J. Larry Jones
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J. Larry Jones (born September 2, 1956, in
Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of p ...
) is an American
Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...
trainer. He has trained over one thousand winners, including three winners of the
Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...
:
Proud Spell Proud Spell (foaled May 13, 2005) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old in 2007 she was rated one of the best juvenile fillies in the United States, winning her first three races including the Matron Stakes befo ...
in 2008,
Believe You Can Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...
in 2012, and Lovely Maria in 2015. He has trained two horses who have finished second in the
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 ...
;
Hard Spun Hard Spun (foaled May 10, 2004 near Malvern, Pennsylvania) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Background Hard Spun is a bay horse with a white star standing 16.2 hands high. He is from one ...
, and the filly
Eight Belles Eight Belles (February 23, 2005 – May 3, 2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who came second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby to the winner Big Brown. Her collapse just after the race resulted in immediate euthanasia. Earlier in the year ...
.


Career

Jones began training with a horse he owned himself, Ala Turf, in 1980. Originally a farmer of cotton, tobacco and soy bean, Jones found training horses to be much more exciting, and he took out a trainer's license in 1982. In 1986, Jones trained his first victor in a
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 ...
, Capt. Bold, a horse which he had purchased as a yearling for $800. Jones trained at Ellis Park in
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 ...
until 2005, when a
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
destroyed much of the facilities, causing Jones to relocate to Delaware Park. He had a few horses at Ellis Park in 2012, and returned there with a full stable in 2018. In 2007,
Hard Spun Hard Spun (foaled May 10, 2004 near Malvern, Pennsylvania) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Background Hard Spun is a bay horse with a white star standing 16.2 hands high. He is from one ...
, became the first contender that Jones trained for a Triple Crown event. Hard Spun was runner-up in the
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 ...
and
Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...
, and also won the Lane's End, King's Bishop, and Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes. In 2008, Jones saddled Proud Spell to a decisive win over a sloppy track in the Kentucky Oaks. Proud Spell went on to win 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 ...
for
American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-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 ...
that year, becoming Jones's first Eclipse Award winner. The day after the Kentucky Oaks, Jones saddled his other top filly, Eight Belles, to run in the Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles came second in the race, but shortly after crossing the line broke both front legs, and was humanely euthanized on the track. After Eight Belles' breakdown, Jones was accused of drugging the filly or running an unsound horse and received hate mail from people who felt that he was to blame for the tragedy. Tests done on Eight Belles proved she had run clean. In the summer, Jones announced that after one more year of training, he would retire, partially because he wanted to spend more time with his family. In 2009, Jones had two top Kentucky Derby hopefuls in
Old Fashioned Old-fashioned, an idiom meaning something not modern, or may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * Old Fashioned (film), ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 201 ...
and
Friesan Fire Friesan Fire (foaled April 30, 2006, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by 1992 American Horse of the Year, A.P. Indy, a son of the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. His dam, Bollinger, is an Australian ...
. Old Fashioned won the
Remsen Stakes The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...
at Aqueduct in a romp and became the early favorite for the Derby. He also won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park by open lengths before he was upset by Win Willy in the
Rebel Stakes The Rebel Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles run on dirt each February at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As of 2024, it offers a p ...
. In the Arkansas Derby, Old Fashioned finished second to Papa Clem and was retired after it was he had slab-fractured his knee. Friesan Fire impressed on his way to the Derby, sweeping the Lecomte, Risen Star, and the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in Louisiana, and started the 2009 Kentucky Derby as favorite, but went on to finish second-to-last. Friesan Fire went on to run in the Preakness Stakes. In 2009, Jones trained horses Just Jenda (winner of the 2009 Monmouth Oaks, owned by Jones's wife, Cindy), Solar Flare, Maren's Meadow, Payton d'Oro (2009 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes winner), Kodiak Kowboy, and It Happened Again, continued to compete that season. Other horses trained by Jones include No Such Word, winner of the 2010 Honeybee Stakes.


Personal life

On November 7, 2009, Jones retired, and his wife, Cindy, took over training duties at the barn. Jones became an assistant to Cindy and galloped horses in the mornings for her. The Joneses are based at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Delaware, in the summer, and at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in the winter. Jones returned to training after one year of retirement. In April 2014, Jones was seriously injured after falling from a horse during a training ride, but returned to training not long afterwards. Jones had Two Kids names Amanda and Wesley. (4 GrandChildren with the names, Xander, Juliet, Jensen, and Haven)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, J. Larry 1956 births Living people American racehorse trainers Sportspeople from Hopkinsville, Kentucky