NEWS
Chad Brown
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2010 11:09 AM
CHAD BROWN
Trainer
It did not take trainer Chad Brown long to make a splash on Thoroughbred racing’s largest stage.
As an assistant to the late Bobby Frankel, Brown saddled eventual champion older female Ginger Punch to victory in the 2007 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Monmouth Park.
Several weeks later, he went out on his own and the following year captured a Breeders’ Cup race in his own name as Maram won the 2008 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Park, a victory he calls his greatest achievement in the sport.
Brown, who earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Cornell University, knows it would not have been possible without the tutelage of a pair of Racing Hall of Fame trainers: Frankel and Shug McGaughey.
“I liked the way Shug won big races, and he had so many good, quality horses,” Brown said. “I was lucky enough that he took me in when I approached him.”
Brown then spent five years working for Bobby Frankel, splitting his time between Southern California and Saratoga Springs, New York, before moving on to oversee Frankel’s divisions in Kentucky and at Monmouth Park and Gulfstream Park.
With Frankel, Brown had the opportunity to work with horses such as Ghostzapper, Intercontinental (GB), Empire Maker, and Medaglia d’Oro.
“Going to work for Bobby was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I learned so much from him; it was like the graduate school of racing.”
Brown is young enough and optimistic enough to believe the sport can thrive in the future as long as it falls back on its past.
“We have to protect the rich history of our sport,” he said. “We are making too many changes to modernize out of impatience. The history of our sport is much stronger than other sports and will ultimately carry us through challenging times.”
Date of birth: December 18, 1978
Birthplace: Mechanicville, New York
Residence: Saratoga Springs, New York
Title: Trainer
Education: Bachelor of Science in animal science, Cornell University
Family: Married, one daughter
Career: Assistant to Racing Hall of Fame trainers Shug McGaughey and Bobby Frankel
Favorite horse: Maram
What book are you currently reading? The Training Game, by Karen Johnson
Last movie you saw at the theater: Fighting
What’s on your iPod? “Don’t use one.”
Biggest personal achievement: Ivy League degree
Outside interests: Fishing
Personal motto: “Winning breeds confidence, losing builds character.”
Best advice someone gave you: “Opportunities are made, not found.”
Who had the most influence on your life? Bobby Frankel
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