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Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72

Baird racked up more than 9,400 victories

By Jesse Andrews,  Newser User

Posted Dec 26, 2007 4:19 PM CST

(Newser) – 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. 

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.
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)
In this Sept. 28, 2004 file photo provided by the Mountaineer Race Track, Dale Baird watches the gate as one of his thoroughbreds trots by at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, W.Va. Baird, the winningest thoroughbred trainer with more than 9,400 victories, died in a crash along an...
In this Sept. 28, 2004 file photo provided by the Mountaineer Race Track, Dale Baird watches the gate as one of his thoroughbreds trots by at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, W.Va. Baird, the winningest...   (Associated Press)
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