ABOUT BILL IN HIS OWN WORDS

“My dad worked for the Dupont Company, based in Wilmington, Delaware, right near the border of Southern Pennsylvania, and that was horse country. I started out fox hunting and steeplechasing. This was during the fifties. There was a famous old trainer down there by the name of Burley Cocks. I had met his kids and we were all friends. Well, one of those old, fox hunting families gave me a horse by the name of Carolina Hills, and I turned him into a steeplechase horse. But I didn’t know anything about training horses. I rode him in a point-to-point and he was all over the course. I wasn’t strong enough to even begin riding him well.

One day, old Burley Cocks comes along and says to me, “Would you like me to help you with your horse?” And that was all I wanted to hear. He worked with the horse for about a month, and we next had him at one of the regular steeplechase meetings and he won right away, and with me riding him. Well, the relationship built up and I started to spend all my time working for Mr. Cocks

 

I rode steeplechasers at Saratoga, and Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons was still training at that time. He’d run his horses, then after, they’d take them under the trees by the saddling area to wash them off before walking them back to the barn. And the old man would sit there on the bench. Sometimes, I’d go over and sit down on the bench with him and ask him questions. And you only had to ask him one question and he’d start talking. You’d just listen and you learned an awful lot. Once I asked him, “Mr. Fitzsimmons. What do you do for horses that buck their shins?” And he said, “Never had a horse buck his shins. They get a little off now and then, you just don’t breeze ‘em.”  Well, if you look at the horses he trained, they had bones on them this thick. They were real horses. They’d get a little sore but they never bucked their shins.

By the time I got out of college I was too big to ride in the steeplechases anymore, so Burley put me in charge of the young horses going to the racetrack. I’d go to Pimlico and Laurel. Eventually, the horses under my care started running well and people took notice. Then one of the owners asked me if I would train their horses, and I was on my way.

While in Maryland, I was around many good horsemen. You had people like Henry Clark, who trained for Christiana Stables. You also had Frank Whiteley, who went on to train Damascus, Chieftain, and Icecapade, one good horse after another. Of course, Ruffian came later. And there was Jim Maloney, who trained for William Perry. The first year I trained any horses in New York, Jim Maloney invited me over to his barn at Saratoga. He had eight horses. Six of them were multiple-stakes winners, and two of them were Champions. And I thought, well now, that’s the kind of stable you want to train (laughs). Copy and Photos by Dennis G. Hogan (editorial assistence by Marilyn Lane)

   ABOUT PATTI

 

Pat Turner has been our Assistant Trainer since 1992 and brings a lifetime of experience and knowledge to William Turner Racing. An accomplished horsewoman in every aspect of the business, Patti has been involved in racing since 1969. Over the years she has worked as an exercise rider and jockey with such fine horses as Mr. Prospector, Talc, Sea Hero, Punch Line, Gaviola and Finery. Patti has also become an expert on bloodlines and breeding and regularly travels to Keenland, Saratoga, Timonium etc. to assess bloodstock and advise clients in their purchases.

“Over the years I have had the privilege of working with exceptional horses and great horseman. Working as Bill's assistant I have had the chance to learn from one of the best and to be in a place where each horse is treated with the utmost respect and given every chance to succeed”.