Frank Yewell Whiteley Jr. (January 31, 1915 – May 2, 2008) was a

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 ...

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 ...

racehorse 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. Born and raised on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Centreville, Maryland Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States on the Delmarva Peninsula. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 4,285 at the 201 ...

, Whiteley grew up around horses and from a very early age was intent on racing them. Developing his skills, by age twenty-one he had embarked on a professional training career in his home state. He retired forty-nine years later having trained some of the most famous American racehorses of the second half of the 20th century.

U. S. Triple Crown series

Whiteley's first

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

was

Tom Rolfe Tom Rolfe (April 14, 1962 – June 12, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. He was the leading colt of his generation in the United States, winning the Preakness Stakes and being voted ...

, who gave him his first win in the U.S. Triple Crown series in 1965 when

Ron Turcotte Ronald Joseph Morel Turcotte (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973. Career Turcotte began his career in Toronto as a hot walk ...

rode him to victory in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

. In 1967, Whitelely had his second Champion in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, who won two more of the Classics and was voted the 1967

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply 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 san ...

. Long reticent about talking to the media, leading up to the 1967

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

, Whiteley finally gave in as a result of all the hoopla surrounding Damascus. According to a ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' newspaper article, "The first question was 'How did Damascus sleep last night?' To which Whiteley replied, 'How the hell would I know? I didn’t sleep with him.' Then he turned and walked back into the barn.

Ruffian

For the 1974 racing season, Whiteley conditioned the horse with which he was most famously associated. Ruffian (horse), Ruffian is considered by many as not only one of the greatest American

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, th ...

of all time but one of the greatest American Thoroughbreds of either sex. Undefeated as a two-year-old, she was voted the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

as the 1974 U.S. Champion Filly and earned another Eclipse Award in 1975 when she captured the U.S. Triple Tiara. The filly set or equaled a race record in her ten consecutive wins. In her eleventh and final race, a

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams cons ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

on July 6, 1975, she went up against that year's

winner,

Foolish Pleasure Foolish Pleasure (March 23, 1972 – November 17, 1994) was an American bay Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby. Background Foolish Pleasure was a bay horse bred at Williston, Florida by Waldemar Farms, Inc. He was owned by ...

. With a crowd of more than fifty thousand watching from the grandstand and millions watching on national television, Ruffian had a half-length lead on the colt when both

sesamoid bone In anatomy, a sesamoid bone () is a bone embedded within a tendon or a muscle. Its name is derived from the Greek word for 'sesame seed', indicating the small size of most sesamoids. Often, these bones form in response to strain, or can be presen ...

s in her right foreleg snapped. Despite surgery, she had to be

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

. Actor

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

played the role of Whiteley in the

made-for-television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

'' Ruffian'' which aired June 9, 2007, on the

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television network

Forego

In 1976, Whiteley took over the training of six-year-old champion

Forego Forego (April 30, 1970 – August 27, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter. Background Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky ...

and guided the

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

to his third straight Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and Outstanding Older Male Horse title. In 1977, he conditioned Forego for another successful season that saw him earn his fourth consecutive Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse. Whiteley was inducted in the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 1978 and in 1998 to the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. Beginning in 1965, he wintered his horses at Marion duPont Scott's training Center in

Camden, South Carolina Camden is the largest city in and the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census, and the 2022 population estimate is 8,213. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolita ...

, which set a trend with other horsemen that continues to this day. In recognition of his contribution to the Thoroughbred racing industry and the economy of the city of Camden, in 2003 the city council honored him with "Frank Whiteley Day" and awarded him a key to the city. In addition, that same year the Governor of South Carolina awarded him the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significan ...

, South Carolina's highest civilian honor. The "Frank Whiteley Room" at the Camden Archive houses a permanent collection founded in his honor. Whiteley's son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, followed in his footsteps as a successful trainer of a number of

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

winners. Whiteley died in

, on May 2, 2008.

References

November 25, 2003 Thoroughbred Times article on South Carolina honors for Frank Whiteley

Frank Whiteley Jr. at the United States' Racing Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteley, Frank Y. Jr. 1915 births 2008 deaths American racehorse trainers United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Camden, South Carolina People from Centreville, Maryland