Dale Baird (April 17, 1935 – December 23, 2007) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

trainer who also held the record for the most races in that sport, 9445, until that number was passed by

Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen (born November 18, 1965) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins, he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Mu ...

Career

Born in

Martinsville, Illinois Martinsville is a city in Clark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,118 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Martinsville has a total area of , of which (or 98.63%) is land and (or 1 ...

, Baird was brought up in the horse racing industry by his father, John I. Baird, who was also a successful horseman. He began his career as a jockey riding on local fair circuits, and turned to training after he grew too big to continue as a jockey. He made his training debut in 1961 at

Ellis Park Racecourse Ellis Park is a thoroughbred racetrack near Henderson, Kentucky, along US 41 between the Twin Bridges and Evansville, Indiana. It is owned and operated by Churchill Downs Incorporated. While the track is located north of the Ohio River that forms ...

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,781 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville–Henderson, IN–KY Combined Statis ...

, and won his first race with a horse named New York. He soon established himself at Waterford Park (now Mountaineer Racetrack) in

Chester, West Virginia Chester is a city in Hancock County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. It is located along the Ohio River in the state's northern panhandle and is the northernmost city in West Virginia. Chester is part o ...

, where he won every meet training title for 20 consecutive years between 1981 and 2000. Baird-trained horses amassed 9,445 victories over his 46-year career. The majority of his wins came at Mountaineer, and he owned nearly all of the horses that he trained. He was the nation's leading trainer, by wins 15 times between 1971 and 1999, and the leading owner 17 times. Baird was the first trainer to win 300 races in three consecutive years. In 2004, he recorded his 9,000th career training victory and was the first trainer in racing history to reach that plateau. He was honoured with a Special Eclipse Award by the

National Thoroughbred Racing Association The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with incr ...

(NTRA) in 2005, highlighting the milestone and his whole career.

Family Involvement

Dale's son, Bart, and brother John, also train horses at Mountaineer. John's son, Mike Baird, is also a Mountaineer conditioner.

Death

On December 23, 2007, Baird died in a car crash that killed two other people. It was believed that high winds caused the empty horse trailer that he was hauling to tip over, causing Baird to lose control of his pick-up truck. He was in the midst of another successful year, having saddled 132 winners and collecting purses totalling $2,030,982 in 2007..
"Wind may have been factor in crash that killed 3 - Greenfield Daily Reporter, December 24, 2007"
..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Dale 1935 births 2007 deaths People from Chester, West Virginia People from Clark County, Illinois American racehorse trainers American Champion racehorse trainers Eclipse Award winners Road incident deaths in Indiana Sportspeople from Hancock County, West Virginia