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Racing Hall of Fame trainer Carl Hanford dies

Posted: Monday, August 15, 2011 3:31 PM

by Mary Simon

Trainer Carl Hanford, who guided five-time Horse of the Year Kelso, died on Monday. He was 95.

Records show that between 1939 and 1969 (with a five-year hiatus during World War II), Hanford won nearly 200 races—38 of them with Kelso. Fair or not, some have deemed him a “one-hit” wonder, with Kelso his lone marquee performer. Hanford did, in fact, develop other good runners, including major 1950s stakes winner La Corridor, but as a private trainer overseeing a small stable during the last decade of his career, opportunities for posting big numbers were simply not there.

Hanford’s career followed a familiar arc, taking him from marginal teen jockey to small-time trainer, to big-league horseman. Born in Nebraska in 1916, he began riding professionally in 1934, only months after the death of his older brother Buddy in a training accident. (In 1936 Hanford’s younger brother, Ira, would become the first apprentice jockey to win the Derby, aboard Bold Venture.)

In 1939, Hanford turned to training, saddling winners here and there along the Eastern seaboard, but it was not until early 1960 that his fortunes took a dramatic upward tick. When the training position came open for Mrs. Richard C. duPont’s Bohemia Stable, Hanford applied, was interviewed, and hired. Soon after, he was introduced to that troublesome piece of work named Kelso.

Hanford was old school. He believed in giving a horse time … resting him regularly … getting to know him up-close and hands-on. He was strictly a “hay, oats, and water” guy; Kelso never once ran on Bute or Lasix, yet campaigned seven seasons, capturing 31 stakes, successfully packing up to 136 pounds, winning from six furlongs to two miles, and setting or equaling at least seven track and American records on dirt and turf. Kelso’s five consecutive Horse of the Year titles garnered between 1960 and 1964 represents a record unlikely to be equaled.

The man who orchestrated this unprecedented stretch of sustained excellence was, himself, unassuming and humble. When Hanford arrived for the Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in 2006—an honor long overdue—he was treated like a 90-year-old rock star, mobbed by fans and friends. Amidst autograph-signing and flash-bulbs snapping, Hanford maintained his friendly dignity.

“I am here today because of one horse and one horse only,” he would say, in addressing the crowd. “There is an old saying on the racetrack that ‘a good horse is dangerous in anybody’s hands.’ How true that is. … My accomplishments didn’t get me here. Kelso did.”