mostly claimers, reports Kentucky's Blood-Horse.

"I don't think people quite understand the impact he had on racing," said a track official. As an owner, Baird led the country in victories 17 times, the LA Times reported. The car accident occurred Sunday in Indiana when Baird, hauling an empty horse trailer, lost control of his SUV and crossed a highway median. Two teenagers also died in the crash.  (More horse racing stories.)

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