Bernard S. "Bert" Michell (May 21, 1881 – October 21, 1938) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer best known for winning the 1928

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

with

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee,

Reigh Count Reigh Count (April 13, 1925–April 8, 1948) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and the 1929 Coronation Cup in England. Reigh Count was bred by Willis Sharpe Kilmer and foaled at Court Manor n ...

. In 1927, Michell was the trainer for Green Briar Stable when owner by Frank D. Shea of

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

liquidated his racing operations. Michell was then hired by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

businessman

John D. Hertz John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist. Biography Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, a ...

and his wife Fannie, owners of Leona Farm, near

Cary, Illinois Cary is a village located in Algonquin Township, McHenry County, Illinois, and Cuba Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 17,826. Founding In 1841, William Dennison Cary purchased for $1.25 an ...

. That year he trained the Hertz's filly

Anita Peabody Anita Peabody (1925–1934) was an American Champion Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. Bred and raced by John D. Hertz, John and Fannie Hertz, she was born at their Leona Farm near Cary, Illinois. She was named after the wife of Stuyvesant Pe ...

, retrospectively voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

honors and whose wins included the

Belmont Futurity Stakes The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September or October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, United States. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on turf ...

and the

Churchill Downs Debutante Stakes The Debutante Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. A listed stakes event open to two-year-old fillies, it is contested on dirt over a distance of six f ...

. However, it would be future Hall of Fame inductee

who would bring Michell his greatest success. Reigh Count not only earned American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors, but at age three won several prestigious races including the

and was voted

. In 1929, Mr. & Mrs. Hertz brought Michell and Reigh Count to race in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he raced on turf, winning the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

then finished second in the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

at Ascot Racecourse. In the fall of 1929 Michell left the Hertz stable to take over as trainer for the racing operations of Emil and Jennie Denemark of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Bert Michell raced at various tracks on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. He made his home in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

where he met with considerable success with the Denemark's runners at

Hialeah Park The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenu ...

and

Tropical Park Tropical Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami, Florida. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and Bird Road, just west of South Miami. History The land opened as a county public par ...

racetracks. Bert Michell died unexpectedly as a result of heart problems in 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michell, Bert S. 1881 births 1938 deaths American horse trainers British emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Miami Sports coaches from Miami